They hissed, emitting a high-pitched, vibrating sound like hundreds of wet throats opening simultaneously. Webbed hands clawed at the wet sheets, leaving long, glistening streaks of slime behind.
They crawled forward with sheer determination, leaving wet, foul-smelling trails in their wake.
"Back! To the door!" David wheezed, clenching the wound on his shoulder.
Blood was rapidly soaking his jacket, a dark stain spreading across the fabric. Father's face grew pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but he was still trying to stay on his feet.
Ethan and Gina instantly caught him from both sides. Ethan grabbed his father by his healthy arm, and Gina took his waist, helping him move. David leaned heavily on them.
"Faster..." he exhaled through his teeth. "Don't let them get around us..."
The grindylows were already spilling off the bed onto the floor, their wet bodies slapping against the wood. One of them lunged forward, trying to latch onto Ethan's leg, but Gina managed to kick it away. The creature flew to the side with a shriek.
"Keep up!" she yelled to her brother.
They dragged David toward the bedroom exit. The floor beneath their feet was slick with slime and blood.
"Hang in there, Dad..." Ethan whispered, practically hoisting him along. "We're almost..."
Another splash echoed from the hallway. Several more grindylows were crawling out of the bathroom, slithering across the wet floor straight toward them to cut them off.
Gina fired another salt round. The shot boomed in the tight space. Two creatures hissed and recoiled, writhing in pain.
David yelled again.
"Don't stop!"
They had nearly reached the bedroom doorway when one of the largest grindylows leaped straight onto Ethan's back. He felt a sharp, piercing pain from a bite.
Suddenly, the floor in the hallway gave way beneath Gina's feet with a wet crack.
The boards, rotten and thoroughly waterlogged, collapsed downward like a trapdoor. Gina screamed as her feet slipped out from under her. She dropped waist-deep into a massive, hidden pool of water beneath the floorboards. The water was icy and reeked of rot.
"Ahhh!" she shrieked.
Instantly, several pale, thin hands burst out of the water and locked around her thighs with astonishing, inhuman strength. Long, webbed fingers dug into her skin right through her pants, their sharp claws sinking deep. The hands yanked her downward, as if trying to drag her into the abyss.
"No!" Ethan roared.
He rushed to his sister, completely ignoring the danger. He grabbed the collar of her leather jacket with both hands and pulled with all his might, bracing his feet against the floor.
"Hold on! Hold on, Gina!"
Gina screamed, thrashing wildly in the tight grip. Her face contorted with pain and terror. She hacked at the hands protruding from the water with her dagger, over and over again.
The silver blade sliced into the pale flesh, and every strike elicited a piercing shriek. The black water around her churned into a boil as David, clutching his own wounds, hurled a whole handful of salt into the opening.
"Salt! More salt!" he gasped hoarsely.
The grindylows beneath the water wailed, their grip loosening for a fraction of a second. Gina fought even harder, trying to break free. Black slime and blood swirled into the pool, turning it even murkier.
"They aren't letting go!" she cried out, her voice cracking. "Ethan, pull harder!"
Ethan pulled with the very last of his strength, the muscles in his arms burning like fire. His face turned bright red, the veins in his neck bulging. He saw more pale hands emerging from beneath the boards, reaching for his sister's legs.
"Dad! Help!" he shouted.
Despite the agony, David stepped closer and grabbed Gina by her other arm. Together, the three of them hauled her upward. The floor beneath them groaned dangerously, ready to give way completely.
Another grindylow head poked out of the water, larger than the rest, its maw thrown wide open. It snapped its teeth just centimeters from Gina's thigh.
Gina yelled and drove her dagger straight into the creature's eye. The grindylow shrieked and plunged back under the water, leaving a black stain on the surface.
"Pulling her out!" David roared. "Just a little more!"
Gina was almost entirely out of the water up to her waist when new hands wrapped around her ankles and violently jerked her back down.
"Douse them with salt!" David wheezed, clamping his wounded shoulder with one hand.
Her leg was already bleeding; deep bites oozed blood, and red, inflamed sucker marks were visible around the wounds.
"Hold on!" Ethan shouted, catching her under her arms.
Gina groaned through clenched teeth. David, swaying on his feet, caught her from the other side.
"To the exit!" he rasped. "Don't stop!"
They dragged Gina toward the door, leaving a bloody trail behind them. New grindylows kept emerging from the pool and from beneath the floorboards. Somehow, the family scrambled toward the outside.
Ethan and Gina flanked their father. David was heavy, and every step was a massive struggle for him, but he tried to walk on his own rather than hanging entirely on his children. Blood dripped onto the floor.
At that moment, even more creatures began crawling out of the puddle.
"Faster!" David shouted.
Stumbling and clutching his bleeding wounds, David was the first to crash through the threshold. Ethan and Gina followed right behind, supporting him from both sides. They practically tumbled out onto the porch.
"Close it!" David wheezed.
Ethan slammed the heavy door shut. The door closed with a loud bang. Defying the pain, David grabbed a heavy, weathered board lying by the porch and jammed it against the door, propping it up with his shoulder. The board fit awkwardly at an angle.
From inside the cabin, a vicious, wet splashing and a high, piercing shriek instantly erupted. The grindylows threw themselves against the door, scratching at it with their claws, their wet bodies thudding against the wood.
The sound was repulsive, as if dozens of toads and serpents were trying to break free all at once.