charm(less)

sex

—— s e x ——

HONESTLY, KOREY COULD only blame himself for letting himself fall into a false sense of security.

Since those wafer squares of Ambrosia — he had almost wanted to ask for more because they tasted so good but Park's warning that they could be lethal had echoed in his mind — he'd been feeling better. Not just physically, with that hot feverish feeling leaving him and his body energising, but mentally too. It was easy to push aside the lingering panic and fear walking the familiar streets of New York City, his city, in broad daylight. He'd almost managed to forget the dangerous and scary mission they were on, standing on the deck of a ferry out to Rockaway beach that he'd gotten countless times before.

Now a huge, monstrous squid was about to eat them all and he couldn't believe only ten minutes he'd been chatting with a nice elderly Texan couple.

"Holy shit," Korey yelled, managing to stagger to his feet. Park was standing and already had his strange black bow in hand, fingers resting against the string as if ready to draw it at any moment. "What is that thing?"

"Kraken," Park said grimly.

"Come again?"

"It's the Kraken," Park said, raising his voice to be heard over the mass panic ensuing around them. Most people were rushing to get back inside the ferry but some where just standing, gobsmacked, as they stared at the monster. "It used to ambush ships and pluck sailors from the wreckage, eating them one by one."

"Oh, brilliant! So we're all going to die," Korey said, a little hysterically. "Is what you're telling me."

Park shot him an irritated look but didn't get a chance to reply. The Kraken opened a huge pink maw, crowded with huge, serrated teeth that were dripping with spittle and seaweed, and released an awful screeching wail. Korey could only stare in horror as one of it's giant flailing tentacles rose out of the water, hanging against the backdrop of the blue sky for a second, before it came crashing down against the deck right where Korey was standing. He would have been smashed into the deck if Park hadn't lunged at him — they both hit the floor rolling just as the tentacle slammed against the deck, inches from Korey's head.

Slowly, as if deliberate ease, it dragged the tentacle back and Korey saw the ragged pink suckers running along the soft underbelly where lined with needle thin pointed spiked. In the wake of the suckers, long scratches were left along the deck from the spikes.

"Thanks," Korey said, a little breathlessly, to where Park was still propped over him from the fall.

Park rolled off him to his feet in one fluid motion. "You need to be more alert. That thing is so big you could probably avoid attack if you move fast enough."

"Right." Korey scrambled to his feet. "So, what's the plan? How do we defeat it?"

"We aren't doing anything. Get everyone off the deck and to the bottom floor of the ferry," Park ordered, raising his bow and knocking an arrow in the same motion. The Kraken seemed to have returning to shaking the ship by sending huge waves battering against the sides and Korey had to grab the wall to stay on his feet. "I'll take this thing down."

"How?"

"I'll figure it out. The mortals don't see what we do," Park added, still not taking his eyes off the Kraken, as if waiting for it to make it's next move. "We see the true form. Because of the Mist, they probably see a storm or something to that extent. So don't go blabbing about giant squids and freak them out more than they already."

"What's a mist?"

"I'll answer whatever questions you want later, but right now, I have more pressing concerns," Park said. "Get the mortals out of the way. I can't do anything without risking hurting them."