The War of the Worlds - By Bridgette (A Splatoon Story of Martian Invasion)

Chapter 4-Loneliness and the Soldier from the Pit

With the round of the heat ray vaporizing several curious witnesses, a stampede of desperate survival followed. I was lucky enough to be standing just far enough the main cluster of the crowd, as I quickly ran from the view of the metal monsters. The heat ray continued hissing onto the crowd every few seconds, shrinking the mob size by every second and slowly quieting the screams. I was petrified by the hissing of it, something about it seems familiar yet alien at the same time. I didn't bother to look behind me but I knew that there were a stampede behind me, running for their lives. As I ran farther and farther fearing for my own safety, I began smelling what smelled like seafood behind me. That's where I realized it was coming from the burnt corpse lying on the ground. What was once a smell of deliciousness and satisfaction is now one of burning corpses from the victims of the heat ray.

I ran to cover beside a building that had its once bustling shops closed due to the onslaught taking place. There, I had a much clearer view of the chaos. I saw hundreds of marine beings, from the smallest to the biggest, slowest to the fastest, strongest to the weakest, all running together from a single machine that stood as it vaporized them. I even managed to see the effects of the heat ray myself as I witnessed a large male crab instantly get obliterated by a single bright, red line striking him. Others soon followed his fate as I hid beside a building as everything unfolded.

After a few agonizing minutes of listening to the sounds of screaming and crying, the crowd soon dissipated. The only thing remaining where the crowd once stood was overcooked seafood (very poor taste in comedy) and a black trail of burn marks on the road. I slowly peaked to look at the tripod once last time, and there I saw it stride over the city with its legs and feet trampling down every building that stood on its way, searching for new victims to claim and possibly—with my understanding of the other cylinder—unite with them so they could together, continue their devious acts.

With deep fear within my eyes, I continued my search for my lover, soon arriving at his apartment, and thankfully, the building is still fully intact. I ran up the stairs and arrived at floor four, where I would knock on his apartment door, anxiously waiting to see his face, which gives me hope in this collapsing world. A few seconds passed, soon turning into minutes, and no one came to turn the doorknob. My anxiety began to grow larger and larger, and soon I had to take measures. I desperately slammed the door with my own body, but it didn't bud, so I took the other option that was standing beside the door—the window. I grabbed a piece of debris that was coincidentally nearby and threw it at the window. That is where I realized the truth: the place was already abandoned, nowhere for my lover to be found—he had already taken off. All of that only to find him gone.

This was enough to reach an already-deep-breaking point that I began to let out tears from my weary eyes. I hurdled myself into the dark corner of my lover's apartment and released my emotional self. At that moment, I realized my foolish decision. I should not have abandoned my three friends. I knew that they were contacting my lover, but something within me told me to go look for him. I should have stayed and followed them to somewhere safe up in the north, somewhere farther from both Inkopolis and Splatsville, somewhere far from the dangers of the monstrous tall tripods. Now I am paying the price for abandoning them—a price of possible death or, worse, misery.

I was weeping for a long time inside this dark, abandoned apartment, with the only light coming from the shattered window. The only sounds accompanying me in my dark times were buildings getting destroyed and buzzing noises coming from the heat ray that was hitting at the defenseless or outgunned crowd of both young and old. The environment left me alone, with no one to be there for me, comfort me, or even hear me, until I began listening to what sounded like a footstep approaching me. My heart froze, and now the fears grew back to beat out my sorrows. The unidentified person took interest in the apartment I was staying in and soon shouted at the open window, "Is anyone here?"