Jill rolled over onto her back, trying to crush the unknown attacker. She tilted her head up to see across to Irma, still struggling with her own attacker as more seemed to fly in from somewhere, screaming and descending onto her. They pounced onto her stomach and legs as she kicked and screamed herself. The previously silent forest now filled with a cacophony of human and inhuman screaming.
Jill pulled herself halfway up, before slamming herself down again on top of the thing on her back. It's shrill screaming stopped abruptly. Wasting no time, not even taking a glance at the dead thing, she rolled onto her stomach. Irma had managed to kick one beast off, it squirmed a few feet away from her.
Jill swung her rifle out and fired a snap shot at the bizarre creature. The bullet struck center mass, causing an explosion of dark fur and a greenish ooze. Its small body was thrown back several feet, where it twitched and seized for a moment before laying still. Even still Jill couldn't tell what it was supposed to be.
Shaking her head, she pushed herself up and ran to Irma's side, her rifle dangling from it's strap over her shoulder. She dove on her knees and grabbed a thrashing beast. It's ear-piercing scream grew louder as it blindly thrashed in her hands, tearing her skin and trying to escape up her arm.
Steeling herself, Jill shifted her hands to either and of the oblong thing and brought them together quickly. A loud snap could be heard as it's screaming died. It went limp and she tossed it aside. Losing fear of these creatures, she began grabbing them off Irma's flailing body, breaking or just throwing them as far as she could.
One thrown monster came running back at her with an ungraceful wobble. Jill brought one booted foot back and forward again, kicking it with all the force she could muster. With the familiar crack of broken bones, it sailed backwards to the muddy lake and sank beneath the surface.
She panted heavily, looking at her bloodied hands. The cuts were numerous but superficial, the bleeding already ending on it's own. She wiped them on her pants, taking a look around for any additional threats. Seeing none, she turned her attention back to Irma. She still lay on the ground, holding her wounds and still kicking slightly at invisible threats.
âThey're gone,â Jill said reassuringly, dropping to one knee at her side. âYou're okay,â she added, placing her hand on her arm. Irma flinched once at her touch, but then calmed down slightly. He eyes were still wild with fright, but at least she stopped kicking at nothing.
âYou're okay,â Jill repeated softly. âBut we have to go. Can you stand?â
âI â I think so,â She said, while breathing heavily. She held her neck with one hand and propped herself up with the other. She looked down at herself, her clothes were bloody and torn all the way down. One leg was especially damaged.
Jill helped her to her feet. Irma tried to move on her own but stumbled and almost fell. Jill caught her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
âAre they gone?â Irma asked, regaining her composure.
âI don't know,â Jill answered. She kept her breath even as she looked around. The rustle and shaking had gone. The horrible screaming had gone too, but was replaced by a kind of low-level hum. âLet's just get back to the truck.â
The two women made a slow trek through the forest the way they had come. Jill lost her collection kit in the attack and didn't bother to pick it back up. Irma still had hers, clutching it with one hand, the other was over Jill's shoulder.
They didn't speak as they walked. Irma winced with every step and Jill focused on navigating the underbrush and watching out for new attacks. The sun almost set enough to justify how dark it was becoming. Jill knew how dark the woods could get but she couldn't help but wonder how deep this darkness would get.
âIt's not much further,â Jill encouraged Irma after a time. She still winced, but actually looked better.
They had gotten back to the fallen tree when a loud rustle ahead of them froze them in their tracks again. The hum grew louder again. A small movement in the brush ahead could be seen and moved closer. Jill cursed and mentally prepared herself as a shadow moved against shadows between bushes.
Irma's eyes went wide and she began to mutter almost nonsensically. Keeping her eyes locked on the movement in the brush she wordlessly eased Irma to the ground. She didn't protest. Jill slowly brought her rifle out again, assumed a defensive stance over her wounded partner and waited.
She didn't have to wait long. The bushes shook in a chain, getting closer. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, a dark being burst out from a bush. It landed and paused for a moment, as if purposely showing off it's terrifying body â almost like a large dog but with too many limbs that didn't make sense and a misshapen head with too many parts. It may have been covered in fur, but everything about it was so black it was nearly a silhouette. Though it had obviously been running, it should no signs of breathing.
It stood still for a moment, except for several short tendrils flicking on its uneven back and sides.
Jill shook at the horror of it. All thought fled her mind. Her rifle gripped firmly in her hands but she couldn't think of what it was or how to use it.
Slowly it swung its head over to look at her with a half dozen randomly places eyes. A multitude of flopping jaws gaped open as it loosed an otherworldly, ear-piercing shriek like the sound of thunder and tearing metal. It turned the rest of it's body with an odd, morphing motion and lowered it's stance.
A loud bang brought some sense back to Jill's mind. Looking down, she realized it was her rifle firing though she had no memory of pulling the trigger. The beast shrieked again and launched itself forward, moving with a speed it's bizarre legs should not have been able to produce.
Bringing her rifle back up, Jill did her best to line up a shot. It was difficult in the still-growing darkness. She fired another shot, striking the monster in what might have been a shoulder. It stumbled slightly, but stayed on course. It's screaming shriek was constant as it closed the gap. It quickly got close enough aiming was necessary. Jill fired wildly while Irma covered her ears and curled up on the ground.
A yard out the beast threw itself into the air, leaping toward her with its monstrous, misshapen jaws wide open and poised to clamp down on whatever they could get. Jill threw herself to the ground, firing several more times as the monster sailed over her. Green ooze burst out of the thing, burning her skin where it landed on her. She rolled and watched as it landed awkwardly on its side a short distance on the other side of Irma's prone form.
It furiously kicked the air, trying to get its weird legs back under itself. Irma lay between Jill and it, obscuring her line of sight. Jumping to her feet, she lined up a shot and moved off to one side just as the beast got back on its feet.
The eyes were the only thing clearly visible about it. None of them matched â not in shape, style or color. Half stared directly at Jill while the other half rolled over to watch Irma. Its body shifted slightly, not just in direction but its structure seemed to change. More eyes rolled over toward the prone woman.
âNo!â, Jill shouted. Tightening her rifle grip and pulling it into her shoulder, she let more rounds fly. Small splashes of greenish blood burst from the bullet impacts. The beast stumbled from the impacts but didn't act injured. It seemed more annoyed as the weird eyes rolled back in Jill's direction. Its shadowy form rippled and the tendrils flicked back and forth wildly.
A loud, flat bang signaled her rifled running dry. Perhaps sensing weakness, the beast charged again, the horrific screaming even louder than before. Cursing, Jill threw her rifle aside and unclasped the pistol on her thigh. Gritting her teeth and standing her ground, she drew it up. Pushing it out with a tight grip, she sighted down the barrel.
The beast was almost on her as she smoothly squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew directly down the throat of one of the monstrous jaws, exploding out the back of its misshapen head with a geyser of green blood. Its wild scream instantly cut off as it crashed to the ground at Jill's feet.
She took a step back and looked down at the thing over her gun. It slowly moved its jaws and limbs, still trying to reach her. Its eyes glared at her with nothing but hate as it attempted to scream. The sound came out weak, more like a whimper.
Jill fired again from her place just a few feet away. The bullet ripped the twisted head in half, but the monster still squirmed. She fired again and again until the slide locked back on an empty magazine. The beast finally fell silent. The screaming died with it.
She stood still with her empty gun pointed at the beast for a time, breathing heavily. The darkness infusing the forest seemed to have lessened, though still too dark to justify with the suns position. Questions swirled in her mind but she forced them out. Nothing mattered but getting out.
Determination replacing fear, she replaced her pistol magazine and threw her rifle over her shoulder again. Irma winced as Jill gruffly pulled her to her feet. She supported her again with an arm around her waist but pulled her on in the direction of their truck.
Again they moved without speaking. Before it was borne of unfamiliarity and annoyance, now injury and fear drove them to silence. They were prey here.
Though vigilant of more attacks, Jill couldn't help but wonder what the Agency knew. She'd spent months transporting groups to research sites. She stopped asking questions after the fiftieth time being told it was âclassifiedâ or âneed to knowâ. She rarely was tasked with picking groups up again and now wondered what they'd seen.
She forced the questions out of her mind again as they came up on the edge of the forest. They could see the truck parked in the clearing in full daylight. The discordance of the light outside and the darkness within the forest was somehow unsettling. They picked up their pace as best they could and pushed out of the wood.
Crossing the last trees out of the woods was like walking through a wall of darkness. The brightness of day struck them like turning light. They stopped and squinted as their eyes adjusted. Jill turned her head back to the forest. It was as though a wall of darkness surrounded it.
Feeling better about their situation, Jill moved Irma more gently to the truck. Setting Irma gently on the ground with her back against a tire, Jill pulled a large first aid kit out from inside the door.
âYou're going to be fine now,â Jill told her.
âJust get on the radio. I can do this,â Irma said through gritted teeth, taking the kit. Weak but clearly determined, she opened it and began removing the contents.
Jill stood above her and looked her over a moment. Her jacket was torn up and half covered in blood from wounds around her neck and chest. One arm appeared to have several small bites taken out of it. But it was the leg wound that looked the most troublesome. While the other wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding by this point, her left thigh still oozed blood from several deep cuts.
âGo,â Irma ordered, tipping a small bottle of pain-killers into her mouth. Jill smiled faintly and turned around.
The radio was in the cabin, but Jill strode to the back instead. Opening the gate, she laid her rifle down and slid her duffel bag out next to it. She tossed the empty magazine inside and retrieved a new one, inserting it into the well and racking a round. She was hesitant to put the safety on as her mind drifted back to the events of the forest.
Her hands began to shake as her adrenaline came down and the enormity of the events settled into her mind. She breathed slowly to calm her nerves, and tilted her head upwards. The sun still sat comfortably in the sky, giving a few hours of light. She didn't want to be around when it set.
Exhaling sharply, Jill flipped the rifle safety on and slammed the gate shut. She marched up to the front of the truck to find Irma inside. She had shed her bloodied jacket, her neck, shoulder and chest wrapped in bandages. One pant leg was cut off at the thigh and she was busy wrapping a long gauze strip around the awful wound there.
âYou look better,â Jill commented, climbing inside and jamming her rifle down between the seats.
âYeah, those pills really took the edge off,â Irma replied. She looked haggard and tired, obviously still in pain. âHave you got on the radio yet?â It was more command than question. Jill took the microphone from the dash-mounted radio and flipped it on. Static emitted from the speaker.
âCentral, this is Davison, come in,â Jill spoke into the mic. Only static responded. Glowering, she fiddled with the dial and spoke into it again. Again, nothing but static. âDamn it!â she shouted, slamming a fist against radio. She threw the microphone down in frustration.
âAre we too far out?â Irma asked. She was finished wrapping her wounds and opened a bottle of water.
âDoesn't matter,â Jill grunted. She roughly turned the key in the ignition. The engine sprang to life and she shifted into gear. âWe'll call it in from town.â Stomping on the accelerator and sharply turning the steering wheel, she turned the vehicle back around the way they had come.
âAfter we get you to a hospital - â Jill was cut off mid sentence as the SUV lurched to the side with the sound of a loud slam. She cursed as she fought to maintain control over the vehicle. Another slam sent it up on two wheels for a moment before slamming back down, violently shaking its occupants.
Irma winced, holding her wounds. Jill cursed again and cut the wheel, stomping on the gas pedal trying to distance them from whatever was attacking them. As she aimed for the path in the trees they had come from, her mind went back to the beasts from the forests. Were they being attacked by the one she thought she killed or was it another? Again she wondered how many there were and what the implications of what that could mean.
Another hit spun the back end of the truck around. Fearing a rollover, Jill slammed on the break and brought the vehicle to a screeching stop. Jill looked over the steering wheel and saw their attacker standing out in the open a short distance in front of them. Fear and anger swirled in her mind as waves of cold and heat passed through her body, locking her down in a moment on indecision.
The beast stood with itâs mismatched limbs in a wide stance, twisted hindquarters up and grotesque head brushing the ground. Brutal tongues hung from myriad mouths. A weird appendage grew off one side of it, thrashing and snapping wildly. A cloud of darkness obscuring fine details. A terrible scream emanated from the horror.
âNo,â Jill whispered. She gripped the wheel as anger and heat took control. âNo!â she screamed, stomping on the gas pedal and throwing the vehicle towards the monster.