Erin could see a tall wooden pole across the creek at the top of the embankment. At one time, it likely carried electricity to Jackson's house. Now severed wires hung from it. She was closer. Erin gripped the gun, ready to fire should a creature show itself. But she wondered what posed a greater danger, the monsters or the masked man? He seemed familiar, but every nerve in her body told her he was dangerous. One of the first lessons she learned was to never ignore that feeling.

Approaching the house meant she was approaching the creatures. The woods were quiet and empty, only trees and brush, and the gentle slosh of her wading through the creek, which seemed to get deeper every steep.

She held the gun tighter still. They would see her before she saw them, right? She thought of Ry, at the mercy of those creatures.

I'm on my way, Ry, she thought.

She didn't know how fast they were, until the rifle was ripped from her hand. Before she could even cry out, she was shoved back into the water. She fell into the cold rushing water, which hit her like an electric shock. She inhaled it as she tried to regain her breath. She shoved her head up and out of the water, coughing and sucking in air. Her clothes were soaked in ice water. She struggled to her feet only for the creature, a blur of brown, to knock her back under.

Erin crawled through the creek water and got to her feet, her back to the steep embankment. The creature paced in the water in front of her. It tossed her rifle into the brush behind it. The ape paced, back and forth again and again, each time growing closer. It walked upright, but was hunched and leaned forward, stalking closer.

The creature was thin but incredibly tall, easily seven feet or more. The animal's arms were longer than a person's, gangly like a chimpanzee. Its facial expression was a pained grimace. It grunted and bared its teeth, its canines long and thin, more rattlesnake than ape. Hair coated it, but she could see the muscle beneath. The creature was powerful. She was dead. Ry had to be. The creature was clearly an animal, an ape, but there was something human in it, far more than she had ever seen in a chimp or a gorilla. This was more us than them.

She wasn't going to die crying, cowering. Erin refused. She fucking refused. The ape screamed at her, a shrill sound that ended in a bellow she felt in every muscle of her body.

Erin shook and screamed back, every ounce of frustration and fear pouring out of her, emptying herself of every bit of apprehension. Everything soft thing dissipated until only steel remained. She could take it on bare handed if she had too. She'd drown this monster in the creek.

Come on, then, she thought. Let's bleed in the creek water. If Ry's dead they'll meet again soon enough.

"Come on!" Erin screamed.

From the brush, a spear whistled through the air and landed in the water between Erin and the ape. The creature leaped back and started to look around, screeching and crouching down.

He's back, Erin thought. The masked man returned. But no, on the other side of the water she could see a silhouette of a woman with wild bushy hair, rough clothing made of animal skins. Her hands were fists. The creature shrieked at her and the woman answered with a deep cry of her own. She took a step closer and the creature fled.

Erin couldn't believe it. This thing could have picked her up and ripped her in half. She wanted to run, but the woman called out.

"Stop."

Erin did. "Who are you?"

The woman pointed up. Erin looked and above them circled two birds. Close enough she could see the black coloration and white ring around their necks, but they were far larger than any condor or vulture. She felt exposed. If she could see them, they could see her. Could she even run from something like this?

"They follow predators. Scavengers more than anything. The lion is near."

"The lion?"

"Did you think the ape was running from me?" The woman nodded to Erin's left. Sneaking down the bank, almost crawling on the ground, was the lion. Like the stories said, it was like an African lion, but larger, hulking, with shaggy hair and a shading of spots. No way this could be confused for a mountain lion.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Erin asked.

The lion stopped and raised its gaze to Erin. The cat's ears twitched and moved back flat on its head. It crouched lower. She could see lines of scar tissue and patches of missing hair. One eye looked damaged, pink and sunk into its skull.

The creature was of another time, something prehistoric. Like the birds, like the apes. She remembered what Pamilia said, of a door to another world. A door that was apparently wide-fucking-open.

"If you run to the bank and head straight ahead, you'll find the house and outrun the lion. Water slows it down."

"Run? From that?" Erin said. "The gun! Where is it? toss it to me!"

"No time," the woman said. "Ry could be dying. Run. Now!"

Erin's legs felt stuck in the silt of the creek bottom, like a dream where your feet sink into the ground and pull your legs under. But the woman's command shook her loose and she fought through the water to the shore. The woman looked away when Erin glanced her way. Erin ran forward, along the creek. The lion made a sound like a bark and inched to the water. It growled, almost in disgust, and dove in, running so fast it almost skimmed the surface and pounding on the sand, running toward Erin.

The woman watched. Erin would make it. She knew that. Of course she did. She did her part. Time to go home. Making her way through the brush, a snapped twig made her stop. She could see him, the man in the mask, with the stone spear and the jawbone trophy.

She knew she would be here, at this moment. But how could he?

"You," she sneered.

"Me."