The Revenant

Seth could now see what was drawing nearer through the trees: an emaciated, raggedly dressed man with a large thorn protruding from the side of his neck. His skin looked sickly, leprous, with open sores and blotchy discolorations. Because the flashlight was on the ground, the bottom half of the figure was better illuminated than the top. He had knobby ankles. Dried mud rimmed the cuffs of his tattered trousers.


Seth studied his shadowy face. He had a pronounced Adam's apple, and wore the unnatural smile of a shy man posing for a photograph. The eyes were empty but uncannily aware.


His expression did not change. He was still about forty feet away, treading slowly, as if in a trance.


Panting, sweating, Coulter propped himself back up on one elbow. "Revenant," he growled through clenched teeth.


Chapter 12