Ice Rift by Ben Hammott

Author:Ben Hammott [Hammott, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Published: 2016-06-24T06:00:00+00:00

Theo cursed when the bridge started to rise. A glance behind at the horrifying Wraiths highlighted in his flashlight brought forth another curse. He noticed Henry lagging behind and breathing heavily.

Henry noticed Theo's concerned look. “Don't wait for me,” he puffed.

A few long strides and a small leap carried Theo onto the bridge. Max leapt on a few moments later. They turned. Henry was a short distance away and the scary wraithlike creatures were catching up fast. The rising angle of the bridge caused them to lie down and grip the edge to prevent them from sliding to the bottom.

“Hurry, Henry, you can make it,” encouraged Max. “Grab the edge and we'll pull you up.”

Henry looked at the edge of the bridge now level with his chest, and worried if his old, tired body could make the leap. The sounds of the monsters drawing closer spurred him on. The bridge was head height when he reached the edge of the path, causing him to be less confident he could make it. To free both his hands, he threw the flashlight over the lip of the bridge and leapt into the air. His fingers grabbed at the bridge edge, they slipped. Theo and Max each grasped one of his arms.

“We have you, Henry,” said Theo, his voice strained from supporting the old man's weight.

A shriek rang out.

Henry twisted his head. Though most of the Wraiths skidded to a halt and backed away from the river, one leapt with its claws stretched out. “Pull me up!” he screamed.

Theo and Max were not in the best position on the sloping bridge to get the leverage needed to haul Henry to safety quickly. They strained with his weight.

Henry kicked out at the creature, striking a blow to its head. It shrieked and lashed out at him. A claw ripped through his trouser leg. Something leapt from the river, spraying Henry with cold, viscous, briny water. The cold liquid felt like needles pricking his skin. Believing the Wraith's claws had grasped him, Henry screamed and glanced behind. A gaping jaw filled with long jagged teeth and its beckoning throat was all Henry glimpsed of the monster that had burst from the water. He pulled his legs up as the massive jaws closed around the Wraith's chest. Blood sprayed him when the creature was bitten in two. When the river monster dropped back into the water with half of the creature in its jaws, a second river monster shot from the water to claim the half falling through the air. Henry placed a foot on its snout and pushed himself onto the bridge. Caught unawares by Henry's sudden boost, Theo, Max and Henry slid down the bridge, rolled across the ground and lay there panting.

The Wraiths on land howled and screeched when the river monsters appeared, but when they splashed back into the river, the closest Wraiths darted forward and scooped up the water from the wave of stagnant water thrown up.

A river monster erupted from the river and slipped its jaws around a Wraith that had ventured too close to the water's edge.

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