7 The Bipedal Monster

Ray drove through town while weaving passed wrecked cars alongside the road. Large, mutant fish infested the streets they passed through. Up ahead, the monsters stood in the middle of the road, blocking the truck's way. Ray slammed the gas pedal, and the engine loudly roared. Exhaust blasted out of the pipe, and the pickup truck sped up. Conner was on the edge of his seat with his eyes tightly shut.

"Hold onto something!" Ray grasped the steering wheel tightly and braced for impact.

Everyone screamed as the truck drove closer to the mob of monsters. The pickup truck slammed into them, and flatten their decayed bodies. The front bumper had black blood splattered all over it and was caved in from the impact.

"Damn, dirty assholes!" Ray yelled.

"There are guns in the black duffle bag. You guys should grab one." Ray glanced at the rearview mirror.

Ian looked down and saw the duffle bag. He lifted it up, set it up on his lap, and unzipped it.

"So many!" Ian saw an astonishing amount of firearms and gasped. He grabbed a black rifle with a shoulder strap from the top of the pile and inspected it. It was an MR-80, otherwise known as The Mister. It was a beautiful assault rifle. However, this version was a semi-auto due to government regulations with multiple attachments to it.

This firearm was one of the most sought-after guns a few decades ago due to its lightweight and durability. However, its major flaw was the buffer spring*. Its lightweight doesn't allow broader ammo compatibility. Ian saw this gun many times on television that explained some of its technological aspects.

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" Ray asked.

"Somewhat." Ian nodded his head and replied.

"How about you two girls?"

They both shook their heads; they never shot a gun before.

"Ian, give them both pistols to start out with." Ray looked at Ian. "Switch the safety lock off."

Ian nodded his head and rummaged through the bag. He pulled out two black pistols and handed it both to them.

Lily rubbed the pistol in her hand. "So that's what it feels like."

"All of you should conserve ammo," Ray said with a stern face. "Only fire if necessary."

As he said that; a tall, bipedal monster slammed into the pickup's cargo bed.

"Fuck!" Ray shouted as he tried to control the steering wheel. The pickup swerved out of control before crashing into a small grocery store. The airbags popped out to prevent major injuries to them.

"Everyone out, now!" Ray commanded. "Ian, grab the duffle bag!" Ray ran out of the pickup with another duffle bag on his shoulders.

Ian grabbed his knife, stained with black blood, and the duffle bag before following behind everyone else. They all ran inside the building. Ray found a wooden broom behind the counter and jammed it between the handles of the door. The bipedal monster slowly walked towards the store and stopped at the front door. To the group, only the monster's lower body appeared through the glass door. All five of them ran and hid behind the shelves at the back of the store. The monster lowered its body and smiled at them; countless tentacles wriggled about at the side of its head.

A chill ran up Ian's spine, and the hand holding the rifle started to shake. He switched the safety lock off, pulled the bolt back, and pointed his rifle at it. Everyone also pointed their guns at it. The monster struck the window with its bony hands and broke it. Soon after, its tentacles start moving through the window and squirmed around the floor and onto the surrounding shelves.

"DIE FUCKER!" Ray shot multiple rounds into the creature and riddled it with bullet holes.

Ian and Conner aimed their guns and fired right afterward. Lily aimed her pistol at the monster and fired a shot. The recoil from the gun shocked her, and she dropped it. When she picked the gun up from the ground, a tentacle wrapped around her leg and dragged her towards the window.

"Ah!" Lily screamed as she tried to pull her leg away, but the tentacle didn't let go.

"Lily!" Ian stopped firing and ran up to her. He grabbed the tentacle and chopped it off with his knife. More tentacles continued to rush at them. In response, Ian grabbed his rifle that dangled from his shoulder and fired at them until his magazine emptied. The bipedal monster let out a high-pitched screech and turned berserk. It tried breaking the walls of the store. Debris fell as the monster struck the wall.

"We can't continue on like this!" Ray yelled. He pulled a couple of Molotov cocktails out of his bag. "Shit! I forgot to bring alcohol!"

"I have some here!" Mrs.Willard pulled out rubbing alcohol from her backpack and tossed it to Ray.

Ray caught it and opened the bottle. He poured the contents onto the fabric and gave the bottle back to her. Ray took a match out and lit the fabric on fire. He ran towards the monster then threw the Molotov at it. The bottle broke apart, and the fire spread around the monster's body. Ray didn't stop there as he lit another one up and tossed it at the monster. The monster screamed as it fell backward. The flames burnt its body black.

"Let's leave before more of them come!" Ray grabbed his bag and ran towards the door. The rest followed after him.

They came across a motel and ran towards it. Ray managed to break into one of the doors and went inside with the group. Ian pushed the TV off of the drawer. With Ray and Conner's help, they moved the drawer to barricade the doors along with some chairs. They finally sat down and relaxed their minds.

Suddenly, the TV turned on and a computerized voice spoke out.

"Greetings, summoners."