THEM (Season 1): Episode 2 Read Free Page B

ghastly caricature of its former existence. Its long brown hair was tangled and clumped with dirt, dried blood, and twigs; its face was sallow and pale, with sunken cheeks and horrid, leathery skin; and its bare feet and hands ended in claws that were as hard and poisonous as old rusted tenpenny nails.
    As the details registered, one word echoed in my mind. Revenant.
    I acted on instinct, launching my tomahawk at it with all the force I could muster as I came out of the roll. Almost in slow motion, I watched the ’hawk fly end over end though the air toward the creature’s head, but at the last instant it snapped out a hand and swatted the tomahawk from the air with preternatural reflexes. I watched my battle-axe clatter away into the darkness as the creature snapped its head around to look at me. The rev’s cold yellow eyes blinked at me with indifference, and then it turned back to sniff at Gabby’s wound again.
    Well, this is going to suck. Going hand to hand with a rev was almost as scary as going toe-to-toe with a vamp. The problem with fighting a revenant was that they were highly unpredictable and hellaciously fast. They possessed a feral intelligence and were capable of low-level reasoning, so far as it served to achieve their drive to feed. Also, they were typically just as strong as a full-grown man, no matter their age or size. Yeah, this was really going to suck, I thought as I switched the Bowie knife to my right hand and launched myself at it .
    No sooner did I get within arm’s than I felt myself flying across the attic, the result of an incredibly powerful backhanded blow from the rev. I landed in a heap, and in the blink of an eye the thing was on top of me, straddling me in an effort to pin me down so it could finish me off and feed. I bucked my hips to get it off me, driving it forward so that its claws raked the plywood floor above my head. Once I had it off balance, I drove my Bowie knife into the thing’s back, severing its spinal column just below its shoulder blades. The thing cut loose with an unearthly howl and began clawing at its back, trying to remove the blade that I’d just sunk up to the hilt in its spine. I left it in, worried that if I removed the blade it’d heal and I’d lose my momentary advantage. Shoving it off completely with both hands, I rolled in the direction of my pack and snatched my golok machete from the sheath I kept strapped to my pack.
    As I turned to face the revenant, it was still clawing furiously at its back, howling and screeching loud enough to literally wake the dead, who, I was sure, would be clamoring around the silo house in minutes. Desperately wanting to shut it up, I took two long strides forward and hacked the girl’s head clean off with one lightning-fast stroke of the heavy blade. The only sound that pierced the silence after was the thump of the thing’s head hitting the plywood floor, followed by it rolling out the attic doorway and thumping down the stairs. Thump...thump-thump-thump...thunk!
    Breathing heavily, I yanked my knife out of the body and threw it downstairs to keep company with the others. As I stood there panting with my hands on my knees, I heard a weak voice speak up from behind me. “Took you long enough.” I turned to see Gabby squinting at me from the other side of the room, her face barely illuminated by the weak light from my crank lamp.
    I smiled and replied, “I had it under control.”
    “If you say so.” She was pale, and it looked like the blood loss was taking its toll.
    “Let me check that wound,” I replied. I pulled the blanket down and I lifted her shirt. The bandage was completely caked in blood, but it was mostly dark and clotting. I decided to leave it in place, worried that I’d cause it to start bleeding again if I messed with it. I got her to take another dose of antibiotics, and helped her get as comfortable as possible so she could rest.
    After she fell asleep again I stayed up for a good long while,