[Frank, Feb. 20, 2017, 02:00PM]

The uncomfortable pit in my stomach had been gradually recovering from the previous blackout scare. That weird bloated yet empty feeling, borderline acidic, was slowly weakening but clearly ready to re-awaken should anything go wrong again.

As soon as I heard screams coming from outside the café, the feeling gets stronger yet again, accompanied by all kinds of thoughts on what could’ve possibly caused those screams.

An EMP wave followed by screaming? Was the mall under some kind of terrorist attack? Was the world ending in some absurd apocalyptic scenario?

The acidic feeling in my stomach was worsening again, as all I could do was stare in disbelief at the entrance of the café. Seeing people running away in fear from somewhere outside the café, who or what they were running from still a mystery to me.

The other patrons had run out to check what was happening, and begin fleeing in fear and panic as soon as they find out.

“Stay here,” Indigo’s voice felt muffled by the chaos outside, “I’m gonna go check it out.”

“We should all stick together,” Char suggested, “Indigo, I know you keep a mental tab of any nearby fire exits. Maybe we should head for one instead?”

“I’d like to see what’s going on first though,” Xavier butted in, already standing up and ready to go.

I couldn’t believe it, with all that’s going on those three had clear ideas on what to do next. And here I was sipping my drink, barely able to swallow it as I consider all the bad things that could happen as soon as we leave the café.

“Hey,” I felt Indigo’s hand on my shoulder before I heard his voice, snapping me back to reality, “Whatever happens, we stick together.”

I nodded, and stood up ready to leave with them. The crippling thoughts of what awaited us kept hammering through my brain, but while I was next to my brother and my cousins, I could feel the strength to move forward course through my legs.

Nervously, we all left the café, ready to face what awaited us outside. With the initial stampede of people already gone, all that was left was us and a few curious individuals along with some security guards trying to see what would happen next.

The cause of panic seemed to have originated from the skating rink nearby. On the ice skating rink itself was…something. I couldn't quite describe it yet but it was repulsive.

It looked like a huge skinless chicken, but instead of the usual chicken-y parts…well, let's just say that its head looked kind of like a penis, but with teeth. Its skin looks incredibly pale and leathery.

“Is…IS THAT A FUCKING KHEZU?!” Xavier shouted in disbelief with his hands on his head.

I have no idea what a Khezu is, nor why Xavier would see it in whatever freak of nature was in the skating rink. Was it possible that he had also lost his mind and is now seeing some videogame monster in this…monster in front of us?

"It kinda does look like a Khezu…" Seriously Indigo? You too?

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Char mumbled, and I agreed with him.

Two security guards had walked closer to the monster, their shotguns pointed at its face. The monster was currently sniffing its surroundings, its back turned towards the guards. Out of panic one them fires a buckshot towards the creature’s ass, but its thick blubber seems to just shrug off most of the bullets.

Surprised, the creature swung around to find the source of the gunfire, its tail hitting both guards and sending them flying and crashing through the skating rink’s protective glass.

“Oh my god…” Was all I could mutter as I look at the unconscious bodies of those two guards. After that display, the other onlookers ran away in fear as well, leaving us four in front of the skating rink.

The monster just continues sniffing its surroundings, walking unhindered on the ice. Before we could fully process what was going on, the creature opens its mouth and

UAAAAAAAAAAUUUGHHHH!

A scream so piercing echoes all around us, sending us to our knees with our hands on our ears. No amount of covering helps as the vibrations rattle my bones to the point where I couldn’t tell if my trembling body was from fear or from the pure reverb of the monster’s caterwaul. I felt Indigo cover me as glasses from surrounding stores shatter from the banshee-like wailing.

Thankfully, none of us seem to have gotten hurt.

"Yep," Indigo spoke up again after the painful scream ended, "That's definitely a Khezu."

He tried to play it cool, but all of us could feel the fear in his voice.

“I’m ready to leave if y’all are,” Char tried to joke.

“With the right weapons, I could totally take that thing,” Xavier grinned through false bravado.

We all look to Indigo, the eldest, to lead us out. Instead of saying anything or even moving, he was just staring at the skating rink. Not at the creature, but something past it, by a corner.

I look to where he’s staring at and finally see the child. There was a little girl stuck inside the rink, struggling her best to stand up while holding on to the railings. She was barely visible with the large monster in front of her, but I wasn’t surprised that Indigo noticed her immediately. Let’s just say he has a soft spot for kids.

The ‘Khezu’ must be unknowingly blocking her way out, and we were all thinking the same thing. It was only a matter of time before the big penis-chicken notices the kid. Whatever it does next is something we wouldn't want to think about yet.

“I need to do something---” Indigo started walking towards the skating rink, and I tried pulling back on his arm.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I whispered angrily at him, “We can’t do anything we should just go and leave this to the military or something.”

“You guys go,” Indigo gently pries my hand off him as he continues walking, circling around towards the skating rinks side entrance. Xavier, Char, and I reluctantly follow him.

“I get that you wanna save this kid,” Char says, “Of course you do. But if that is a legit Khezu then you also know how much it can fuck you up.”

“Not to mention you’re no good on ice,” Xavier teased with a worried sincerity in his voice, “What makes you think you can make it to the girl without falling down and getting eaten by a Khezu?”

Indigo looks down and mutters, “It’s okay, I’m expendable.”

Char grabs Indigo’s shoulder and pulls him back enough to almost knock him backward, the first time I’ve seen him get even remotely aggressive towards anyone.

“The hell you are!” He grunts, “We’re not letting you go on some kind of suicide mission, so if you wanna do this you’re gonna have to include us.”

“What?!” Indigo, Xavier, and I all say at the same time.

“We came to this mall to play monster hunter,” Char smiles nervously, “And this isn’t exactly what we had in mind, but maybe Indigo can think up a plan smart enough to save that kid and keep us all alive at the same time.”

Indigo seems to consider this, his eyes darting around the room. I could see the panicked but sincere determination in his eyes. His eyes stop and lock on the child as he closes them again before speaking up.

“Okay,” He sighs but grins at us, “Khezus are blind and live in caves, so they must be sound and smell reliant. We can’t be sure which of those it relies on more so we need to cover both bases.”

“What are you trying to say?” I ask, not sure what he was…trying to say.

“We flashbang his main senses,” Indigo continues, “Xavier, find the skating rink’s “command center” and plug your phone in, prepare to play your loudest power metal songs on the speakers.”

“Roger that,” Xavier smirks and runs off towards a door with an “Employees Only” sign.

“Us three,” Indigo motions at himself, me and Char, “Will go to the nearest foodcourt and restaurants, collect as much leftover food as we can.”

“We’ll overload the Khezu’s smell and hearing, huh?” Char asks with a knowing grin.

“Damn right,” My brother replies, “If we get this right the monster should be confused enough to let me make my way to the kid and back out.”

We commence with the plan, collecting whatever food was left over by the people who left in a panic. As we were running back, a critical thought struck me.

“How are you gonna get to the kid?” I ask, knowing how bad Indigo was on keeping his balance. It wasn’t just ice skating, he also gave up trying to learn how to ride a bike.

“Worst case scenario, I’ll crawl my way to the kid,” He replies with an unexpected air of confidence.

I appreciate his sense of heroism, but heroes tend to have one big flaw.

They tend to get killed.

[Indigo, Feb. 20, 2017, 02:30PM]

Xavier was waiting for us by the skating rink, telling us that he was ready to play his music. We needed to trigger everything in sync so as to fully confuse the monster. The loud music, the scattered food, and me making my way towards the kid need to happen within the same time frame otherwise the monster will have time to regain its bearings, or worse, find me and the kid before we can get out.

We didn’t have much time to prepare either, as the monster had begun sniffing the air, possibly smelling all the food that we brought. I signal everyone to begin, with Xavier running to the office to play his music, Char and Frank going around on both sides of the rink to scatter the food, while I wait for an opening to rush to the kid.

Xavier’s music starts playing, the loud shred of an electric guitar signals the plan to commence. I recognized the song, it was Dragonforce’s Cry Thunder. With the high octane intro, we move together as one, instilling me with a misplaced sense of pride as I see our plan come to fruition.

The Khezu reels back from the sudden and constant loud noise, spins around violently in hopes of hitting an unseen enemy. Hitting none, it starts sniffing around it, unsure where to pinpoint the source of the smell.

I see an opening to the monster’s right side, a clear path towards the little girl. Cautiously, I make my way towards her, holding onto the side railing and skidding as fast yet as quietly as I could. My legs wobble and my feet threaten me with the chance of slipping and falling, but I somehow manage to make it all the way to the kid upright.

She looks at me with a slight relief in her eyes, but clearly aware that she was not safe yet. I tell her to stay quiet as I help her back to her feet. As the song goes on in our background, I look back to see Char, Xavier, and Frank motioning for me to hurry up as the Khezu is beginning to gobble up our scattered food and it’s only a matter of time before it makes its way to us.

We’re running out of time, and I don’t see us making it out of here without being attacked by the Khezu again. I try to hurry the kid up while I think of a possible contingency plan. What matters is that she makes it out of here safe.

Whatever it takes, the thought crosses my mind and followed with, you’re expendable.

Most of the food is gone now, and the Khezu is sniffing the air once again. This is it, now or never.

“Run as fast as you can to the exit,” I tell the kid before letting go of her hand, “I’ll keep the monster busy.”

She nods, both fear and trust reflected on her eyes, giving me a boost in my confidence. Still holding on the railing, she runs as fast as humanly possible without slipping, while I ran opposite her towards the very back of the rink.

“Hey dick head!” I shout as loud as I can, trying to overpower the music so the Khezu could hear me, “Over here!”

The creature’s uncircumcised-penis-looking face turns toward me, drool dripping from its orifice of a mouth. Its pudgy legs bend and visible electricity start crackling around it as I realise what it planned to do. The Khezu leaps forward, high enough for me to see what it looked like underneath, and a crippling fear began to wash over me as my brain begins to process that I’m going to get crushed underneath this giant while simultaneously being electrocuted.

The background song keeps going, and I manage to leap sideways far enough that all I felt was a bit of static in the air and a loud SLAM as the Khezu lands dangerously close to me. The icy surface below us cracks from the pounding.

A shiver runs down my spine as it sinks in how close I came to dying, despite being ok with it I did not want to die by getting crushed by a flesh heap of a wyvern like this. I look to the kid and see that she had safely made it to Char, Xavier, and Frank, who is now telling her to evacuate with everyone else.

We should do that too, I thought, we’ve done what we came here for. Still on the slippery floor, I try skidding on the ice, ignoring the cold bite of the surface on my skin as I struggle to get as far away from the Khezu as possible. It raises its head in the air, sniffing and listening, and starts walking towards me.

I keep pushing myself while the Khezu need not rush to stay next to me, possibly trying to pinpoint my location before attacking, its neck stretching and contracting as its head scans the area in front of it.

I finally manage to stand up, legs wobbly but stabilizing on the ice. Unfortunately that just made me more noticeable to the Khezu, who shrieks like a banshee once more, shaking me to my core and threatening to render me deaf. I cover my ears and close my eyes as every bone in my body vibrates to its roar. As the violent sound regresses, I open my eyes and stare the Khezu face-to-face.

Looking at it in person is completely different from seeing it in-game, this view is a lot more up close and more personal, and really lets you feel how small you are compared to this beast that’s nearly bigger than an elephant and more frightening. For some reason I was reminded of the whale from that children’s book I used to read, and a pang of fear from my childhood resurfaces to clutch my heart and freeze me in place.

It was too late when I noticed that the Khezu had been charging up another electric attack.