Ghost Canyon (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 7) Anthony Strong (popular romance novels .TXT) 📖

Charlie noticed the creature’s face, and the blood-red eyes set into sunken dark sockets. Eyes that glowed with an inner luminescence that held him in a hypnotic fog and filled his mind with suggestive whispers to come closer. With some effort, Charlie shook off the strange sensation. But it took all his willpower. He wondered what would happen if the creature diverted its attention and actually met his gaze. Would he still be able to escape its pull?

He didn’t want to find out.

Deciding that a tunnel collapse was a risk he was willing to take, Charlie lifted the gun, took aim, and fired four shots in rapid succession.

Chapter Eleven

All four of Charlie’s bullets slammed into the skeletal creature, knocking it backwards into the darkness. He couldn’t tell if he’d inflicted a mortal wound, or even if the hellish animated corpse could die, but his rapid-fire shots achieved one thing. They broke whatever hypnotic connection the creature held upon the two rescue team members. The men stopped their forward march, looking momentarily dazed, then hurried back toward Charlie.

“We have to leave, right now.” Charlie kept the gun aimed forward. He swept his flashlight across the tunnel ahead, but the passageway was empty. Their attacker had retreated further into the tunnels, at least for now.

“Not without Sasha,” Enrique said. He ran to her and kneeled down, checking her vitals, even though she was obviously deceased.

“Leave her,” Colbeck instructed. “There’s nothing we can do.”

“He’s right.” Charlie didn’t know where the creature had gone, or how long it would stay away. He knew one thing. They might not be lucky enough to fend it off a second time. “She’s dead.”

“I’m not leaving Sasha down here with that thing.” Enrique slipped his arms under her body and lifted. “I’ll carry her out. She deserves nothing less.”

“Do whatever you need to,” Colbeck said, glancing nervously down the tunnel. “But if she slows us down—”

“She won’t.” Enrique grunted under Sasha’s weight as he stood up. He cradled her in his arms, ignoring the blood that stained his jacket. With noticeable effort, he started down the tunnel back toward the mine entrance.

They retraced their steps, following the serpentine route back to the site of the original attack, then turned and followed the adit toward the mine entrance. The ground rose gently as they walked, carrying them closer to the exit, and safety.

No one spoke, either too shocked to talk, or afraid that any sound might draw their attacker back toward them. Charlie brought up the rear, ready to use his gun again if the creature appeared a second time. He couldn’t explain how he knew it, but he was certain there would be only a momentary window within which to fire before he succumbed to its hypnotic gaze. But they weren’t being followed, and soon, much to his relief, Charlie saw a rectangular patch of daylight up ahead.

They pressed on with renewed determination, even though Enrique was sagging visibly under his dead friend’s weight. A few minutes later, they emerged from the mine and into the bright, warming Nevada sunshine.

Enrique stumbled forward and dropped to his knees ten feet from the mine entrance. He deposited Sasha on the hard ground, then scooted out of the way for the paramedics, who scrambled into action at his approach.

“What happened in there?” Glenn had been sitting on a large rock near the entrance, fanning himself with his hard hat, and jumped up as they exited the mine. Now he approached Charlie, a look of shock on his face. “Did she fall?”

“We were attacked.” Charlie turned to face the mine with his gun raised. If there was even a hint of movement in the darkness beyond the entrance, he would be ready. “Probably the same creature that killed those two geologists.”

“Creature?” Glenn looked at the dead woman, then glanced back toward the mine. “Seriously? That guy back in town was telling the truth?”

Charlie glanced over his shoulder. The paramedics were working on Sasha, even though they surely realized their efforts were futile. “I think we can safely rule him out as a suspect. I don’t know exactly what attacked us, but I shot it four times at close range and barely phased it.”

“That’s not possible. You put four bullets in a man, he doesn’t walk away.”

“I never said it was a man.” An image of the emaciated corpse flashed through Charlie’s mind. The way it walked, lurching forward on impossibly thin limbs. The way its eyes burned with unholy fire. Worst of all was the creaking, shuffling sound it made, like joints popping and shifting with each step. He shuddered and pushed the dire memory away. “It might have once been a man, but right now, that thing is about as far from human as you can get.”

“You’re not making sense. You sure you didn’t stumble into a pocket of stale air and inhale too many fumes?”

Charlie pointed to Sasha. “Does that woman look like she was killed by fumes?”

“Hey. I’m just saying—”

“What we saw in that mine was no man.” Charlie felt a flash of anger. “I was there. You weren’t.”

“Okay. Take it easy. I believe you.” From the tone of Glenn’s voice, he still wasn’t convinced. “Creature or not, we still have two missing people in there. How do you want to proceed?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never encountered a situation like this before,” Charlie replied. There was no way he was walking back into the mine anytime soon, that much he knew. He watched the paramedics unfold a rescue stretcher and lift Sasha’s body onto it. A few steps away, Ryan Colbeck and Enrique lingered in shocked silence. He guessed their colleague’s death was sinking in now the adrenaline had worn off. He looked back toward the mine entrance. “Either way, we have to call it in. Maybe we can get someone up here who knows more about this kind of thing.”

“Who would that be?” Glenn looked incredulous.

“Beats me,” Charlie admitted. “We’ll make our report and pass it up