A few heartbeats passed in which the creature remained standing before him with its fangs bared. Saxon was beginning to think the stake was useless against this monstrosity, but then it released a hellish scream.
Except it wasn’t quite a scream; no, this was far different than anything he ever heard before as the hissing shriek of death echoed off the walls and rebounded through the tunnel.
This was the sound of evil dying. The hair on Saxon’s nape rose as he realized this wasn’t just the shriek of something dying—this thing was calling out to others.
Declan succeeded in tearing himself free of the creature’s grasp and scrambled away as its hands flailed at the air before clawing at the stake. Falling back, it hit the ground and flopped up and down before finally going still.
Saxon didn’t dare breathe as he stared at the motionless creature. The tunnel was so hushed that he heard a bead of his sweat hit the floor. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead before creeping closer to the thing.
He was half convinced it was going to attack him again when he knelt next to it, but it remained immobile with its head turned away. Lucien and Declan crept closer and bent at the thing’s side. It didn’t move, and as he studied it, he saw its chest wasn’t rising. For all he knew, this thing didn’t require air, so not breathing might not be an indication of death.
He grasped the hood of its cloak and pulled it back to reveal its face. As white as a sheet of paper, the thing had no color to it; even its lips were ashen. Hairless, its head was smooth, and its ears were tucked so close to its head that at first, he assumed it was earless.
Its features were humanish, but something about it reminded him of a reptile; maybe because the thing was so damn smooth.
Declan grasped the cloak and pulled it open to reveal the thing’s smooth body. It was as white and hairless on its body as it was on its head. Its bones stuck out against its flesh. The flaccid penis lying limply against its thigh was the most normal looking thing about it.
“Whatisthis thing?” Lucien asked.
Neither of them replied as Declan rolled it over and tugged the cloak aside. Every bone was evident against the thing’s skin, but that wasn’t what made Saxon’s eyes widen.
No, that was the red and black color swirling down the length of its spine and branching out in small capillaries that threaded through its skin before vanishing beneath its flesh. He kept waiting for the red to pulse and beat like a heart, but it remained as still as the creature before them.
Something about its spine reminded him of a movie he’d seen where aliens invaded Earth and took over humans by fastening onto their back, digging into their spine, and gaining control of their host. Except this thing’s spine was no outside monster; it was a part of this thing’s being.
And then he recalled the red and black color that had swirled through his flesh. Though it was a lot different, there was something strangely similar about the two things.
“We have to get out of here,” Saxon said. “I got the impression it was calling others while it died.”
“You think there are more of these things?” Lucien asked.
“Yes, and I think they’re coming. Killean said the one he saw stood over six feet tall, this one’s not even six feet.”
“We’re taking it with us,” Declan said.
Bending, he scooped the creature up and hefted it over his shoulder. Saxon retrieved the flashlight and turned it off again before leading the way through the tunnel. His mind remained on the creature in Declan’s arms while he walked.
What was it?
Even as he asked the question, he had a sinking suspicion he already knew.
Chapter Forty-Eight
The stenchof blood and burnt meat filled his nose before they turned the corner in the tunnel and discovered the bodies of the Savages scattered there. The exit door was open, and the sun’s rays spilled inside to touch on some of the corpses. Two of them had flames devouring their skin as the sun burned them.
At the end of the tunnel, a metal ladder was bolted to the wall. As he edged closer, Saxon craned his head to see anyone above, but all he saw was a patch of blue sky and the open metal door. Unlike the one they’d blown off, this door remained intact, and what looked like a steering wheel was attached to the inside. He assumed the wheel was what they used to open and close the heavy metal door.
“Stay here,” he said to the others.
He stepped over the bodies as he cautiously approached the exit. He couldn’t make it this far only to have a bolt fired through his heart by one of his own. But then, his side might have been taken down by the Savages and no one remained above.
Grasping the ladder, he pulled himself up as swiftly as he could with one arm while the other dangled uselessly at his side. When he got to the top, he poked his head cautiously out to peer over the foot-high, concrete wall. He found himself in the middle of a small field with a stream only fifty feet away. On the other side of the creek was more woods.
Blood splattered the snow and pooled beneath the bodies scattered across the field. Some of them were smoldering or engulfed by flames. Others remained unaffected by the daylight, and he knew those fallen were from their side.
Turning in the hole, he spotted Nathan and some others inspecting the bodies as they gathered their fallen while making their way across the field. When Saxon climbed up another rung, he drew the attention of a hunter who grasped Nathan’s arm and pointed at him.
Nathan lifted his head and froze when his eyes met Saxon’s. He did a double take before breaking into a smile and jogging over to him. Saxon pulled himself the rest of the way out and went to rise, but a wave of dizziness assailed him.
