“Get a good grip on this thing while I pry it off.” Ariki unsheathed a large Bowie knife and carefully pressed the flat side against Hayes’ trembling face, prying it between the skin and the leech’s mouth to break the seal of the oral sucker. He yanked the leech back when the lip pried loose, extracting fangs from Hayes’ flesh. The leech wriggled as if agitated, earning a string of curses from Ariki as he tightened his grip.
“Dammit. This thing is slippery as hell. Get the other end, Elena.”
Resolve and revulsion battled across her face. “I can’t reach my knife. What do I use?”
“Just slip your finger under the lip and pry back. Quickly — I don’t want it to latch back on.”
Her face twisted when she slid her fingers under the sucker at the opposite end. The leech continued to thrash around, its anterior jaws open, fanged mouthparts extracted and snapping at Ariki, who held on with a ferocious grip, his face creased in a revolted grimace.
Elena yanked back and held up the other end. “Okay, got it!”
“Let it go.” Ariki hurled the leech away when she did. It hit the swampy ground with a wet thump, immediately snaking toward the river as if aware of what was coming next.
It didn’t have a chance. Nathan fired a round of wildly uneven shots until they finally connected. The leech exploded into pale, blood-soaked chunks. He tried to ignore the sickly feeling in his stomach, turning to focus on the others.
Elena knelt beside Hayes, dabbing his face with clean gauze from the med kit she pulled from her pack. He winced, placing a forestalling hand on her arm.
“How… how bad is it?”
“Not as bad as you’d think.” She gave him a reassuring smile.
Hayes groaned. “Translation: you look like something bit your face off. I knew it. I’m gonna die out here, man. Kick the can in some cross-dimensional… shithole.” His fist slammed into a puddle, splashing dirty water across his chest. Half of his face was purplish-red, becoming more inflamed as they watched. Blood oozed from a trio of gashes where the leech’s teeth punctured the flesh. His arm looked alarmingly similar.
His jaw trembled. “No one’s even gonna find my body. Chart me up as another MIA case that never gets closed. My mom will probably die of a stroke when they tell her.”
Ariki gazed down, his tattooed face unreadable. “Patch him up. We have to move.”
“Now? I don’t think he’s in the shape to go anywhere.”
“He’d better get in shape. Right, Hayes? We’re fish in shark territory. Gotta keep moving or die.”
Hayes grimaced as Elena wrapped gauze around a medicated pad on his face. “Don’t think a shark really cares if the fish is moving or not, man. It’s down the hatch regardless.”
“Bet the fish cares.” Ariki offered a hand. “You coming?”
Hayes gritted his teeth and nodded. “Wouldn’t want to miss out on the fun.”
“Good. Elena, dose him up to clear the pain.”
Nathan looked around while they helped Hayes to his feet. The rain was light but steady, hardly the downpour they’d experienced earlier. Steam wafted from the ground, further obscuring perceptibility. Silhouettes of trees looked perverse in the fog, like misshapen creatures leaning over with grasping fingers. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and rot.
The river was fed by a smaller stream a few yards away. Elena walked over and nodded to it.
“Found Hayes over there. Stream could lead to something.”
Nathan folded his arms. “Could lead to some disgusting monstrosity trying to eat us.”
“Or it could lead to a building. You know — some shelter. A place to regroup and maybe rest up.”
Nathan nearly laughed. “Rest up? Ever the optimist, Elena. It doesn’t matter what we do. This doesn’t end happy for any of us.”
“Ever the pessimist.” She clapped his arm. “You want to die, go ahead. I’m going to keep moving.” She waved Ariki over. “I think we should go this way.”
Ariki studied the terrain. “Well, someone already did.”
“What?”
He pointed. “Footprints. Have to be Damon’s.”
“It was Damon.” Hayes stared at the tracks with glazed eyes. His face had swollen even further, nearly shutting one eye and reducing his words into barely decipherable mush. “Bastard looked right at me when he passed by. Like I wasn’t worth helping.” He gingerly touched the swabbing wrapped around his face. “Like I was already dead.”
Elena shook her head. “That’s cold, even for Damon.”
“We’ll follow his tracks,” Ariki said. “If we’re lucky, something will attack him first.”
Hayes rocked back on his heels, shaking his head as if woozy. “Our luck, something attacks us from behind.”
Ariki glanced back at the murky surroundings. “That’s why I’m watching your backs. Let’s go.”
They tottered forward, jerking at every creak of limb, eyes wide and staring like children in a haunted forest. Nathan glanced at Elena. Her jaw was clenched, her lips compressed as if to deny the shuddering breaths that would betray her terror. Condensation beaded on the surface of the handgun she held steady in front of her.
Hayes seemed almost in good spirits, despite the crimson stains that darkened the gauze around his face. He walked along as if oblivious to the suffocating fingers of dread that clutched at the rest of them. His weapon was holstered at this side, and he walked along with an air of excitement, as if he couldn’t wait for what lay ahead.
The pain meds have kicked in. Probably best for him. Nathan kept both hands on his firearm, squinting at the myriad of dark, shrouded shapes that loomed around them. They looked like skeletons, fossilized remains of grotesque giants.
Calm down. They’re only trees. His throat felt dusty, parched despite having drunk half the river only minutes ago. His boots squelched in the mud, making each step require extra effort. Sweat slid down his skin, mingling with misty rain that did nothing to cool the air. The humidity was overbearing, like carrying a thick, wet blanket on his back.
Someone groaned. The sound was thick, warbled as if uttered from a throat lodged with molasses and marbles.
He turned to Hayes. “You okay?”
“Wasn’t me, bro.” He grinned, his eyes slightly manic. His pistol was in hand, pointed right at Nathan.
“Hayes… what are you—?”
The muzzle flashed. The sound muted as Nathen toppled, clutching his midsection. His teeth clamped together when he struck the swampy earth, fingers feeling for the damage. He was in shock, couldn’t feel the wounds…
There were no wounds. He flipped over, staring as Hayes continued firing at the area right behind Nathan, laughing like a madman as he emptied his magazine.
A twisted, inhuman body hit the ground beside Nathan, fouling his nostrils with the stench of blood and raw meat. He recoiled, gagging.
Blurry figures advanced from the mist, staggering forward as if unused to walking on two legs. Their twisted, malformed shapes looked much like the Others that attacked earlier, but as they drew closer Nathan saw an immediate difference.
Each one of the saggy, malformed creatures wore the same face, a flesh mask pulled carelessly over their misshapen heads. Despite the flaccid features, the visage was instantly familiar. It was Lurch, right down to his bristly mustache. His eyes were wide and quivering, his mouth agape in a frozen scream.
Nathan unloaded. The gun bucked in his hand, the nearest Other jerked back as the barrage opened up its sagging flesh. It went down in a convulsing heap, screaming and clawing in the mud.
Nathan rolled to his feet and fired another shot. The nearest Other stumbled back, a scream ripped from Lurch’s slack mouth.