Chapter 26 Cryptozoology
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CRYPTOZOOLOGY
If slayers try to interfere with any Feeding Grounds, the Three, or Serun himself, will personally make an appearance to ensure the safety of the Bleeders and Feeders.
Any slayer who attempts to fuck with this law will perish.
— Serun’s Law
“Ease back, Saya,” Jax whispers, slowly removing his hand from my mouth. “You too, Cole. We’re heading back to my room, and we’ll crawl through that vent.”
My eyes widen as I take a quick glance inside my room. Droplets of stringy blood ooze from the opening. “That thing might still be in there,” I breathe.
Another bone-chilling scream echoes from below. Hungry growls follow, cutting through the air and vibrating up to the floor we are on.
Cole grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly.
We walk down the corridor and away from the staircase.
Jax’s room is three doors down, but he stops at the door near the corner and points to the evacuation diagram.
“We have two choices. Once we’re in the vent, we can either make our way out through the delivery room or head to the mess.
One of the Bleeders should have a keycard we can use, and we can escape through the kitchen.
” He taps a green symbol. “There’s an emergency exit there. ”
“But we know the other creature is down there,” I say. “It’s too risky.”
“Both are. We can go to the delivery room, and there might not be anyone there. See,”—he circles the delivery room—“there’s no emergency exit, only mask recognition, so we’d need a Bleeder.” He grimaces.
“Our chances of survival?”
“Higher.”
I nod. “The delivery room, then. After all, we know the way, and I think that’s how the nightwalker got into the vent. It’s likely broken.”
Jax narrows his eyes. “Okay. Let’s do this, then.”
“We will find Emily along the way,” I declare, and Jax’s jaw tightens and his hands flex. We size each other up, and I tilt my head higher and arch my brow, daring him to argue.
“What about the creature in the vent?” Cole whispers, cutting through the challenge in the air. With a sigh, I look away from Jax and grab Cole’s shoulder and squeeze tight.
“I’ll lure the monster out,” Jax says. “Once it’s out and chasing me”—he gestures to the adjacent room—“you’ll sneak into my room and close the door behind you.”
Panicked bursts leave Cole’s mouth.
Jax rests his hands on his other shoulder and says, “It’s alright. If everything goes to plan, I’ll jump into the room a couple of doors down and lock myself in while the monster is out there.”
“You’ve got this,” I say mechanically. “I will protect my brother.”
Jax removes his hand from Cole’s shoulder, grabs my hip, pulls me in and roughly kisses me. His tongue forces its way into my mouth, and I feel nothing but a faint sense of disgust. We break apart, and his hand slips through my hair as he says, “I fucking love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I lie.
He moves towards the door as I pull Cole into the room. We press our backs against the wall, my fingers throbbing against Cole’s frightened grip.
We wait for Jax’s signal. We’ll only have one chance at this, and if we mess it up or make any noise, we’re done.
Two monsters. The nightwalker was right. The Hellsgate is opening, and more creatures are spilling out.
A loud bang a few doors down pulls me from my thoughts. Then another bang. With it comes a rattling from the vent above. A shadow rushes past as the red light blinks on for a few seconds before plunging us back into darkness.
Cole presses his lips together, trying to stifle his fear.
I breathe in, the scent of rotten fruit thick in the air, and then exhale. As I inhale again, my breath catches at the clinking of claws nearby.
In the corner of my eye, I glimpse a sharpened, clawed hand and leathery wings. The creature slinks across the door opening, making a series of noises as its wings quiver. Nearby, another creature echoes the same tune.
They can fucking communicate?!
“Oh, fuck me dead,” Jax says with a groan from out in the corridor. “Two of you ugly fucks? Come on then. Eyes on me. All eight of them!”
Darkness fades from the monster. For the first time since it crawled into my vent, I see the creature for what it truly is: gnarled, with translucent red spikes jutting from its arms and two large, round eyes dominating most of its head.
Two more eyes protrude from its shoulders—orange stains straining to survey its surroundings.
The creature hisses before lunging towards Jax, like a prowling lion after vulnerable prey.
“Now, Saya!” Jax cries.
I pull Cole’s hand close and step out of the room. My heart stutters. Both creatures chase Jax. He’s running and holding something in his hand, but my focus lands on the door just as the red lights blink off, plunging us into complete darkness.
Our hitched breaths quicken, and my movements are stiff and awkward until the red light returns. I catch a glimpse of one creature watching us while the other leaps towards Jax. Sharp claws inch closer to him as the other turns and saunters towards us.
The red lights blink off.
I haul Cole into Jax’s room, slamming my hand on the button outside as we pass. The door shuts behind us, narrowly missing my arm, and I stumble backwards, landing hard on my back and cracking my head against the floor. The lights blink back on as the room spins and the open vent blurs.
“Saya, come on! You’ve got to get up!” Cole shouts, shaking my shoulders.
I sit up and touch the wound on my neck where the nightwalker had bitten me, wincing at the sudden sting. As I rise, I see the colour drain from Cole’s face, and when I turn to follow his gaze, I freeze.
Steam blows against the glass panel in the door. The creature stares at us, thick strands of saliva dripping from its jagged teeth.
We have to move!
“Can it get in?” Cole chokes out as I scramble up onto Jax’s bed and peer through the vent. The light down the way flickers on and off. “Saya…”
“We should hurry. Just in case.”
I haul myself up into the vent, reach down, and grab Cole’s hand. As I pull him up, my attention catches on the door. The monster is gone.
Once Cole is up in the airshaft, I check both ways and spot fingers wiggling through the vent ahead. I press my lips together and curl my hands into fists, but as I turn away, Cole whispers, “I see Jax’s fingers.”
Cole crawls towards him, and I close my eyes with a sigh before I follow. Jax is smiling up at us. “Step away, Saya and Cole.”
We shuffle back.
Jax grips the mesh cover and tears it off in one smooth motion. I had spent months trying to open it by twisting the screws, but here Jax does it with a single, swift movement.
He pulls himself up and leans against the side of the airshaft. His hand rests on his hip, and blood stains his shirt, seeping into the cotton.
“You’re hurt.” I reach for him, but he leans away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. We need to keep moving.”
“Are we still going to the delivery room?”
“To be completely honest, I’m worried the creatures will return to the airshafts.” He squints and winces. “I want us to get the fuck out of here as quickly as we can, and I know we can sneak out through the kitchen. There is probably a mess full of dead Bleeders. One of them will have a keycard.”
“What about the monsters?” Cole says.
Jax brandishes a sharpened piece of wood and says, “Just one, kid. Last I saw, the remaining creature was making its way up to the third level, looking for a feed.”
“You killed one?” I can believe he managed to escape, but to kill a monster? The same monster that killed Dan and Manni. No, I can’t believe it unless he’s some fucking bio…I angle my chin higher and take in Jax’s wound. “Show me.”
The light blinks on, and blue eyes darken. His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t make me ask twice. With a sharp sigh, he lifts his shirt and reveals a wrinkled white scar across tensed muscles.
“Nightwalker,” Cole says, sucking in a shaky breath.
Jax mutters a curse. “Nah, not a bloodsucker. I’m a slayer. Leon’s my brother, and he sent me in here to find out what the Darkovish Feeding Ground has been hiding.”
He is a…slayer?