on him and tearing him apart.
Something hooked Jesse’s ankle and sent him sprawling headfirst into the blanket of dead pine needles. He flopped onto his back, realizing he’d simply tripped over a root, and watched the monster leap onto a branch directly above him. For a moment, it sat perched over him, its snarling face lusting for his blood. Jesse screamed. The thing plummeted down at him. He rolled over to evade it. The white salamander body thumped down where he’d just been. Jesse clambered forward and discovered how close to the open air he was. Something slapped the heel of his sneaker, the creature groping for him. Jesse shot out a hand, bellowed for help. His elbow broke through, his head.
The creature caught him and hauled him backward.
Jesse stared up as its leering face loomed closer.
Don’t kill me! he wanted to scream, but the sight of the mad, iridescent eyes stole his voice. The teeth, he noted with clinical fascination, were inward curving, like those of some species of sharks. That way, he remembered from watching Shark Week , the predators would be able to hook their prey, batten onto them so that even if their victims were able to disengage their bleeding bodies, the damage would be so great they’d be easy to finish off.
The hooked, scythe-like teeth drew closer. Jesse felt a droplet of rain on his hand, realizing with sick irony that he’d almost made it outside the sepulchral darkness of the pine tree, that part of him had made it outside the shadows. If only he could’ve gotten to the daylight…if only he could’ve—
You’d have died anyway, and you know it. Just pray it doesn’t rape you the way it did Tiara Girl.
Jesse whimpered, his chest heaving, as the creature reached for him. He realized with amazement that it was clutching a branch with its bottom feet and dangling bat-like over him.
The taloned hands reached the mat of pine needles next to his shoulders, and the sighing jaws swam nearer. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
Something clutched Jesse’s wrist. Then he was yanked out from under the creature, his head smacked by fluffy pine branches.
He opened his eyes and stared up at his savior.
Colleen.
“ Look out! ” she screamed.
The creature emerged from the pine tree, its eyes slitted with rage. Colleen backpedaled, and Jesse, still on his ass, dug with his heels and palms to scuttle away. He bumped something, gasped and turned to see a pale figure towering over him. He was sure for a moment it was one of the beasts, but then he saw the toga, the beefy arms.
Goliath.
The gigantic man wielded a wooden baseball bat—Goliath was apparently a purist of the game—and was fending off a snarling beast.
Colleen bumped into Goliath’s broad back; he shot a glance back at her and saw the creature who’d nearly killed Jesse approaching.
“Smash it,” Colleen said.
Goliath gave her an exasperated look and raised the bat. The creature closest to the huge man was snarling and snapping at him. The creature closest to Jesse was still watching the trio of potential victims with a confident, calculating look that was somehow worse than the other creature’s feral one.
Goliath swung, and the snarling creature ducked with a quickness Jesse wouldn’t have thought possible. Then, cobra-like, it darted forward and hopped back, and Goliath was holding his chest in dismay. Jesse caught a brief glimpse before Goliath’s enormous paw covered it up, and he was able to see the ragged clump the creature had chomped out, half of Goliath’s pectoral muscle gone, the nipple replaced by a flowing scarlet bed of hamburger.
Goliath raised the bat, but the pain in his chest arrested the motion midway.
The creature didn’t hesitate.
Leaping forward, it fastened its feet in Goliath’s sheet-covered hips and with its fingernails began shredding the sides of the huge man’s face. The ears were gone in an instant, the temples flayed. Goliath’s high-pitched screaming was
Something hooked Jesse’s ankle and sent him sprawling headfirst into the blanket of dead pine needles. He flopped onto his back, realizing he’d simply tripped over a root, and watched the monster leap onto a branch directly above him. For a moment, it sat perched over him, its snarling face lusting for his blood. Jesse screamed. The thing plummeted down at him. He rolled over to evade it. The white salamander body thumped down where he’d just been. Jesse clambered forward and discovered how close to the open air he was. Something slapped the heel of his sneaker, the creature groping for him. Jesse shot out a hand, bellowed for help. His elbow broke through, his head.
The creature caught him and hauled him backward.
Jesse stared up as its leering face loomed closer.
Don’t kill me! he wanted to scream, but the sight of the mad, iridescent eyes stole his voice. The teeth, he noted with clinical fascination, were inward curving, like those of some species of sharks. That way, he remembered from watching Shark Week , the predators would be able to hook their prey, batten onto them so that even if their victims were able to disengage their bleeding bodies, the damage would be so great they’d be easy to finish off.
The hooked, scythe-like teeth drew closer. Jesse felt a droplet of rain on his hand, realizing with sick irony that he’d almost made it outside the sepulchral darkness of the pine tree, that part of him had made it outside the shadows. If only he could’ve gotten to the daylight…if only he could’ve—
You’d have died anyway, and you know it. Just pray it doesn’t rape you the way it did Tiara Girl.
Jesse whimpered, his chest heaving, as the creature reached for him. He realized with amazement that it was clutching a branch with its bottom feet and dangling bat-like over him.
The taloned hands reached the mat of pine needles next to his shoulders, and the sighing jaws swam nearer. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
Something clutched Jesse’s wrist. Then he was yanked out from under the creature, his head smacked by fluffy pine branches.
He opened his eyes and stared up at his savior.
Colleen.
“ Look out! ” she screamed.
The creature emerged from the pine tree, its eyes slitted with rage. Colleen backpedaled, and Jesse, still on his ass, dug with his heels and palms to scuttle away. He bumped something, gasped and turned to see a pale figure towering over him. He was sure for a moment it was one of the beasts, but then he saw the toga, the beefy arms.
Goliath.
The gigantic man wielded a wooden baseball bat—Goliath was apparently a purist of the game—and was fending off a snarling beast.
Colleen bumped into Goliath’s broad back; he shot a glance back at her and saw the creature who’d nearly killed Jesse approaching.
“Smash it,” Colleen said.
Goliath gave her an exasperated look and raised the bat. The creature closest to the huge man was snarling and snapping at him. The creature closest to Jesse was still watching the trio of potential victims with a confident, calculating look that was somehow worse than the other creature’s feral one.
Goliath swung, and the snarling creature ducked with a quickness Jesse wouldn’t have thought possible. Then, cobra-like, it darted forward and hopped back, and Goliath was holding his chest in dismay. Jesse caught a brief glimpse before Goliath’s enormous paw covered it up, and he was able to see the ragged clump the creature had chomped out, half of Goliath’s pectoral muscle gone, the nipple replaced by a flowing scarlet bed of hamburger.
Goliath raised the bat, but the pain in his chest arrested the motion midway.
The creature didn’t hesitate.
Leaping forward, it fastened its feet in Goliath’s sheet-covered hips and with its fingernails began shredding the sides of the huge man’s face. The ears were gone in an instant, the temples flayed. Goliath’s high-pitched screaming was
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