The jungle shriek the moment Ian's body collapsed into black ooze. Screams tore through the mist, shrill and jagged as the black blood of Ian's impostor drenched the soil. From every direction, pale eyes blinked open in the dark. Shadows rippled between the trees, their movements wrong, too fast, too hungry but weak.
Nathan didn't waste a second "RUN!" . The group bolted. Branches lashed their faces, roots snared their feet, lungs burned with each desperate gasp. Behind them, claws scraped bark, guttural roars rattled the night.
Sarah's heart pounded so hard it drowned out everything else. She clutched the broken metal rod tighter, knuckles white. Every time she blinked, she saw Ian's black heart crushed in Natnat's hand But there was no time to think. The forest had come alive and it wanted them dead.
The first mimic dropped from the canopy with a shriek. Its face was half-melted, jaw unhinged so wide it nearly split its skull. Claws swiped toward Ashley. She screamed, stumbling back, the mimic's talons slicing across her arm.
"ASHLEY!" Joanne swung a rusted pipe with both hands. The impact cracked bone, spraying ichor across the leaves. The mimic staggered, twitching. Natnat lunged past them, seizing the creature by its throat. His grip tightened until cartilage popped. Then, with a savage twist, he ripped the head clean off.
Black sludge sprayed across Sarah's shirt. She flinched, but Natnat only turned his pale eyes toward her. " Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Nathan snarled. "Stay focus! He's just keeping you alive for himself! Don't you see it?!" But Sarah couldn't answer. Her body was shaking, her throat too dry. Natnat had saved her again. That truth clung to her more than Nathan's anger. She felt weak and burdened.
The forest howled with more shrieks. Mimics poured from the shadows in a frenzy. Andy smashed one's skull open with a rock, his arms trembling with exertion. Joanne swung wildly, pipe denting bone and splitting teeth. Ashley, bleeding and panicked, jammed her broken chair leg into a mimic's chest. It shrieked, black ichor pouring as it convulsed.
For a heartbeat, Sarah almost believed they could fight their way out. Then the fog stirred. A figure lingered at the edge of the mist, watching. Its shape was wrong, stretched, but its face is still Becky. No, not Becky. Not anymore. It was also stuck with the face.
His eyes gleamed too bright. His grin too wide. He didn't rush like the others but he waited. Calculated. Natnat froze. His jaw clenched. He knew that wave and its screaming danger.
"KEEP MOVING!" Nathan roared. The group pushed harder, Ashley limping from blood loss, Loca stumbling but refusing to stop. Sarah's lungs seared. Her legs screamed. The dock had to be close. It had to...
A mimic lunged from the side, slamming Sarah to the ground. Its claws scraped for her throat. She shrieked, shoving her rod upward, the jagged edge tearing through its mouth. The creature gurgled, teeth snapping inches from her face. Then Natnat's hands tore into its back, splitting it open like wet paper. He dragged the twitching halves apart, ichor raining onto the soil.
He leaned over Sarah, blood dripping from his jaw, eyes locked on hers. "I know you felt something too" he whispered on her ear. Sarah's breath hitched.
Nathan's voice thundered, furious. "WHATEVER IT IS YOU BETTER STOP FOOLING AROUND!" But Natnat only smirked faintly. His attention never left Sarah.
The trees finally broke. The dock stretched ahead, pale wood slick with water. Beyond it, salvation: a single boat bobbing in the waves. They staggered onto the planks, wood groaning under their weight. Joanne dropped her pipe, chest heaving. Andy clutched Ashley's arm, steadying her. Nathan scanned the fog, weapon raised.
For a moment, silence. Just the sound of water lapping below. Sarah's chest loosened. They'd made it. They'd finally could escaped or they thought... they forgot about becky.
Thud!
The planks shuddered as something landed at the far end of the dock. A figure rose, slow, deliberate. The fog peeled back to reveal Becky. Or rather, the thing wearing Becky's skin. His body twisted with every step, bones shifting beneath the flesh. His grin split unnaturally wide, teeth glistening like wet glass. His laugh cut the air in two tones, fractured, wrong.
"Finally," he crooned, his voice both human and not. "You led me right to her." Loca froze. She was the last one trailing behind, her eyes wide. Becky's head tilted, eyes gleaming with recognition. Then he spoke, not to her but to Natnat.
"You always were defective." His grin widened, voice rippling with venom. "Clinging to feelings. Mimics don't feel. Mimics devour." Natnat's chest rose and fell, ichor dripping from his wounds. "You're obsessed with me. Even back there, you hated me."
"I hated your weakness." Becky's voice cracked like glass. "And now I see you've tainted yourself further. Attachment. To her." His gaze flicked to Sarah. "I'll take her from you. Just to watch you break or was it because of that night ? Should I try it with her too?" Sarah's stomach twisted, bile burning her throat. She couldn't move.
Becky's arm shot forward. A sudden claw ripped through Loca's chest, bursting from her back in a spray of blood. Her eyes bulged. Her lips trembled, scarlet bubbling past her teeth. For one fragile moment, she tried to speak then Becky yanked his arm free.
Loca collapsed, blood pooling beneath her, twitching once before going still. "NO!" Joanne screamed, her voice tearing. Becky dragged his claw along the wood, leaving streaks of blood. His laugh echoed across the dock, high-pitched, animal. "Where do you think you're going?"
The boat rocked gently in the mist behind him. The only path forward was through Becky. Natnat's pale eyes burned. His voice came low, steady, almost calm. "You will die tonight."