Two more frogs leaped from different angles, trying to flank us. Jordan's shadows caught the left one mid-air and slammed it down into the muck hard enough to crack the root beneath it. Naomi spun and fired, obliterating the right one completely.
"Keep moving!" Misato's clone engaged three frogs at once, buying us space.
We scrambled across the roots, making it another thirty meters before the terrain forced us to drop back into the water. The moment my boots hit the muck, something wrapped around my ankle.
Cold. Slimy. Strong.
I looked down and saw a tentacle. Pale grey, covered in mucus that shimmered faintly in the swamp light.
"What the hell—"
It yanked.
I went down hard, water rushing up to meet my face. My tactical suit hissed and sparked where the tentacle touched it. The fabric started dissolving, eaten through by whatever chemical horror coated the thing.
"Jace!" Naomi's voice, distant through the water in my ears.
