Page 129 of Immersed
Levi’s hand closed around a metal chair, the only potential weapon within reach. He lifted it, knowing it would do little against the thing approaching him. His arms trembled with exhaustion and fear.
The creature lunged.
A blur of motion intercepted it. Two forms collided with bone-jarring force, crashing into the row of chairs with a metallic clatter. Levi blinked, brain struggling to process what he was seeing.
Asher.
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Surprisingly Weak Mini Boss
Theygrappledonthefloor, the creature’s limbs bending in impossible directions as it tried to gain leverage. Asher moved gracefully, his face almost serene, as he grabbed the thing’s throat while the other drove a scalpel into its eye with a wet, puncturing sound.
The creature bucked and thrashed, inhuman sounds tearing from its mouth. Asher held firm, driving the scalpel deeper, twisting. Dark fluid spilled across his hands, splashing onto his face.
With a final, human-like whimper, the creature went limp.
Asher remained atop it for several seconds, chest heaving, before slowly rising to his feet. His clothes were soaked with the creature’s fluids, his eyes wide as he turned to face Levi.
Time seemed to stretch between them, elastic and uncertain.
This man had hunted him and comforted him. Kissed him and killed him. Hurt him and violated him and was violently possessive and protective in equal measure. He wasn’t just a walking red flag; he was the bubbling vat of dye that made the flags red at the red flag factory. Common sense would tell Levi to run as far and fast away from Asher as he could.
But common sense was for a world he didn’t live in anymore.
Levi ran towards him so fast he collided with Asher’s body, his hands gripping the front of his blood-soaked shirt for dear life. Before either of them could speak, Levi slammed his mouth against Asher’s in a desperate, hungry kiss.
He felt Asher’s momentary shock in the stiffness of his posture, the quick intake of breath against Levi’s lips. Then his arms encircled Levi’s waist, pulling their bodies flush together with bruising force. He tasted of copper and salt, his lips cool at first contact but warming quickly against Levi’s.
“Asher,” Levi gasped against his lips, not giving himself time to think before continuing to kiss him. It was chaotic, almost violent in its intensity as Levi pushed his tongue into Asher’s mouth, as if tasting every inch of the inside of his mouth would make his presence more real. Levi’s fingers tangled in Asher’s hair, tugging hard enough to hurt, and he was rewarded with a low growl that vibrated through both their bodies.
“What was that for?” Asher panted as Levi broke away from the kiss to catch his breath. His eyes were wide as he stared down at Levi, his lower lip sucked against his teeth as though he were afraid of what Levi would say.
Before Levi could answer, before he could begin to articulate the confused tangle of relief and need and residual terror, a wet sliding sound from the corridor interrupted the moment.
Another creature burst through the door.
Where the others had been spindly and insect-like, this new horror was a mass of fused limbs forming multi-jointed appendages that propelled it forward with unsettling efficiency. Its spine protruded through stretched skin, vertebrae visible like a row of knobs down its back. Its face was partially hidden behind a flap of skin that oozedyellowish adipose tissue with a single eyeball peering through what appeared to be a belly button.
It charged without hesitation, moving faster than something so malformed should be able to.
Asher shoved Levi behind him, positioning himself between the creature and its target. But instead of retreating, Levi stepped to the side, grabbing a metal tray of surgical implements from the table.
“Hey, over here, asshole!” Asher shouted at the creature as he feinted left while Levi circled right. When the creature lunged at Asher, Levi swung the metal tray with all his strength, connecting with the thing’s exposed spine.
It shrieked, a sound like grinding metal and human pain combined, and whirled toward Levi. Asher shoved its face to the side, stabbing it in the neck with his scalpel and tearing his arm to the side. Blood oozed out, thick and viscous globules that hit the ground with wet slaps, like it was already coagulated.
The creature thrashed, catching Levi with one of its fused limbs and sending him sprawling. His head struck the edge of the table, making his vision swim with black spots. The creature reared back to strike again.
“Levi!” Asher shouted, sliding the scalpel toward him as he grabbed at it’s fleshy face. The skin ripped away like wax.
Levi’s hand closed around the scalpel. As the creature descended, he thrust upward with every ounce of strength he had left in him. The blade sank into the underside of its jaw, piercing through to whatever passed for a brain in the monstrosity.
The creature collapsed atop him, its weight forcing the air from his lungs. For a terrible moment, he was pinned beneath the twitching mass, the smell of chemicals and decay overwhelming as he gagged.Then the weight lifted as Asher hauled the creature’s body away, flinging it aside with a grunt.
“Are you hurt?” Asher demanded, his hands moving over Levi’s body.
Levi shook his head, still struggling to catch his breath. “I’m okay.”
