Skinny Dip
Predator Press
[Mr. I]
Brighta had the feeling they could have found it with their eyes closed. There was a malignant, palpable taint to the very atmosphere: an ancient, insatiable evil had corrupted the very Earth under their feet for a millennia, and it's presence could be subtly felt by all.
There is nothing alive for thirty feet around it. No weeds, no trees, no algae, no bugs. Still, at a glance, this shimmering pool tucked away in a thick, ominously quiet forest offers little to otherwise alarm the senses.
"That's got to be it," says Max, dropping his map.
Vetter nods, moving closer.
"Don't touch it!" whispers Brighta.
Vetter breaks a branch from a dead tree, and approaches the pool. Slowly, he eases the tip into the surface. Max and Brighta watch in morbid fascination as, rather than penetrating the surface of a liquid, the membrane over the surface indents conically. A fine mist leaks out of the stretched surface, doubtless a sedative of some kind.
Then, with blinding speed, a shapeless brown ... thing darted from the floor of the impossibly clear pool, and ripped the stick violently from Vetter's powerful grip. Vetter staggered backward in shock.
There was no splash, no sound, not even a ripple; only an utterly horrific, fetid smell, and they stood wheezing until the small hole in the membrane --caused by the Vetter's stick-- closed seamlessly.
A Lurker.
"That's about the freakiest fucking shit I've ever seen," says Brighta. "And I once saw this stripper in Danville--"
His voice trails off as they watch the macabre scene continue to unfold.
Whatever was darting around down there stirred up the sediment, and a dark cloud filled the pool. Things drift lazily into view; a squirrel skeleton, then a grey, half-digested dear head, one eye dangling. A small human's jawbone.
Max flips his phone open. "Help Vetter with the liquid nitrogen," he says to Brighta, pressing #1 on his speed dial. "And don't get too close. That whole thing is the organism, membrane and all."
"Eeeewe--"
A dull red Cardinal floats up, flopping helplessly against the thin, clear skin. "And if you get sucked in there," Max continues, "your slowly cook in digestive stomach acids for decades. It keeps it's prey alive as long as possible."
After a few more rings, someone answers. A female.
"Oh hey Babs," says Max. "How are you doin' baby? Did you get home okay last night?"
A pause.
"Well that's great. Hey listen, will you give Ethan a message for me? Tell him we've found it. The Node should be secured in only a few hours."
[Mr. I]
Brighta had the feeling they could have found it with their eyes closed. There was a malignant, palpable taint to the very atmosphere: an ancient, insatiable evil had corrupted the very Earth under their feet for a millennia, and it's presence could be subtly felt by all.
There is nothing alive for thirty feet around it. No weeds, no trees, no algae, no bugs. Still, at a glance, this shimmering pool tucked away in a thick, ominously quiet forest offers little to otherwise alarm the senses.
"That's got to be it," says Max, dropping his map.
Vetter nods, moving closer.
"Don't touch it!" whispers Brighta.
Vetter breaks a branch from a dead tree, and approaches the pool. Slowly, he eases the tip into the surface. Max and Brighta watch in morbid fascination as, rather than penetrating the surface of a liquid, the membrane over the surface indents conically. A fine mist leaks out of the stretched surface, doubtless a sedative of some kind.
Then, with blinding speed, a shapeless brown ... thing darted from the floor of the impossibly clear pool, and ripped the stick violently from Vetter's powerful grip. Vetter staggered backward in shock.
There was no splash, no sound, not even a ripple; only an utterly horrific, fetid smell, and they stood wheezing until the small hole in the membrane --caused by the Vetter's stick-- closed seamlessly.
A Lurker.
"That's about the freakiest fucking shit I've ever seen," says Brighta. "And I once saw this stripper in Danville--"
His voice trails off as they watch the macabre scene continue to unfold.
Whatever was darting around down there stirred up the sediment, and a dark cloud filled the pool. Things drift lazily into view; a squirrel skeleton, then a grey, half-digested dear head, one eye dangling. A small human's jawbone.
Max flips his phone open. "Help Vetter with the liquid nitrogen," he says to Brighta, pressing #1 on his speed dial. "And don't get too close. That whole thing is the organism, membrane and all."
"Eeeewe--"
A dull red Cardinal floats up, flopping helplessly against the thin, clear skin. "And if you get sucked in there," Max continues, "your slowly cook in digestive stomach acids for decades. It keeps it's prey alive as long as possible."
After a few more rings, someone answers. A female.
"Oh hey Babs," says Max. "How are you doin' baby? Did you get home okay last night?"
A pause.
"Well that's great. Hey listen, will you give Ethan a message for me? Tell him we've found it. The Node should be secured in only a few hours."
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