‘When it rains, it pours.’
Norman hoped that phrase wouldn’t apply to more than just the weather in his case. With the hoodie drawn over his head, he felt the sky’s heavy bombardment through his waterproof outfit. The nightsight did its best to pierce the precipitation, but distant objects remained obscured behind curtains of rainfall.
Norman stopped before a massive chasm in the streets, cutting across his path. He beamed the smitelight into its depths. There were creatures moving around down there. He couldn’t identify them, but he saw their beady eyes staring back at him. They didn’t look too big, and made no move against him, but that didn’t mean he’d take his chances with them either. The cam drone told him the chasm extended pretty far. Maybe some kind of battle had occurred here, collapsing underground infrastructure.
He turned and set off on a different path.
___CHAT
* ARN74: detour?
* NORMAN: Yeah. It’ll set me back one and a half hours.
* INQU!SIT_R: you’re in the chat? how??
* NORMAN: I set the nightsight to read neuromuscular signals sent to the jaw when I talk in my head. It’s transcribing them into the chat. Apparently, this kind of tech exists in the outside world too.
* ARN74: we get it. you’re clever. now send me your pin so I can come for you
Norman raised an eyebrow. Ever since their talk, ARN74 was a lot less belligerent. She (he was pretty sure she was a girl) seemed somewhat invested in his well-being now. Nonetheless, knowing her brief track record? Her choice of words was questionable.
___CHAT
* NORMAN: I genuinely can’t tell if that’s a threat or something else.
* ARN74: something else
* NORMAN: Be more specific, please.
* ARN74: i’m giving you a lift home
* NORMAN: You have a car?
* ARN74: don’t need one
* LEMMY_OUTA_HERE: But you need his pin, apparently. I thought you said you can ‘taste’ radio waves to find someone.
* ARN74: that’s hard and it takes time. don’t draw attention to yourself Lemmy
* ATTACK-OTAKU: Are you a girl?
* ARN74: what’s that got to do with anything?
* LEMMY_OUTA_HERE: Based on the way she talked to Norman about Amy, it’s highly likely that she’s a girl.
* ARN74: Lemmy you are pushing your luck
* ATTACK-OTAKU: [PIN FOR ARN74]
* ARN74: WHAT!? WHY!?!
* ATTACK-OTAKU: (Pushes up glasses) ‘cause you seem like a tsundere monster girl who just needs someone to give her a chance.
* ARN74: i’m going to pretend I didn’t read that
* MUNSTER-VERSER: are you cute?
* ARN74: 😒 why would I answer that?
* MUNSTER-VERSER: 😘
* ARN74: 😨 WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?
* INQU!SIT_R: speaking of which, what does Amy look like?
* NORMAN: Haven’t you seen the news?
* INQU!SIT_R: yes, but they never get a good shot. it’s like those blurry UFO pics they always show us. her voice comes out weird too.
* NORMAN: Good. That’s just the way she likes it 😊.
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: She can corrupt footage of herself?
* NORMAN: Yes. I’m not fully sure how, though. She seems to passively sabotage light and sound waves when she doesn’t want to be recorded properly. It affects tech more than human senses for some reason. Even so, it can be hard or impossible to spot her at a distance with your own eyes when she doesn’t want you to.
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: Strange. Why would her self-censorship abilities be tailored to human tech?
* NORMAN: Could be a coincidence.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: Do you really think that?
* NORMAN: Nope.
* ARN74: alright Norman. time to send me that pin. if the monsters don’t get you, the exposure might. you obviously won’t ask your actual girlfriend for help, so you’ll have to settle for me
* NORMAN: Nah, I’m good thanks.
* ARN74: WHY!?
* NORMAN: Stranger danger.
* ARN74: YOU’D RATHER FACE GOD KNOWS HOW MANY NYCTALS BECAUSE STRANGER DANGER?!?
* NORMAN: Yesh maybe :3?
* ARN74: YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE
* NORMAN: I dunno … it’s not like you spent half the night wishing for me to die. I have every reason to trust you.
* ARN74: fair point
Norman cut through an alley. Above him was a crisscross of clothes lines, except clothes lines weren’t usually this thick or … lumpy. They didn’t fall towards you like a net either.
He accelerated. Like a sword master, he slashed the smitelight beam across them. They screamed and withdrew long enough for him to make it through the alley. Then they descended yet again. He took a moment to examine them. Resembling intestines laced with goop, he assumed these cords worked as some kind of capture mechanism. They reinforced themselves before his eyes with a spiderweb of smaller strings that stretched membranes between them: layers upon layers of slimy walls.
Norman turned up his lip and continued along the street, glancing about. The cords were there, in every alley, every side road, spinning more walls like webs of mucus. There was no easy way to go but forward or backwards. Perhaps they were connected, somehow, sending out a silent signal to reinforce themselves due to his attack. Suspicion festered in his mind.
___CHAT
* BAJANETTE11: HEAT EATER!!!
* BAJANETTE11: HEAT EATER!!!
At the edge of the street, Norman spotted that blue glow with his nightsight on a mild infrared setting. He raised the smitelight, waiting for the perfect moment. The heat eater ignored him and shot right by at a frantic pace. He still hadn’t gotten a good look at it. Setting the drone to monitor his blindside, he trained his eyes at the direction from which it came.
*VVVVVVVVVRMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ...*
A growing tremor. The most apt comparison might have been the feeling of a train wheeling by. However, a train was way too small.
___CHAT
* JARON-DA-MON: is the camera shaking?
Norman strained his nightsight to pierce the distance. It captured the outline of a building that wasn’t there before.
He turned tail and ran.
It felt as though he was getting nowhere fast. That tremour grew closer at almost the same rate, unaffected by his speed.
.
“̷̧̛̟̽͘G̶̡̱̠̱̲͔̦̉̊̓̿̊̀͛̉͘͝Ǧ̴̡̳̮̠̞͙͓̊͌̓̓̃̽͘̚G̶̤̤̞͉͎̟̏́͛̿͌̏̅͠͝Ǵ̴̢̨̞͔͕̲̲̼̌̽̍M̵̢̛͎̱̯̞͔͝ͅM̵̩̪̤̹̯͖̠̄̎̈́̚͘M̴̘̉̓̅̽̓M̵̫͕̺͍̫̾́͗͗̂̋͊̍͝͝M̶͓̜͍͈̦̻̝̟̻̯̓̈́̅̃̋̃̉͂̆͘M̵̖͓̠̝̹̮̜̓̓̓́̎͊̑̕M̵͙͇̜̻͈̜̀́̓́!̸̢͉̩̠̼́̆́͌͝”̷̥̻̗̤̅͗̽̃̒͂̓̅͝ͅ
.
The hunting cry. It wasn’t heard as much as it was felt, quaking through his chest like the bass of a subwoofer. Infrasonic roars like this were how tigers stunned their prey. In this case, it was much louder. Norman’s muscles attempted to seize up. He whipped them back into shape with a hard nope. There wasn’t time for this. Judging from the tremours’ escalation, it had seen him and begun to accelerate.
The building’s silhouette was clearer and nearer. Looking closely enough, one could see the massive eyes socketed in its windows. Most of them were locked upon Norman. From the windows that seemed empty? Tentacles over a metre thick unfurled in preparation to snatch their prey.
___CHAT
* AMBIVALENT_TRENT: 😳
* INQU!SIT_R: 😦
* SMOL_STUPSE: 😬
* BAJANETTE11: 😨
* ARN74: 😑
* UNREPENTANT.MEMER: Willem Dafoe looking up
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: ‘Peeping building’: larger cousin of the taxiderm. A mollusk-analogous organism that uses buildings as an outer shell and disguise. They often move on muscular, sliding ‘feet’, like snails, but they’re deceptively fast.
* LEMMY_OUTA_HERE: Anyone still wanna come here?
* LIKKLE-BOY: 😳 smh
* BAJANETTE11: Norman, try an sen de pin!!!
* ARN74: too late. he’s on his own
* BAJANETTE11: WHY?!?
* ARN74: what do you mean ‘why’? i’ve never fought one of those before. i don’t know what they can do and i ain’t gonna risk it today
Norman passed up two alleys until he reached the one with the least amount of blockage, according to the bird’s eye view of his drone. He focused his beam like a laser and began slicing into the organic barrier, tearing membranes and searing lumps or anything else that looked vital to its functioning. He almost had a clear path.
.
“̴̡̛͇̥͉́̿͗G̵̪͚̪͍̽̽͆͌̊̓̅̒͛͜͝Ǵ̷̪̠̦͚͊̾̓̆͛̿̚͜Ǵ̷͎͎̖͙̳̘̄͠͠G̷̛̦̲͎̘̟͖̦͕̎̀̈́̉̕M̴̜͉̓͗̽͊M̷̥̤̼̒̒̈M̷̢̫̗̠͈͚̝͙̄M̴̡͔̖̫͒M̴̛̭̯̽͐͛̍̑̓͆̌M̴̢̦͕̟̣͈̯̀̀̚͘̕M̷͎͉̟̪̎́̒̈́͘͜͠!̴̡͙͚͙̭̯̩̦̈́͌͐̈͒̓͝”̶̡̨̖̹̝̭̻̀́͌̊͑͗̊͜
.
Norman almost collapsed. Its cry thundered through him. This thing was almost on top of him, tearing street water into the air like a speedboat ripping through the waves.
“Okay, that does it,” Norman growled through gritted teeth. “Not on my streets.”
Its tentacles drew back to strike. Norman struck first. His concentrated beam crisscrossed from eye to eye as he blinded it with rapid fire slashes of the smitelight. The tentacles forgot their attack, spasming with an anguished squeal. It was still coming.
Norman removed four flash grenades, tied them together, armed them almost all at once and hurled them to the base of the oncoming building. He angled his smitelight towards it, counting down to the moment when the grenades went off.
*fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...*
“Burn,” Norman snarled.
*FFFOOOOOOOMM!*
The smitelight’s blast went off in tandem with the flash grenades. The building bayed a death cry and fell forward like a kaiju-sized mahogany. Norman ignored it, already charging for another blast aimed into the alley.
*fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...*
*FFFOOOOOOOMM!*
The nyctal webs in the alleyway shriveled and died instantly.
He surged into the alley. Crispy cords crushed beneath his shoes like fried chicken. Nearing the end of the passage, he felt the tremendous waft of air racing to get out of the building’s way before it hit the ground. Then the impact came. Flesh, metal and concrete collided with road in a sound indescribably ghastly. The shockwave struck like a tsunami, clipping him as he rounded the corner. He tumbled into a parkour roll and was back up in an instant. Behind him, a river of dust mingled with debris poured from the alley.
___CHAT
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: We’ve underestimated Norman.
* ARN74: that goes without saying
Norman scanned the new street on which he found himself. Subtle signs of panic were in his movements.
___CHAT
* INQU!SIT_R: is he looking for something?
* RAIDER-COMMANDER: All the exits are blocked by debris. It’s not a coincidence. It’s a hunting net.
Norman took one look at the towering building to his left. Then he took off.
.
.
“̷̵̵̷̶̷̶̶̸̶̶̸̴̡̛̮͉̹̪̼̙̤̲̤͔̗̮̥̣̜͓̟̞̃̔̈́̑̈̍͌̂̂̐̋͛̉̓G̵̶̸̷̴̸̵̵̴̶̸̷̸̴̶̨̢̧̞͈̠̜̳̪͎̬̜̱̫͚̝̩̑̒͐́͆̃̿̉̆̉̃̓̀̎̐͂̎̒̕̕͘͝͝Ǵ̷̷̷̴̸̸̷̷̷̷̵̨̢̞̥͓̰͖͙̰̝͖̩̺͍͎͉͌̽̂́͐̓̀͒̐͗́M̴̷̶̵̴̷̵̶̵̴̷̷̢̡̧̢̛̫̲͕͇̗̯͚̥͙͓͓̀̒͑͒̂̊̅̐͛̂̄͌̈̚͝M̴̷̶̵̴̷̷̶̷̬̼̭̗͍̺̳̩̱͍̂̄̾͂̔̽̇̀͝͝͝͠M̶̯̙̥͕̞̰̗̗͐̔!̸̞̞̬̼̖̩̈́̇͊͐̾͑͋̉!̷̧͈̘̬̆͑͝!̶̤̜̔̓̆̅̔͆͘͝”̸̨̧̼̭̫̒͜
.
.