“What?” The shocked word escaped from Niko’s mouth. She might get hurt?
The Slither hissed. Lo and Norm leaped forward. They moved like dancers their bodies light and graceful.
Norm’s pole was a blur cracking against the Slither’s head, arms, stomach, while Lo cut the thing down at its knees. It crashed to the ground shrieking horribly and spewing black blood. Norm planted a boot on its chest and rammed the pole into its eye giving the rod a good twist before she pulled it out again.
They glanced at Niko who had barely moved. That was the fastest fight she had ever seen.
“You guys kill Slithers.” She said.
They glanced at each other, communicating with a raised brow. Obviously they thought the question was a little silly, especially with the evidence lying dead between them.
Norm shook off the pole in an arc of Slither blood. “Not everybody can. We didn’t want something to happen to you.”
Niko was both touched and embarrassed. She straightened. “We kill Slithers, Ben and I, we fought a lot in the city.” She began to laugh. “I hadn’t met anyone out here who could fight these things. I thought you’d be the ones getting hurt.” And as it turned out she hadn’t done a thing while both Lo and Norm had moved faster than she did.
Lo rubbed the back of her neck with her hand keeping one eye on the Slither in case it decided it wasn’t really dead. “I did wonder how you were able to keep up with us yesterday.”
After checking to see if there were any other rogue monsters creeping around the place they shut the door leaving them with only Lo’s glow-stick as a source of illumination.
They grabbed one more dusty thermos before crowding around the gas containers. Niko held the thermos steady while Norm poured.
“It stinks.” Norm said as gasoline fumes wafted up from the tiny drinking container. Niko wrinkled her nose, the thick metallic smell settled heavily on the back of her tongue. It was beginning to give her a headache.
She screwed and capped the first thermos and they began filling the second. Norm’s brow was furrowed in concentration as she poured, the tip of her tongue poking out past pink lips. Black blood was smeared across one cheek.
“Did you get those scars from a Slither?” Niko asked her.
Norm’s grip shook slightly spilling gasoline all over Niko’s hands before quickly course correcting. “No,” was all she said and Niko didn’t ask again.
They quickly filled all three thermoses and though Niko wiped her hands repeatedly the smell of gas still clung to her skin. “We need to disguise the smell.” She said “Or they’ll know we found something.”