Free Torment by Jeremy Seals

boulders from the walls, throwing
them with nightmarish force. Sharp fragments showered down on his lowered head
as he dashed for what he hoped was an exit.
    Dodging and stumbling through the passage was
exhausting. Already running on empty, his quivering legs threatened to dump him
at any moment. Sooner or later the creature would catch up…or find its mark.
    After what seemed an eternity, an opening appeared.
Opaque light filtered through. Chris slowed, breathlessly crying out in despair
at the thick webbing blocking it.
    He’d outdistanced the monster by a hundred paces. It
would be at him in a minute at the most. Rather than uselessly tearing at the
barricade, Chris began to gather up stones in a rough pile. There was little
hope of getting through the barrier. Better to go down fighting.
    The ghostly face peeked around the final bend, a
grotesque, triumphant grin plastered across it. Chris promptly pegged a
baseball sized rock into the dark body beneath it. Squeals announced his kill.
    More missiles followed. Each thumped into the beast
with a wet smack. It whimpered loudly, as if asking how he could do such a
thing. Chris screamed laughter at its pain.
    From outside the blockage, a surprised voice
interrupted his merciless flow of scoop and pitch. “What’s this stuff?”
    “Help!” Chris yelled hoarsely. “I’m in here!”
    “Holy crap!” A second speaker, female, exclaimed.
“We’ve found him!”
    Hissing, the creature advanced. It knew the new
players were here to rescue the juicy morsel its scouts had recovered. Despite
the painful attack, it was determined to prevent Chris from escaping.
    A thick knife blade punched through the webbing. Its
owner grunted manfully as it slowly parted the heavily spun material. Chris
pushed down on the flat side, adding his force to the rescuer’s .
The chubby, bearded face of a middle aged man appeared through the tear.
    “Get down!” The fellow yelled, eyes looking over
Chris’ shoulder.
    He dropped flat instantly, narrowly avoiding the milky
face’s snapping, crystalline jaws. Gunfire thundered a
moment later. The beast wailed. Bullets pushed it backward.
    “Sue! Get up here!” The man hollered, dumping the
cylinder on a large revolver. “Shoot that damn thing!”
    The black barrel of a rifle poked through the breech.
It boomed in the small space. A neat hole appeared in the creature’s forehead.
Its features scrunched up briefly, then slackened. The spidery mass which made
up the horror’s body began to fall away, scampering back the way they came. Sue
picked off a few more as they retreated, her high powered weapon nearly
disintegrating them.
    Chris stayed completely still during the pitched
battle, hands covering his head. His ears rang from the gunshots. He jumped
when the bearded man touched his arm to help him up.
    “Easy, buddy,” The fellow said gently. “Sue shot the
fudge out of whatever that was, see?”
    Apprehensively, Chris looked at the monster’s corpse.
Without the writhing body, it was reduced to a black boned skeleton. The
structure was humanoid except for the enlarged jaws and teeth. Spots of white flesh
stuck to it here and there. Its organs were contained in a clear sac of yellow
fluid.
    “Gross,” Sue offered, turning her tobogganed head to
spit in disgust. She clutched the smoking rifle tightly, alert to any movement
from the felled beast.
    “We’ve been out looking for you,” The bearded man
explained, keeping one hand on Chris to steady him. “Park ranger found your car
two days ago. Volunteers have been out since then. You’re one lucky duck. If we
hadn’t spotted that web sparkling, that boogie would’ve had you for lunch, my
man.”
    Chris nodded dumbly. Two days.
    “Speaking of lunch,” Sue took his other arm. “Let’s
head back to base camp. He needs something to eat and to have the paramedic
look him over.”
    Gratefully, Chris allowed the duo to lead him to a
larger group set up at a campsite. He sipped broth