Hulk by Peter David (e reader manga TXT) 📕

way that seemed to reflect a rudimentary degree of recognition—most likely, she thought, because it was recognizing her as a late-night snack.

At that point, Betty screamed, stepping slightly backward, and dropped the flashlight as the monster turned and approached. And “monster” it most certainly was. There was no disputing that this beast was something unknown to, and outside of, nature. An abhorrent, lurking thing that would just as soon rip her apart as waste any time at all on her.

As she backed up, she stumbled over a tree root. Her arms flailed out as she fell backward, and the creature was right on her, grabbing her before she could hit the ground so that it could rend her limb from . . .

And the monster held her.

That was all. Just held her, at an angle. They looked, insanely, like a pair of dancers caught frozen in the midst of a graceful dip. But there was nothing the least bit genteel about the beast that was holding her in the palm of one hand.

She tried to move, but couldn’t. The creature wasn’t holding her immobile; she was simply too terrified to budge. And the monster was staring into her face, as if whatever the beast wanted was hidden in her eyes.

They remained that way for a long moment. Then, as gently as a mother easing her child into a crib, the creature brought Betty up so that she could stand on her own two feet. And still it never looked away from her. It appeared to be . . . recognizing her somehow. But from where? Betty wasn’t exactly in the habit of spending inordinate amounts of time with huge, green, forest-dwelling monstrosities.

She gave out a small, startled gasp as the creature lifted her gently onto the top of her car. She sensed the strength in the arms; the monster could have crushed her with no effort at all. Instead it was handling her with almost touching delicacy.

Once she’d been set down atop the car, the change in altitude provided her with a new perspective, namely one of eye-to-eye. The monster stared fixedly at her, almost as if it was trying to determine something.

Abruptly Betty saw the creature’s face fill with a mixture of terror and anger. It turned and sniffed the air. It was ludicrous of her to even think of addressing the monster, and yet she started to ask what was wrong. But it swiftly placed its hand over her mouth. Reflexively she started to struggle as she realized that the creature might try to strangle her. But it didn’t even seem to notice her resistance as it just held her, and then it lifted her up, holding her in an embrace that could only be seen as protective.

There was total silence, just as there had been earlier. It seemed as if the rest of the world had come to a complete halt, leaving just the two of them.

Betty saw them before the creature did.

All the blood drained from her face as they seemed to materialize like green specters at the edge of the forest. Three dogs, but they were only dogs in the broadest sense of the word. They were huge, hulking green creatures, heads lowered, jaws hanging down, eyes blazing hatred at a world that would allow such atrocities as they to exist. Saliva dripped down in a steady stream. From each of their throats came low growls that sounded like passing freight trains, but they were most certainly not passing. They were staying right there, and they were utterly terrifying.

And then they attacked.

Operating in concert with one another, the three animals took several quick bounds toward Betty and her unlikely protector, then vaulted through the air, covering the twenty feet between them in one impossible jump. Betty barely had time to register their advance, when her protector sprang backward, landing on the other side of the car. He did so with such facility that Betty realized he could probably escape from the charging monsters with very little difficulty, perhaps even enable both of them to get away.

But the low growl of anger she heard rumbling within his breast said it all. She realized that running away was simply not in his nature. She also realized that she had suddenly stopped thinking of him as an “it.”

The monstrous dogs overshot their target as if they were still unaccustomed to using their bodies and were unfamiliar with what they could do. The moment they passed, the giant shoved her against the car, and Betty automatically yanked the door open and thrust herself inside, offering herself a modicum of protection. He shoved the door closed, and the metal crumpled under the impact. Then he whirled to face the monsters, and issued a full-throated roar that seemed to dare them to take their best shot. The dogs thudded to the ground a few feet away, spun to face him, and snarled back, obviously accepting his defiant challenge. He crouched, looking as if he were going to jump at them, and suddenly he was airborne, heading straight up like a missile. Betty craned her neck, trying to peer through the windshield and keep track of him, but he was gone.

The dogs tried their best to follow. They jumped straight up, but quickly fell back to earth. Instantly Betty understood why: Their bodies were designed to cover horizontal distances, not vertical. Human beings were upright creatures, and it was Betty’s strongest indication that—whatever her mysterious savior was—he was somehow far closer to human then she had initially thought.

The three canines circled in confusion, unsure for a moment what to do. Then, as one, they swiveled their attention to the car, and her heart froze in her chest. Their thick lips pulled away from their rotting teeth, their eyes glowered, and they started to advance.

And then, from overhead, the jade giant descended once more, and landed squarely on the back of one of the three dogs. He drove it straight down to the