It reached out , knowing it was mere seconds from its next meal , when everything suddenly went wrong .

       First , it heard the sound of one of the other females stirring , and realized that it needed to hurry , before she woke and alerted the others , bringing them in numbers it wasn't yet strong enough to prevail against . Especially if the one it had noted earlier became involved ; with his power so evident , he was likely a cleric , or a wizard of notable skill . 

       It reached out , intending to take hold of the girl and overpower her , taking what it wanted and fleeing , before anyone could interfere . But when it made contact , it was instead met with searing , incredible pain . It and the girl screamed simultaneously , and at that point its only thought was to get away . It needed  to escape before the humans could overpower and imprison it again , and to find a place to rest , and to rid itself of the burning agony in its hand .

       So it turned and bolted for the nearest opening , uncaring of the fabric and glass in its way as it dove through . It received several cuts from the glass , but disregarded them ; they were insignificant , and would be mostly , if not completely healed by the time it left its hiding place to roam after the next sunset .

       As it landed on the ground , it could hear the sound of the other humans , awake and on the move , coming from the room that it had just fled . It used its preternatural speed to dash across the open , grassy area to a cluster of trees on the opposite side of the roadway .

       When it finally decided that it was relatively safe , that they weren't going to come out hunting it , it finally took the opportunity to examine its injury . It looked in astonishment at the ugly wound that began on the side of its smallest finger and extended to just past the wrist , charred and suppurating , black ichor dripping to the ground . To add insult to injury , the wound had a symbol burned into it , from the accursed neckpiece the girl had worn , which insured that it would never heal properly .

      BITCH ! GODDAMNED FUCKING TWAT ! 

       The words surfaced in its mind , dragged from the remnants of the consciousness of the one whose form it wore . After cursing the girl , in both its hosts tongue and its own , it also cursed itself for falling for such an obvious trap .

       It was obvious , in hindsight , that the conversation the humans had engaged in earlier was designed with the sole purpose of luring it to them , in hopes of recapturing it . That had to be the explaination for the appearance of the magic - wielder . And the presence of the damnable necklace made it clear that either the girl was , herself , also a wizard , or that the man had designated her as his instrument .

       It would have to be cautious , and look for opportunities to take the others , saving those two for the last . If it deprived them of their minions , gaining strength as it did so , then they would not be able to stand against it . Especially when it regained enough of its strength to bring forth minions of its own .

       As it hid in the shadows of the trees , raging at its misfortune , it heard a sound . It listened more carefully , and recognized the low rumbling sound of one of the human conveyances . Its eyes lit up as it realized that this meant that it had another chance to feed .       

       It slipped further into the shadows , watching for the vehicle , awaiting its opportunity .

                                          ____________________________________________

       "Shit !" , the driver exclaimed , realizing that he'd overshot the driveway . "Great ! Just fucking terrific ! Now we have to find somewhere to turn around , Sally ." , he said to the rust - colored husky who occupied the passenger seat .

       As he continued slowly down the road , he thought about how bad the day had already been . He'd been called in , on his off week , to deliver this cargo after the original driver had gotten himself lost . Twice . The second time , he'd been pulled over for trying to drive the wrong way onto an exit ramp , and was currently in jail somewhere in South Carolina , when he'd been found to be higher than a fighter jet .

       And to make things better , after he'd taken over the run , he'd been delayed by a radiator leak , which was why he was driving down a country road in Virginia at midnight , hoping that someone would be awake to accept delivery .

       He finally spotted what appeared to be an old driveway , or possibly a logging trail , and carefully turned the truck back in the correct direction . He drove back towards the house , watching carefully to be sure he didn't pass it up again , thinking that things were finally looking up . "We're finally back on track , Sally ." , he informed his companion , who flicked her ears , but made no other movement . "Should be smooth sailing from here ." 

       As he approached the turn , he suddenly jammed on his brakes as he saw a form lying in the road , just short of the driveway . He leaned forward over the steering wheel , trying to get a better look , a lump of panic forming in the pit of his stomach .

       "Oh , damn ! You don't think we hit somebody , do you , girl ?" , he addressed the husky , his voice quavering . He threw the parking brake and opened his door , stepping down to check on the figure .

       He walked to the front of the truck , calling out , "Hey there , buddy ! You all right there ? Do you need some help ?" 

       As he neared the spot where he had seen the form , he stopped , looking around in frantic confusion . The roadway was completely empty , the figure was nowhere to be seen .

       "What the hell is going on here ?" , he muttered . He then raised his voice and called out , "Hey , if this is supposed to be some kind of joke , it isn't fuckin' funny !"

       As he finished speaking , he heard a rattling noise from the treeline , and as he turned to look , his worst nightmare came dashing across the road toward him , moving so quickly that it seemed almost to teleport . 

       After a split - second of frozen panic , he turned to run back to the truck , but his assailant was faster , rushing forward and slamming him into the grille . He felt something groping at the front of his shirt as he struggled , then pain flared in his stomach . This finally unlocked his throat muscles , and he let out a full - throated scream , then another .

       After that , two things happened almost simultaneously . As lights flared on outside the house , and peoples voices began coming closer , he heard a deep , throaty snarl , and his attacker was knocked to the ground by a red flash . Sally had launched herself out of the vehicle and come to his defense .

       As she struggled with his attacker , the gate slammed open , and several people began running towards them . Sally bit her opponent , causing it to let loose a high - pitched screech and fling her several feet away . It then leapt up and bolted for the trees , as two women , both carrying guns , reached his side .

       "Damn ! The bastard got away again !" , one of them growled , while the other knelt beside him . 

       "Sir , can you hear me ?" , she asked him , and he nodded .

       "Good . My name is Diana Thomas , I'm a Homeland Security agent . Can you tell me your name ?" 

       "Randy ." , he gritted out , through clenched teeth . "Randy Morris ." 

       "All right , Randy , I'm going to take a look at your injuries . I'll try not to hurt you any more than I can help ." 

       As she reached for him , he grabbed her hand and asked , "Where's Sally ? Is she okay ?"

       "Who's Sally ?" 

       "My dog . She was fighting with that ... thing , and it threw her off when you came through the gate ." , he groaned .

       He observed several men fan out on either side of the road , searching the ditch , as the women proceeded to examine his injuries .

       "Good news , Randy ." , the pretty black girl informed him . "You're definitely gonna need some stitches , but I don't think it's life threatening ."

       "Hey , I found it !" , a deep masculine voice shouted , from several yards away . "It's still alive , but it looks like it might have a broken leg ."

       "One of you guys go get Crane and Faith , if she's up to it ." , the woman named Diana called out . "They're both better at first aid than the rest of us , so they can take care of these two until the paramedics show up ." 

       Randy watched as one of the men ran back through the gate , returning a couple of minutes later with a tall bearded man and a rather nervous - looking brunette girl , each carrying a first - aid kit .

       He observed as the girl started to approach him , and the man gently grasped her arm and spoke to her , causing her to veer off and head in the direction that the voice had come from who said they'd found Sally .

       "Hello , sir ." , the bearded man said , in a British accented voice . "If you will allow me , I will attempt to bandage your wounds . The medics should be arriving shortly , but we need to stem the flow of blood as quickly as possible ." 

       "Bandage away , by all means ." , Randy muttered .

       The man unbuttoned his shirt , and held him in a partly upright position , allowing the black girl ,who the others referred to as Jenny , to pull the tail from the waistband of his jeans . As they did this , Diana crouched down again and asked , "Randy , the police and paramedics are on their way .  But before they get here , can you tell us what happened ?"

       He told her about missing the driveway , and seeing the figure in the road when he turned back , admitting that he'd been afraid that he'd accidentally hit someone . 

       "I stopped the truck and got out , but there wasn't anyone there . I heard a noise , and then ..." , he trailed off , obviously reluctant to continue .

       "Please , just tell us what you saw ." , Jenny prompted him , as the man she called Crane opened a container and poured liquid onto his injury . As he did , Randy felt an odd tingling sensation , similar to the feeling of touching something that carried a low - level electrical charge . Crane looked at his wound for several seconds , then called out , "Miss Faith , does the animal possess any open wounds ?"

       "No , the poor thing has a broken leg , but no cuts or anything . Why ?"

       "Because I've just noted a reaction from this gentleman's injury , and I feared contamination ." 

       Randy's eyes widened , and he said , "She bit the damn thing , made it squall like a stuck pig ! If it has a disease or something , she could get it ." 

       Crane turned to one of the men standing nearby , handing him the container and saying , "Master Jinxx , please take this to Miss Faith , posthaste , and instruct her to clean the animal's mouth with this . Get it to drink the contents , if possible ." 

       The man dashed off , and Diana directed his attention back to her , repeating Jenny's earlier question . He hesitated , then said , "If I answer that , you'll have me in a padded cell before daylight ."

       "My dear fellow , trust me when I say that there is almost nothing that you could say that we would find surprising ." , Crane interjected .

       After a brief pause , he muttered , "The thing that jumped me ... It looked like the biggest damn cockroach I've ever seen . I told you it sounds nuts ."

       Diana looked him in the eye and said , "No , actually , it doesn't . I believe that's what you think you saw , and so does everyone else . But I suggest not mentioning that to the paramedics , or your boss . There's no need to give them any cause to wonder about your sobriety ." 

       "Or my sanity ." , he replied .

       "Yes , that too . I just thought I'd be polite and not put that out there ." 

       "You really mean what you said ? You believe me ?" , he inquired anxiously .

       "Yes , we believe you , Randy ." , Jenny told him . "I can tell you that you didn't really see a giant bug , but we're fully aware that it seemed that way to you ."

       They finally heard sirens approaching , and as they grew louder , Randy grasped Diana's arm and said , "Wait a sec ! Homeland Security ?! Is this some sort of terrorist thing , where we're getting gassed or something ?"

       "It's no terrorist , but we're still investigating to try to find out what's really going on ." , she responded , as the ambulance finally arrived , followed by several police cars .

       As the EMT's loaded Randy onto the stretcher , he reached out and grabbed Crane's arm . "A few minutes ago , you seemed worried about Sally ." , he said urgently . "What was that stuff you told them to make her drink , some sort of poison antidote or something ?" 

       He was shocked into silence by Crane's reply , "No , it was nothing of the sort , Master Morris . It was holy water ."