I was still holding the tablet. The flashlight I’d shoved into my pocket, and by some miracle it hadn’t fallen out in my frantic journey through the rat hole. I could not see anything by the faint glow of the tablet, but I could hear something breathing.

I raised my gaze slowly and saw the shine of eyes watching me across the room.

My hands were shaking still from the tunnel. I reached for my pocket as I pushed myself to my feet, moving slowly, carefully, as smoothly as I could. The eyes rose with me, nothing more than a gleam in the dark, paired with heavy, steady breathing.

I clicked on the flashlight at my side, but didn’t turn it on the creature just yet, afraid of setting it off.

A crash from the bolt-hole, frantic movement, harsh breaths. The lieutenant tumbled out, a cut leaking blood from her scalp, and landed hard on the floor.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw the creature move.

“Oh, shit!” Lantern-Eyes said, and lunged to grab the creature by the legs.

It crashed into me anyway, and we three fell to the floor. The creature landed heavily on me, cold weight and a fetid, unclean smell. It panted into my ear and pushed against me, putting itself upright. Something sharp dug into my shoulder.

I kicked, punched, pushed, losing track of the flashlight in the process. The beam bounced wildly around the room. I could only feel it, cold and rubbery skin; could only smell it, growling into my face. Something cold touched my jugular, small and sharp.

A wet crack sounded over my head, and suddenly thick dark heat splattered onto my face, reeking of blood and meat. The cold press at my throat slackened, and when I shoved the monster this time it fell off me. Something closed around my forearm and I shoved wildly at it, thinking the manikin had grabbed me.

“It’s dead, Sean, come on!” Lantern-Eyes said, and hauled me with her wrist clasped in mine.

I didn’t dare to look back. I was pretty sure she’d shattered its skull with her club, but if it were still alive—my legs were unsteady beneath me and my forward motion was mostly the lieutenant, dragging me forward through the dark. She knew her way around here really well. She didn’t even use a flashlight.

Then, abruptly, she stopped.

In the room before us, which we had been about to run into, half a dozen pairs of eyes gleamed.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE:

Beta Version

Useless to hope they hadn’t seen us, with my flashlight beam blazing like a beacon. Useless to hope they hadn’t heard us crashing through the rooms like the devil himself was at our heels.

“Should we back up?” I whispered.

Fear was grey in the lieutenant’s face, even in the faint glow of my reflected light. She swallowed. “No use. They’re too quick.”

I remembered that pragmatic little handgun of hers. “Can’t you shoot them?”