5 Chapter 5: Man versus Squid

Sprinting for close to two miles, Adriano felt his lungs on fire, his body demanded him to rest, however, whenever he slowed down he felt as if someone was close to reaching him. Finally, his sprint abruptly ended as he stepped in a pothole, tripping and almost face-hugging the floor.

"Ohh, floor-san, why must you hurt me this way?" he whispered slowly sitting up against a wall beside him. The pursuers he kept imagining failed to show up, and he was left all alone. Above him, a humongous Alien warship had appeared blotting out the sky. From its side, it churned smaller vessels one after one in swarms ready to pounce on the city.

"That's it, huh?" Adriano asked to himself, "It will be over like this? dying twice in less than twelve hours, and ultimately achieving nothing." If he had a cigarette, he would be smoking it right now, even though he had never smoked before in his life. But he doubted whether he would have any other chance in the future.

He then stood silently listening to the mortal orchestra playing in the background: explosions for percussions, gunshots for trumpets and screams as choir. He imagined God as an invisible conductor enjoying the carnage while adjusting the trajectory of projectiles.

However, a voice too close for his enjoyment ruined that cruel cacophonic show. An acute scream, coming from maybe two doors away, cried for help in desperation.

Adriano seriously considered whether he should go, his legs hurt, the lungs were on fire, his eyes unfocused and every time he closed them, pictures of madness appeared in the darkness. He finally relaxed knowing it would be over soon. Nevertheless, the owner of the voice kept screaming her lungs out. Finally with a last "Mom!" she went quiet.

But something else awakened.

A single image replaced the pictures in Adriano's eyes, a teddy bear dangling from a charred infant's body held in its mother last embrace.

Crashing through the door, Adriano saw a tentacled monstrosity holding a little girl by the neck, its flexible limb tightly coiled around her neck as her face turned shades of blue. Adriano reached for his rifle before remembering he had ditched it while running. Cursing himself, he took the progressive knife out of its sheath and charged at the white alien octopus.

A red holographic dot appeared on its body, and Mew's voice echoed in his ears, "That's his central brain, pierce deep!" knowing the enemy weakness was an advantage he would not waste.

The blade pierced right in the highlighted spots easily burrowing in the hard and springy flesh. "Die you fucking hentai monster, go fuck some 2-D loli to whence you came!" A shrill cry escaped its beak-like mouth as its body convulsed changing colors like a crazy chameleon. Throwing the little girl away, it turned around, the blade still embedded in his back, staring at Adriano with its only tennis ball sized eye releasing evident hate.

Its tentacles wobbled weakly in the air, on the tip of each a metal bracelet which suddenly sprung in action revealing serrated rows of blades.

"Shit." Adriano rolled back like a certain Dark soul character barely avoiding a lightning fast whip attack wooshing above his head. Missing Adriano's neck the tentacle crashed in a wall where it left deep gashes, seeing the danger of those small blades Adriano gulped down in anxiety.

With a roar like gurgling water, the squid charged forward spinning like a Beyblade, its eight tentacles slicing and dicing everything on their path. Adriano had two choices, flee right now and leave the girl to her destiny. Or fist-fight a deadly sharp fidget spinner.

"Oh for fuck sake, I already died once today!" Adriano said before grabbing a near wooden chair and charging in the bladestorm. The first tentacle sliced in the chair making it explode in a shower of splinters. The second hit Adriano's cheekbone slicing upwards and taking his right eye with it.

"AAAARGHHHH" With a bloodcurdling scream, he ignored the pain and leaped forward, less than a meter away. The third tentacle, with a funny orbit, sliced his left leg at the knee. However it was too late, Adriano stabbed the splintered remains of the chair in the best chest, and then hugged its back.

What seemed like a daring suicide move, actually hid Adriano's strategy to reach for the progressive blade still in the beast and push it further deep inside. The alien didn't stay idle either; it gently hugged back Adriano burrowing a few knives in his back.

The result of the mortal hug resided on whether Adriano could reach his weapon before dying of blood loss. However he wasn't scared anymore, he embraced his fear like an old friend. "Hey, squid..." Adriano said with a sweet tone. "You know I can see the future?" he asked with his fingertips brushed up against the progressive blade's hilt. "and you know what I see?" he asked again feeling the hilt in his palm.

"I see fried calamari for dinner!" He yelled like a madman reactivating the blade and pulling towards him.