The dock shook with every step as they closed in on Becky. Fog curled over the water, turning the world into a smothering cage. Loca's corpse still bled across the wood, her eyes glassy, her lips parted in silence. The smell of blood thickened the air, metallic and suffocating.
Becky stood tall in the mist, wearing his stretched human mask. His skin rippled with each movement, his bones snapping and realigning like broken instruments tuning themselves. His grin was carved too wide, his eyes glowing pale in the dark. He dragged claws across the planks, carving grooves in the wood, his laugh spiraling high then sinking low like a broken radio.
Sarah's heart hammered so violently she thought her ribs would split. She clung to the broken rod in her hands, trembling. Natnat stood beside her, pale and slick with black ichor, his chest heaving. For the first time, he looked weak. He was staggering.
"Stay behind me," Natnat murmured, his voice raw . Nathan spat at the ground, eyes blazing. "No. He's one of them. He can die fighting his own kind. We don't need him. We all can go without him!" Ashley shoved Nathan, her voice sharp. "Shut the hell up! Can't you see we need him?!"
"Natnat saved us!" Joanne added, her voice hoarse from screaming. Nathan glared at them, but the fury in his eyes faltered. Becky's grin stretched wider. "Beautiful," Becky purred, his voice dripping like syrup. "The little humans defend their pet. He's no different from me. He just pretends." His gaze snapped to Sarah, teeth glinting. "But she… she makes him weak and that's why he'll die tonight. Thank you." He bow like a gentlemen, slowly look up with a big smile and he lunged.
The dock quaked. Becky slammed into Natnat, claws tearing across his chest. Flesh split, ichor spraying in thick streams. Natnat roared, shoving him back, their bodies cracking against the planks. The impact rattled through the survivors' bones. "GO!" Nathan shouted. "We can make it to the boat!"
"No!" Sarah screamed, tears burning in her eyes. "We fight together!" Becky's claws raked across Natnat's arm, slicing to the bone. Natnat slammed a fist into Becky's face, bones crunching, but Becky only laughed, teeth knocked loose before reforming instantly. His body was shifting, healing fast, his form twisting as though made of liquid.
Andy grabbed a broken oar from the dock. He charged, smashing it into Becky's ribs with a sickening crack. Becky howled, spinning, backhanding Andy so hard he flew into the railing. Wood splintered. Andy gasped for breath, blood dribbling down his chin, but he forced himself back up.
Joanne swung her rusted pipe. Ashley jammed her chair leg toward Becky's thigh. Their weapons clashed against his hide, bones snapping under the blows, ichor spraying across the dock. For a brief moment, the impostor staggered under their combined assault.
Becky's grin faltered. His head twitched unnaturally. "You… vermin," he growled, his voice fractured. "All of you against me?" Sarah lunged, her rod stabbing into his shoulder. Black blood burst out, burning her hands, but she didn't let go. She screamed, twisting it deeper. Natnat seized the moment, his claws driving into Becky's chest, ripping across muscle and sinew.
Becky shrieked, voice splitting the fog. The dock trembled with the violence. Wood groaned, water sloshed below, waves splashing against the posts. The survivors pressed forward, striking, stabbing, screaming. For the first time, Becky faltered.
But his eyes burned brighter, madness swirling within them. His body spasmed, his claws slashing out wildly. One swipe caught Ashley across the ribs. Blood sprayed as she screamed, collapsing to the dock. Joanne dragged her back, panic flooding her eyes.
Another slash tore into Andy's thigh. He fell to his knees but swung his oar again, rage pushing through the pain. Becky's claws came for Sarah. Natnat lunged, taking the strike across his back. His flesh split open, ichor gushing. He roared, forcing Becky back with sheer will.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Natnat bellowed, voice trembling with raw emotion. Becky laughed, high and broken. "Weak. Pathetic. You care. That makes you less than nothing."
The fight raged on. Natnat tore at Becky's arms, bones crunching. Andy and Joanne stabbed and slammed their weapons into Becky's torso. Sarah drove her rod into his side again and again. Blood, ichor, and sweat painted the dock.
Becky's body shuddered. His face twisted into a mask of hate. He staggered, his grin cracking. Then his eyes shifted. They landed on Nathan.
Nathan stood at the edge of the dock, panting, blood dripping from his brow. His weapon shook in his hands. He looked too much like Natnat in that moment, his face shadowed by the fog, his expression twisted in rage. Becky's gaze narrowed. His grin snapped back into place. "Natnat," he hissed. "I'll end you." He lunged. "NATHAN, MOVE!" Sarah screamed.
But it was too late. Becky's claws tore into Nathan's chest, bursting out his back in a spray of red. Nathan's eyes widened, lips parting in a silent gasp. He tried to speak, but only blood poured from his mouth. Becky lifted him into the air, claws buried deep in his torso.
Nathan's body convulsed, then went limp. Becky ripped him apart, flesh tearing, blood raining across the dock. "No!" Sarah shrieked, her throat tearing. Joanne screamed. Andy roared in fury.
Natnat's eyes blazed with rage. He slammed into Becky, their bodies colliding so hard the dock cracked beneath them. His claws dug into Becky's throat, ichor and blood spraying. Becky howled, slashing across Natnat's chest, carving deep wounds.
The survivors attacked together. Joanne's pipe cracked across Becky's skull. Andy drove the oar into his ribs again, splintering it inside him. Ashley, barely standing, rammed her chair leg into Becky's spine. Sarah tore her rod free from his side and stabbed him again and again until her arms shook.
Becky roared, his voice breaking into two tones. His body spasmed, ichor spilling across the dock in rivers. His grin faltered for the first time. His claws swung out wildly, but the survivors pressed in, screaming with fury.
Natnat roared, ripping Becky's flesh apart, tearing chunks of muscle and bone from his body. He slammed Becky to the dock, claws pinning him down.
"You will not have her," Natnat growled, his voice trembling. "Not now. Not ever." Becky shrieked, his voice cracking, his body convulsing. With one last surge, Natnat tore into his chest, ripping him open. Black ichor poured across the dock, sizzling as it hit the wood. Becky's body twitched violently, then slumped.
Silence fell.
The survivors collapsed, gasping, their bodies trembling. Blood and ichor soaked their clothes, dripping from their hair, staining their skin. Nathan's remains lay scattered across the dock, silent and still.
Sarah knelt, her hands shaking, tears streaming down her face. Natnat staggered, ichor pouring from his wounds. He looked at her, eyes soft, his face pale.
"You survived," he whispered. Sarah reached for him, her hand trembling. "We survived."
The boat bobbed in the water, the only way out. Together, they dragged themselves onto it. Andy started the engine, his hands slick with blood. The boat pulled away from the dock, leaving behind the wreckage, the blood, and Nathan's corpse.
The fog swallowed the dock as it drifted into the distance.
The boat hit land hours later. Andy drove them to Sarah's house, his hands shaking on the wheel. Joanne and Ashley, pale and bloodied, went to the hospital with a story rehearsed through sobs. "Accident," they said. "Just an accident."
Sarah stayed behind. She tended to Natnat, his body covered in wounds, his ichor staining her sheets. He lay weak, but alive, his pale eyes locked on her. For a few days, they were safe. For a few days, they believed it was over and Natnat ended up stealing Nathan's identity.
Back on the island, Becky lay broken on the dock. His body twitched, ichor oozing slow. His grin was gone. His chest heaved with shallow breaths. Rage burned in his eyes, despair twisting his face.
He turned his head, his jaw trembling. He dragged himself toward Nathan's corpse, blood pooling around him. With a guttural growl, he bit into the remains, teeth tearing flesh, blood running down his chin. His wounds knitted slowly, too slow, but still healing.
Footsteps echoed.
A figure emerged from the fog. A young man in dark sunglasses, his clothes neat, his voice sharp with panic. "Are you okay?! Oh my god... I need to call dad" It was the resort owner's son.
Becky's head snapped up. His eyes gleamed. His grin returned and without hesitation, he lunged.
The man screamed, but it was cut off. Becky tore into him, ripping flesh, breaking bone, devouring. In moments, he was gone, his skin peeled away, his face worn like a mask. Becky stood tall again, his body whole, fresh, reborn.
He adjusted the sunglasses, his grin stretching. He turned toward the shore, his new face calm, human, perfect. "I'll find you," he whispered, his voice soft but full of venom.
At Sarah's house, Natnat stirred, his breath shallow. He turned his pale eyes toward her, his voice low.
"He's not dead."
Sarah froze. "What?"
"Becky. He's still alive. I could feel him." Natnat's voice cracked, full of dread. "We must hide. Far away. From everyone. He will come. And I need… to regain my strength."
Sarah's chest tightened, fear crawling up her spine. She looked out the window into the night. The world felt heavy and suffocating. "Where should we go?" Andy mumbled with fear. "There's a family cabin of my dad far away from here. We could go there.. it's far from people and the only problem is there will be no internet" joanne tells them while standing up. "We have to go now" Natnat added.
The nightmare wasn't over. It was only beginning.