1. Tasted
He couldfeel the pull of itonhisskin,the tightness,the tension,the tearing…
“For fuckssake man, getit off!”
“Fuck Matt! Stay still!The buggerstearingyourarmto shreds!”
There wasa final ripand Matt screamed.Throughthe haze of hispainhe couldhear the struggling
squeakingof the foul thing,all tentaclesandhooks.
“Kill italready-sss!”He hissedandlookedathisarm, six deepcutsbledout aroundthe pitof his
elbow,one large circularbite overhisbrachial vein.A foul stenchandanauseatingpurple gunk
oozedoutfrom the viciousincisions.
“Shit.”
Eric was still strugglingwiththe thing,holdingitatarm’s lengthasit desperatelytriedtolatchon
withitsbarbedarms.
“Stamp onit god damnit!I’ve got a real problemhere!”
Throwingitdowndisgustedly, Ericbroughthismassive hikersbootsontothe creature as itquickly
triedto burrow itsway intothe wetmud.With a squelch,smelly,orange bloodsplatteredoutfrom
underthe sole,streakingasEric hurriedtohisside.He wasa large man,muscled.They’dbothspent
6 monthsin physical trainingbeforethisexpedition andthatwas ignoringtheirtwelve yearsprior
servingthe coalition,butEricwasnaturallybulky.He gingerlyheld Matt’swrist,twistinghisarm
around.
“Lucky the buggerdidn’tgetany deeper.”
“Anydeeper!”Matt spat.“Fuck Eric I can barelyliftmyarm!”
Usinghis free hand, Erictore at the Velcropouchon hisbelt,a satisfyingcrunchscaringawaysome
creature in the bushto hisright.He sniffed,the rainwascomingthroughthe canopy thickandfast.
They’dneedtomove quickly.Retrievingasmall syringe he plungedthe needleintoMatt’sarm, right
inthe crookof hiselbow.Mattgrunted,butdidn’tcry out.
“Thisbitestoodeep,gauze won’tcut it.”He stated,gigglingslightly.
Eric lookedinhiseyes.The dim,torrential forestmade visiondifficult,butMatt’spupils virtually
pressedagainsthissockets.
“Fuck.” He said,touching hisearpiece andholdinghisfriendsteady.Mattwasstartingto swayand
hisfeetwere slipping. “Doc.he’sgoingintoshock.”
“Symptoms?”Came the crackledresponse.
Quickly, Erictore at anotherpouchand withdrew abigger,thickersyringe filledwith whatlooked
like pills.

2. “Delirious,unsteady.Canbarelykeephisfeet.”
Inspectingthe woundagainhe identifiedthe deepestbites.There were three;three deep,broad
puncturesinthe centre of a ringof smallermarks.
“This’ll hurtmate.”He muttered.
Matt giggledagain,hisheadbeginningtololl onhisshoulders.
“Doesn’tunderstandwhat’shappening.” Ericcommunicated.
Clutchinghisfriendsarmtightlywithhishand,he thrustthe syringe intothe deepestwound.Matt
howledinpainandstruggledviolently,striking Ericacrossthe cheek.Pullingbackhislips,he
scruncheduphis face and bitback hisowncry. Squeezing,he releasedthe pill shapesintothe
puncture.Whena thirdwas injectedhe removedthe syringe,causingMattto sighinrelief,before
plungingitonce againintothe second,large toothmark, stimulatinganothercry.Alreadythe first
was fillingwithadense foamysponge,sealingthe bite.
“All right.You sealing the – ‘Yes.’ – Good.Get him to thedrop site. The toxin will already have
affected hisParietal lobe.”
On the thirdinjectionMatt suddenly tore loose from Eric’sgrip,wavinghisarmsaroundwiththe
syringe still buriedinhisflesh.
“Matt! Matt!” Eric shouted,tryingtograb hisarms again.“Stop it buddy!”The syringe wentflying
and landedwithaplopina stagnantpool some distance away.
Thenhe startedscreaming.
Matt’s criespiercedthe treelineandsentshiversdown Eric’sspine.
“Eric? What’shappening?”
Bloodsplatteredacrosshisface as he dodgeda wildswingtohisface.Matt was flailingaround,
howlingasthe rainhammeredagainsthisskin.He startedto scratch at his arms, desperatelytrying
to pull awaythe dropletsonlytoworsenthe cutsalready there.
“Matt!” he criedas he made anotherattempttograb him, onlyto receive aviciousblow tothe
head.
“What’s happeningDoc?He’sscratchingat hisarms; the bastard’sjustdoingmore damage!”
Bloodwaspouringfromthe wounds onMatt’s arms.
“His sensesare going berserk.Thatrain’sgoing to feel like being stung a thousand timesover.Get
him to thedrop site!”
“Fuck it.”Eric cursed.With one strongstroke he punchedMatt in the face,knockinghimoutcold.
Witha thump,Matt crumpled onthe ground,hisbloodturningthe muda wet,dark maroon. A sharp
screakcame fromthe rightand Eric turnedto see a featherless ostrichlike beastdartbetweenthe
trees.Anotherscreechcame fromhisotherside.

3. “Doc. We gotta go! The wildlife isstartingtosayhi!”
HoistingMatt overhisshoulder,Ericsankhisbootsinto the mud.He couldbarelyrun for every print
suckingat hisfeet.
“You’vegotthree minutes,Eric. That neurotoxin hasalready doneirreparabledamageto hisbrain.If
you don’tgethim backsoon-”
“Shut itDoc!” he roared.
ShiftingMattacross both hisshoulders,Erictriedtobalance hisweightashe joggedforward. The
downpourrandownhis face and bouncedoff the ferns withmore tenacitythananysoldierorbeast.
Forcinghisway throughthe tangledfernsandvines,Ericdesperatelytriedtododge the rootsand
put as muchdistance betweenhimandthe swamp. Glancingdown,he checkedthe compass watch
strappedto hiswrist.
Suddenlysomethingleaptonhisbackand he splashed face firstintothe mud,Matt topplingoff his
shoulders.A horridshriekingechoedaroundhimand a horrid, pale, featherlessbirdpouncedon
Matt’s limpformand beganpeckingathisthroat.
“No!”
In that instance,he feltsomethingstrike the backof hisneckas hisfleshwasrippedfree. He yelled
inpain as the creature struck againand again,tearingaway small chunksof muscle andsinew.
Placinghishandsinthe mud, Eric triedtorise,onlyto have the birdscreechinhis earand peckat his
hands.He collapsed, accidentally swallowingsome of the vile ordure.
“Eric? Eric? You’vegottwo minutesEric!”
Raisinghisheadslightly,he sawnolessthanthree of the monstersdiggingawayathisfriend’s
corpse. Theywere uglythings.Hairless,featherless,scrawnylegssupportingaswollenbulklike the
stomachof a fat politician. He screamedasanotherbite rippedathisthroat,actuallyliftinghishead
for a secondonlyforit to dropback downwhenthe fleshcame loose.
“Bloodybirds!”he swore.
Rollingover,he dislodgedthe thing.Spinningaroundquicklyenoughtosee ittumble off him,wailing
as itslongneck snappedunderitsownpoundage.
Withan angry screech,the three remainingbirdsturnedtheirserpentine headsinhisdirection,
openingtheirbeakstoreveal sharp,glisteningincisors. Ericchanceda lookat hisfriend.He was
dead,hisspine pulledfree atthe base of hisskull.Baringhisownteeth,Eric seized hisfirearmand
loosedthree quickshotsintotheirspherical abdomens.
Then,standing,he crossedtohisfriend’sbody,kickedawaythe birdsandreturnedwhatremained
of hisfriendtohisshoulders.Withagrimexpression,he joggedforward,thunderrumbling
overhead.
“One minuteEric!”

4. He approacheda clearingwhere achopperwaited readyfordeparture,the rotorsemittingtheirlow
‘thukthukthuk’. Inside the cabin,aman wearinga stained,beigetrenchcoatleanedout.
“I’m here Doc,but Matt’s dead.”
The lipsof the man inthe cabin moved,butEricheard hisvoice inhisear.
“Then why did you return?”
“I couldn’tleave himtobe eaten.” Ericprotested.He spataway some of the rain that had gathered
on hisupperlip.“He shouldn’tbe lefthere!”
“You misunderstand,Eric.”The Doctor said.He leanedbackintothe cabin. “I haveno usefor a
machinemissing half its parts.”
Eric felthisheartskipa beat. With that,the helicopterstartedtorise,forcing himtocrouch. Again,
Matt fell fromhisshoulders.
“You’re goingto leave ushere!”he shouted, hisvoice hoarse.
There wasno reply.
“You fuckingbastard!”he bellowedatthe copterasit rose intothe nightsky.
Soonit wasgone and the heavyrain forcedhimto lookdown.Aroundhim, the forest treeswere
droopinginthe stormand the thickundergrowthrippledinaseaof unpleasantgreen.Low patches
of groundwere filledwithwaterandafoul odourpermeatedthe atmosphere.
At hisfeet, Matt suddenlystartedtotwitch.Hiswhole formwrithedandshudderedonthe ground.
Backingaway,Eric watchedinrevulsion ashisfriend’sarmhelditsgoryspinal columnandforcedit
intothe hole inhisneck,pushingitback inwitha dreadful force.
“Err…” he said,turningtowardsthe sky.“He’s alive again!”