They ran out across the cellar, heading for the door that led to the outside exit. The ground beneath them rocked. Mounds rose in front and behind them with explosions of earth. The lower half of the stairs crumbled in a shower of dust and rock, leaving the upper floor out of reach. Malcolm and Penny ran on toward the door, but the walls around them were forced upward as a creature undermined the very foundation of the house. The stones cracked and shifted. Then the wall split into pieces and tumbled in a roar burying the cellar door. Penny slid to a halt, staring at the pile of rubble that was just their escape path. The moving mounds in the dirt burrowed across the cellar floor until they touched, then arms burst into the air followed by horrible heads and torsos.
“Cover your ears!” Penny aimed her pistol. She fired and a rippling wave of pressure rolled across the ground like a swell on the ocean and broke against the snake-things. One of them shook its thick-maned head, disoriented. Penny fired again. The second breeching chnoubi slammed against the ground, screeching in pain.
She cheered and ran forward. However, the first creature recovered and lunged. Penny flung herself back, falling to the ground to stare up in terror at the chnoubi looming over her. The monster stooped and clamped a clawlike hand on the girl’s stomach.
Malcolm hurtled against the chnoubi. The beast was thick and strong but felt boneless. It shuddered from the impact and brought its arms up to seize him. He had to drop the dagger, grabbing the thing’s wrists to keep the claws away from his head. He felt pressure around his legs and a quick glance showed a fleshy tail wrapping around his calves. The sickly weight tightened. His legs were squeezed together with a crushing pressure. The chnoubi snapped at him; its teeth came inches short of Malcolm’s head.
A slim piece of metal protruded out of the creature’s stomach. The monster reacted with surprise, briefly looking down at it. Then the chnoubi screamed and thrashed. Malcolm fell back onto the ground. His Lancaster was in his hand and he emptied the weapon into the exposed wound. The gun glowed hot orange in the darkness of the cellar. The thing screeched and slumped over, warm liquid gushing onto the ground.
Penny stood behind it, Malcolm’s dripping knife in her hand.
“Hellfire, that’s disgusting!” Penny declared, inspecting her own spattered clothes.
“I thought I told you to stay put,” Malcolm growled.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. You didn’t.”
“I meant to.”
Malcolm drew his second pistol, searching for the other chnoubi. From out of the darkness, he felt a thunderous clout to his shoulder. He rolled to his feet, spitting dirt. The creature raked at him again. Malcolm dodged the blow, slipped in, and placed the barrel of his weapon against its abdomen, pulling the trigger and opening a fusillade that echoed through the cellar.
The chnoubi flung itself back, then flopped facedown onto the ground, vomiting up the corrosive acid. Then it quickly brought its arms forward in a flurry of powerful activity. It opened a hole beneath it and the massive thing began to undulate into the earth, slapping at Malcolm with the blunt end of its tail before disappearing with a slurping sound. The Scotsman turned to see that the other creature had burrowed away as well.
“Malcolm,” Penny shouted, and ran for the raised brick platform in the corner. She climbed over barrels and jammed her back to the wall.
Malcolm staggered up and dropped next to her. His ragged breathing was the only echoing sound in the vast chamber. He felt better with something solid under and behind him.
Two mounds started to rise on either side of the room. The chnoubis broke the surface in a spray of dirt and stared quietly at the two humans huddled on the brick island.
Malcolm reloaded one of his pistols, but then cracked the breech of the second weapon and patted his pockets. “I don’t suppose you have any ammunition in your bottomless bag.”
Penny pulled the satchel off her back and dug out more cartridges. “I knew you’d run out. You waste bullets.”
Malcolm grumbled as he slipped the shells in. “Monsters are hard to kill.”
One of the chnoubis dove under the earth. In a second, they felt a bump from under the bricks.
Penny stared intently at the walls. She pressed her hand against the stone and asked, “Can you swim?”
He regarded her curiously. “Aye.”
Her face held a wild, wicked grin. She gestured with her little pistol with the tuning fork atop. “The river is just that way and we’re below the water level.” She held up her damp fingers.
“What good does that do us? We can’t get to the river.” He cursed as the brick slab shifted slightly and the mortar started to crack.
“I’m going to bring the river to us. Brace me.” Penny pointed her pistol at the damp wall and pulled the trigger.