The hunter's body jerked upright before anyone could breathe. The sound it made wasn't a roar, just a wet, choking grind from deep in its chest. Its arm snapped up, long and sharp, like bone fused with metal.
Ruben was closest. He didn't even turn. The limb sliced across his throat, fast and flat.
The sound was a short, hard chhhk.
Blood sprayed in an arc across the snow, bright against the white.
Ruben staggered back, hands flying to his neck. The air filled with a choking, gurgling sound as he fell to his knees.
Kyle screamed. Andrei stumbled backward, boots sliding on the ice.
"Get back!" Malcolm shouted, already raising the shotgun.
The creature lurched forward, twitching, its chest heaving like something still pumping inside it. Its head was half gone, steam still rising from the ruined bone.
Malcolm aimed lower this time. His pulse was hammering so loud he barely heard any sound.
He fired.
