The man marked with the X on his face said, his voice light, almost conversational.
"Well, this is a dead end, isn't it?"
He looked at the monster at its rocky hide, its spider legs, its acid-spitting tail. None of his attacks had worked. The bullets had bounced off. The blade had barely scratched it. He was just wasting ammo.
He said, his voice quiet, almost resigned.
"I'm just wasting ammo."
He grabbed a hold of the legs.
His hands wrapped around one of the spindly limbs, his fingers digging into the rocky surface, his body swinging from one leg to the next. He moved like a monkey, like a ghost, like a man who had nothing to lose. He headed to the monster's tail.
As he got there, he said, his voice filled with satisfaction.
"Finally." He paused. "A part of you that's not built like a tank."
The tail was like a giant worm soft, fleshy, vulnerable. It spat out acid through the end, its tip dripping with green, hissing liquid that burned through the rock beneath it. He grabbed the tail with his entire body, his arms wrapping around it, his legs locking in place. He tried to pin the monster down with his entire strength.
But immediately, the monster charged to the front.
Its body surged forward, its legs scrambling, its weight shifting. He was thrown off it his body flying through the air, his limbs flailing, his mind screaming. He was about to fall to his death.
Then he brought out his blade and stabbed it into the rock that he was on.
SHLIK!
The blade pierced the stone, stopping his fall, saving his life. He hung there for a moment, his breath heavy, his heart pounding, his will absolute.
He pulled out one of his guns again.
His fingers wrapped around the handle, his aim steady, his focus absolute. He aimed for the opening of the tail that poured out acid the soft, fleshy opening that was the monster's weakness.
He smiled.
"You know what?" He paused. "I'm always good at well..."
He paused again.
"Not to brag." His voice hardened. "But I was the best marksman in my time."
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The first bullet shot forward spinning through the air, screaming toward its target. Then, as the first propelled out of the gun, he shot the second bullet.
BANG!
The second bullet followed the first faster, harder, more precise. Both bullets entered into the tail, and on entrance, the second bullet collided with the first bullet, causing the first bullet to explode into shards along with the second bullet.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the tail, opening a hole in its flesh, creating an opening.
He used that opportunity.
He threw his blade into that hole.
The blade spun through the air end over end, its edge gleaming, its purpose absolute. It sank into the tail, tearing through the flesh, destroying the entire tail. He grabbed a hold of it, his fingers wrapping around the hilt, and tore through it.
The tail separated from the monster's body a spray of blood, a scream of pain, a final end.
He brought out his gun.
"Well." He paused. "I was really bad at anatomy in general, but I do know some general knowledge."
He paused again.
"And you might ask what that is." He smiled. "Well..."
He raised the gun.
"Some animals have two holes." He paused. "One exist, one entrance."
He aimed.
"And something always penetrate the exist."
He put his gun in it and began to fire.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG!
He fired over and over and over again until there was no bullet in the gun anymore. The monster's body convulsed. Its legs trembled. Its life faded.
And like that, the monster died.
He smiled.
He turned to the way of Davina Jones, ready to say something a joke, a comment, a victory speech.
But a monster with tentacles grabbed a hold of her.
Its limbs wrapped around her body, lifting her off the rock, pulling her down into the deeper part of the crater in the sea.
As soon as he saw this, he ran toward her at full speed.
His feet pounded against the rock, his legs pumping, his heart pounding. But he knew that he wasn't going to make it in time. He was a human. There was no way that his full body speed would be able to match the reaction speed of a monster.
He reloaded his guns again with new bullets as he ran forward, his fingers working quickly, efficiently, mechanically. He faced the gun backwards and started firing the bullets.
BANG. BANG. BANG!
Using the force of the bullet to propel himself forward, he got close enough. His body surged forward his arms extending, his hands reaching, his will absolute. He grabbed her, pulling her free from the monster's grasp, and they both landed on the rock.
He landed right on her.
He smiled.
"I'm not a bad choice, am I?"
She said to him, her voice flat, unimpressed.
"You shouldn't celebrate if you haven't won."
He looked up.
Another monster, made out of tentacles, was about to kill him.
He said, his voice light, almost conversational.
"Oh, fuck."
in the space between the relief and the danger, between the victory that had been won and the threat that was approaching.
The banished one lay on top of Davina.
The tentacle monster loomed above them.
And the sea roared