(108)
Greymore moved as quickly as he could in his condition (which wasn’t quick at all), dragging Julie’s limp body to the tunnel entrance. He wasn’t sure they could even get out that way and that they might end up lugging her right back over the ledge at some point. As weak as he felt now, he didn’t know how that would be possible. And where the hell was Denny? He said he’d climb over himself but there was no sign of him. He was about to call him when something—instinct maybe—told him to keep silent. It was then he heard the shuffling sounds coming from the tunnel. He knew it could be Mossy or Billy, but it could just as easily be Crawford and his thugs. Thug, he corrected himself, the beast had evened the odds a bit.
There was no time to move Julie, who was propped up against the wall next to the tunnel. Instead, he grabbed a rock the size of a softball and crouched in the dark near the entrance. After a long few moments, he saw the beam of a flashlight reaching for the entrance and heard the sound of footsteps. He tensed, ready to leap at Crawford and rearrange his skull with the rock. He blinked in surprise when two adults stepped into the cave. He recognized one as the deputy that drove him home after his night in jail, but the other was a stranger. Another police officer perhaps. His mind could come up with no reason they would end up here. He spoke quietly, partly to not scare the shit out of them, but mostly due to the same instinct that kept him from calling out to Denny. “Robert, fancy meeting you here.”
Ortiz wheeled around and a gun appeared in his hand from the folds of his shirt. Greymore blinked as the flashlight beam found his face and was relieved Ortiz wasn’t jumpy enough to shoot blindly at his voice.
“Mr. Greymore.” Ortiz said amiably, putting his gun away. “Paul, I thought I’d find you here.”
Paul said nothing, only glanced back and forth between Ortiz and the other man, obviously confused.
Ortiz picked up on it. “This is Chris McCauley. He’s here… unofficially, like I am. Whatever the hell you came down here to kill is responsible for his brother’s death.”
Greymore was stunned. How can he know? Then he noticed something off about Ortiz. He looked unsteady and seemed to be having trouble focusing on Paul. “Robert, you’re hurt. What…”
The movement was so fast, so eerily fast, that Greymore knew it could have killed them all. The creature had bounded over the rock ledge and was standing just twenty feet from them. It was hideous, more disturbing than anything his memory or even his imagination could have come up with. It stared at the group, motionless except for its tentacles which waved slowly up and down. Its jaw slowly opened, dripping saliva and revealing murderous teeth before snapping shut. Its eyes then shifted, from one man to the next until they landed on Greymore. Something changed, something imperceptible, perhaps to everyone but Paul. It remembers me. The thought amazed him and terrified him. Its eyes stayed locked on Paul’s, seeming to focus. The tentacles continued their slow dance around the creature’s scaled body.
Paul glared back at the monstrosity, comparing it to the vague memories he had. He immediately noticed the one tentacle that ended so abruptly and the disfigured eye, both his handiwork. Chris McCauley was screaming, as was Julie who had come to at some point. Paul could only stare as the creature began moving toward him.
(109)
Denny recognized one of the screaming voices immediately—Julie! Without thinking, he grabbed the backpack and scrambled to the ledge. He felt like he sometimes did in nightmares, like he was moving in slow motion, like something didn’t want him to get to the other side. When he finally reached the top, what he saw in the flickering light could only be a nightmare. Julie lay awkwardly against the cave wall, trying to slide deeper into the cave, dragging her shattered legs. Two men Denny didn’t recognize were standing in the cave entrance behind Greymore. Paul was motionless, facing down the beast like a gunfighter in an old western. The creature was creeping toward Greymore, deliberately, tentacles swirling hypnotically around it. Denny knew as soon as it was in range, those tentacles would reach for him. Without thinking, Denny grabbed the second canister and jumped from the ledge.
He landed with a splash in the shallow water of the lake and slogged toward the creature while turning the top of the canister until it clicked. He looked up to see the creature had turned its attention from Greymore and was now focused on him. It’s marking me, Denny thought, not even knowing what it meant. Then the cave was filled with a blinding flash of light followed by an unearthly roar from the creature. By the time Denny’s eyes had adjusted following the flash—what was that?—the creature was gone leaving nothing but swirling water behind him. Then Denny realized Greymore was gone too.
“Paul!” He began sloshing deeper into the water until he was hauled back by his shirt. He struggled momentarily then stopped, unable to control the tears that came. He let himself be led back to the tunnel entrance where Robert Ortiz and Julie waited in stunned silence.
“Denny…” Ortiz had nothing he could say.
It was Julie that got through to him. “Denny, you saved my life.”
He looked down, still dazed from actually seeing the creature and more from seeing Greymore being taken. Julie was looking up at him, smiling. It was a sad smile, hiding her own pain, but beautiful nonetheless.
The man who had dragged Denny back from the lake spoke next. “This is my fault, I took its picture. The camera flash… I don’t know… scared it or hurt it and that’s when it moved. If I had waited Robert could have shot it…”
Ortiz stopped him. “You did what you came here to do, Chris. I’m the one that failed; I didn’t pull the gun fast enough, I hesitated…”
None of it mattered to Denny, Paul was gone, just like his dad. Julie was hurt badly and Mossy and Billy were probably dead. It was that sad smile that gave him any reason to keep going. That, and the thought of his mother, alone, and what would happen to her if he didn’t come home. “It doesn’t matter, let’s get out of here. That thing will come back eventually. I’ll set off the poison and… that’s it.” His voice trailed off miserably.
Ortiz took charge. “Denny’s right. Chris, you’ll have to carry Julie as long as you can, after that Denny and I can help. We’ll set off the poison and be right behind you. Let’s go.”
Chris bent down and picked up Julie as gently as he could but Denny saw her face tighten and knew she was in a lot of pain. He realized too that Ortiz was hurt but didn’t ask about it. He walked toward the water’s edge and turned to Ortiz. “I’ll set it here and activate it…” The water behind him erupted. Denny turned and saw the creature burst from the lake, standing waist-deep in the churning water and jerking its head from side to side.
This time Ortiz was not too slow. From behind him Denny heard the explosion of gunfire, much louder, from a bigger gun than the one Denny had fired at it. The beast threw back its head and roared, but still it came. Denny pulled the pin, made sure the poison was released, then stood and backed slowly away from it. The beast was moving forward, jolted by each gunshot, but Denny could see its scaly armor was protecting it from most of them. He remembered the damaged eye just as the gunshots ended.
“Robert! The eyes, aim for the eyes!” His scream sounded alien to him. Blinding flashes of light, Chris taking more pictures, illuminated the scene in dizzying snapshots. The creature moved forward relentlessly as the cloud of poison mushroomed in the cave. Denny continued his slow retreat as more gunshots echoed maddeningly. Then even those were drowned out as the freight-train rumble of another cave-in began. Denny saw the creature’s already-damaged eye explode from one of Ortiz’s bullet that found its mark just before he turned and ran. The beast’s howl of pain and rage muted even the sound of the cave-in, then Denny was pushing Ortiz into the tunnel following Chris and Julie.