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

[1stwitness]

"I think we will have to take that risk", he says, raising his shotgun and sighting down the barrel. "In this case, most definitely not better the devil you know."

[lady_bols]

"This is not going to be pretty."

She kicks at one of the smaller creatures, and it raises a claw, trying to grab at her foot.

"No, no, get back..."

A shot rings out, and the scorpion goes limp. The ones all around them raise their claws as if directed by some invisible source. And she can see the monstrous one do the same.

"Oh bloody hell."

She's already moving, a quick lope, hoping he'll keep up.

[1stwitness]

He does - and he's actively trying not to overtake her, or he might have left her behind.

"Here's hoping."

[lady_bols]

She stays close, holding her fire now, as she only has the one magazine, and she's kicking herself for not grabbing another two or three.

The behemoth of a scorpion casts about for the source of the movement, and the growing swarm of smaller (Ha! They're the size of dogs!) scorpions is giving chase. The behemoth turns towards them, and the snap of its claws is so loud, it rings in the canyon.

Her voice is no longer a whisper. She tries to sound cool and collected, but he can hear the edge of panic in her voice. "Ichabod, lay down some fire will you. Make him think twice?"

[1stwitness]

"Gladly."

Carefully, trying hard not to waste shells, he blasts at the scorpion - and, as previously stated, aiming first for the tail. If it has no sting, it can't inject venom.

[lady_bols]

The behemoth lets out a sound, not a roar but a trumpeting squall, and the swarm answers, a furious sea of snapping claws made all the more terrifying for the shadows washing over them. They're getting closer, more densely packed, and even though her ears are ringing from the shots, she can hear the behemoth's claws striking the ground like blows from a giant hammer.

The ground slopes more steeply here, packed dirt turning to a rocky rut from the spring run off. She sees him walking backwards and tries to warn him.

"Ichabod! Watch out!"

[1stwitness]

The warning comes too late as he stumbles and falls, letting off a wild shot as he does - luckily, one that still hits a scorpion.

[lady_bols]

She sees him go down and immediately goes to his aid, standing over him and firing quick and clean, hitting each smaller scorpion square in the... whatever passes for a face on a scorpion.

She switches the gun to her right hand and reaches down to give him a hand up. Two more shots ring out, and the gun locks back, empty.

"Get up!" She hauls him to his feet and propels him further down the path. Bullets and shot are not going to help them. Getting away is the only option.

"There! There's a door! See it?!"

[1stwitness]

"Oh, thank God." He sees it, and regains his balance to grab Alex's hand so they can run together in that direction.

[lady_bols]

The sound she hears behind them sends a chill down her spine. It's a voice, gravelled and alien, rumbling down the canyon with the swarm.

"Aw, don't go! You just got here! Come and meet the children! Stay for supper!"

Alex doesn't even want to look back, she just hurls herself into the darkness head, more falling than running as her feet fly over the broken ground. She holds tight to Ichabod's hand and prays.

[1stwitness]

A shudder runs through him and his hand shakes in hers, just for a moment, before he focuses only on running.

"Almost there..."

[lady_bols]

The doorway is carved directly into the stone, and beyond, there is pitch black. They hurdle through it at speed, and a moment later, the ground shakes. The entire cavernous space around them rings, and dust and debris rain down from the ceiling.

The behemoth had slammed bodily into the canyon wall, almost taking the mountain down with it.

Alex sprawled on the far wall, turning back to look over Ichabod's shoulder, expecting to see the swarm boiling through after them.

There was nothing there. The wall was smooth. Featureless. And she could tell because there was a torch in a wall sconce right where it should have been.

She sinks down to the floor, breathing like a race horse, one hand curled around her aching ribs. "I'm never eating lobster again!"

[1stwitness]

He drops bonelessly beside her.

"I suspect neither will I. And I had already sworn to avoid scorpions for the rest of my life."

[lady_bols]

"Yeah, I can see how well that worked out."

She puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You took a nasty spill, are you all right?"

[1stwitness]

"Honestly, I hadn't taken time to check. But nothing broken, I think."

He didn't feel anything particularly painful as he ran.

[lady_bols]

"And no stings?"

She sticks her boots out in front of her. There's a nasty hole right through the toe of one of them, pierced clean through the sole.

"Ohhh," she whines. "I liked these boots."

[1stwitness]

"No stings I can feel - I'll get you a new pair." She did increase her danger for him. "It missed your foot?"

[lady_bols]

"No, don't worry about it. And yes."

She wiggles her toes.

"All in working order. Did you remember to pack the sandwiches?"

She's teasing, clearly.

[1stwitness]

"It's the least I can do." He makes an exaggeratedly apologetic face. "Regrettably not, and I don't suppose there's any food to be found here. Our host is most inconsiderate."

[lady_bols]

"Worst tea party ever." She leans her shoulder against his. "How much further, do you think?"

She's trying very hard not to think about Gene, and how he's probably going out of his mind with worry. The thought won't leave her alone.

[1stwitness]

"There's no way of knowing. But I think, perhaps, we should take the opportunity of nothing chasing us to rest a while?"

[lady_bols]

"Well, you have the pockets. Do you have any of that water left?"

She may be fishing the bottle of paracetamol out of her own pocket.

"I feel like I could sleep for a week. Should we take turns watching, maybe get some real rest?"

[1stwitness]

"Yes." He fishes it out and hands it over, having kept most of it out of habit. He knows how to survive in the wild. "I think so. Not for too long, but enough to refresh us a little."

[lady_bols]

She takes another two pills, and drinks.

"Yeah." She doesn't care that the ground is hard and cold. She pokes his bony shoulder a few times, like fluffing a pillow.

"Call me when room service gets here."

With that, she puts her head on his shoulder, and is out like a light.

[1stwitness]

He eyes her as she prods him, vaguely amused, but doesn't object.

And then he just sits very still, sharply alert, and waits for her to wake up - and never makes a single move to make it happen, turns or no turns.