Tentacle University pt. 26

She stopped at the edge of the stage, her body ready to spring forward.  The man was watching her, his skin pulling away at a rapid rate, showing the monster underneath. 

“The fact that you’re here means my little minion didn’t do his job.” He clicked his tongue in displeasure.  “Well, at least he took care of that bitch, Charlotte.  She was going to be a real problem.  You? I don’t think I have to worry.  Do I?”

Cherry wasn’t going to take the bate.  She couldn’t let that thing get to her.  She needed to stay focused.  She was out of practice, and this Mythos had been feeding at a pretty steady rate over the last couple of days.  The fact that it had hidden its aura from her was proof enough of its strength.

Without releasing any of the four men he held in his thrall, the Mythos leapt from the stage. The impact of his landing ripped the human flesh away from his legs, revealing thick, muscular thighs and calves.  He also seemed to grow two feet in the process.  He shook his head, and half of the human face slid off, revealing his true grinning, sharp toothed face, one glowing red eye focused on her.

She moved her body weight from her right foot to her left, the Mythos tracking her the entire time.  She had to make this first move count, because after that he would have the speed advantage, not to mention strength.

She faked to the right, then leapt to the left, using her hooked blade to slice at one of the tentacles.  She hit pay dirt, and the tentacle holding the fourth man, the one she didn’t recognize, fell to the stage.  He let out a groan as his body collided with the hard surface, then lay still.  He was breathing, and that was good enough for now.   

The Mythos, now completely free of his human shell, just laughed, and a new tentacle took its place.  Instead of going for the now freed man, the tentacle whipped at her, knocking Cherry square in the gut.  She went flying, her back smacking into one of the seats in the auditorium.  The blow knocked the air out of her, and she collapsed to the ground.

The Mythos stalked towards her, easily knocking away the seats around her.  She tried to catch her breath, regain her composure, but the pain rushing through her body was intense.  She had broken at least one rib, and it felt like her right shoulder had been knocked out of the socket. He was four feet away from her, easily within reach, when he stopped. 

The Mythos closed his eyes and leaned back his head.  “I think I need a little extra energy for this. One of those men up there is your boyfriend, right? Well, trust me when I say this.  I’m doing you a favor.  The bastard can’t keep his fly up.  When I came in here he was ready to mount your friend over there.  Some friend.” It snorted

“You’re lying.” Cherry felt her jaw clench.  She tried to stand, but the pain was too intense.

“Oh, I could be, but deep down you know I’m telling you the truth.” He smiled, his eyes still closed.

She couldn’t let him get to her.  She just repeated that over and over in her head.  She needed to try and keep herself together.  Even if what the Mythos was saying was true, it didn’t matter.  Peter didn’t deserve to die just because…

“Bottoms up!” The Mythos gasped in delight.   

Cherry quickly looked past him, back at the stage.  Peter suddenly went rigid, his body giving two hard jerks, and then suddenly it appeared as if he was just drying up. His skin turned to a withered, wrinkled husk.  Even his eyes shriveled up, becoming nothing more than dust falling to the stage.

“No!” She stumbled to her feet. 

The Mythos started to laugh, but a loud bang suddenly cut him short.  A bullet ripped through the creature’s head, causing its right eye to suddenly sag, and spraying the ground in front of it with green, smoking blood.  It turned violently, shrieking in agony. 

Standing on the stage was the man she had freed.  Cherry recognized him now.  He was the cop she had seen around campus.  He was standing, his legs still wobbly, and clutched in his right hand was a gun. Somehow, while the Mythos had been taunting Cherry he had managed to regain enough strength to get to his weapon. 

Me met Cherry’s eyes. He fired again, and a bullet ripped into the Mythos’s shoulder. 

He had given Cherry her opening.

Moving as fast as she could, she leapt forward, slicing her hooked blade across the Mythos’s neck, and jamming her long, straight blade through his back, and into his heart. 

There was a sudden burst of bright, white energy, and then Cherry was dropped to the ground.  The Mythos was gone.  The remaining three men lay on the stage, naked and covered in thick slime, but still very much alive. 

It was over.