Page 18 of Marc
Zeke and Kai fired on the creature’s back. It made several low, angry grunts and followed Marc.
“Keep up,” Jameson yelled. “Get to the waterfall.”
“Come on, Colbie,” Jess urged me on.
I awkwardly jogged behind her. My leg felt a little weak and wobbly, but it held. I fired my blaster with the others.
The monster shot more projectiles, but Marc dodged them skillfully.
A few minutes later, the roar of the waterfall carried on the air. Then the dense trees petered out.
The river gleamed silver in the moonlight, before it tipped gracefully over the edge of the mountainside. The monster was agitated and locked on Marc. As they neared the riverbank, it didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the noise.
“Concentrate your fire,” Jameson ordered.
The laser wasn’t penetrating the hard shell, but the creature was still going wild. It didn’t like it.
It jerked around, pawing at the ground.
“Come on, ugly,” Marc yelled. “Just a little closer.”
He waded into the river, waving at the monster.
It scuttled closer, pausing at the water’s edge. It wanted Marc, but it wasn’t sure it wanted to get wet.
I pulled the trigger, firing my blaster. The others concentrated their carbine fire on the monster’s hindquarters.
“Hey, monster breath,” Marc lit a flare and waved it.
The monster fixated on the red glow.
“That’s it, come on,” he coaxed. “Come eat me. I’m a tasty snack.”
The monster stepped into the water, then froze. Its tail went rigid and flared out.
“Watch out!” I screamed.
More bone projectiles fired.
I gasped. Marc had no cover in the middle of the river.
He dropped the flare and dived under the surface of the water. Projectiles splashed into the water.
A second later, he came up, shaking the water from his hair.
Relief punched through me.Thank God.
But the monster’s tail kept vibrating. Then, it released one final projectile.
The bone spike hit Marc in the gut, and he flew backward with a splash.
“Marc!” I screamed.
Marc
Fuck,that hurt.
I tried to sit up, thrashing in the river, trying to keep my damn head above the water. The projectile had pierced my armor and hit my stomach.
