Whittlesey had found Crocker. Instinctively, Whittlesey began stumbling backward. He saw how rows of claws had flayed the body with obscene, inhuman strength. The corpse looked stiff. Perhaps—if God was merciful—the Kothoga had already departed. Assuming it was the Kothoga. Then he noticed that the rain forest, normally overflowing with the sounds of life, was silent.
