On the edge

David and Hod stood looking over the edge of Lion's Gate. It was getting late, and a wind had picked up, breathing the first gusts of winter. Or maybe that was Hod.

"It looks like the signal should be right here, but I don't think-" David gestured helplessly. Cars zoomed past them, but although Claire's signal was strong, it didn't look like she was anywhere nearby. "We should be right on top of her."

"Maybe we are," Hod answered. He pointed down, to where the struts entered the water, the dying light casting it into shadow. "She might be down there."

"Do you think she was... thrown over?" David asked quietly.

"No. I would know if she was dead," said Hod, sounding certain. "But how do we get down there?"

"I think I saw a road that leads down," David answered, and they walked back to the car. The blue lights of the bridge winked on. They hurried, hands in their pockets, and got into the car.

Soon they got to the edge of the water. The wide, sandy banks of the river stretched in front of them, and they wandered a bit. The cars were a distant sound, the lapping of the water much closer, and strange sounds emanated from the nearby woods. It was rapidly getting much to dark for David to see anything, but Hod picked his way around fallen rotting trees and dead fish with effortless ease. David retrieved a flashlight from his trunk, scanning the ground for anything that could give them a lead, hoping that Hod was right and Claire was okay. But it seemed like they were looking for a body.

"I think we're close, David. Do you see any tracks?" Hod asked quietly, stopping near the waters edge.

"I... wait. Yes. But, they look like animal tracks almost." David scanned the ground, to where a long set of prints dragged from the woods to the waters edge before disappearing into the swirling depths.

"Paw prints?"

"No. They look more like... I actually have no idea," David said, puzzled. He knelt down and touched his hand to one of the prints. It was wide and splayed and looked like a monkey footprint, if monkeys walked on two legs and had long talons that dug deep grooves into the sand. If monkeys had webbed feet. If monkeys had feet twice the size of David's hand. "Hod, it looks like Bigfoot had a baby with the thing from the black lagoon. These can't be real."

Hod stood near the edge of the water, peering into the icy depths of the river. "It's real, and it's down there. I think it's waiting to ambush us. Stand up slowly."

David stood slowly, hand gripping the bat. Nonchalantly he edged closer to Hod. "What do we do?"

Hod smiled. "That thing, whatever it may be, is going to lead us to Claire." He dropped his voice. "Do you trust me, David?"

"Of course."

"Okay then. Turn your back to the water on my count, and get ready. Whatever it is, I don't think it wants to sell us cookies."

David turned, eyes straining to see in the darkness, breath coming shallowly. Hod turned as well. David could tell he was trying to look calm, but sweat beaded his forehead, and his pale eyes seemed almost to glow in the moonlight. Frost crackled in the wrinkles of his hoodie.

A moment later, something surged out of the water, snarling with glee.