Page 39 of Lagoon

Nathan ran at them. He had been wearing pants at some point, but they’d been ripped at the crotch and now—

What the fuck was—

Nathan hissed at him and tackled him against the ground. Sharp claws buried themselves into Luther’s midsection.

No, Nathan was clawing him. Nathan had him pinned down and was digging into his skin.

Nathan shrieked in his face.

That… that wasn’t Nathan anymore.

Luther let out a whimper.

A gunshot.

Nathan’s body slumped on top of his.

Ramirez had shot him.

He shook. Then he pushed his former friend and co-worker off of his body and got to trembling feet. He cast one glance down at whatever it was between Nathan’s legs, but it was shrunken now, not the strange sort of long protuberance he’d seen before.

Reproductory changes, that was what the scientists had said.

Shit.

Ramirez nudged him with her shoulder. “You’re wounded. Go out and wait for me.”

“No fucking way,” he said fiercely. He was bleeding, but he wasn’t leaving her alone. “I’m not letting you face this alone.”

“Thanks, Thompson,” she said dryly.

“Not because you’re a woman,” he said. “Just… no one should be alone right now.”

They edged their way further into the cabin.

Ramirez turned the lights on and that was when they saw Nancy.

She was lying half in her bedroom, half out of it, right in the doorway. Her pants had been ripped off, and her legs were spread. There were things… oozing out of her, um… between her legs. Lots of round, squishy things with these blue spiderweb-like veins inside them… like…

Her stomach was split open. There was blood. The things—eggs—were oozing out of the rupture in her stomach too. There were bloody hand prints all over her thighs. She’d been—

“Fuck,” he said.

He backed away, shaking his head, shaking his entire body.

“Fine,I’llcheck for a pulse,” said Ramirez.

He bowed his head, still shaking. “Sorry, I just—”

“No,” she said. “You’re wounded.”

His mind was racing, putting things together, things he didn’t want to put together, things that he didn’t want to know.

“You shoot me, right?” he said. “If I… once I turn into—”

“Yeah,” she said in a clipped voice. “Of course.”

“Thanks,” he said, and then he went out of the cabin and threw up.

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