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“Okay?”

She licked her lips and nodded.

Rising, I pulled her to her feet. Then I yanked my combat knife from the sheath on my thigh.

I was going to have to get up close and personal.

“Stay behind me.” I strode over and rammed the blade into the tentacle. I yanked, opening up a gash.

The tentacle went mad. I used all my strength, cutting and hacking. Thick, black blood oozed from the wound. Damn, the skin was thick. Gritting my teeth, I kept pulling the knife through the tentacle.

Hands gripped mine and Greer was there, adding her strength to mine.

Together, we sawed the blade through the thick flesh. The tentacle ripped free, leaving a hunk of it behind. It flopped around and I kicked it away.

Greer ran to her people. “Come on. It’s okay. Hunter Squad is here.”

I waved them ahead of me, bringing up the rear. I kept my weapon up, watching the churning water. My squad was still firing on the creature.

Then suddenly, the final tentacle slipped back into the water.

The water went still.

Damn, I knew it wasn’t dead. It was still in there. Waiting.

“Everyone inside,” I yelled.

My squad mates nodded.

We followed Greer into the dam base.

CHAPTER FOUR

Greer

Iwatched Jameson slam the base door closed. The howling wind was instantly silenced.

Adrenaline was pumping through my system, and I tried to calm my fast breathing. “Frankie, Jordan, are you both okay?”

They nodded, water dripping off their soaked clothes. Frankie was holding a hand to her head. Her dark, curly hair was a tangled mess around her face, and her usually dark skin had a pale tint. Jordan was middle-aged, bald, and built like a tank, but he looked shaken.

I saw the rest of the Hunter Squad step into view. Each and every one of them was tall, muscular, and clad in their high-tech armor.

“My arm…” Jordan held his arm up. “It’s burning. The slime from that…thing, it burns.”

I could see his skin was blistering.

“And it hurts like hell,” he added.

“Frankie, get him down to the infirmary,” I said,

The woman nodded. “I hit my head…I’m feeling a little…” She staggered.

“Frankie,” I cried.

North lunged forward and caught her. She blinked up at him, then sagged, unconscious.

I pushed forward. “Is she all right?”