The glass door slid closed behind me; the Hyde's collective had scattered completely. The bloodbath I'd put them through had barely phased them, which wasn't much of a surprise. The entire group likely remembered the loops and were unconcerned with death, something I could relate to. It reminded me of being a kid and playing first-person shooters with Jon. Neither of our parents had been especially fond of the violent games, but we made the argument that nobody was dying; they were just being 'transported to a new location.'

At the time, we'd laughed at our parents's gullibility. Thinking back on it—especially after spending time in a world where death wasn't permanent— that argument felt more and more valid. It was also the argument that made me prefer guns. Death used to take lives, to steal potential, but that was hardly a consideration anymore. Pain and misery were the moral boundaries, not life and death. In some ways, it had always been that way. None of which told me why the appearance of the future-Kaiju had sent the Misfits scattering.

I doubted my allies were intentionally bringing the future Kaiju to me. The fact that they were made me question the coincidence, though. There was no reason they should even know I was here.

As I left the hotel and circled around the retreating group, I saw that they weren't alone; half a dozen deputies ran with them, divided so a few were on either side of the street, taking turns shooting the pursuing monster. It redeemed the deputies slightly in my eyes. Some of them were directly responsible for killing a couple of my allies, likely in a panic. This group, at least, seemed to be able to keep their cool while being chased by that behemoth.

If we were lucky, this wasn't really the future Kaiju, just a look-alike, but I worried that it was like the Gremlins, and this was just its smaller form. If it could grow several times as large at will, if it could become the Kaiju whenever it chose, we were all screwed. I had to hope it could only change size when a condition was met, a time was reached, or something.

Either way, I had no idea what could have brought my allies unknowingly toward me. I almost wondered if Sori wasn't playing games again. I wouldn't put it past him, but I'd try to reserve judgment for now. It was possible things just went wrong, and they were genuinely on the run in a coincidentally convenient direction. A quick head count of my allies told me they'd all survived so far; even Craig's wheelchair was being pushed along by Anderson. Still, I didn't think that would last much longer if the creature wasn't slowed down or distracted.

I loaded my shotgun as I hurried to flank the monster chasing my allies, but I kept an eye out for the Hyde or some of his Misfits in case of a sneak attack. The look in the Hyde's eyes felt obsessive, and I wasn't willing to accept the vanishing act as a true retreat. I'd seen that look before, mostly from guys who took rejection as an obstacle to overcome. I could be wrong, but the Hyde gave me that same feeling, and I was sure he'd come after me, even if I tried to leave him be. Which was fine because I didn't plan to leave him be. He was psychotic, but I doubted that was true for everyone he was controlling. The next time we met, I'd happily try to break that control. First, I had to give my friends a chance to escape the consequences of their terrible decisions.

The behemoth shook the ground as it ran behind them on all fours; I felt the vibrations in the pads of my paw-feet as I circled behind the chase. I was a little surprised my allies hadn't been immediately overrun, but it seemed like the behemoth wasn't much faster than a running man, even at 20 or 30 feet tall. The vibrations in the ground suggested it was heavy enough that it probably took buckets of energy to keep up any consistent pace. Still, it was moments from closing that distance, and I wasn't yet close enough to do anything about it.

Gunfire rang out, echoing against buildings and drawing my eyes to the deputies keeping pace ahead of the future-Kaiju. Their gunfire distracted the behemoth, and it shook its head, slowing for a moment and swiping a paw at the lawmen. The deputies on the other side of the street fired their own guns, and the proto-Kaiju whirled on the new threat, lashing out at the other deputies. Still, it had slowed to shake off the stings of the pistol fire, and they were all out of its reach, if in more danger than my allies. Luke turned back, slowing his pace a little, and shot the creature several times with his own gun, drawing the monster's attention away from the deputies.

As a whole, they'd gained some ground on the Kaiju, but as it refocused on my friends, it quickly began reducing the distance again. They could split up and let one group draw away the Kaiju, but at this rate, someone was going to get caught when someone ran out of bullets, if not sooner.

Even if they did manage to get away, the gunfire would be drawing in other monsters, too, or so I assumed. There was a distinct lack of other monsters in this chase, but I knew how quickly that could change. Still, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth; there wouldn't be a better chance to act.

I had a hope that my shotgun would be more effective than the defenders's pea shooters, mostly because I had a few slug shells that I was sure wouldn't tickle. I'd come across them while looting cars, but I hadn't had a reason to use them over the buckshot. I wasn't exactly a sharpshooter—especially with adrenaline coursing through my system—but even this baby Kaiju would be hard to miss.

I ducked down an alley and hid behind a dumpster while the pursuit passed by. I didn't want the creature to know I was here until I was unloading into the back of its knees. When the massive beast rumbled by my hiding spot, shaking the ground as it did, I took a deep breath and ran after it.

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It had been hard to tell when we'd been running toward each other, but as I chased after them, I realized that nobody was jogging; they were full-on running. I was faster and stronger as a monster than I had been as a human, but not so much so that I'd be able to aim very well while chasing them. I'd have to wait for the deputies to initiate the next distraction. I could only hope they hadn't run out of ammo yet.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long for my opportunity. The Kaiju didn't give them much choice, gaining ground as it was. The three deputies on the right side of the street called something out, and then—one at a time and one after another— they stepped into a shooter's stance and fired several times each. The Kaiju roared in anger or frustration and swiped at its own face before lunging at the deputies. When it did, the deputies on the left pulled the same maneuver in an impressive display of coordination.

Not to be outdone, I got as close as I could, aimed the shotgun at the back of one knee, and pulled the trigger. The gun and future Kaiju both roared, and gore erupted from the wound. My weapon bucked, and the monster spun; I didn't get my second shot off.

As it swiped wildly in my direction, I rolled out of the way. At least I'd gotten its attention. I'd naively hoped to take out both knees, but it hadn't spent any time confused about where the pain was coming from; it just reacted. Still, a slug to the back of even one knee seemed to have done damage—I was curious to see how it would feel about one to the eye.

Rolling to my feet, I tried to line up a shot, but one of its massive paws immediately struck me like a truck and sent me flying across the street. The world was a topsy-turvy spin for long moments, and it wasn't until I finished rolling across the cement that I even felt the strike, let alone hitting the ground.

Coughing, I groaned and felt around for my shotgun.

"Sam!" I heard Alice yell, fear in her voice. I glanced up to see that most of my allies and the deputies were still running, but Alice had stopped; a single deputy stopped with her but was clearly trying to pull her along. Alice had monster strength, however, and she wasn't budged.

I could see the behemoth slowly approaching from the corner of my eye, but my gaze stayed on Alice rather than the coming end. She closed her eyes, and her mouth started to move; whether in prayer or spell or simple pneumonic device, I didn't know. She held up her hands, and a mirror of the proto-kaiju appeared.

The monster had been bearing down on me, but when the illusion popped up, its head whipped around to stare, quivering. Its nose sniffled at the air, and its breathing sped up. Its eyes, though, darted around and narrowed. Something was wrong; it wasn't fooled.

I opened my mouth to shout out a warning.

Nothing came out. My voice—Nia's voice—completely failed me.

The monster dove through Alice's illusion, his maw slamming shut mercilessly on Alice's torso. She screamed, and adrenaline coursed through me. I threw myself to my feet, ignoring my body's protestations and grabbing my gun from the ground as I half-sprinted half-hobbled toward the front of the creature; I'd have only one shot.

I raised my gun up to aim for the behemoth's eye. The deputy that had hung back with Alice had been knocked aside when the behemoth attacked. The fall must have disoriented them, or maybe I was just the first thing they saw when they looked up. Either way, before I could take my shot, they took theirs. A series of impacts crashed against my back, my vest stopping the bullets from penetrating, but not from acting like repeated hammer strikes.

Disoriented, I stumbled forward, the breath knocked from my lungs.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my vision in time and refocused on the soon-to-be Kaiju's head. Unfortunately, while I'd been distracted, it had finished its attack, and Alice's head had vanished into its mouth.

I pulled the trigger anyway, but it made no difference. Whether it was Alice's illusion, her death, or even my own attacks, the simple two-story tall creature was suddenly dwarfed by the full grown Kaiju standing over me, roaring it's early arrival to the town.

I collapsed to my knees, and for a second, I thought it was an involuntary sign of resignation. Only when I coughed up blood did I realize one of the bullets had taken me in my neck, and I was bleeding out.

I swore internally, unable to speak. What a shit day