Pulse

SIXTY-ONE

The thinning trees gave way to a dirt road. As he burst from the trees a glint of sun on metal caught Knight's eye. After a moment of looking he saw a pattern he recognized as camouflage. The shape of the SUV emerged next. Yes! Knight thought, running toward the vehicle.

Bishop continued chasing down the Hydra, whose violent charge was marked by a path of flattened birch trees.

Knight yanked the camouflage from the SUV, jumped inside, and started the engine. He peeled from the hiding spot, leaving a cloud of dust and shredded pine needles in his wake. Passing the abandoned mess hall, he drove down a stony hill, turned a sharp left, and slammed on the breaks as he nearly ran Bishop over.

Bishop climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and then onto the roof. He held on to the roof rack with one hand and slammed on the roof with the other, shouting a savage-sounding, "Go!"

Knight floored it through the cleared patch of forest left in the Hydra's wake. The Chevy Tahoe bounced over the small limbs as Knight did his best to steer around the larger felled timber. Bishop held on tight with both hands while his lower body was picked up and smashed against the SUV's roof over and over. He ignored the pain and had no worries about permanent injuries, not to his body anyway.

Then they were through it and onto a road. Knight's sense of direction was turned around by the endless sea of tall pines, but then he saw a street sign: Praise Street. A dog barked.

Thor.

Knight hit the gas and drew a fully automatic pistol capable of firing fifteen rounds in 1.9 seconds, one of the many weapons hidden within the vehicle. As the SUV raced down the street, Knight's view of the Honeymoon Cottage was blocked by a mass of green, scaled flesh. Thor stood on the small, red porch, barking up at the seven-headed behemoth as it reared up to strike. Knight leaned from the driver's side window and held the pistol's trigger down for a full two seconds, unleashing all fifteen rounds. Every one of them buried into the creature's side.

The bullets did no serious damage, but the sting got its attention. Seeing the approaching SUV, the Hydra roared and continued its mad flight through the campground. It pounded through a nearby cottage, completely flattening it, before charging toward the open quad.

Knight skidded to a stop in front of the cottage, looked at Thor and said, "Stay!" Then he peeled away again in pursuit of the Hydra.

Worst fears became realized as distant screams filled the air. Children. The SUV exploded from the forest, catching air as the road changed from dirt to tarmac, turning the Tahoe into a blunt missile. The vehicle slammed into the Hydra's side, toppling it over in a mass of twisting heads and limbs. Bishop was sent flying. He cleared the Hydra and landed on the grassy quad, sliding to a stop halfway between the road and the shuffleboard court where four children stood in shock.

Knight, unable to rapidly heal, having gone from sixty to zero upon impact with the Hydra, fared the worst. Unconscious and pinned by an airbag, he slipped to the side, bumping his head against the door. He jolted awake when the Hydra roared. After kicking the door open and falling to the road he looked up and saw the Hydra, heads up and snapping at the only thing standing between it and the children: the machete-wielding Bishop.