A rustle through the tall cordgrass surrounding a creek announced Amicia’s entrance. She’d followed the variant’s body in the lake as it floated past the park next to the library. When she drove past a tree and couldn’t see any signs of the creature in the water, she doubled back and parked in a nearby church. The variant must’ve gotten caught on something in the creek.

She had her flashlight on, searching for any signs that her quarry was here. She had her crossbow in her other hand, loaded and ready to fire. That was when she heard something in the distance. She flicked her head to the north. Was that gunfire?

Amicia hesitated, wondering whether she should check it out. Forget it. She was sure the cops could handle it. Maybe some drunken idiot was popping rounds into the air. She shook her head and went down next to the creek, following the stream up. If the variant hadn't float past this tiny wooded area of the creek, it would be here somewhere.

A few minutes of walking later and Amicia spotted it.

The variant was crawling its way out from the stream. It had hit a big boulder and was making incremental progress at wading towards the bushes. Cautiously, Amicia approached the monster.

When she got close enough, she took aim and fired into its kneecap. The bolt struck and the variant released a deafening shriek. It flailed on the ground. With the skin flap on its back, it looked like a squirming manta ray. She reloaded again.

Amicia stepped into the waters, getting closer to the variant. One more shot to the head should finish it off. Then she’d figure out what to do about the Court of Diogenes. Not that she was sure, she really could or even should do anything about them. They were too much of an unknown right now.

Her steps made small splashes as she crossed over to the other side. There were streaks of blood marring the little stone pebbles underneath the water. They marked the trail the monster took as it attempted to escape.

She stood next to it. It looked shriveled and weak, but she was still wary. Variants were clever enough to feign weakness before springing a trap.

She noticed a little hole that went through its chest and also through its back flap. That must’ve been why it had fallen into the river instead of flying away.

As Amicia was about to finish the job, a powerful light flooded the area. She instinctively turned to look at it, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare. Had the gunfire drawn the police? Peering through the cover of her hands, she looked towards the source.

She saw the large muscular form of Hannibal, his lantern head searching the area. Shit! How did they find her? With him were 3 men, all holding guns. They guarded him as he canvassed the site. To her dismay, Hannibal turned to look directly at her.

He pointed a finger in her direction. His men reacted, pulling their guns up and taking aim. Yet Amicia moved quicker than any of them and she sent a bolt right at Hannibal’s head.

He tried to put up a defensive hand, but the bolt sailed with purpose. It struck him right in his lantern. The big man staggered slightly and his lantern started to flicker. His light blinked on and off, dimming on occasion.

Between one flash of light and another, Amicia ran to the big boulder that the variant had gotten stuck on. Using it as cover, she reloaded her crossbow again. The sound of gunfire filled the air as the men started to shoot blindly at where she had been.

Amicia considered her options as bullets pinged off of the big boulder. If she fired again, she’d be down to only 2 bolts and she wouldn’t be able to get more here in Walland. Still, being out of ammo was better than being dead. She waited until there was a lull. Popping up, she launched a bolt into the shoulder of one of the men.

Her target screamed in pain and fell backwards, finger still on the trigger. His gun fired as he squeezed it by accident. The barrel sprayed out a cacophony of bullets towards his friends. The other two red robed men ducked for cover, avoiding the sudden friendly fire.

Hannibal didn't move. The bullets from his compatriot thudded against his skin, but failed to penetrate through the flesh. Slowly, he lifted his big boot up and stomped it onto the fallen cultist’s hand. The gunfire abruptly halted as Hannibal crushed both the gun and the appendage. His victim stared at the pulpy mess that used to be his right hand. The pain had yet to set in as he took in the sight of it, but the shock wore off quickly. He screamed.

Amicia dashed off into the tall bushes before they recovered from the mishap. She could hear someone moaning in agony far off to her left. Hannibal’s light stopped flashing and returned to full force. It swept over the small alcove, looking for any signs of movement.

Amicia crept through the bushes, keeping low to the ground. There were loud splashes coming from the creek. The big man was on the move.

Hannibal strode over to the variant struggling on the ground. He picked the creature up by the neck with one hand. In response, the variant, bleeding and crippled, hissed. When clawing at Hannibal didn't work, it bit down on his hand and reared its head back.

A long strip of flesh was ripped away from his arm. It seemed that even Hannibal wasn’t immune to the variant’s bite. Hannibal stared down to his newly skinned arm, but did not make a sound. The variant slurped the strip of skin down its throat and let out a maniac high pitched cackle, taunting him.

Hannibal failed to appreciate the humor. He lifted the variant high into the air and slammed it back down to the earth. The impact of the slam caused a small quake in the area. Even from her position, Amicia felt the ground shift in response. She fell forward onto all fours from the tremors.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She looked up with eyes wide, peering towards Hannibal through the tall grass. Maybe she didn't have to worry about finishing off the variant. Hannibal was doing her job for her. A rustle in the grass nearby pulled her out of her awe. One of the goons had come to search for her while the other stood near his fallen friend, still nursing his newly crushed hand.

The guy waded through the grass without any semblance of subtlety. He was clumsy, loud, and easily avoidable. He just trudged in a straight line, brute forcing his way through. He didn't even notice when Amicia circled around behind him.

Amicia picked up a big rock from the ground and timed her attack. His friend was watching his back right now. Then her moment came. The cultist near the water looked over at Hannibal instead of his friend. Hannibal was checking to see if the variant was still alive by squeezing it and seeing if it made a sound.

While they were both distracted, Amicia snuck up on the man in the grass. She kicked him in the back of the knee. The man yelped in surprise as he was forced on one knee. She smashed the rock in her hand against the side of his temple, knocking him unconscious.

Back by the waters, the last cultist standing noticed the yelp and ensuing scuffle. He scrambled to bring his gun up and Amicia faded into the foliage again. Unaware of where she actually was, he started shooting into the grass indiscriminately. Either he forgot his friend was still out there or he didn’t care. He unloaded his entire clip until the sound of a tell-tale click let him know he was empty.

The cultist desperately reloaded. He whipped out another clip and tried to jam it into his rifle before realizing he had never taken the old one out.

A crossbow bolt sailed out from the darkness. It stuck him right between his ribs and he stumbled backwards when it struck. He fell back against a tree and slid to the floor. The cultist looked down.

The bolt had gone in deep enough that he could only see the fletching. He joined the man with no hand in creating a chorus of suffering as they howled in pain together.

As soon as the man was down, Amicia got to her feet and started running back to the church where her car was. She’d taken out the goons that could’ve shot her in the back as she retreated, but there was no chance that she could take out Hannibal by herself.

There was a burning sensation where a bullet had hit her. The shot went straight through her arm. She cradled her injured appendage as she sprinted away from the scene. A flood of light coming from behind her announced Hannibal’s attention on her running form. She pumped her legs as fast as they would go and eventually she reached the hill leading up to her car. When she got there, she finally looked back over her shoulder.

Hannibal was still there, 120 feet away, holding the variant in his large hand. The two stared at each other. He didn't chase after her and she knew why.

They both understood Hannibal would be the winner tonight. She might’ve hurt his goons, but he had captured the variant. She didn’t get the chance to finish it off. Amicia scowled and ran up to the top of the hill.

The lantern headed man let her go. He had his prize after all. The variant was alive and in his hand. It made pathetic squeaking noises as it clawed at him. However, the creature was very damaged. There was a possibility that it wouldn't make the trip back to their base. Hannibal considered this dilemma. Then he thought up a solution.

Two of his men were still crying as they cradled their injuries. One lost his hand and had a bolt to the shoulder. The other carried a bolt in his stomach. The choice was obvious. He walked towards the man with no hand. The variant would heal enough to be transported if it could feed on someone. The crippled cultist would serve the Court of Diogenes one last time.

Hannibal stood over the fallen cultist with the variant in hand, ready to sacrifice his supposed ally to the monster. He scooped the red robed man in his other hand.

"Wait. What are you doing? No. No! Please!" the cultist plead. He whimpered in fear as he looked at the variant's mouth. The creature understood it was about to get a meal and it drooled in anticipation. It bit at the air to intimidate the cultist even further. Fear was the most decadent spice after all.

Just as Hannibal was about to offer the disabled cultist to the monster, he heard something squish. He looked down to see if he had stepped on someone, but no. He hadn’t. Hannibal looked to the cultist in his hand. The man had tears running down as face, sniveling in fright. He looked fine otherwise. Then Hannibal looked back to the variant in his hand. The variant that was now missing a jaw.

A few feet behind him, the bottom half of the variant's mouth was pinned to the floor by a crossbow bolt. Amicia from the top of her hill, her arm still trembling in pain, had managed to land a miraculous shot on the variant. The bolt sank down through the left cheek of the variant and continued to pass. It shredded the variant's tongue and tore out the its jaw.

The creature spasmed in Hannibal’s hand until it went limp. It seemed to be truly dead now as all strength left the variant's body.

The light of Hannibal’s lantern burned blazing hot as he looked up to Amicia. He was beyond furious. Flinging away the two bodies he'd been holding, the man charged down the creek. He came after her in a berserker's rage.

As soon as Amicia had confirmed her shot landed, she ran off towards her car. Hitting the variant had been a surprising even for her, especially since she'd been aiming at Hannibal. She could hear the loud thuds as Hannibal bounded after her, but she was close to the church’s parking lot.

“Shit, shit, shit. Come on Ami move,” she encouraged herself. The rental clicked open as she pulled open the driver’s side door. She chucked her crossbow to the other side. It was useless now that it was out of bolts. She revved up the engine and started pulling out. In her rear view mirror, she saw Hannibal coming over the hill.

She pressed down on the pedal and the car went from 0 to 60 in a few seconds. Her rental zoomed into the street, clipping a portion of the church’s fence as it passed. Amicia’s heart was racing in her chest. A cold sweat slid down her back, but she relaxed as she gained distance on the hulking brute behind her.

Hannibal was still running after her. If she was going 60, he was going 30. It was clear to both of them that he’d never catch up. That was why Amicia stopped looking behind her and focused on driving down the road. Of course, this meant she missed Hannibal running towards a street light.

With bulging muscles, Hannibal ripped the street light out of the ground. The solid 450 lb pole of steel and aluminum bent like cheap plastic in his hands as he rolled it into a large ball. He pulled his arm back and threw the metal mass towards Amicia’s car.

If Amicia had known that Hannibal would do something that unthinkable, she might’ve had the foresight to swerve out of the way. Instead she was completely caught off guard as the hunk of metal crashed through the frame of her back left windshield.

The glass of the windows shattered from the impact. The force of the improvised projectile spun the car on the road. Another car coming down the other lane honked as Amicia lost control of her vehicle. It swerved to the right, to avoid her and then swung back into the lane.

An unfortunate decision as it meant the other car would hit the chunk of metal on the road. The car went up and over what used to be a light pole and flipped upside down on the road.

Amicia spun down the road for a while until her vehicle finally leveled out. Her head rested on the airbag that had deployed when Hannibal had hit her car. She groaned as she opened her eyes.

On the road, Hannibal was coming for her. The shark had smelled blood in the water and was ready to take a bite. His steps left cracks on the pavement as he charged towards her damaged vehicle.

Amicia pushed herself up as the airbag deflated. The car had automatically shut itself off when it detected being hit by a large collision. Breathing raggedly, she turned the key in the ignition. It sputtered in response.

Hannibal was getting closer. He was only 300 feet away now. She turned the keys. Nothing. 200 feet. She turned again, twisting harder. The car coughed. 120 feet. She cranked the ignition a third time and it finally came to life. 80 feet. Her little rental limped back onto the road and she pushed down on the pedal as hard as she could. 20 feet.

Hannibal’s hand had barely latched onto her trunk as her car finally gained a bit of momentum. She almost thought he had her, but the impact of the metal had damaged the trunk. When Hannibal pulled on it, the trunk had simply popped off, instead of dragging the entire vehicle back.

Amicia shot off into the night, barely escaping Hannibal's clutch. She drove like a bat out of hell. Down the road she went, throwing off any sign of caution as she pushed the car into going 120. This time she kept an eye on Hannibal even as she drove.

In the mirror behind her, Hannibal crushed her car trunk into another ball. Rearing back, he launched it towards her. This time however, he was close enough that he could aim for Amica herself instead of the vehicle. Amicia was paying attention this time. She immediately zig-zagged out of the projectile's path. The hunk of trunk just grazed the side paneling of her rental.

Hannibal watched as Amicia vanished into the night. His body was eerily still as he stared after her. Eventually, he turned around and lumbered away.