Huge, completely black eyes, parallel like a toad's, stared at the newcomers with a frightening innocence. Mouths stretched into a semblance of a smile, lined with two rows of tiny, sharp teeth. They resembled horrifying, perverted fairies, almost beautiful, yet with the wet, toad-like texture of skin and long webbed fingers protruding from the water.
The three heads turned toward David simultaneously. They looked at him almost sweetly. The large, black eyes blinked slowly, as if welcoming a guest.
David took a cautious step forward, not lowering his dagger.
"There you are..." he whispered.
At that exact moment, the Grindylow' mouths burst open wider all at once. With a wet, squelching sound, a second set of teeth shot forward, curved like needles. The eyes instantly lost all "sweetness" and became hollow craters of hunger.
They lunged.
Three wet, slippery creatures flew out of the puddle with unbelievable speed. David barely had time to throw his arm up.
"Back!" he shouted.
The first creature clamped onto his forearm. Its teeth crunched through the jacket fabric and bit into the meat. David roared in pain and began furiously throwing salt at them from the pouch on his belt.
"Die, you bastards!"
White crystals showered over the wet bodies. The Grindylows shrieked, a piercing, ear-splitting whine. The skin on them began to hiss and blister, but they didn't let go. The second creature latched onto his thigh, the third onto his shin, biting through his pant leg.
David screamed, thrashing his arm and trying to shake them off. Blood was already streaming down his arm and leg.
"Ethan! Gina! Salt!" he yelled, continuing to douse the creatures in white crystals.
The Grindylows kept hanging on, burrowing deeper, their black eyes now burning with pure hunger.
"R-a-argh!!"
David screamed in agony.
"Scumbags!" he growled through his teeth.
With a surge of strength, he kicked one creature off. The Grindylow hit the wall with a wet thud but immediately began to get back up. However, the second creature was already dangling from his right arm, chewing deeper.
"Dad!" Ethan screamed frantically.
Nothing was left but panic and fury. He charged forward, not thinking about the puddles on the floor, not thinking about the danger. The water squelched beneath his feet, but he didn't notice. In his right hand, he gripped the silver dagger.
"Get your paws off him!"
Ethan drove the dagger into the back of the nearest Grindylow , the one hanging from his father's arm. The blade entered easily with a wet crunch. The creature hissed. Its body began to smoke, its skin blackened and started to melt like wax over fire. Black slime oozed down the creature's back as it convulsed violently, unlocking its jaws.
David shook the creature off with a snarl.
But the second and third were still hanging onto him, burrowing deeper.
"Ethan, salt!" he shouted. "Pour the salt!"
With a trembling hand, Ethan grabbed the salt pouch and began furiously showering the creatures. It hit the wet skin of the Grindylow, and they howled, hissing, beginning to melt and drop off David's body.
Gina stood in the doorway, holding the pistol with both hands, ready to shoot at any second.
"Dad, hold on!" she screamed.
The Grindylow continued to shriek on the ground.
David looked heavily at one, kicked the last creature away, and pressed his hand to his bleeding shoulder. His face was contorted in pain.
"It's over..." he exhaled. "For now..."
But from the bathroom, a wet, hungry splashing resounded once more.
Gina burst into the bedroom with full momentum.
"Dad!" she yelled.
Without hesitating for a single second, she raised her pistol and opened fire with salt rounds. Two consecutive shots blasted in the tight space, deafeningly loud. The salt charges slammed directly into the second creature, which was still hanging onto her father's leg.
The Zagrybast shrieked, its body jerking as if from an electric shock. The salt sizzled on the wet skin, burning right through it. The creature flew off her father, tumbling through the air, and landed with a wet splash back into the black puddle on the bed. It writhed there, twisting, as black slime splattered in all directions, staining the walls and floor.
David groaned in pain, pressing his hand to the wound on his side.
But the third creature, the largest of them, had already jumped.
It darted upward with unbelievable speed, opening its maw wide with sharp teeth, and latched onto David's chest, trying to reach his throat. Clawed limbs dug into his jacket, tearing the fabric.
"Ahhh!" David yelled.
He grabbed the creature by its head with both hands, his fingers digging into the slippery, cold skin. The Grindylow twisted, snapping its teeth centimeters from his neck. With a furious roar, Father tore it away from himself, the muscles in his arms straining to the limit. With a wet, cracking sound, he slammed the creature against the wall.
A wet, disgusting crunch echoed. The Zagrybast's body slid down the wall, leaving a black slimy trail behind. It was still twitching, though weakly.
"It's over..." he wheezed.
Ethan had just plunged his blade into the back of one of the creatures and was now watching it writhe on the floor, melting from the silver.
Gina quickly reloaded her pistol, her hands shaking.
"Dad, are you okay?" she asked.
David nodded, though it was clear he was in immense pain.
"Alive... But there's a whole brood here. We need to leave."
A loud splash echoed from the bathroom again. The water in the toilet and the tub churned harder. New wet tracks were appearing on the hallway floor.
From the puddle on the old, sagging bed, new Grindylow began to climb out.
First, wet heads appeared,one, two, three... Already five or six small, slippery creatures.