As Janus looked up, he could see a shadow move above the beacon's illumination. The rotund shadow traveled along one of the refinery's walls before vanishing into an alley. "What do you mean by those?" he asked with fear shaking his voice.
"Spittler," Itzel said with disdain. "One nasty type of Essencima." She looked at the droplets on the ground and watched them merge. The black substance bubbled up, sizzling as the mass expanded across the ground. She gave the now-hardened black material a kick with the side of her foot. It bounced along the jagged pavement, making a loud clack as it bounced across the ground before disappearing into an alley. "Try not to get hit by their vomit."
"Vomit!?" Janus said in the loudest whisper possible. He tried his best to keep his composure, but his shaking and hunched posture made his fear more than obvious.
"Yeah, Vomit. Not only does it sting, but after a few seconds it'll harden. Keeps the victim immobile. If it covers your mouth and nose, you'll most likely suffocate without any immediate intervention."
"Please tell me there's some kind of encyclopedia that lists all types of Essencima. So that way next time I'll know exactly what I'm getting into."
"There is," Itzel replied. "But nothing beats hands on experience when it comes to Exterminating. Gurk and I never looked at the Essencima Bestiary and we get by just fine."
"Sure, but if I had known that there's one that can encase its victims in its boiling vomit, I might have opted to stay in the carrier." Janus' eyes didn't leave the direction where he last saw the Spittler's shadow travel.
"Too late," Gurk said. The crocodile poked his had just beyond the wall of the closet building and surveyed the alley. He took his head back out to face the other three. "Found it!" he exclaimed.
Itzel rushed to Gurk's side. With some hesitation, Janus followed behind her. The other two vanished into the darkness of the alley while Janus stayed behind. The passage was narrow, giving Gurk barely enough room to turn his entire body around. With the lack of light, all Janus could do was listen to the battle. There was a bit of hissing from the monster followed by a lot of growling from Gurk. The sound of scratching and slashes rang throughout the area.
"Nice grab, Gurk!" Itzel exclaimed. Janus then heard Gurk grunt as the creature let out low, weak whimper. A short and stubby body flung through the area, travelling high above Janus' head before landing underneath a light beacon with a crunch. He jumped back, placing his arms in front of his face to project himself from getting any potential Essencima remains on him.
"Be careful, Janus," Itzel shouted. "It might not be dead just yet! Spittlers are small but surprisingly durable." She ran forward to his side, pushing him behind her as they both stared at the floored creature.
"Don't worry. I didn't have any plans on getting any closer to that thing," Janus said.
"It's definitely still alive," Itzel stated. Under the bright illumination, the creature's form became clear. It slowly set itself upright, balancing on all four of its webbed feet. The rear legs were short and stocky while the ones up front were longer and narrower. Both pairs were attached to a bulky round mass in the center. Jutting out from the torso was a large black head that opened like a demonic lily flower. Among each of its petals were long, pulsating purple veins and jagged spines that traveled the along the edges. In the middle of it was a wide, flytrap shaped mouth with vicious-looking rows of sharp teeth. As it stood up straight, it curved its body towards Itzel. The mouth opened wide, showing off its red throbbing tongue. The creature's entire body stretched out as the head remained still, locked onto Itzel's position.
"Move, Janus!" Itzel shouted as she gave him a shove to the side. The Spittler made a revolting belching sound as a blast of black sludge shot out of its gaping maw. The projectile soared through the air, sticking to the side of the building behind Janus. It fired another shot without hesitation, following Itzel as she ran down the alley to take cover. With her out of its range, it turned towards Janus who remained both awestruck and terrified by the creature. The Essencima continued its barrage, firing off another shot of vomit towards Janus. This time the attack grazed his arm. He could feel an uncomfortably hot feeling seep through his jacket. He reached to brush it off, only to stop himself from touching it once he remembered that the vomit hardens.
"Hurry up and take cover, Janus!" Itzel shouted from the safety of the alley. He ran in the direction of her voice, only to have a burning projectile hit him in the leg. He stumbled forward, landing on the ground, stomach down. He winced from the heat of the vomit burning through his pants. The Spittler fired again, this time hitting Janus in the back. He let out a yell of anguish as he tried to muster the strength to crawl forward despite the burning that plagued his back as well as his leg. Gurk made his way through the alley, grabbing hold of Janus by his arms and pulling him into the cover of the alley. Itzel bent down to examine the areas where he had been struck while Gurk stood at the entrance of the ally, guarding the other two.
"How you feeling, Janus?" Itzel asked. The bit of vomit that had gotten on his arm had already started to stiffen. He quickly fumbled with his jacket and slid it off. He then shook his leg and manage to fling off some of the Spittler's puke before it became solid.
"It still stings a bit, but I think I'll manage." Itzel and Janus then looked towards the alley's entrance. They could hear the Spittler attack a few more times, followed by a Grunt from Gurk. He then charged forward, brushing off another shot from the Essencima before slamming down onto it with the front of his metal helmet. The crocodile roared as the Spittler toppled over from the blow. The head was crushed in, but the Essencima still squirmed with the small remaining bit of life it had in it.
"Glacier!" The crocodile let out his ice breathe, freezing the front half of the creature solid as it lay on its side. With the creature now frozen, Gurk raised one of his claws, and lowered his hand so quickly that it created a blue streak in the air. Following the attack was the sound of bits of ice scattering against the pavement as Gurk took in deep breaths to regain his stamina.
"Told you those things were disgusting," Itzel said as she gave Janus a hand and propped him up to his feet. He picked up his jacket and looked at the think black blob that coated the back of it.
"I didn't doubt you for a moment, Itzel." He placed his hand on the dried gunk and tried to scrape off what he could. An abrupt growl from Gurk drew both of their attention. They turned the other way and saw him back further into the corner, his arms spread open wide to cover up as much area as possible.
"Hide!" he shouted as he swung his head from side to side. Both Itzel and Janus inched forward, looking past the crocodile and into the main path of the Refinery Sector. Janus shrunk back when he saw multiple Spittlers narrowing in on them, inching forward by a few steps as their oblong mouths opened wide, ready to blast away.
"Gurk! Get out of there!" Itzel shouted. She tried to pull him back, but Gurk's stance was too strong. "I don't think even you could survive an onslaught from four Spittlers!" Despite Itzel's attempt at pulling him back, Gurk remained still, his foot stuck to the ground by a heaping chunk of Spittler vomit.
