Calypso had to figure out the logistics of a haunted hospital that was slowly coming to life within a span of five seconds. Assume a battle stance—have the other two hold out with her? Play into their enemies hands by getting captured—so they could show them how things worked with little-to-no effort?
“Girls! We’re playing this like humans have always done!” Calypso began.
Before darting forward down the rumbling halls, leaving her pseudo-packmates in her dust.
“WE’RE RUNNING AS LONG AS WE CAN!”
Thankfully, pulling ahead meant not hearing the duo’s confused babbling, but Calypso made doubly sure to at least hear one set of footfalls behind her. She sighed, a jet of steam softly exiting her maw in relief, once she heard the one set and the annoying buzzing of flapping wings.
Whatever this danger was going to end up as, Calypso took her professor’s words to heart. These monsters—the supernatural, thrived on the hunt. Favorable conditions, capitalizing on the fact that their prey is completely out of their depth—and too weak to survive within it. While the girls are both… The fact they’re also monsters, the fact they can exist outside of this dichotomy—that’s the chance that will get them out of this mess.
At least she thought, until she started looking about her surroundings. Her hope steadily dwindled, as she witnessed the halls literally coming to life.
The wires above them throbbed out of the crumbling ceiling—like veins. The walls that decayed so badly that cave-ins happened, the gaping holes transformed into makeshift maws, beginning to weakly jut forward with their broken, sharp “teeth”. The floors weren’t just growing damp, Calypso felt the saliva accumulate on her soles, as they started to stick more and more to the building’s tongue.
And the most worrying. The hanging lights becoming not only searchlights, but eyes that immediately beamed on the trio.
As Calypso turned to face the one shining on her, she was pleasantly surprised. She watched as the gnat glide in front (or rather behind?) her, shooting out her series of cells that chaffed from her buzzing wings.
Disgusting, but useful. Calypso felt like it fit…
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Regardless, the spray immediately pelted the light, not only the impacts of each cell riddling it as if they were bullets, but partly shredded it as if they were knives.
If only Calypso was allowed to pause at that “sudden” display of power.
The hallway, the building itself… It howled in pain. Howled in pain just like any living being would if their eye was painfully shot out.
Suddenly, the entire place reared back—upwards. If it weren’t for the fact that Calypso had clawed toes too, she wouldn’t have that precious second to anchor herself, realize what was happening, and told the others:
“IT’S LIKE IT’S RAISING IT’S HEAD TO SCREAM! HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE!”
Without missing a beat herself, Calypso forced herself down onto the moist flooring, and dug her claws into it. Knowing that the hospital wasn’t going to like that either caused the monster girl to gulp nervously, as she held on.
Thrashing, the building itself begun to thrash violently, and if it wasn’t that, the pained, thunderous screaming rumbled the very foundations the girls were gripping on.
It was impossible. Even Calypso’s usually-iron-clad-grip was loosening due to the shaking, her claws being physically rocked out of their individual holes as a result. Of course, Calypso tried to counteract that, trying in vain to nestle those claws deeper, to regain ground. But all that did was make the entry points—the cavities themselves—bigger, thus easier to slip out of.
So when the skeletal monster girl began to fall, a thousand thoughts exploded within her head. But none of them, none of them, had the hope of the gnat catching her.
Not only catching her, but letting her go and then dug her own claws into her back to grip her spine—as if she were a carrying case.
Calypso was so shocked, she ignored the brief but potent momentary paralysis. She glanced about, trying to see if this was a trick, only to see Gale being grabbed by the gnat’s other claw. Judging by the various holes that were closing up on Gale’s slimy body, and the gnat burying that claw into the massive mushroom on her head—the gnat quickly deduced that it had to have very massive roots that could provide her anchor. Which had very startling implications, but there simply was no time to ponder them right now.
Especially since the gnat’s speed was notably lowered. Along with the very subtle drops of altitude with every passing moment. Soon more than later, they would all have to get on the ground again.
So of course, the wire-veins dropped down, lancing outward for the gnat—the only reason they all weren’t ensnared because of the fly’s erratic and nimble movement.
But it wasn’t over, because as she effortlessly dodged—whichever side she moved towards, the walls roared, trying to either eat her or her passenger until she moved away. At least Gale, as she shrieked and shouted, could move—tuck herself in—and barely making it due to being made of goo. Calypso was limited, which meant the gnat had to pick up her slack. Thus, meaning more effort in flying, causing the drops much more noticeable. And this hallway seemed to stretch forever. No end in sight.
But Calypso refused to not only believe in that, but refuse to be the load as someone else tried to save her useless ass.