I forced myself to stop groaning and struggled on my feet. My sharpened vision detected a smaller figure motionless and face down.
“Cassie…” I shouted to no response. I turned her frame over and examined her state. Her eyes were closed when I lifted the goggles. A muddy left cheek and she bled at the corner of her eyebrow. She coughed and sat upright, her fingertips rubbing her temples. She searched my face with a glint of amusement.
“Lighten up. We might’ve just saved the human race.”
I helped her on her feet and proceeded to be a mute freak. My hands trembled as I removed the goggles.
“You’re pretty cute when you’re worried.” She tugged my arm and beckoned me to follow her. On the way back to the truck, she’d stop and glance at me to check if I had snapped out of the trance. The others hovered around the truck.
“A hundred points for me,” Cassie said with a grin. “It went off like a beauty.”
“Nice.” Dyer nodded.
“Glad you’re in one piece, Lana.” Jeffrey regarded my shaken state. “Are you okay?”
“I guess.”
He triggered my crankiness and his intrusive nature added to my anxiety. He had no clue that I survived the invasion with mental illness I’ve battled since childhood. Cassie departed from the haunted woods. I needed to take more enhancers. My shoulders and head weighed a ton. I glanced at Cassie and she seemed satisfied with the explosion. I had never been so afraid to see someone lying face down before. How was I going to keep her out of danger? I suddenly had this compulsion to protect her.
I separated from the others when we entered the living room. At sunset, I wanted nothing more than to soak in a bath. I sauntered to the bathroom and ran steaming water in the tub. The heat relaxed my muscles. Visions of a strange creature flooded my mind. I caught my reflection on the bathroom mirror. I dried wayward black tangles and brushed my teeth. I’d get less than two hours of sleep before we returned to containing the first invasion.
My eyes fluttered open when sunlight filtered in. I woke up groggy and disoriented. The alarm chimed. I turned it off and threw the phone further down the bed. Sleep completely evaded my body. A warm ray of sunshine wakes me up. The sky illuminated brilliant blue when I stepped outside.
A black sedan screeched in the driveway. A second later, Cassie rushed out and waved a hand.
“Come, we gotta go,” she said in a cheerful voice.
“Now?”
“Yeah now!”
She accelerated at a fatal speed and I clipped the seatbelt on.
“How are you feeling after yesterday?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Near death, I’m okay I guess.”
She flashed a dazzling smile and I was back to being silent and weird. It was unsettling how fast she got under my skin. I thought about her even when she wasn’t around.
“Are you up for another sweep?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Her gaze rested on me. “Jeff continued the search last night. He’s been camping near a wetland. Some went back. I don’t know. They have this obsession with water, maybe they soak some. Maybe that’s another reason they ended up here. I don’t care, someone else must figure it out. I want them dead.”
The ranger meandered over long blades of grass. Cassie led me to the edge of an expansive wetland. I counted six chrilics moving in giant steps. Dyer snuck in the soft current, sniper pointing ahead. Dark grey water and plants came up to his thighs. Before him, stood one of the biggest I’d ever see at fifteen feet. It snarled and opened wide a mouth and teeth smeared with blood.
“He was supposed to wait for us,” I whispered.
“He ignored me when I told him,” Jeffrey complained.
“Dammit. I’ll back him.” I started a run and veered when a strong hand clutched my bicep.
“We go together on my count.” Cassie frowned.
I slipped out of her grip with ease and raced toward Dyer. The stagnant water made it ten times harder to reach him. The beast turned around and spotted its prey waving a gun.
“On your left!” Cassie shouted.
It took a minute to register that the warning was meant for me. A hyped chrilic pounced on me and the weight of its body sent me crashing on the earth. I slipped underneath it and found my feet again. Sharp nails squeezed into my right shoulder. I howled and waved the sword to chop off its hand. A rough grunt blew through its gritted razor teeth. Pulling the sword out of it required a substantial amount of momentum. Fingers of the dismembered hand twitched on the grass. The wound on my shoulder burned and I wanted to scream. I appraised my own state, a blood-soaked white shirt and muddy jeans. Great.
“Don’t ever do that, Lana.”
I turned to find Cassie giving me a knowing scowl. She brushed close to me.
“What are you doing?” Her nose came inches close to mine.
“Helping him…” I muttered.
“We were all going to surround it.”
“C’mon, give me a break.”
“I’m serious. Stay close.”
The creature’s giant frame plunged and a pink fluid pool spread in clear waters.
Long, sharp knives scorched into my flesh. I heard my own scream fill the mist. One stabbed my torso with the great force. I jerked backward and my feet lifted off the earth as it picked me up. Up close, it looked more like Komodo dragon. Its tongue extended nine inches and its eyes had a swamp-green hue.
I gasped when the chrilic projected me into the water without unhooking its nails. It sent my body crashing into freezing water, claws jammed in my belly crumpled my midsection. My body suspended in the worst agony, my life hanging on the horrendous claw of an alien. I felt the heat of the nail slowly sliding deeper. I panted and audible moans escaped my lips. Hot liquid sprayed the side of my face. A few more shots and the head of the beast ripped and splattered all over me. When its arm dropped, my body slipped off and I felt the blood drain out of the holes. I lay underwater, eyes shut, unable to move in a face-up position. I failed to breathe. Strong arms carried me out of the water. I shivered against a soft chest. Frantic voices grew more distant. I drifted out of consciousness.
I awakened to a heart-stopping sight. Cassie’s bright blue eyes searched my face with concern.
“Are they all gone?” I asked.
A flash of uncertainty flickered on her face.
“I hope so. If they’re not, we’ll have a madman. Dyer killed the last two, he’s obsessed.”
“Oh god, they better be the last ones.”
“If they’re not, we get to work together again. I’ll have to be more careful with you,” she said with a pleasant smile. Her eyes were gentle and her posture relaxed. Her eyes focused on mine. I was mesmerized and breathless. It was strange how something good could come out such a horrifying series of events.