Chapter 40

We walked back through the tangled maze and past the slug-like vermin sitting on its boulder. Once again, it waved short stubby arms at us and made a gurgling roar. If the creature thought it was scary, it was sadly mistaken. Alice shook the mallet in its direction, and it gave a startled cry and fell silent.

"You should dispose of it, Ella." Alice's fingers curled tight around the mallet.

"It doesn't feel sporting to clamber up there and hit it from behind. Let's keep moving." I briefly considered seeing if it could play catch by tossing it a grenade. But the idea of raining vermin splatter on us stilled my hand. Instead, I tugged Alice along, but the vermin's black eyes tracked our movements as we pushed past its rock.

We ducked under the last skeletal tree barrier and emerged on the short strip of rock that ran from maze to water's edge. The opposite bank rippled, like ripe wheat moving with a faint breeze, but this was no quaint agricultural scene. We were confronted by a black