A Dark and Rising Tide by Debra Castaneda

Author:Debra Castaneda [Castaneda, Debra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

winds gusting to 36 mph

Just a few hours ago, Peter had sat in Carla’s restaurant, shooting the shit with Quint and Ken, and now Ken was in a coma, Matt was dead, and a body had literally been dropped at his feet. He felt numb, but there was a fire smoldering deep inside of him, an unwillingness to give in to pain, a determination to survive the storm and whatever it had brought ashore.

Yuki and Lucas stayed inside with Natalie. She’d screamed herself hoarse after seeing her friend’s mangled corpse and was now sobbing, clinging to Lucas. Yuki retreated to the couch, staring off into space, hands clenched into fists.

Eric had insisted on recording the inspection of the woman’s body on the balcony, the storm pelting them with rain. He hovered over Peter, who knelt next to Olivia. Carla crouched beside him, a flashlight in her unsteady hand.

The light from Eric’s camera added to the unreality of the moment.

As Eric continued to film, Peter examined Olivia’s body, noting every detail.

Unlike Maggie, her eyes were still intact. Her clothes were ripped, her skin scraped. The creature with the face had a tentacle and a stinger, but so far, he saw no sign of a stab wound.

Carla seemed to read his mind. “Let’s turn her over.”

Olivia had been tall and thin. Peter guessed she couldn’t weigh more than 130 pounds. It seemed wrong to shift her.

The back of the woman’s head revealed more chunks of missing hair. The white skin on her scalp was ragged and torn. Deep gouges ran along her neck, and there, just to the right of where the cervical met the thoracic spine, was a hole ringed in black slime. Peter’s stomach lurched at the sight.

He’d seen death before. Drownings, mostly. Falls from cliffs. A few shark attacks. But this was something else entirely. The wound was as sinister as the monster that had inflicted it.

“Same as Matt.” Carla didn’t sound surprised.

“Can you move a little so I can get a better shot,” Eric said. “You’re in my way.”

Peter sighed. The guy was just doing his job, and they were experiencing the story of the century. If they lived long enough to tell it. He couldn’t order the reporter to stop filming.

“Let’s get out of the rain.” Peter pushed himself to his feet. The effort made his back spasm, and he cursed, more from irritation than pain.

When they were inside, the sliding door locked behind them. Peter pulled Carla into the bathroom and kicked the door shut.

The marble counter was covered with tubes and pots of makeup. Carla snatched a towel from a ring and rubbed his wet hair, her dark eyes staring into his.

“Why did it do that?” she asked. “Throw her body at us like that?”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not behaving like any animal I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s the one Ken captured and put in that tank. Maybe it remembers and figures humans are dangerous, and we’re the only humans around.

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