there was a flurry of slapping hands and yells, screams of “get your hands off me, bitch!” and “stop struggling, we’re trying to help you!” As quick as the brief catfight had erupted, it stopped. Melissa glared at Cathy and Wendy but it wasn’t out of anger—it was out of cold fear. “There’s no way out,” she said.
The creatures let out a warbling sort of hiss and advanced closer, black eyestalks bobbing back and forth. They were only twenty feet away now. Cathy had the feeling they could move incredibly fast if they wanted to. They had only seconds to flee before the creatures charged toward them. If they could only get past Melissa….
“We need to leave now,” Cathy said. She grabbed Melissa’s shoulders and tried to herd her forward again toward the second path. Wendy tried to help, but this time Melissa protested again. She fought them off, screaming at the top of her lungs. “There’s another one in the bushes over there! It’s right there, it’s coming this way!”
“Oh, fuck this,” Wendy said. The younger woman was clearly frightened half to death, but Cathy could read the frustration in the tone of her voice. She gripped Melissa’s blouse.
“Then get the hell out of our way then,” Cathy said to Melissa. And then, with what seemed to be a synchronized effort, Cathy and Wendy grabbed Melissa and shoved her aside, sending her sprawling into the bushes at the side of the path. They ran toward the path and began climbing it as quickly as possible.
A creature surged forward, looming over Melissa and waving its claws. Then, with one quick movement, it seized her around the hips with its pincers and began to squeeze. The serrated edges sliced into her flesh. Her bones cracked.
Oblivious to her plight, Cathy and Wendy fled. The clicking sounds behind them were followed by screams of pain.
“Oh God,” Melissa shrieked, “get them off me, oh God, that hurts! Oh Goooooddddd!”
“Get me out of here, please get me out of here,” Cathy chanted to herself as she clambered up the path, her complete effort on getting the hell away from the beach. Wendy was hot on her heels behind her. They clambered up a good fifty feet before they were able to reach a spot where they could afford to look down.
The four creatures had completely forgotten about Cathy and Wendy. They were swarming over Melissa, eating her from the looks of it. Giant claws plucked chunks of meat from her ravaged body. Cathy was almost frozen to the scene, rapt in its gruesome violence, but Wendy snapped her out of it. “Go!” The younger woman said, slapping her shoulder. Cathy started and resumed her climb, Wendy behind her. And as they made their way back to civilization, Cathy began to laugh maniacally. She really couldn’t help it. She’d heard of people losing their sanity when faced with extreme life-threatening situations and had always dismissed them. Obviously it really happened because she was laughing now and she couldn’t control herself. She couldn’t stop laughing. After all, it was funny when you stopped to think about it.
Their team building session had proven to be completely successful. She and Wendy had worked as a team and saved themselves. In doing so, they’d had to sacrifice the life of Melissa to save the group, but isn’t that what the exercise was about?
Wendy must have been on her wavelength because Cathy could hear her laughing too. “We reacted to the environment! We worked together as a group and in doing so, we saved ourselves. And we got rid of some dead weight in the process!”
This made Cathy laugh harder as they continued their climb. By the time they reached the top of the trail, which ended at a two lane highway that wound through the hills that overlooked the ocean, they were laughing so hard they had to stop and rest. And by the time the Santa Catalina Police car pulled up five minutes later, their temporary insanity had completely taken over.
South Pacific
The creatures let out a warbling sort of hiss and advanced closer, black eyestalks bobbing back and forth. They were only twenty feet away now. Cathy had the feeling they could move incredibly fast if they wanted to. They had only seconds to flee before the creatures charged toward them. If they could only get past Melissa….
“We need to leave now,” Cathy said. She grabbed Melissa’s shoulders and tried to herd her forward again toward the second path. Wendy tried to help, but this time Melissa protested again. She fought them off, screaming at the top of her lungs. “There’s another one in the bushes over there! It’s right there, it’s coming this way!”
“Oh, fuck this,” Wendy said. The younger woman was clearly frightened half to death, but Cathy could read the frustration in the tone of her voice. She gripped Melissa’s blouse.
“Then get the hell out of our way then,” Cathy said to Melissa. And then, with what seemed to be a synchronized effort, Cathy and Wendy grabbed Melissa and shoved her aside, sending her sprawling into the bushes at the side of the path. They ran toward the path and began climbing it as quickly as possible.
A creature surged forward, looming over Melissa and waving its claws. Then, with one quick movement, it seized her around the hips with its pincers and began to squeeze. The serrated edges sliced into her flesh. Her bones cracked.
Oblivious to her plight, Cathy and Wendy fled. The clicking sounds behind them were followed by screams of pain.
“Oh God,” Melissa shrieked, “get them off me, oh God, that hurts! Oh Goooooddddd!”
“Get me out of here, please get me out of here,” Cathy chanted to herself as she clambered up the path, her complete effort on getting the hell away from the beach. Wendy was hot on her heels behind her. They clambered up a good fifty feet before they were able to reach a spot where they could afford to look down.
The four creatures had completely forgotten about Cathy and Wendy. They were swarming over Melissa, eating her from the looks of it. Giant claws plucked chunks of meat from her ravaged body. Cathy was almost frozen to the scene, rapt in its gruesome violence, but Wendy snapped her out of it. “Go!” The younger woman said, slapping her shoulder. Cathy started and resumed her climb, Wendy behind her. And as they made their way back to civilization, Cathy began to laugh maniacally. She really couldn’t help it. She’d heard of people losing their sanity when faced with extreme life-threatening situations and had always dismissed them. Obviously it really happened because she was laughing now and she couldn’t control herself. She couldn’t stop laughing. After all, it was funny when you stopped to think about it.
Their team building session had proven to be completely successful. She and Wendy had worked as a team and saved themselves. In doing so, they’d had to sacrifice the life of Melissa to save the group, but isn’t that what the exercise was about?
Wendy must have been on her wavelength because Cathy could hear her laughing too. “We reacted to the environment! We worked together as a group and in doing so, we saved ourselves. And we got rid of some dead weight in the process!”
This made Cathy laugh harder as they continued their climb. By the time they reached the top of the trail, which ended at a two lane highway that wound through the hills that overlooked the ocean, they were laughing so hard they had to stop and rest. And by the time the Santa Catalina Police car pulled up five minutes later, their temporary insanity had completely taken over.
South Pacific
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