Krampus Plot, part IV

[lady_bols]

 She crawled out of the tent on her hands and knees, gritting her teeth.  The ground was hard packed dirt, and the air smelled clean and fresh. It was dark, and they were under a brilliant desert night sky.

"Oh, Ichabod.  Look."

Comments

[lady_bols]

"It's fairly straight forward. This one holds seven rounds." She demonstrates, cycling it once to show him how to do it. "Just don't try to shoot anything over fifteen feet away, and you'll do fine. Also, this one kicks like a mule, so tuck it in tight to your shoulder."

She's had absolutely no experience with black powder, so she has no idea how much recoil a musket has, but she's fairly certain it's different from a modern firearm.

Once she's done, she has to stop and lean on him a bit. "Have I mentioned cracked ribs hurt? Because ow."

[1stwitness]

"Noted", he says with a dry nod. "And can I suggest you fire only if strictly necessary? No need to cause yourself further damage without good reason."

[lady_bols]

She straightens up and gives him a Look.

"I'll have you know, Mr. Crane, I am a professional. I never fire unless strictly necessary."

[1stwitness]

"My meaning was, let me do it first", he returns, unfazed. "And only if... whatever it may be... escapes my fire, should you join battle."

[lady_bols]

"Let's not go getting trigger happy, already. I mean, there was nothing worth shooting at in your home, or on the rock floors. We've been lucky so far. Let's hope our luck holds."

Yeah, nobody tells Alex to play second fiddle. Injury or not, it just doesn't work that way.

"Which way do you think?"

[1stwitness]

"Forward", he says with a slight shrug. "Sticking close to the tent will do us no good, and it stands to reason the way back lies ahead... somehow."

[lady_bols]

She chuckles under her breath at him. The ridge behind them would be impossible for her to reach, and the way forward looks like it's deeper into the box canyon they're standing at the mouth of.

"Right. That looks like a path. Damn it, I wish I'd thought to pick up a torch." She tucks the 9mm in the back of her jeans, and sets off at a cautious pace.

They don't really need the light, as the moon overhead is brilliant and full. There are a few Joshua trees here and there, and the landscape is peppered with huge sandstone boulders. The shadows they cast are long and sharp in the moonlight, and she tends to give them a wide berth.

"Have you ever been to the American desert before?"

[1stwitness]

"No", he admits. "I was generally in New York and the surrounding regions. I never came this far south - or west, for that matter."

[lady_bols]

"Hmm. I have a theory," she says, skirting another large boulder with a wary look.

[1stwitness]

"Oh? Do tell."

He's half-listening, half paying close attention to their surroundings.

[lady_bols]

"Well... The first part of this, whatever this is, was your home. Only as it exists in Purgatory. The second, a nightmare scene from a movie I saw when I was younger. Walmart... Probably hellish for both of us."

"But this... Neither one of us has ever been to the American Southwest. I'm trying to anticipate what we might be facing."

[1stwitness]

"So this is... perhaps something the creature knows, in some way", he guesses. "Or... oh, no."

[lady_bols]

Alex watches the colour drain from his face. Every muscle in her body goes still, except for her hand, which is inching towards her gun.

"Ichabod? Talk to me."

[1stwitness]

"Turn around", he says - almost hisses, really. "Very, very slowly. It hasn't seen us yet."

From behind her, something clicks on the stony ground.

[lady_bols]

"...It?"

She pivots, slowly, holding her breath.

The 'It' in question is the size of a small dog. It's black and shiny and segmented, with two sharp claws and a tail suspended in the air over its back.

"Bloody hell."

She freezes, eyes wide as saucers.

"Okay? Now what."

[1stwitness]

"We shoot it?" he suggests hopefully. "Although perhaps we should first try to establish if there are any more..."

[lady_bols]

"Let's not provoke it. It looks like bullets might just bounce right off."

She's whispering, which is ridiculous but she is.

"Can you see any others?"

[1stwitness]

"Not as of now, but I wouldn't like to say there are none."

He finds himself whispering too.

[lady_bols]

"Do you think we could possibly be so lucky?"

She backs towards him, gesturing him farther down the path.

"Just walk. Slowly. Quietly. Maybe we can... oh god..."

There's another behind another boulder, and another clicking passed, on important scorpion business.

[1stwitness]

"Slowly and quietly", he agrees, trying to force himself to keep calm. "Have I mentioned I dislike scorpions?"

[lady_bols]

"Oh really. I'm not overly fond of them myself."

Alex swallows, her mouth gone dry as dust. She glances up the canyon.

"Back to back?"

[1stwitness]

He nods agreement and moves quietly into position, then begins moving up the canyon, making sure their paces are matched.

[lady_bols]

Her shoulder barely touches his, so she knows exactly where he is. She holds her gun at low ready, and her eye tracks every bit of movement in the dim light.

"So, I see four on that side, and five over there. How many over there?"

[1stwitness]

"...Two, I think", he says quietly, peering. "Unless more are concealed by the rocks, but I count only two."

[lady_bols]

"Lucky you."

They slip farther down the canyon, the ground sloping gently downward. The farther they go, the deeper into shadow they have to go.

"I can't see anything up ahead. Stop for a moment. I want to listen."

They pause, and she holds her breath. There's the clicking of the scorpions they can see. And then there's the clicking of the scorpions they can't see.

And then there's the scrape CLACK of something much, much larger, emanating from a deep cut a few yards up slope to their left.

"Ichabod."