The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

A corpse nearly torn in half by claws was stuck against the service panel. Fingers clutched against the door, the head pressed into the wiring.

"Can you get it open?" Reaper looked to Ruby.

With a grumble, Ruby went to the panel. He had to pry away the corpse, but it did not want to let go.

Jackal decided to give him a hand. When he got close, he noticed a red light in the gap of the door. Just like the red light they had seen down the hall.

He stopped. Stared into the darkness.

The lights were there, standing still. This time they were closer. Just within reach. Jackal shined his flashlight on them.

All he could see was the smoke on the other side, floating and wafting around. Within the thinnest strands, he caught glimpses of light shining off black metal.

A breath?

He looked back to Mjolnir, who was gazing into the blackness beyond the door. He heard it, too. Breathing. Deep, slow breathing.

Then came the sound of a snake hissing. Almost like a whisper of warning.

The red lights twisted into the darkness. Then twisted back to their sight.

"Ruby, hurry." Mjolnir said.

Jackal stepped closer to the door, a hand reaching out into the smoke. There was something there. He could hear a faint voice whispering. Wanting him closer. In some way, he wanted to be closer. He wanted to see what it was. To know it.

It tugged jackal towards the creature hiding in the shadows. An astronomical pull that he just couldn't resist. His heart was the only sound he could hear beating against his eardrums. His chest tightened. All the weight he held upon his shoulders seemed to lift away, yet he was unwilling to let go. He was drawn to the unknown of the other side.

Frost fractaled over Jackal's glove, and though he knew he should not reach any further into the darkness, he could not help himself. Colder still, the more he reached, the more the frost traveled up his arm. The lights shifted in place. His headlamp shined just right so he could see black metal breaching through the smoke, something slender. A point. A claw?

It reached towards his hand. He reached for it. Just as soon as they would have touched, discovered who one another were, they were interrupted.

Another hiss, this time louder, almost as if it were shrieking.

The metal pulled sharply into the darkness. Jackal pulled away quickly, stepping back.

A hammer flew through the opening, narrowly missing Jackal's face. Even Mjolnir and Reaper ducked down to avoid the weapon.

A growl rumbled their bones. They could faintly hear it, yet it was an earthquake raging in their bodies. The lights twisted and disappeared into the darkness.

"Do you believe me now?" Mjolnir's tail flicked.

"Why ain't it showing up on the scanner?" Sparrow found it safest behind Reaper since he was far from the door.

More shrieks and growls echoed out from the other side of the door.

"Open it!" Jackal shouted.

Ruby choked, having been working on the wires the entire time. He did not like the idea of opening the door now. There was something in there and it was not friendly.

"Okay, okay! I think I got it." A few sparks.

"Ready!" Reaper ordered.

Mjolnir pulled his hammer from his back and held it with both hands. Jackal shouldered his rifle. They were right at the door, the first in line. Sparrow and Reaper hung back to cover Ruby.

Another spark. The gears whirred to life inside the walls. The door jumped, sparked, then slowly pulled itself open. A large hunk of metal was spat out from above.

They expected something to come through the door now that it was open.

A cry of terror. The sound of flesh ripping. Metal clacking. Silence.

They waited and waited, but nothing came.

Jackal glimpsed the red lights in the pitch black. Then they were gone, with only a fading trail of their movement.

Jackal ran in.

"Hey! Wait!" Reaper called. "Damn it all!"

Mjolnir looked back, waiting for the go.

SEVEN

I rushed ahead into the darkness, chasing after the creature. Sparrow called for me to stop, but I kept going. Mjolnir was the only one that could catch up. When he did, I found the hall had been blocked by debris. It collapsed in on itself, leaving no passage through.

A foot and an arm were sticking out from the rubble, poor souls who could not get out of the way in time.

The smell was worse here than in the ecosphere. Perhaps because of the tight quarters, there was no way for the smells to disperse. I wanted to plug my nose, but I sure as hell was not risking exposure to that gas that was everywhere we went.

Black blood was smeared across the wall, splashed onto the floor. I could get the blood on my glove. It must have been from the creature.

"Think it was hurt." I said, not even looking at the ardrizi.

"Would explain why it ran away."

"Why would it reach out?" My flashlight shone on the blood, following the trail into an open room.

"All I know is you're lucky it didn't snatch you."

I grinned, "Don't you mean it's lucky?"

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Reaper scolded. "Running off like that? You don't know what that thing is, Liam!"

I winced. Reaper never used my actual name. Ever since I earned the name "Jackal" no one really knew my real name save for those who looked at the paperwork.

I felt like a kid being scolded by his father.

"As far as we know, that thing did all of this!" He continued.

"So, you want it to get away?" I kept the flashlight angled down, so it shined on his chest. It was amazing how everything else looked much darker around the beam than without.

"Right now, it's probably best." Reaper sighed. "Let's keep our distance. Keep heading this way. If you see it, say something."

I turned around and stepped into the room. The black gunk was smeared across the floor as if a body was being dragged. Maybe the creature was limping. Either way, it was a