Page 20 of Marc
Jameson’s warning shout came through both my earpiece and across the river.
I jerked around and saw the monster charging straight at us.
I grabbed Colbie’s arm. “Run!”
She took off, and I fired my carbine behind us. I followed her along the riverbed. Dammit, we were close to the waterfall’s edge, hemmed in by the dense trees, and the rocky ground was slippery.
There weren’t many places to go.
Colbie stopped, whipped around, and fired her blaster. “Hurry up, Marc.”
My chest swelled. Shit, I knew that stubborn, focused look. She got the same look on her face when she was flying through a storm, or swinging around to pick up the squad during a hot evac.
The monster cleared the water and made a series of low grunts. Its red gaze was locked on us.
“We need to lure it to the edge,” I told her.
She nodded.
It was the only option. Send the damn thing over the waterfall.
I grabbed my last flare and ignited it. I waved it around and the creature’s gaze locked onto the red light.
The squad was still firing on the monster. I saw one of its legs falter, and its body lurched.
Yes. It was injured.
I touched my ear. “Front left leg is injured. Concentrate fire there.”
In a seamless move, they did. I waved the flare again, and the creature hobbled close to me and Colbie.
Dammit, I had to protect her.
“Come on, monster,” she yelled. “Time to go for a swim.”
She walked right to the slippery edge of the rocks, waving her arms.
Shit. I watched the creature dart in closer, but it wasn’t going back in the water.
Suddenly, its body started shaking.
I frowned.What the hell?
“Marc, Colbie, watch out,” Jess yelled. “I’ve seen this before. It’s going to?—”
The creature opened its jaws and vomited out a dozen smaller monsters. All of them were smaller copies of itself.
Oh, fuck.
I tossed the flare into the river. “Colbie, back up,”
“There’s nowhere to go,” she cried.
The smaller monsters raised their tails, waving them behind them aggressively.Shit.
I grabbed Colbie, wrapped my arms around her and spun, trying to shield her with my body. The waterfall was right below us, flowing down into the darkness.
Smaller projectiles slammed into the back of my armor. Colbie screamed.
