Lih was about to speak when he saw that Nox had raised his fist signaling a stop. The atharim hunter summoned a ball of light and tossed it into the darkness ahead of them. He dropped down, fast and obedient, crouching behind Nox, his crossbow pulled up to his cheek and aimed back into the light.
He couldn’t see anything of the situation ahead, apart from the bright, flickering wash from Nox’s light. How the hell did a man do that, unless he was a—
God.
He could hear Nova growling, and more. Drip-drip-drip the noise went, drifting through the tunnels. There were footsteps too. A lot of them, crunching and squishing on stone and mud. Nox waved the team to get ready.
Lih tensed, muscles pulsing, his breathing short and sharp. In his terror he had almost spoilt the hunt with his inexperience and haste. Later, back in the office, once they had gone back up, Lih would have most definitely accepted any punishment for his spinelessness. He’d run, and left the other two to face the music.
And up ahead, there was something there all right. Something stalking them as surely as they were stalking it.
He’d heard horror stories of the monsters that stalked the tunnels in the dark. Beasts that refused to drop, even when you were hosing them with full fire and saying please nicely. Everyone knew you didn’t go looking for monsters, even when you were part of a hunting team. Lih should have turned back from the intersection, not come down here, not down here where—
With a lung bursting howl, figures tore out of the lit, passage bend and roared towards them. Into view, into the realm of their land warrior night vision, more figures appeared, dark, grotesque shapes, advancing towards where they took cover. The human shaped one came after Nox. Saliva oozed from the long, dagger-toothed line of his gleaming smile.
Lih started firing at once, loosing bolts as his weapon discharged. His furious shots had chewed at it, ripped and torn the flesh. But still the humanoid came on, fumbling, clumsily, trailing flecks of black fluid and saliva into the air. You never see them, he heard himself saying, not until it’s too late. It was too late now. The thing was a freakin’ nightmare…
Then Lih realized something else. This was the scientist they were looking for. Alistair Pavlo. Somebody had made a real mess of his face and throat. Dorian, probably. Alistair had vanished. Somewhere between the thing bursting out at them and Lih opening up, his lenses flagged the thing as a dead man. He gasped up at the stupendous vitality of the new Alistair monster.
It didn’t act even slightly dead.
Backing away, he fired as long as he dared, hammering heavy bolts at the charging monster. He was unloading bolts at a full rate, as fast as he could sustain, but the shots weren’t even slowing it down.
It wasn’t anything like enough.
Viktor Lih threw aside his spent weapon and drew his knife.
“Let’s go then, you ugly bastard,” he growled.
Nox told him automatic weapons wouldn’t stop a monster. So Lih took his word on that. This was insane. And Alistair was a hell of a monster, but he was still an animal, still a man. It had anatomy. Anatomy that obeyed the simple laws of hunting.
It had hamstrings, for example. Lih cut them with his knife, glimpsing the scorched punctures his shots made in the bolt ridden corpse. It fell down. Hard on its face, so suddenly that its lower jaw smashed into the ground and slammed its gaping mouth shut. Its cries became shrill and wretched. Like it was in pain. The thing that was Alistair was now half prone on its belly, dragging its legs.
Then,--impossible!--it heaved itself forward again in a mighty surge, rising up despite the cut hamstrings, muscles bulging, veins like cables, foam glistened around its lips.
Lih disappeared from their formation.
He suddenly re-appeared in mid-air behind Alistair, propelled by a leap that needed a run up. He was no longer holding his crossbow. In one out-flung hand, he clutched his weapon, the long steel knife. The blade of Lih’s knife was black and wet with blood.
He landed on the dead man’s hunched back with a grunt of effort, and grabbed hold of the man’s shoulder for purchase with his free hand. The man shook and bucked, trying to shake Lih off its broad back. Lih clung on, and thumped his knife down into the base of the man’s skull.
Thirty centimeters of Moscow steel punched into Alistair’s brain. Thick, dark blood squirted out, hitting Lih like a pressure hose. He wrenched the knife out and stabbed again.
Alistair faltered, lifting his big hands to the sides of his head. He roared. Blood wept out around the hilt of Lih's embedded knife.
Lih was thrown off. He rolled aside hard, lacerating his face and arms on sharp rocks.
"Die, you shithead!"
Lih yelled, getting to his feet and slicking the thing’s blood off his face with the palm of his hand. He was too pumped up, too enflamed by then for him to be troubled by such a curiosity as to why even headshots didn't kill Alistair. He turned and ran toward Nox and Ivan. He got a few steps and fell. Alistair came after him.
Lih looked up, screamed, and tried to get up. The thing was right on him, right on him, mouth now agape, those teeth, those teeth, those—
It abruptly flailed, and fell, as if Alistair had tripped too. It had come down less than two feet away from Lih's outstretched feet. The monster was reaching with its arms, its jaw snapping and slicing at air in pain.
Lih screamed again, and scrambled backwards, out of reach.
Why had it fallen down? Why the hell had it fallen down?
And why in the name of the light was this creature on fire?
Another flaming corpse was suddenly in his face.
"Nox?" Lih said, gazing in astonishment at the fireball'd body. The atharim had suddenly appeared beside them, his hand raised. "Was that you?"
Lih
Saved before it chomped on him
He couldn’t see anything of the situation ahead, apart from the bright, flickering wash from Nox’s light. How the hell did a man do that, unless he was a—
God.
He could hear Nova growling, and more. Drip-drip-drip the noise went, drifting through the tunnels. There were footsteps too. A lot of them, crunching and squishing on stone and mud. Nox waved the team to get ready.
Lih tensed, muscles pulsing, his breathing short and sharp. In his terror he had almost spoilt the hunt with his inexperience and haste. Later, back in the office, once they had gone back up, Lih would have most definitely accepted any punishment for his spinelessness. He’d run, and left the other two to face the music.
And up ahead, there was something there all right. Something stalking them as surely as they were stalking it.
He’d heard horror stories of the monsters that stalked the tunnels in the dark. Beasts that refused to drop, even when you were hosing them with full fire and saying please nicely. Everyone knew you didn’t go looking for monsters, even when you were part of a hunting team. Lih should have turned back from the intersection, not come down here, not down here where—
With a lung bursting howl, figures tore out of the lit, passage bend and roared towards them. Into view, into the realm of their land warrior night vision, more figures appeared, dark, grotesque shapes, advancing towards where they took cover. The human shaped one came after Nox. Saliva oozed from the long, dagger-toothed line of his gleaming smile.
Lih started firing at once, loosing bolts as his weapon discharged. His furious shots had chewed at it, ripped and torn the flesh. But still the humanoid came on, fumbling, clumsily, trailing flecks of black fluid and saliva into the air. You never see them, he heard himself saying, not until it’s too late. It was too late now. The thing was a freakin’ nightmare…
Then Lih realized something else. This was the scientist they were looking for. Alistair Pavlo. Somebody had made a real mess of his face and throat. Dorian, probably. Alistair had vanished. Somewhere between the thing bursting out at them and Lih opening up, his lenses flagged the thing as a dead man. He gasped up at the stupendous vitality of the new Alistair monster.
It didn’t act even slightly dead.
Backing away, he fired as long as he dared, hammering heavy bolts at the charging monster. He was unloading bolts at a full rate, as fast as he could sustain, but the shots weren’t even slowing it down.
It wasn’t anything like enough.
Viktor Lih threw aside his spent weapon and drew his knife.
“Let’s go then, you ugly bastard,” he growled.
Nox told him automatic weapons wouldn’t stop a monster. So Lih took his word on that. This was insane. And Alistair was a hell of a monster, but he was still an animal, still a man. It had anatomy. Anatomy that obeyed the simple laws of hunting.
It had hamstrings, for example. Lih cut them with his knife, glimpsing the scorched punctures his shots made in the bolt ridden corpse. It fell down. Hard on its face, so suddenly that its lower jaw smashed into the ground and slammed its gaping mouth shut. Its cries became shrill and wretched. Like it was in pain. The thing that was Alistair was now half prone on its belly, dragging its legs.
Then,--impossible!--it heaved itself forward again in a mighty surge, rising up despite the cut hamstrings, muscles bulging, veins like cables, foam glistened around its lips.
Lih disappeared from their formation.
He suddenly re-appeared in mid-air behind Alistair, propelled by a leap that needed a run up. He was no longer holding his crossbow. In one out-flung hand, he clutched his weapon, the long steel knife. The blade of Lih’s knife was black and wet with blood.
He landed on the dead man’s hunched back with a grunt of effort, and grabbed hold of the man’s shoulder for purchase with his free hand. The man shook and bucked, trying to shake Lih off its broad back. Lih clung on, and thumped his knife down into the base of the man’s skull.
Thirty centimeters of Moscow steel punched into Alistair’s brain. Thick, dark blood squirted out, hitting Lih like a pressure hose. He wrenched the knife out and stabbed again.
Alistair faltered, lifting his big hands to the sides of his head. He roared. Blood wept out around the hilt of Lih's embedded knife.
Lih was thrown off. He rolled aside hard, lacerating his face and arms on sharp rocks.
"Die, you shithead!"
Lih yelled, getting to his feet and slicking the thing’s blood off his face with the palm of his hand. He was too pumped up, too enflamed by then for him to be troubled by such a curiosity as to why even headshots didn't kill Alistair. He turned and ran toward Nox and Ivan. He got a few steps and fell. Alistair came after him.
Lih looked up, screamed, and tried to get up. The thing was right on him, right on him, mouth now agape, those teeth, those teeth, those—
It abruptly flailed, and fell, as if Alistair had tripped too. It had come down less than two feet away from Lih's outstretched feet. The monster was reaching with its arms, its jaw snapping and slicing at air in pain.
Lih screamed again, and scrambled backwards, out of reach.
Why had it fallen down? Why the hell had it fallen down?
And why in the name of the light was this creature on fire?
Another flaming corpse was suddenly in his face.
"Nox?" Lih said, gazing in astonishment at the fireball'd body. The atharim had suddenly appeared beside them, his hand raised. "Was that you?"
Lih
Saved before it chomped on him