Chapter 12: The Brickyard, 1921The Lurker had been hurt in the encounter with Carter at the hospital. The oil from the lamp had spilled across its chest and over its arms and hands when it had attempted to beat out the flames. It had burned through its thin, mottled skin in several places, leaving oozing, painful patches of sticky dark green ichor that had taken weeks to heal.
For a while afterwards, it had stayed in the dark hiding place it had found for itself in one of the derelict buildings created by Zeppelin raids in the previous four years, curled over its painful wounds, whimpering in confusion. As it healed, however, its desire to feed became pressing. Eventually the gnawing ache forced it to hunt.
It had run too far from its nest at the hospital to return and it no longer felt
