Page 50 of Love vs The Ooze Monster!
Mabel made a disbelieving sound at his grouchy complaint.
“The sight’s off!” He insisted.
“Enough of this foolishness.” Mrs. Patten came striding into the alleyway, like a boarding school headmistress chastising wayward students. Her practical heels slapped on the cement, in sharp, impatient taps. “Let’s not make this into an ordeal. Come out and face the consequences of your lascivious behavior…”
“You shot me!” Rico shrieked at Boyd, cutting her off.
“Not enough.” Boyd snapped back. “I’m not going to stop until you’re dead.”
“Who on earth is this hoodlum?” Mrs. Patten demanded.
Rico ignored her, his wrathful attention on Boyd. “You’ll never get the chance to kill me, you stupid son of a bitch.” He opened up with the tommy gun, wildly spraying bullets.
If you weren’t used to firing it, the power of the weapon could be difficult to harness. Rico wasn’t used to firing it. The man had terrible aim. He missed Boyd and Mabel.
He hit Mrs. Patten.
Boyd shoved Mabel against the wall, so she was out of range. She didn’t actually see the first bullets hitting her landlady. She sure as hell heard them, though. The colossal noise of the gun echoed off the brick walls, in a discordant avalanche of sound.
Mabel managed to look past Boyd’s large shoulder, her eyes morbidly drawn to the ghastly spectacle. Blood soaked Mrs. Patten’s old-fashioned, high-collared dress. The “Chopper” lived up to its nickname. The submachine gun had chopped right through Mrs. Patten’s body. She collapsed to the ground in hunks, dead before she even realized she’d been shot.
It was a better ending than she deserved, really.
Mabel scowled. There were a multitude of reasons the woman had been a terrible landlady and an even worse person. The stupid teas. The bigoted remarks. The way she’d created a slime creature that was terrorizing the town. All of it was inappropriate. Too bad she didn’t get a chance to give Mrs. Patten a piece of her mind, before the woman died. Mabel had quite a few things to say to that bitch.
Boyd didn’t even spare a glance towards Mrs. Patten’s various pieces. He was back in his wartime mode. “Go!” Gripping Mabel’s arm, he dragged her out of the alleyway and onto the street, again.
…Right back into the path of the ooze monster.
The creature was literally steps away from them. Up close, it was even more horrible. Inside of its translucent form, half-digested human bodies swayed, gruesomely suspended in the acidic goo. Some of them had their mouths yawning open, like they had been swallowed mid-scream.
It had devoured dozens of citizens and it was still hungry. The ooze monster’s snake-like appendages searched for more victims. One whipped out in Boyd’s direction.
This time,Mabelmoved.
A tentacle thicker than her arm snapped through the air, trying to grab Boyd. She instinctively shoved him out of the creature’s path. The tentacle missed him and struck Mabel.
Boyd gave a roar of denial, his eyes wild with panic.
Mabel was shorter than Boyd, so the monster’s aim was off. Instead of Boyd’s neck, it hit right above her head. She heard strands of her hair sizzle as they came in contact with a drop of acid. Her very pretty, brand new hat was wrenched off her head and sucked into the ooze creature’s colossal form.
Mabel’s mouth parted in outrage. She’d liked that hat!
“Mabel!” Boyd pulled her against his body, holding her close and frantically checking her over for injuries.
“I’m alright!” She rushed out, trying to reassure him. The monster was already regrouping for another strike. “We need to…”
More gunshots.
Rico came bursting out of the alleyway, indiscriminately firing and yelling curses at Boyd. The ooze monster was between him and them, like an impenetrable wall. The bullets impacted the creature’s side, but couldn’t pass through the thick goo of its body.
Mabel wasn’t sure the monster could feel pain. It must’ve feltsomething, though. Its attention switched Rico’s way, the countless tentacles snapping towards him. Agitated. Angry.
Rico’s furious shouts turned high-pitched and terrified. Turning on his heel, he ran down the alley, trying to evade the monster that was already moving after him.
The ooze monster’s jellylike body squeezed through the tight confines of the alleyway, not stopping its pursuit. The creature’s lack of bones meant it could compress its sides with no real difficulties. It was disturbing to see how unstoppable it was.
Boyd took a step forward, like he wanted to follow Rico and continue the fight. Or maybe he wanted to follow the ooze monster and continuethatfight. Either way, it wasn’t happening.
