Lightning struck the massive oak they had seen when they came to the house the day before. It lit up the countryside for just long enough to let Amy see the root she was about to trip over. She stuck out her hands to stop the fall but failed as they slipped along the muddy ground beneath her.
Rolling over, she tried to push herself up, peering through the rain and the fog, desparate to see either of her friends, afraid that she may instead see one of the creatures following her.
The whole scene was like something from a nightmare – the house, the storm, the... things in the darkness. Spending the night had been stupid. She had said so from the start, afraid only that they might be caught by some unknown groundskeeper or eagle-eyed passerby. But nothing like this. Things like this should only happen in horror films, not in real life.
Movement in the corner of her eye broke her from her silent thinking. She recognised the silheoutte and the horrible, unnatural movement even as it bore down upon her. She had sometimes wondered what it would be like to die. Whether she would be calm and accepting or crazed and afraid. If it was true that your life flashed before your eyes.
Now she knew. Her mind went all but blank, shutting out all sensations, from the climging damp of her muddy clothes to the thunder of distant lightning strikes, everything except the sight of the thing in the darkness, charging at her with animalistic fury.
And the thing charging at it. If Amy hadn't known it would just make her vision worse, she would have rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
The second thing looked human, with only its bulk and speed betraying it as otherwise. It slammed into the first monster, flinging it off the path and into the woods. She heard a terrible crack, what she could only imagine was the sound of bones hitting tree, followed by a high-pitched shriek of pain.
She knew she should run while she could but she just sat there, unable to take her eyes off the otherworldly battle, as the other thing – her apparent saviour – leapt into the undergrowth. Another of the monter's shrieks followed, cut short by a loud thump and a triumphant roar.
The first creature was again flung through the air, landing no more than a metre from Amy's foot. She could see it clearly now, its impossible joints clearly twisted, its body draped across the same root that had tripped her in such a way that its nearest thing to a spine was surely broken.
The rain was stopping now, almost as if it had been tied to the life of the dead creature. Looking up, she could see a figure walking slowly out of the trees and along the path. He was hooking something over his ear and looking around. She summoned all her strength and yelled.
“Over here!”
It came out as barely a whisper but it must have been enough, as he turned to look at her, flicking on a torch and shining it in her eyes. The light blinded her for a moment as he walked towards her. By the time she could see clearly again, he was standing over her and looking down.
He was tall and muscular, though not as much as the second creature. He was wearing dark clothes and a combat vest of some kind, all seemingly too big for him and just as sodden as everything else out here.
He had a kind, if tired and dirty, face and she saw him smile as he helped her to her feet. She hadn't realised how tired she really was until she tried to stand. A combination of adrenalin and fear must have been keeping her going for hours. He caught her as she began to fall and she heard him talking on his radio before she passed out completely.
“This is Grey 2. The anomaly seems to be closing itself, the last monster is dead and I've got an unconscious girl in my arms. Situation as normal as it ever gets.”
