She turns, arm swinging in a backhanded blow with her shield that catches the charging creature in the jaw hard enough that it would have snapped its neck, were it still anything natural. Instead, its head bends back, like it's all muscular tentacle beneath the bubbled, grey-streaked skin. It's still enough to stagger the monster, giving her time to skip backward and brace for the first beast as it begins to lunge in again.

Begins, and then stops, sidling closer to the second creature and issuing a grating cry. Something shifts behind the barricade, metal and concrete groaning.

Brilliant. They've learned to coordinate.