Mystery Noir

Down Below Part 6

I flicked my wrist as my thumb hit the magazine release, causing the empty magazine to clatter to the ground and bounce off into the darkness as I inserted a fresh one into the gun. I tensed, straining my senses to pick up any response to the sounds I was making, before racking the gun slide, though the metal sound caused me to wince as it echoed off the rocks around me in the darkness.

I don't know how long I stood down there, looking into the shadows surrounding me, my head swiveling back and forth, back pressed up against a wall. I couldn't trust my ears, unable to discern phantom sounds from the actual clawing and shifting of rock and dirt, and my eyes failing to pick out anything solid in the darkness. I was afraid to look up, to see where the others were, though every once in a while, I could hear their voices echoing in soft tones down along the rocks and cliff faces to me. They sounded like they were on a completely different planet than I was.

Despite the tension and uncertainty, I glanced down to the body of the creature I had fallen with, frowning when I saw a large black head full of teeth, some boar like tusks from the mouth and pointed horns out of the temples. The body was a dark muddy brown, though it wasn't fur, but a reptilian like skin that covered its body, and its fingers and toes ended in vicious claws that reminded me of a wolverine.

Black blood was pooling around it, thick and congealed, though it was the jelly like black ooze that was dripping from its open mouth that caused me to shudder. The black stuff I had been following, looked exactly like it. Whatever had been following Bonnie, had been drooling as it did so. In fact, this thing here could be the very same creature.

I wondered idly if I cut open its stomach, if we'd find pieces of human inside. And then another thought it me. How did I know that the creature was a danger? Sure, it had appeared in the dark, but it could have been grinning at me. When I tackled it, I had attacked first and the deep claw marks on my s shoulders and arms told me it would have ripped Rick apart.

If it had wanted to.

But I had not given it a chance to indicate. It could have been panicking as we fell, that could explain why it was snapping and clawing at me. I could have murdered a completely friendly and innocent creature.

I felt more guilt at that prospect than I did over killing the two idiots in Mawaska.

I was wrestling with that thought when I heard another series of clicks coming from the darkness, accompanied by a very definite sound of shifting rocks.

"Nina... I'm above you... but I think there's something else coming... " Rick's voice came from above me, not a whisper, but low in volume.

Everyone knew that whispers carried further than talking quietly.

I jumped in surprise, as the end of a rope brushed against my cheek, then glanced upwards as I calmed my racing heart. I could see the lights of the others above, and the dark form of Rick, dangling a few feet overhead.

The clicking noises grew louder and faster, and I could attribute anger to them in my imagination, even as I heard more rocks shifting and the sound of a large body coming toward me. Without thinking I jammed my gun back in my holster and jumped, grabbing the rope and hauling myself up toward Rick.

Thankfully, he had taken the time to implement a pulley system with the others and I felt both of us rush upwards with a concerted pull from above.

There was a shriek below me, and I looked down in time to see a dark form rushing out of the shadows, leaping up toward me with an outstretched claw.

"Holy fuck! Pull us up!" I yelled as I tucked my legs up into me as tightly as I could, though I felt the brush of the claw, the force of which caused both of us to sway back and forth.

"Keep climbing up toward me, Nina, you're not going to be able to hold on if that thing catches you." Rick's voice wavered as well, but it was enough that it brought me back to the task at hand and I forced myself to climb. My bleeding hand slipped on the rope that cut into my palms, and my already abused shoulders screamed in protest.

But the pain was far more superficial than whatever was waiting for me if I couldn't hold on or climb. Luckily, Rick wasn't that far away, though the clicks and roars coming below us, followed by the scraping of rock, told me that whatever it was, was following, Finally I was able to climb up his body and once he had be tied into his harness with the extra rope, we proceeded to walk up the side of the cliff.

It helped speed us up, though it was still very clear that most of the work was being done by the team above us, and whatever was chasing us was still following.

Rocks slid and crashed below us, the creature's calls and frustrated sounds continued, though with the echoes in the canyons it was impossible to tell if it was gaining on us or not

When we were close enough that we were bathed in the light of everyone else's flashlights, Rick and I yelled at the same time.

"We're coming in hot!" Rick barked.

"It's on our ass!" Was my less than helpful addition to alerting our friends.

"Holy fuck! What the hell is that?" Came a voice from above, though with the lights shining down at us, I couldn't make out who it was.

Then I heard Penny say with calm clarity, over the sound of a rifle being readied. "That's a man-eater. Their only existence is to hunt and kill us."

The thunder of a hunting rifle roared through my ears, followed by the sound of a shriek and a small landslide of rocks and some heavy form tumbling back down the sharp decline into the canyon below. My ears rung and my vision swam as I felt us hauled up onto solid ground by several hands.

"Get us unhooked and we need to retreat, I think there's more out there." Rick was murmuring, and I nodded dumbly as I fumbled for the ropes tying me to him.

"My wife is out there..." Matt was saying, though he sounded more pained than argumentative.

It was Penny who spoke up again. "If she's still alive, she'll survive another night. We have the advantage in the daylight. Boss, you're bleeding."

"Partner." I muttered, waving her off and blinking through the light, finding myself in the middle of the pack as we jogged back down the trail. Everyone was holding their guns now, and Matt's dog was growling and snarling, but staying close to his master's side,

I fumbled for my own gun, cursing when the blood on my palms made gripping and pulling it out of the holster impossible. I didn't feel the pain, or really acknowledge that it was my blood that was causing the issue until we reached level ground and started running faster toward the vehicles.

There were too many noises around us, too much light ruining my night vision, I could not tell if we were being chased, or if we were just fleeing blindly for safety.

The run reminded me of something, though it wasn't until we had piled into the two reassuringly sturdy Jeeps and started back toward the farm, that I realized what it was. I started laughing to myself, glancing to Penny who gave me a curious look.

"Tremors... running through the desert... reminds me of that old Kevin Bacon movie... tremors." I chuckled and shook my head, though I winced when Penny reached out to grab my hands.

"Nina, you're bleeding, a fair bit... I didn't realize it in the dark." Penny murmured, softly, lifting her dark eyes up to me. "You fought a Caddaja. "

"Well, I think Gravity did most of the fighting..." I offered a smile I hoped seemed casual and unbothered.

As the Jeeps pulled up as close to the house as they could get, I glanced up to see Rick giving me a hard look in the rearview mirror. A glance over to Penny confirmed my suspicion. She had the same look of realization on her face. We were going to have to give a bunch of uninformed humans a crash course on the supernatural before this night was over.

At least the man-eating black slime creature had broken the ice for us.