Matt

Chapter 14- The Monster

You know, it's not like I should be overly surprised by all this. I had always wondered if sooner or later I was going to get caught like this by someone who wasn't supposed to find out. I'd initially figured it would have been Serena, but I'd also considered that it could've been any of my friends accidentally getting caught up in this strange world that goes on behind the scenes when no one is looking. Never once did I really think that Serena's parents were going to be the ones that would catch us. In hindsight, I should have considered the possibility more seriously.

And now, the two of them are staring directly at the monstrosity on the other side of the room. I haven't known the two of them long, but I was certain that they'd never seen anything ever remotely like this before.

John's reaction to it was a mix of awe and terror. To be honest, I almost enjoyed seeing the look of fear on his face. It kind of served him right. No matter how tough he thought he was, he sure as hell was out of his league here.

Stella's reaction was...completely different. The best way to describe her reaction was fascination. She appeared completely enthralled by the site of the disgusting monster before her. It was clear from the look on her face that the possibility of extreme danger did not even register. Does she even realize that her life is at risk?

I turned back to Alex and Alexis, who were both still staring at our two new guests. I was about to ask what had happened, but apparently Alex already predicted my question and answered it before I even opened my mouth.

"It seems I was a bit careless. Everyone in the vicinity was brought here but I didn't know they had returned..."

In the mean time, the malboro had begun to walk towards us. Its pace was slow and lumbering, but the room was definitely not large enough to give us a lot of time before it would be right on top of us. Alex took the initiative to attack it with several swipes from his battle axe. Even after his onslaught, the monster still appeared unharmed.

The creature decided it was its own turn to counter-attack. It swung one of its own tentacles directly at Alex. He was barely able to leap out of the way before the tentacle smashed into the concrete below, delivering enough force to crack it into pieces. Alex rolled away and tried to attack, but another tentacle had snuck up and managed to grab him by the ankle. He was picked up and swung around in the air in a circle multiple times before he was thrown directly into a nearby wall.

"Alex!" I yelled out of concern for his well being. I mean, sure he was an annoying bastard at times, but I still considered him my friend. When I didn't see him exit from the hole in the wall, I'd assumed the worst.

"It's a tentacle monster! I always knew they existed!" Stella shouted.

I turned to the door to find that Stella now had a million-watt smile plastered on her face. I almost wanted to yell at her for her lack of concern at the severity of the situation. After all, it was entirely possible that Alex was seriously hurt, or worse.

Unfortunately, there was no time to think about anything else, as the monster had now begun to focus its attention on Alexis and myself. It swung several tentacles in our direction, all of which were moving with enough force to easily kill an ordinary person. Luckily, Alexis reacted quickly and put her hand up just in time to create a shield. The tentacle crashed harmlessly into it, causing the light around it to bend and shift. The tentacles continued to bash repeatedly against the shield, each impact seemingly having no effect.

The assault continued for about fifteen seconds before I noticed a pair of tentacles from behind the creature smashing into the concrete below it. At first, I wasn't sure what was happening until I suddenly felt the vibrations from the ground below. Realizing what was happening, I immediately warned Alexis, "Behind you!"