"Yes, this is where that Maurice guy and Timmy got attacked by another man," Ruby whispered, raising a hand to signal the girls to stop.
Tashell immediately reached behind her and pulled a gun from her waistline.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Carla asked with her eyes wide. "Do you even know how to use it?"
"There's a lot you don't know about us, Carla," Sasha replied seriously as she pulled a large dagger from the sheath at her hip.
"Besides, I'm not about to get raped out here in the woods," Tashell declared without flinching.
"By who? Bambi?" Ruby smirked, shaking her head. The others giggled, lightening the tension for a moment until a sudden whooshing sound came from the bushes ahead.
Ruby instantly raised a finger to her lips, silently warning the others to be quiet. The laughter stopped. Every head turned toward the source of the rustling. They had their eyes locked on the bush and their breaths held tight in their chests.
The sound grew louder.
The girls braced themselves... Then, out burst a fluffy white rabbit, darting past them in a blur of fur and fear, as if it hadn't even noticed them.
All the girls exhaled except Ruby. She kept scanning the area with sharp, calculating eyes.
"It's just a bunny," Sasha said with a half-laugh.
"But what was it running from?" Ruby wondered.
"Look, let's just get to the site, collect whatever samples you two need, and then we can get the hell outta here. This place is seriously giving me the creeps," Carla muttered, turning to leave.
She froze as she came face to face with white, milky eyes that were staring back at her, inches from her face.
"Ahhhhhh!" Carla screamed, stumbling backward into Tashell. The gun slipped from Tashell's hands and disappeared into the grass.
The thing growled and lunged. Carla's scream pierced the stillness of the woods. Tashell spun around and shoved her flashlight into the man's face. He recoiled, hissing while he shielded his eyes from the blinding light.
"Carla, get up!" Ruby shouted, drawing closer.
"It's the burnt man, the one from the news," Carla gasped as she scrambled to her feet.
Tashell kept the flashlight trained on him, running the beam up and down his grotesque body. His skin was blackened and blistered, charred in large, flaking patches. He looked like he'd crawled straight out of a fire.
"How the fuck is he still alive?" Tashell yelled.
The burnt man snarled and snapped his teeth at them, his body convulsing with violent energy. His hands slashed wildly through the air as eyes tightly shut.
"His eyes are sensitive to the light," Tashell said, making the observation aloud.
"Sir, I'm Sheriff McCall. I work down at the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, and I'm here to help you," Carla said, keeping her tone calm despite her pounding heart.
The man didn't respond to words. His snarls grew louder, his movements more frantic.
"I don't think he understands us," Ruby murmured.
Tashell's flashlight flickered.
"Oh shit," she breathed.
The beam sputtered, dimmed, and finally went black.
As soon as the light died, the man lunged.
Bang! Carla fired, hitting him in the leg. He stumbled, growling savagely.
"Stop!" Carla yelled, stepping backward.
Bang!
Bang!
Carla fired two more shots, this time to the chest. The man didn't stop.
"What the fuck are you?!" Carla shouted as she emptied the clip into his torso. The bullets hit, but the man kept coming, as if pain meant nothing to him.
"Look out!" Ruby screamed as the man hurled himself at Carla.
Click.
Out of ammo.
He grabbed Carla by the hair and yanked her down.
Tashell screamed and tore off one of her heels. With one clean strike, she stabbed it into the side of his head. The stiletto heel pierced his eye, and the man staggered back with a shriek.
"Told you my heels would come in handy!" Tashell panted as she pulled Carla to her feet.
The man wobbled, then rose again, Tashell's shoe still stuck in his face like a grotesque trophy.
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air as Sasha's dagger flew across the distance and sank deep into his forehead.
The man dropped to his knees, then crumpled face-first into the grass. His twitching stopped.
"Is he... dead?" Tashell asked, panting.
"I think he is," Ruby said, cautiously approaching the body. She yanked out the bloodied shoe and tossed it to Tashell before pulling the dagger from the man's skull and handing it back to Sasha.
"Sasha, take his samples," Tashell instructed, scanning the grass for her lost pistol.
"You're right. I think he's from the plane crash," Sasha said, pulling out her field kit and beginning to collect tissue and blood samples.
Carla pondered whether she should call it in, but she knew she would get in trouble if she did, so she picked up all the casings from her gun and then they headed to the crash site.
"Shit!" Carla gasped.
"What's the military doing here?" Ruby asked, frowning.
"I don't know," Carla said, her voice low. "But this just got a whole lot harder."
They crouched behind a thicket, peering out at the heavily guarded wreckage.
"Ruby, I can't be seen here. Can you create a diversion?" Carla asked quickly.
"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" Ruby replied.
"You'll think of something. Sasha, Tashell, and I will stay put until we get the signal."
"What signal?" Ruby pressed.
"We'll know it when we see it," Carla smirked.
Ruby looked around, scanning the soldiers' movements. Her mind raced before she finally got an idea. Without another word, she sprinted toward the guards.
The others watched in tense silence.
Ruby ran up to the men, panic dripping from her voice. "There were twenty of them—burnt men! They killed my friends over by the hunting grounds!" she screamed, tears streaking her cheeks.
"Calm down, ma'am. I'm Sergeant Myers. Where exactly was this?" the soldier asked, gripping his rifle.
"Where the guys from the news got attacked," Ruby choked out.
Sergeant Myers froze. His eyes bore into hers. Slowly, his rifle rose until it pointed straight at her head.
"Have you been bitten?" he demanded, his voice tight and urgent.
"What?" Ruby asked, confused and terrified. She lifted her hands.
"ANSWER ME! Were you bitten or scratched?" the sergeant barked. More soldiers ran over, surrounding her.
Back behind the trees, Sasha narrowed her eyes. "What's happening?"
"Don't worry about Ruby, she can handle herself. The coast is clear. Let's go," Carla whispered urgently.
The three women bolted across the field, ducking low, hearts pounding, until they reached the wreckage.
They slipped inside the tent stationed beside the broken plane. Clearly, it was where the most important evidence had been relocated.
"What in hell's fire is that?" Carla gasped, eyes locked on a glowing, glass-like containment dome.
Inside the transparent chamber was half of a human body. It was burnt beyond recognition, yet somehow still alive. Its chest heaved. It snarled. Its eyes were a ghostly white.
A label was etched onto the dome: Dr. Tom Scott.
"What the hell is going on?" Sasha yelped. "Why is he still moving? Why is he still alive at all?"
Tashell's voice quivered. "I think... I think I know why."