“Son! Breakfast is ready!” Martha called from the kitchen. The smell of defrosted potatoes wafted throughout the house.
The son in question lay still in his bed, eyes closed but awake. He refused to admit this was his new home now. It didn’t feel like a home. Sure, he was under a roof and beside four white plaster walls, but there was nothing to it. Anyone can just lay down a bunch of bricks or mix together a bunch of flour and water, but you can’t call them a wall or a batch of dough without any substance. And this place had less substance than a black hole working a nine-to-five office job.
“Son!”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time!” Mason yelled, pulling himself up to check his phone.
No New Messages.
He sighed. The boy was sure he’d receive a bunch of texts and messages from his friends back in California by now. Guess they were just busy.
Mason put on a new change of a pink button-up and grey shorts and opened the door, heading down the hallway that led to the living room and kitchen. He took the few seconds coming to the dining table to realize how small everything was. The doors, the windows, the lights. It felt like a house perfect for midgets. Or poor people.
Especially the table. It was just big enough to seat the two of them, and that was basically it. Two plates, two cups, two utensils each. He had to serve himself from the pans on the stove. At least the eggs and bacon were the same. Martha was already sitting down, reading the mail.
“Morning, Mason,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah,” he spoke in between a mouthful of eggs.
“Did you sleep well?”
“No.”
“I’m sure you did after your tour with those nice kids. You were out late last night, son.”
“Yeah.”
“…Did you at least have any fun?”
“…No.”
“Come on. You know any other words, Mason?”
“Maybe.” The boy downed his coffee. It reminded Martha to find a good hiding place for the decaf she always gave him instead of regular. He could never handle caffeine.
Martha decided to strike up a more engaging conversation. “Well, since we barely brought enough food with us for today, I’m going to need you to grab some groceries at the store.”
“Why can’t you do it?” Mason interjected. “And why couldn’t we just pay someone to do it for us?”
“Because we don’t have that kind of money anymore, son.”
“Why not?”
“You know why. We need a new life.”
“You always say that. I don’t know what your definition of ‘new life’ is, but I don’t like it. What about your relatives that live in the next neighborhood over? At least they don’t throw away their income whenever they move. Why can’t we ask them for money?”
“They’re your relatives too,” Martha defended, “and in our family, we don’t mooch off each other.”
Mason scoffed. “It’s always the family argument. Whatever, I’ll take the car.”
“That’s the next thing,” Martha said, putting down the letters as she finished her first and only serving. “I need the car to get to my job interview today.”
“I thought you already found a job,” Mason raised an eyebrow.
“I found hiring occupations, not jobs yet. Now you understand why we can’t spend our money willy-nilly. Just the essentials until we have a steady source of income.”
“You could’ve told me that sooner.” Great. Now they’re unemployed. Way to think things through. “Can you at least drop me off?”
“It’s not far from the house, you need the exercise.”
“What, you calling me fat?”
“I’m calling you paler than a sack of flour. You need to be outside more, it’ll do you good to catch some Vitamin D before you start getting sunburns from a desk lamp.”
Man. If anyone was better at telling people off than the ex-rich prep kid from California, it was his mother. You would never even suspect it from such a mild-mannered lady. That’s when it hits the worst.
“I’ll grab some spare shopping bags,” Mason groaned.
“Listen, all I’m saying is, if anteaters didn’t exist, where would we have come up with the idea for vacuum cleaners? Same concept, different design! The only difference is vacuums don’t have tongues, and they do it better. Those are just the facts, people. You call us right now and tell all several dozen of our listeners I’m wrong!
There was a painfully awkward pause before the host went on.
“The producers said to wrap this bit up. Anyways, our last question of the day comes from a fan with the username HPsquidprincess. They write, ‘Good morning, One With Infinite Words. If possible, would you care to explain your stance on the so-called Aptitude Lake? Do you side with the silly pagans who believe such nonsense as a magical puddle filled with aimless fountain wishes? Or do you, like me, wish to access its untold power kept secret by the unworthy? Asking for an Ancient friend.’ Well, to answer that dumpster fire of a question, let’s move on to our next segment of the show: Talking to Strangers! I call a random phone line from this… massive… ugh… MASSIVE phone book within our area code, and just talk with them until they cut us off the air. Phew. Almost couldn’t lift that one. Anyways, let’s see here… no, no, ew, definitely not, uh… oh! Here’s a good one.
Mason couldn’t tell if the microphone recording the dial sounds was abnormally high in quality, or if they were pre-recorded and played on a soundboard while the guy figured out how to actually dial a phone. He thought this man was the biggest moron to be paid to speak on air. He raised the volume.
“Uh, hello to whoever this is! What’s up?” A new, young voice spoke.
“Good morning, you’re listening to O-Hiyo! with Lucas on K-ERA 91.4. This is Lucas, who do I have the pleasure of talking to?”
“Woah! I’m on a radio show? Cool! I’m Hugo, Hugo Narzario! I’ve always wanted to be famous! Hi mom!”
“So, Hugo, what do you think about frogs? Everyone likes frogs. Let’s talk about that.”
Mason turned his phone off. That was the last time he listened to local radio. At least he managed to kill the time on the way over to the grocery store—he was already there, grabbing a cart.
It was just like any other normal, boring store. Same aisles, same products, same-looking people who work there. Honestly, it was the closest place that reminded him of home. He missed his old room so much. He missed the sun and the ocean breeze, as opposed to the bleak, humid, stone-colored sky above the town. He missed Claude. He missed Julie. He even missed all the people he talked to who he knew were going to be frat kids in college after they all graduated. If only his dad hadn’t fucked everything up for him, he wouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere shopping for his jobless mother. And none of… whatever happened last night would’ve happened. Whether he loved it or hated it here, this town was hiding a thing or two.
“Um, s-sir?” A meek voice piped up.
Mason broke from his brooding back to the supermarket, where he found himself in front of a checkout aisle manned by a meek, mint-colored Fox Anthro. The shopping cart was filled with foodstuffs, toiletries, and other miscellaneous household items. Half of which only Mason would use.
“Y-you ready to check out, or…?”
The boy thought for a minute, and shrugged. Mom didn’t say what groceries to get. He came up to the cash register and the Anthro went to scanning.
“So, um… do you shop here often?” The fox tried to spark up conversation.
“Just bag the things already,” Mason said as he pulled out his mother’s credit card.
The cashier gulped and brought out the card reader. “Y-your total comes out to one hundred twenty…oh. Oh geez.” His ears folded down and he stared straight at him. Mason gave him an odd look.
“What, it’s not that much. You think I’m broke?”
“N-no sir. Um, j-just try to ignore what’s behind—”
“I told you we’d see each other again!” An excitable feminine voice shouted as an arm struck the prep kid’s back.
“Ow! What the-” he swiveled around and saw the last thing he wanted to see today. Oh no. Not her again.
“Couldn’t stay away from me, huh Brownie?” Splats’s eyelids lowered in a smug gaze. “I knew I was irresistible, you don’t have to hide it from me.”
“I irresistibly want to vomit in my mouth right now. Haven’t you stolen enough from me yesterday?”
“Wait, you know each other…?” The Anthro started.
“Of course we do, Leaf!” Splats whipped the credit card from Mason before he had time to hide it. “He was just about to buy some things for me!”
“Hey, get your own fucking credit card, you freeloading bitch!” He tried to nab it back, but the redhead was far too nimble.
“Hey, that’s weird. Didn’t know your real name was Martha. You sure this is your credit card?”
“I’m confused,” Leaf said. “Is your name Brownie or Martha?”
“It’s Mason!” The man without a card said. “And how do you two know each other?”
“W-we keep trying to kick her out for s-stealing our supplies, but she just keeps coming back,” Leaf stammered. “T-There isn’t a single place in this town she hasn’t taken something from.”
“So how the hell are you not arrested yet?!” Mason directed to Splats, who simply shrugged.
“I have my ways, Brownie. Now here’s the deal: I give you your card back, if you buy this shopping basket full of stuff for me.” She held out exactly what she described in her hand. He didn’t care what was inside.
Great, I don’t even have a choice. What else is new with me? If I don’t go along with her bullshit, there goes more money. Plus I’ll never hear the end of it from Mom. I gotta shake this chick off my back.
“How about this. I buy your shit, and another cart of whatever the hell you want. Then, you don’t come a step near me ever again.”
“Hmm… sounds promising…” It was pretty obvious the girl wasn’t really thinking about it—she had something else in mind. “Tell you what. I may have something I need to do today, and I may or may not want someone to gimme a hand! And there’s a very possible chance after you help me that mayhaps, I, Splats, would be willing to leave you, Mr. Brownie Pie, alone until you die or decide you want me back. Sound fair?” She held out a hand.
Mason looked back to Leaf, who really just wanted to move the line along after glancing at the growing number of impatient shoppers behind the two bickering teenagers. Someone had to open up a new aisle specifically because of this. Facing the girl again, he gave in. He needed to get back to the house, but he’d come home without a wallet if he tried to fight her any longer.
“Fine, you win.” He shook her hand. “And stop calling me Brownie.”
“Too late, already shook hands,” she teased. “Leaf, you’re coming with us.”
“Huh? W-Why me?” The Anthro’s paws covered his mouth. It looked like there was… frost on the tips?
“I know your shift ends in ten minutes, someone can cover for you. You can’t weasel your way out of me. And if anything goes wrong, you’ll be our backup!”
“Okay…” Leaf was way too easily convinced. Probably for good reason.
“Wait, what’s going wrong?” Mason took a step back. “Why do we need backup? Just what the hell did you sign me up for?”
“You’ll see.” Splats winked.
“A-and that’s sorta why I took the job at the supermarket,” a more casually dressed Leaf finished his story. “I’m just glad my uncle found this position for me.”
Mason hadn’t listened to a thing he said. He was too busy being on guard for whatever this crook of a girl was pulling. Ten minutes of exposure was bad enough on the first day, but now he was running errands with her? He’d only been out here for two days! She still never told him what they were doing. All she did was they were off to Aptitude Lake. Reason: hell if even she knew.
“Uh huh. So back to my question about the carts fifteen minutes ago, you sure taking them that far outside the store isn’t illegal?” Mason had already unloaded his bags at his home, as it was a five minute walk, but he couldn’t be bothered to attempt to carry a whole carts’ worth of things by himself.
“It’s no worries, really. At least you didn’t steal anything.”
“Yeah, speaking of stealers… why did you even agree to go along with this? You could’ve said you’re working overtime. Or you’re deathly allergic to gingers.”
“I would, but… we kinda have a deal on something. I-I don’t wanna get into it, but it’s the least I can do.”
“That sounds a lot less like being considerate than it does being a total doormat.”
“Hey! You got a thing against doormats?” said a green doormat Mason had just stepped on.
“AH! What the fuck?!” He yanked his foot away from the sentient housewarmer on the sidewalk, grabbing the confused attention of Splats and Leaf. “What is that thing!?”
“Aw, don’t tell me you forgot already!” The mat wobbled and levitated midair, before changing its shape entirely to what Mason could describe as an eldritch horror. An eldritch horror who gave him cookies yesterday.
“It is I, your friendly neighborhood Nova!” The creature struck a dramatic pose, making the Anthro chuckle to himself and the redhead drop her jaw.
“Glad to see you again, Nova,” Leaf said.
“Your entrances get crazier and crazier every time, Nova,” Splats’s mouth eventually closed.
“Where’s the fun in a simple hello? Howdy, by the way!” Nova waved to everyone.
“Oh my fucking… what is happening today…” the boy did not take the entrance so well. “There’s no fucking way you people know each other on a first name basis!
“I told you, buddy, it is a small town. I’d be more surprised if the locals didn’t know each other on a first name basis! Even still, I make it a point to remember every new face’s name by heart! You can never have too many friends!” They spun around and cupped a heart symbol with their hands… paws… things.
“So what made you stop by?” Leaf inquired.
“I’m glad you asked, my minty friend!” Nova took out a comically large magnifying glass from their cotton candy beard. “I’m on the lookout for my pet, Deg. Skyber and I can’t find him anywhere! It’s almost feeding time for the poor guy, wouldn’t want him to miss lunch.”
“Oh, y-you mean the Shiba you adopted at the pound?” Leaf recalled. “You hardly ever bring him outside.”
“You have a pet dog?” Mason said.
Nova nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! He just doesn’t like too much attention. He can be a bit shy around strangers.”
“They and the big purple bitch keep all sorts of secrets,” Splats leaned in to tell him out of earshot from the others. “Deg’s just one of them that hardly anyone knows about. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep a torture chamber under their basement.”
“First of all, back up,” the boy stepped away, “and second of all, that may be the most believable thing that’s come out of your mouth so far.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Leaf said while being the furthest away from the conversation.
“Oh, us? Uh, we were just talking about how we DIDN’T see your Deg, and how we gotta be going now!” Splats tugged a very hesitant Mason and Leaf away.
“Making friends already, Mace?” Nova smiled. “I knew you’d come around! I wish I could join whatever you guys are up to, but I’d best be on my way. Deg can’t have gone too far!
He wanted to scream, Get these freaks away from me. God, somebody help me. For some reason he didn’t. Maybe because he thought going with the technicolored Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them would be the greater of two evils. The group said their hastened goodbyes to the otherworldly creature they called a neighbor and soon found themselves next to Aptitude Lake.
The walk seemed much shorter with the thought of encountering an alien everyone seemed to know for some reason running through Mason’s mind. It was like being transferred into a school with a famous child actor that everyone’s friends with because they’re so important. Except Mason never had to transfer to meet a movie star in his grade, and that movie star wasn’t one of two abominations roaming the streets of New Era.
“We’re here!” Splats announced. The lake looked very different during the day. What he previously thought to be the moonlight making the water sparkle and shimmer was actually the water itself. He wasn’t sure what was underneath, but it certainly wasn’t anything he saw before. He tried to make out anything moving; fish, algae, plankton. But all he could see were… waves, inside the water? There was hardly a beach either—if one wanted to get to the shore, one would have to jump across a beach of large rocks and clumps or algae. Apart from the side facing the road, the perimeter was surrounded by conifers and pine trees. It seemed almost sacred.
And there was one person already on the rock beach.
“Get down, she’ll see us!” Splats yanked the boys off the road and into the surrounding forest, hiding behind a large spruce fir closest to them.
“Um, what does she have to do with whatever we’re doing?” Leaf questioned.
“Yeah, I would’ve guessed we were dumping shit into the lake or something.” Mason peeked around the bark to get a look at the visitor.
She was fitting a blue denim jacket that accentuated her shoulders and a white crop top that exposed her midriff. She had black knee socks that went up to her blue shorts, about as blue as her hair… and red glasses… wait a minute, that was just Pearl in a different outfit. What was she doing here?
“Why are we messing with her?” Leaf’s snout poked around the tree on the other side as the redhead sat crouched between the boys.
“You’re about to find out,” Splats stifled a mischievous cackle. Reaching into a bag she brought from the cart, she pulled out a small package of firecrackers in hard plastic packaging.
“W-what are you planning to do with those f-fireworks?” Leaf trembled slightly as she ripped open the wrapping.
“What does it look like? We’re gonna give Pearl the scare of her life!” Splats then pulled out a matchbox from her green sweatshirt pocket and took a single match from it. From her other pocket, an aerosol spray can, plastered with stickers and paint.
“So this is your master plan? Shooting these dollar store fireworks off at some chick next to a lake? How did you even know Pearl and why she’d be here?” Mason folded his arms.
“We go way back, you know. And if you learn anything about living in small town dumps long enough, you notice the locals start to move around like clockwork,” Splats replied with a smirk. “Everyone’s so predictable these days. She comes here every couple weeks just to sit around and wish upon the sparkly water like a Goody Two-Shoes. Now all three of us get to catch ‘er with her pants down!”
Mason watched her untwist the cap off the can and dump in the sulfur tip of the matchstick. At first the boy thought she was an idiot for wasting a perfectly good matchstick by sticking it in paint… but the can’s insides had no paint at all.
“B-b-but Splats… that’s not right,” Leaf mumbled. His paws began to frost over again, which Mason could see more clearly now. It was actual frost. And it looked like it happened instinctively. This time, the ice ran up to his wrists under his jacket. He wondered if Leaf could feel the impending frostbite through his fur.
“Who cares? She deserves it anyway!” Splats shook the can as vigorously as she could, and what she sprayed out of it onto another matchstick seemed to be the exact same sulfur substance as the tip. She sprayed a sulfur ball about an inch in diameter on top of the match, as if it didn’t have enough fuel already.
It was at that moment Mason realized he was standing next to two more Electi. They were practically multiplying. If it wasn’t bad enough with the two monsters and Saki, It was almost like he was meeting magical strangers every day. And at this rate, he was.
What in the ever-living hell did I just get myself into this time? Mason thought. And just as Splats raised her hand to strike the match—
“Just what exactly are you fools doing?” A menacing voice spoke directly behind Mason’s neck. He shivered in fear as goosebumps shot up his nape and turned around to find a woman in the green cephalopod mask right behind, standing perfectly still.
The stranger was wearing a Victorian black dress in the middle of eighty-degree heat like a dumbass. She had long raggedy black hair running rampant down to her waist, and white arm gloves that looked just as antique. Not to mention her face mask. It was the ugliest green mask Mason had ever seen. Shaped into the likeness of an octopus head with tentacles where the mouth should be, it completely covered the woman’s face. She was seen holding a plastic tupperware box filled with some object submerged in liquid. This was basically what Mason imagined all the people here would look like. And with who he was hiding behind a tree, he wasn’t far off.
“What the-? Who the heck are you? How’d you find us here?” Splats dropped her can.
“To you pagans, my presence matters little. I, however, do not wish my pilgrimage to be sullied by vandals.”
Pearl came around the other end. “Ah-hah! I knew someone was spying on me!” She readied a hand charged with blue electricity directly at the red-handed redhead, only to charge back down seeing her two accessories to the would-be crime. “Mason? Leaf? What are you two doing here? Why are you helping Splats? And who’s this lady?”
“I may ask the same, Blue One,” the ominous masked lady remarked. “It comes as no surprise others would be drawn to the all-powerful beckoning that is Aptitude Lake, but…”
There was something about everything the ominous lady did that struck a bad chord with the new kid. Even doing nothing was too creepy for him.
“…how unwise it is that the fresh meat must follow in my footsteps.”
Christ, she sounds like Skyber, Mason gulped. This is seriously not helping me keep my cool.
“S-sorry, Pearl,” Leaf cowered. “I-I didn’t want to be a part of this, honest…”
“It’s not your fault,” Pearl rested her hand on his shoulder. “It’s Splats’s. Who knows what she could’ve done with those fireworks. Thanks for the save, Miss…”
“Carrie Thompson. Messenger of the Great Old Ones. I take it you are a local. You’ll serve as a fine aid to my future practices.”
The more normal girl gave a nervous thumbs up. She turned to Mason, shaking her head. “I don’t know what kind of fun Splats promised you, but she’s anything but. I would’ve thought you knew better…”
“Hey, that’s not true!” Splats piped up. “Me, Leaf, and Brownie were just about to warm up the party! We’re having fun, right?”
“Fun? What the fuck kinda fun am I having?” Mason distanced himself from the group. “I’m only here so this beanie bitch can leave me alone after stealing my money twice, and now I’m stuck here waiting for her to finish bickering with three other morons in the middle of a lake!”
Everyone looked at Mason with a bit of disdain.
“Wow. Way to ruin the mood, Brownie,” Splats muttered, putting her stuff away.
“Quite,” the masked lady agreed. “Well, since your so-called ‘prank’ is a bust, you may as well come and spectate my ritual. My cause always calls for more converts, no matter how moody they may be.”
Mason got a very close look at the woman. The cephalopod mask, the fancy dress, the obscure obsessions with mystical arts… she was that person with the stupid question mentioned on the radio.
“Why should we help you?” Splats stood up. “It’s not gonna work anyways. Plus, you’re creepy.”
“Carrie is not creepy!” Pearl defended, still holding onto the nervous fox. “You’re one to talk after almost shooting fireworks at me from behind a tree! You know, ever since we broke up-”
“Ever since you dumped me for the twink next door,” Splats argued, “I’ve been doing fine on my own! You always have something to say because you can’t handle being wrong!”
“Guys… p-please stop fighting…” Leaf looked miserable.
Mason started backing away. Here we go again. What did I expect? A town filled with creeps and losers. I knew I should’ve yelled at Mom not to come here more. Everyone in this trash hole spells disaster on their foreheads, and like a moron I was sucked right into it.
“SILENCE!” Carrie boomed. The center of her mask split open, revealing a grotesque third eye above her blackened eye slots of her mask. The eye itself did not do much for the bickering, but the blinding light that blasted from it seemed to distract everyone long enough to stop. Even Mason stopped in his tracks.
“I sense the ground beneath us flowing with energy. Look to the water!” Carrie’s third eye flashed across the surface of the lake, causing reflections to bounce and sparkle off every which way. It was almost glowing. It was almost alive.
“The lake…” Pearl forgot she was holding the Anthro. She let him go, but fell on his knees from forgetting he was being held. The ice on his arms started to melt.
“It is now or never,” Carrie hopped across the beach rocks and opened the tupperware lid. “This is the day I’ve been waiting for. Come, everyone! Feast your eyes on the true power of Cthulhu!”
Carrie raised her arms in prayer with the box atop it. Inside was a live octopus, wriggling about.
“For as long as time itself, this lake has been guarded by heretics and lawmakers that wish to keep us from its power! For too long have we complied, but no longer! It is time to witness Aptitude Lake’s greatest feat of power—and this offering shall be our gateway to the spirits of the Great Old Ones!”
“Nothing’s gonna happen,” Splats said. “She’s delusional. There’s no such thing as these Old Ones, there’s nothing magical about the water, and there’s nothing backing up her fairytale cult.”
“Y-you think we should finish this conversation w-when Carrie isn’t here?” Leaf pointed to the madwoman, now dumping the octopus into the lake.
“RISE! ARISE, UNDERLING!” Carrie chanted. “Let the water of this lake be your energy! Become one with the Master of R’lyeh, The Great Dreamer! Arise, and He shall rule through you!”
The exact moment the animal touched the surface of the lake, it sank straight to the bottom. Initially, the group believed the ritual to be a fluke. Splats put on a self-righteous grin, until the water started boiling over.
Everyone took a wide step back. The bubbles turned to ripples, the ripples crested into waves. The blues bleached white as the tides crashed into the lower rocks on the beach. Nevertheless, the lake looked more alive than ever. Mason tried to run but tripped backwards on a crevice. Splats and Pearl seemed to forget their feud while latching onto each other. Leaf’s arms immediately refroze. And then, emerging from the depths…
An octopus tentacle. A big one. No shorter than three human bodies stacked on top of each other. Then another one. And another. And then three more. Each one looked sicklier than the last as it escaped the boiling cauldron that was the lake. The cardinal red hues from the supersized specimen washed away as it writhed about, clawing its way out of the water with its oozing, blistering suction cups.
Soon enough, its bulging head shot out. The skin looked as if it was melting over itself, scalding over while its size continued to increase right before the teenagers’ eyes. Its own bloodshot eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, both aimed directly at them.
“Wha-what the hell is that?!” Pearl and Splats quivered more or less word-for-word.
“This has to be a fucking nightmare,” Mason buried his hands in his hair.
“C-Carrie, what did you do! H-h-how did this happen?” Leaf asked with every right to be confused. The cultist couldn’t have possibly grown her offering to supernatural size… could she?
“Once, a very long time ago,” an unmoved Carrie said with her head facing the monster, “I saw the lake boil itself over. I was a resident in this town before the ones who birthed me tore me apart from this place. They were only jealous of what it was capable of, and ignorant of what I could accomplish. But nobody can stop me now.”
“Carrie, think about what you’re doing!” Pearl cried.
“Yeah, you think that thing is gonna help you?!” Splats yelled. “You’re crazy! Look at it, you think it’s happy to see you?”
But Carrie didn’t listen. Her and the monster locked eyes. “Join me, and we shall teach everyone the ways of the Great Old Ones! JOIN ME!”
And with a powerful sweep of a tentacle, Carrie was knocked all the way onto the asphalt road, leaving the others to stand in shock.
“Okay. Hell no. Hell to the fucking NO.” The second Mason regained his balance on the rock beach, the last thing he had in mind was to stay anywhere near the lake, next to a boiling creature straight out of a horror novel. All he wanted to do was run. Grab his shit, go tell everyone about the giant sci-fi disaster, and leave New Era for good. He would be damned if he ever thought he would like it in this nightmare of a town.
He made it up to the road, glancing over at the fallen lady. She was down, that was for sure, but was she out? She wasn’t bleeding. It didn’t look like she broke anything at first look. Well, she probably did break something. That didn’t look like a soft landing. But what did he care? He was getting out of here. The boy was certain anyone with a brain cell left in their body would be right behind him, if they knew what was good for them.
But a scream forced his head back.
It was Splats’s. Hanging upside-down by the octopus’s arm wrapped around her, the girl called for help as loud as she could. But as far as help went, she might as well have been alone. Pearl was stuck frozen, watching in horror. Leaf was literally frozen. The ice had reached his legs and chest, now to the point where it looked like he had cocooned himself. Neither looked like they knew how to process the situation. Too bad for them. Mason turned again to safety.
…
But he couldn’t just let them die.
Gripping his fist in frustration, he drew the longest groan in his life. “God fucking dammit.”
With a sharp heel turn, the boy found himself on the rocks again. He found himself running straight into what could actually be his untimely death. Finding a loose rock, he pelted it at the giant boiling octopus. Seeing it had no effect, as its attention was still focused on the girl in its arm, he picked up the biggest stone he could fit in his hand, locked it on with the other and began to swing. Gathering momentum on every round swing, he was sure it would hurt even something super-sized. Unlocking it right at its apex, the stone launched from the hand and slung into the body, puncturing skin.
The creature dropped the girl, fortunately for everyone, and Splats landed on her back. The look on her face was that of absolute astonishment and terror.
“Brown…” the redhead muttered with stiff lips.
“Get up and help me kill this thing!” Mason shouted.
It took Pearl several seconds of standing there before she brought herself to face the overwhelming task at hand. “R-right! What do we do?”
“Maybe get out of the way first!” Splats warned Pearl as a giant tentacle was about to crash down on top of the latter. Screaming, Pearl jumped out of the way just in time. The cephalopod arm crushed the rocks below, damaging both the monster and the beach. She redirected her immediate fear into rage, shocking and electrocuting the tentacle until it pulled itself away in a spactic and convulsive manner. Despite the water continuing to boil, the octopus planted it in the lake once more. Surely not for comfort, maybe to conserve it for later? Either way, it allowed time for her to run to Leaf, whose body was all but frozen over, save for the head.
“Are you okay?” Pearl laid her hand on the rigid ice, which only prompted more to grow.
“A-a-are w-e gon-gonna die?” The Anthro weeped.
“No, we’re not dying to a heap of seafood!” Pearl’s eyes grew determined. “You wait here, we’ll take care of this!”
Meanwhile, the monster’s attention was still primarily on the scrawny kid that pelted him. Mason’s arm had gone slack from the heavy stone, leaving him with much less energy in his body that he desperately needed.
Splats came to his side as he dodged another tentacle attempting to slam him into paste, locking it stuck on the beach. “How do we kill this thing?” She asked.
“You tell me, you’re the one who got snatched and waved around like a goddamn glowstick at a rave!”
“What does that have anything to do with a plan, you idiot!”
“Don’t call me an idiot, I saved your ass! At least help me come up with something!”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”
As the abomination regained its shocked tentacle, it looked angrier than ever. Even with its bleached skin boiling alive, it wasn’t going to take it lying down. Pulling itself closer to the beach, it tilted over and revealed its sharp beak, snapping away at the kids.
“You better think faster, Splats—it’s trying to fucking eat us now!”
“I know! What do you want from me, to magically blow it up or something?!” Suddenly the girl stopped in her tracks. “That’s it. Brownie, that’s it!”
“What’s it?”
Splats turned around, seeing Pearl deal with a fight against a tentacle on her own. “Pearl! Grab my bag full of firecrackers from the tree!” She pulled out her spray can from her lime green sweat jacket.
They could barely hear her response from across the beach, but had retreated to the tree where Splats had left it regardless. They didn’t realize until now how far they had been separated.
“We’re actually gonna blow it up?” Mason said, making his way to meet in the middle. “How do you know if those fireworks are powerful enough?”
“They may be dollar store byproducts, but trust me, they pack a punch!” Splats shook her can, running from the octopus who was now completely beached. Crawling its way across the beach, it was hell-bent on taking out all its pain and rage on the ones who caused it. It began to close in on the three as they finally reunited.
“Okay, I got the bag,” Pearl said, holding it up. “Whatever you’re planning, this better work.”
Splats snatched the bag, but not before realizing something. “Wait, we need something to keep its mouth open!”
“I’ll try to get in close and make him use his beak!” Pearl decided.
“Maybe I can keep him tilted back, but you two will have to be quick,” Mason said. “I’ve never used my ability on something this large before. It could break free.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Splats quickly took out her matchbox. “Let’s fuckin’ go!”
The unlikely team went to work. By that time, the monster had come within reach. Every one of them had to evade or jab at a tentacle coming their way. Realizing one or two matches weren’t going to light all the firecrackers in time, Splats opted simply to light the entire matchbox aflame. Using the phosphorus material inside the can, she sprayed the top of it, making a wide makeshift match tip.
Pearl and Mason took longer to reach their positions. The monster, sights fully on the blue-haired girl, saw an opportunity to strike. Leaning on its side, it attempted to bite the poor girl, but not before it found itself stuck on the rocks in the process. Try as it might, it couldn’t break free… yet.
“Keep it up, I’m almost ready!” Splats called out, striking the matchbox on a flat edge of rock and bundling up the explosives.
“Guys, it’s starting to move!” Mason’s prediction was about to come true. Even with all the weight anchoring it down, the monster still found the strength to resist. But something stopped it from pulling itself up completely. Something rather cold.
A sheet of ice had frosted over the beach where the monster had been trapped.
“Leaf, what the hell are you doing here! I thought you froze yourself solid!” Mason said. The Anthro shuffled his way across the beach, quaking in his sneakers.
“I-I was, but I wanna help more than I’m t-terrified of this thing!” Even as he said that, he had a hard time getting over here; most of his bottom half was still covered in ice.
“Well, you helped enough, now get back! Beanie’s gonna blow this squid up with her fireworks.”
“I-it’s an octopus, but okay!” As the two retreated, they saw Pearl putting everything she had into shocking the monster right on its beak. Mason could easily tell her ability wasn’t nearly as powerful than what he saw at the field, but her over-exertion made up for it. She looked exhausted from the effort, but its beak had been shocked so much it was virtually paralyzed open. Splats shooed her away, with a giant ball of lit firecrackers thrown from her hand into its mouth. Then they, too, escaped and found the boys on the road.
“He-” was all Splats could say before she and the others heard a loud boom from the inside of it body. The tentacles spasmed and its eyes popped out even more, then it lay perfectly still. Smoke came out from several of its holes.
“…Is it dead?” Mason said.
“It’s… it’s not moving,” Leaf answered. “I hope it won’t bother us anymore.”
“I almost feel bad,” Pearl lamented in between tired panting, “it shouldn’t have turned out like this. It was just a peaceful octopus, until it got thrown into the lake. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“None of this would’ve happened if that squid bitch hadn’t fed herself into her delusions,” Splats pointed to the unconscious cultist on the ground. “She was right about one thing, the lake, and then she almost killed us!”
“T-that never happened before,” Leaf said. “I-I thought this was just a normal lake.”
“Me too,” Pearl claimed. “Guess there’s more to that local legend…”
“Can we, like, worry about local legends later?” Mason’s eyes were still on the giant cephalopod. “What about that thing? Who’s going to believe us if we say anything about this? What’s the police gonna chalk up on their reports? This town has all sorts of crazy shit happening pretty much every day, and it’s like nobody ever talks about it!
“Maybe we can ask Skyber and Nova about it,” Pearl suggested. “They seem to know a lot about the area.”
“No!” Splats and Mason said, the former shuddering and adding, “Skyber’s freaky!”
Before Pearl got discouraged, Leaf twiddled his fingers and replied, “I can go with you to ask…”
The girl smiled. “Once we get this all sorted out, we’ll ask together.”
“Well you can do that, but me and Brownie have other plans!” Splats put an arm around his shoulder.
“Hey, what do you mean, you and me? I thought after this you’d leave me alone!”
“Hmm, let’s see,” the redhead put on a smug look. “I don’t remember you actually going through with my prank, since that was a bust. And remind me, who was the one who came up with the genius plan to take down that big scary monster, hmmmm?”
Mason sighed. It looked like he wasn’t getting off the hook that easily with this girl.
He then got a buzz from his phone. 1 New Message. He opened it eagerly, thinking it was a friend back home.
Thanks for dropping off the groceries, son! I’m back home, got the job! Baking a cake to celebrate, come back soon <3
-Mom
So much for wanting to leave town with her. Despite having almost died twice, what would she say if he told her about this? She’d be traumatized. He started back home as the conversation went on, but instead of escaping it the group simply followed his walk along the road.
Suddenly, Pearl started to snicker. Then, she began to laugh. She only died down when she started getting funny looks. “Okay, someone needs to tell me where the name ‘Brownie’ comes from!”
“That’s his name, of course!” Splats beamed.
“Like hell it is! It’s Mason! Mason Brown! Why is my last name so funny to you people?” The boy tried to defend himself, but to no avail.
“I… kinda like Brown more than Mason…” Leaf hid his words under his lavender jacket.
“Brown, huh? I can see where you got the nickname,” Pearl agreed. “Not a bad ring to it, if I do say so myself! I gotta tell Saki about this when he gets back from his brother’s place.”
Mason sighed. He wished he’d just ran and let them deal with that squid themselves.