Chapter 53

  Adam leaned against the wall, lungs burning. Three arrows punched through the concrete above his head, each impact sounding like a gunshot. He threw himself to the side and two more arrows exploded through the spot where he had just been standing.

  "Can they see through walls?!" Adam yelled hoarsely over the staccato of shattering concrete.

  "No idea!" Hector shouted, nearly flat on his back with his shotgun tucked tight against his chest.

  The barrage slowed, then stopped and Adam's ears rang in the silence.

  "If I ever suggest we just march down the street again, slap me," Adam hissed.

  Natalie coughed and gave him a sarcastic thumbs-up from the corner. "Can do."

  He flipped her off and risked a glance through one of the arrow holes. The rubble choked street looked clear, but his gut told him it was anything but. He motioned for the others to stay put and crawled to a half-demolished doorway. As he crawled, he channeled power into his right hand, the now familiar tingle of energy flowing down his arm.

  Peeking around the corner, Adam spotted two of the creatures standing atop a burned-out bus, their heads swiveling side to side. The creatures were a head taller than Adam, with squat, compact torsos and oversized arms and legs that gave them a vaguely spider shape. A third arm sprouted from the middle of their backs, arching up and over their shoulders like a scorpion's tail.

  Adam had no idea what quirk of biology or evolution would allow for a third shoulder joint, and he doubted he’d ever get to find out without being shot full of their javelin sized arrows.

  The creatures' tongues flicked out like a snake’s, tasting the air while their beady eyes scanned back and forth. Adam ducked back behind the wall, held up two fingers and pointed through the concrete. Hector started forward and Adam realized Samantha and Jessica were missing.

  "Where are the others?" he whispered, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

  Natalie looked over her shoulder, threw her hands up in exasperation, and disappeared down the hallway. Adam shook his head and turned back to the doorway, just in time to find a massive, three-toed foot inches from his face. He looked up just as the creature looked down, both frozen in a moment of mutual surprise.

  Adam reacted first. He rolled onto his back, grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, bracing himself as he thrust his palm upward while the creature leaned down, all three arms reaching for him. Adam released the energy stored in his palm, unleashing a storm of bright blue arcs. The energy slammed into the creature’s chest, lifting it off its feet and flinging it upward into the ceiling.

  The creature bounced off of the ceiling with a wet squelching sound, crashing down beside him. Adam rolled again, narrowly avoiding being pinned beneath it. Hector let out a grunt as Jessica charged past, stepping on him as she ran. She shrieked like a banshee, a cinderblock hoisted over her head. The creature was just beginning to push itself up when Jessica slammed the block against the back of its head. The impact drove its skull down against the ground, splitting it open like a rotten melon.

  A howl echoed from outside, filled with a mixture of pain and rage. Adam peeked over the corpse to see the two on the bus, arms spread wide, heads thrown back. The arms on their backs snatched arrows from the quivers hanging at their sides, feeding them to the oversized bows already aimed at him.

  Samantha stepped into view, both hands outstretched with fingers splayed wide. Time seemed to slow as the creatures drew their bowstrings, pivoting toward her. Twin comets of flame shot from her hands, blasting through their chests and out their backs. The comets traveled several more feet before exploding, the explosions sending a wave of heat and light washing across Adam's exposed face.

  The creatures barely seemed to notice. Each fired a practiced shot at Samantha and the report from their bowstrings cracked like gunshots. She turned and the first arrow struck her shield at an angle. It deflecting to the side, burying itself in the dirt with an explosion of gravel. As she started to turn, the second arrow struck her shield head-on, the force pounding her into the ground like a nail.

  Adam cursed as the creatures smoothly drew yet more arrows, sighting in on Samantha's still form. He broke from cover, drawing his bat from the makeshift holster on his back and sprinting toward the bus. Adam flung the bat at the nearest creature. It neatly sidestepped, the weapon sailing past. Adam willed it back to his hand, watching as it slowed, then stopped mid-air, rocketing back toward him and slamming into the creature's back.

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  The monster’s arms windmilled as it lost its balance, tumbling off of the bus. Adam caught the bat and kept sprinting, eating up the distance step by step. It landed in front of him like a cat, sprang upright, and bore down on him with terrifying speed. Adam skidded to a halt rethinking his decision as it dropped its bow and curled its fists. Its eyes were gleaming and its lipless mouth worked silently. He could swear it looked... excited.

  "Fine,” Adam said. He rolled his shoulders and stepped forward, cocking the bat for a swing. "We'll do it your way."

  The creature let out a series of deep croaks, the hole in its chest squelching wetly as it stomped toward him. It took Adam a second to realize the damn thing was laughing, laughing at him.

  He pivoted his hips and drove the bat into the creature's side. He might as well have hit a sack of wet cement. The bat rebounded with a dull thunk, and the vibration rattled his teeth. The third arm snapped down and punched him square in the bridge of the nose. An explosion of pain and stars bloomed across his vision. He staggered backward and the creature croaked again, each wet rasp sounding like a taunt.

  Adam wiped blood from his nose and glanced up. The creature on the bus pumped its third fist in the air, holding the bow loosely at its side. He flicked his eyes to the side. Samantha was dragging herself to her feet while Natalie crouched nearby. He couldn't see Jessica or Hector.

  "Good. Eyes on me." Adam spat a wad of bloody phlegm and waded back in. The creature jabbed at him with its left. He feinted right, taking the hit on his shoulder. He snapped the bat upward, driving the point into the creature's chin. Its teeth clacked together with a sound like breaking glass. He followed up with a savage left hook into the wound Samantha had left in its side. It doubled over, making a wet wheezing sound as the one on the roof whooped and jumped up and down like a fan at a prize fight.

  Adam grinned, almost starting to enjoy himself when the creature snapped its head forward. His chin took the brunt of the headbutt and the world winked out. His shoulders slammed into the ground before his feet caught up. Adam slowly surfaced, his vision doubling, just in time to see the creature's foot crashing down. It stomped on his gut, forcing the air out of his lungs with an oof as he folded inward, clawing at the creature's rubbery skin.

  It ground its foot into him as it cheered, all three fists pumping in the air.

  The boom of Hector's shotgun rang out from the shattered doorway. Adam turned his head and the nausea barreled into him like a battering ram. Bleary eyed, he watched Hector rack another round and fire again, punching a second hole in the creature's chest.

  It staggered, leaning forward with all three fists shaking, croaking furiously. Adam saw the creature on the bus draw an arrow and fire at Hector, the spear sized arrow sailing through Hector's chest and driving itself into the ground behind him. Adam's mouth fell open in shock, but Hector kept moving forward, firing again.

  The two creatures shared a look and the second took another shot. The second bolt glanced off Hector’s side, spinning him around like a ragdoll. He bounced off of the curb and crumpled, face down.

  Adam grit his teeth, grabbed the creature's knee and levered himself upward, driving his heel beneath the thing's loincloth. He felt a wet pop, like stepping on a water balloon. Instantly, something warm and thick soaked his boot before running down his leg.

  The monster stumbled backward and dropped to its knees, croaking, but now it sounded more like a cry than a laugh.

  It reached beneath the stained cloth and pulled out a football sized egg. The side of the shell was shattered and it oozed a thick brown fluid. A tiny, half-formed version of the creature hung limply from the side of the smashed egg.

  "Oh WHAT THE FUCK," Adam bellowed, feeling another wave of nausea climb up his throat as he fought to his feet. "Why would you bring your babies?!"

  It cradled the shattered mess of egg and limp young to its chest, prodding the tiny body with a thick finger. For a heartbeat, Adam thought he could almost feel its pain.

  Then, without warning it stuffed the foul mess into its mouth. It chewed greedily, grinding shell, fluid and meat into paste before swallowing it with a noisy gulp. Letting out a self-satisfied burp, it wiped its mouth with its third hand, succeeding only in smearing the brown fluid across its chin.

  On top of the bus, the second creature burst into fresh croaks of laughter. The wounded one joined in, the brown liquid dripping off of its chin.

  Adam shook his head, his face twisting into a revolted sneer as he leapt onto the wounded one. He drove his left arm deep into the hole Samantha's fireball had made. The creature's eyes bulged as he shoved deeper, his momentum carrying them both to the ground. They landed hard, Adam pinning the creature's arm beneath its body with their combined weight.

  It grabbed at him, scrambling to tear Adam free, but he found something pulsing inside and squeezed. The creature spasmed and he wrapped his legs around its middle, locking it in place.

  Sparks raced down Adam's right arm as he clamped his other hand around its throat. Arcs of electricity spat from his fingertips, scorching the rubbery flesh. The creature bucked wildly, croaking and thrashing, but Adam continued forcing current through it, channeling the energy in a brutal circuit from right hand to left and through the monster's body.

  Steam poured from its open mouth and Adam could feel the creature's insides broiling. With a spasm and a final shudder, its limbs curled inward like a dead spider, trapping Adam in a macabre embrace.

  He pried the stiff arms off his back and pulled his hand out of the corpse's side, his wrist coming free with a sickening squelch. The creature on the bus stood perfectly still above him. Its jaws gnashing silently while it looked down. It nodded once and then drew an arrow, the tip flashing wickedly in the sunlight.

  Adam sighed. "So much for a fair fight.”