watched, the soft buzzing static of the radio in his hand unheard, as a creature born in a nightmare emerged from the intake tower. In a single, fluid motion, the creature tossed an object out across the railing toward the river: a misshapen red lump of s omething that Chris’ mind took a moment to recognize— Oh, dear God, no —and he had time to identify a single limb that was still attached to the lump—a dangling leg—before it disappeared from his sight, leaving an arc of blood looping through the air behind it like tracer fire.
What was left of the maintenance worker entered the water with a faint, apologetic plop .
With a shriek, the creature turned toward the dam itself, leaping easily to the adjacent intake tower, covering a distance that had to be thirty feet or more in a single, horrific movement. When it landed, it leapt again without pause, onto the walkway leading to the dam itself, and began to gallop on all fours.
Straight toward Chris.
Move!
The world began to congeal around him.
With a strangled yelp, Chris fell backward, his mind reeling at the horror of the creature: like a huge insect, plated with armour that caught the daylight and glistened. His overriding impression of the creature was that it was sharp, a blur of angles; teeth and claws and—
Those teeth .
Chris landed heavily on the sidewalk, blasting the air from his lungs and losing his grip on the radio. All around him, he heard screams erupting as pedestrians scattered in all directions, propelled by pure, unadulterated terror. Somewhere to his left, a metallic bang split the air as someone rear-ended the car in front. To his right, he heard a screech of tyres, an engine accelerating away suddenly, the speed limit forgotten.
And then, as Chris feebly lifted his arms to protect his face, the thing was above him, travelling at bewildering speed, clearing his prone, helpless body like a low-flying jet.
Chris hardly dared look.
Couldn’t bear not to.
And, for a moment, time seemed to stretch out as he took in the terrifying detail.
Glistening black skin, pulled taut across rippling muscles, like a freakish bodybuilder reflected in a circus mirror in Hell. A shape that was almost human, and yet utterly inhuman at the same time. Rows of teeth crammed inside a massive jaw that looked wide enough to encompass a whole human skull easily and—
It was gone.
Galloping onward, its footfalls producing a thunderous tapping sound as the scythe-like talons attached to its feet drummed on the concrete.
Clickclickclickclickclickclick —
Chris wrenched his head to the side, following the monster with his eyes, certain that he would see it tear into the fleeing civilians on the dam, swing those terrible limbs, and rip their bodies apart.
Instead, it continued forward, apparently unconcerned by the people trying to flee from it, crossed the road in a handful of bounding strides...and launched itself off the edge of the dam with a shriek that sounded bizarrely like triumph.
Chris’ breath returned, exploding painfully in his throat, and he scrambled to his feet.
The monster had surely thrown itself to its death, seven hundred feet below. There wasn’t time to try and comprehend the why of it. All Chris’ mind wanted to do was to see . To try, somehow, to understand. He sprinted back across the road, slamming into the guard rail, and leaned over.
What he saw took his breath away.
The creature wasn’t falling.
It was still running .
Charging down the near-vertical wall, picking up pace as gravity assisted it. The thing was moving like a goddamn guided missile.
Heading toward —
Chris’ thoughts became thick and foggy. He watched, open-mouthed, as the creature rapidly became a tiny speck, moving at impossible speed.
Saw it crash into the power station at the base of the dam at full tilt and disappear from sight.
Oh, shit, this is bad —
A fresh wave of panic surged through Chris, tearing the words from his mind as, moments
What was left of the maintenance worker entered the water with a faint, apologetic plop .
With a shriek, the creature turned toward the dam itself, leaping easily to the adjacent intake tower, covering a distance that had to be thirty feet or more in a single, horrific movement. When it landed, it leapt again without pause, onto the walkway leading to the dam itself, and began to gallop on all fours.
Straight toward Chris.
Move!
The world began to congeal around him.
With a strangled yelp, Chris fell backward, his mind reeling at the horror of the creature: like a huge insect, plated with armour that caught the daylight and glistened. His overriding impression of the creature was that it was sharp, a blur of angles; teeth and claws and—
Those teeth .
Chris landed heavily on the sidewalk, blasting the air from his lungs and losing his grip on the radio. All around him, he heard screams erupting as pedestrians scattered in all directions, propelled by pure, unadulterated terror. Somewhere to his left, a metallic bang split the air as someone rear-ended the car in front. To his right, he heard a screech of tyres, an engine accelerating away suddenly, the speed limit forgotten.
And then, as Chris feebly lifted his arms to protect his face, the thing was above him, travelling at bewildering speed, clearing his prone, helpless body like a low-flying jet.
Chris hardly dared look.
Couldn’t bear not to.
And, for a moment, time seemed to stretch out as he took in the terrifying detail.
Glistening black skin, pulled taut across rippling muscles, like a freakish bodybuilder reflected in a circus mirror in Hell. A shape that was almost human, and yet utterly inhuman at the same time. Rows of teeth crammed inside a massive jaw that looked wide enough to encompass a whole human skull easily and—
It was gone.
Galloping onward, its footfalls producing a thunderous tapping sound as the scythe-like talons attached to its feet drummed on the concrete.
Clickclickclickclickclickclick —
Chris wrenched his head to the side, following the monster with his eyes, certain that he would see it tear into the fleeing civilians on the dam, swing those terrible limbs, and rip their bodies apart.
Instead, it continued forward, apparently unconcerned by the people trying to flee from it, crossed the road in a handful of bounding strides...and launched itself off the edge of the dam with a shriek that sounded bizarrely like triumph.
Chris’ breath returned, exploding painfully in his throat, and he scrambled to his feet.
The monster had surely thrown itself to its death, seven hundred feet below. There wasn’t time to try and comprehend the why of it. All Chris’ mind wanted to do was to see . To try, somehow, to understand. He sprinted back across the road, slamming into the guard rail, and leaned over.
What he saw took his breath away.
The creature wasn’t falling.
It was still running .
Charging down the near-vertical wall, picking up pace as gravity assisted it. The thing was moving like a goddamn guided missile.
Heading toward —
Chris’ thoughts became thick and foggy. He watched, open-mouthed, as the creature rapidly became a tiny speck, moving at impossible speed.
Saw it crash into the power station at the base of the dam at full tilt and disappear from sight.
Oh, shit, this is bad —
A fresh wave of panic surged through Chris, tearing the words from his mind as, moments
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