Tick stumbled on a rock hidden under a pile of wet, clumpy leaves. They’d gone so long without anyone speaking that Sofia’s words startled him. He grabbed a thick vine, which saved him from hitting the ground, but rubbed a nasty sore spot on his palm as it slid through his fingers.

“What?” Paul asked through a tight breath, the one word taking all his effort.

“A light,” Sofia answered, pointing, then moving in that direction, just slightly off the course they’d been following. “It’s definitely a light—a couple of them. I think it’s a building!”

Tick’s heart soared, his weary pessimism from just seconds earlier vanishing. “Let’s go!” he shouted, rather pointlessly. Even Paul’s step quickened with renewed strength.

The three of them slipped past a thick wall of foliage and rounded a huge oak. Ahead of them, the trees thinned and signs of Circle City were everywhere. Tick could even see a couple of people walking along the great round road bordering the town.

“We did it!” Sofia said, then stepped forward, ready to start running. But something crashed down from the branches above, landing right in front of her. Sofia shrieked and jumped back, almost knocking Paul to the ground.

Tick stared ahead, his mind battling between fear and curiosity.

A thick, heavily furred animal crouched before them on all four legs, its slimy nostrils sniffing as it bared a mouth full of white fangs. Its body resembled a bear, but its face looked more like a wolf’s, yellow eyes glaring from a narrow, elongated face. Drool dripped from its jaws and teeth; a low growl rumbled deep within its chest.

But what caught Tick’s attention was how the creature glowed—a deep, eerie red that rippled along its fur like small waves on a pond. Each strand of hair shined, as if optical fibers charged with pulsing lava sprouted from the creature’s skin.

“The glowing monkeys,” Tick whispered.

“Radioactive demon bears,” Paul replied, a little louder.

The animal took a step forward, its eyes focusing on Paul, then Sofia, then Tick. Its nonstop growl gurgled and grew louder; its mouth opened wider. The thing seemed to have a hundred teeth, all sharp and pointy.

Tick yelped when something crashed to the ground to the right of the animal, then another to its left. Two more creatures, looking as vicious and hungry as the first. But they all stayed where they’d landed, studying the three humans.

“What do we do?” Tick asked, not caring how shaky his voice sounded.

“If we run, they might pounce on us,” Sofia said.

Paul didn’t say anything, cradling his swollen arm, his tight face drenched in sweat.

“If we don’t run, they might pounce on us,” Tick replied.