PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter XXXI Part V

The plodding of paw pad against the tiled floor were like war drums, spiking Riley's anxiety with every beat. Her mind spiralled with worries, first of Echo, then of herself, and on and on, but-

A sudden and unexpected pressure on her chest made her stop and grunt out air. She immediately thought the worst, but as she came out of her thoughts and looked at the chihuahua holding a paw out against her chest. The dog was peering around the next corner and taking deep breaths, his glasses sliding down the brow of his head alongside beading sweat.

"What're you-"

Choco spun around, his eyes bulging behind his sunglasses as he pressed his dark brown paw up against her mouth, shushing her. His teeth grit and eyes bulged, threatening to burst outward. She felt her cheeks redden with anxiety.

Both of them stood like statues, in an almost intimately close embrace spoiled by their fear-ridden features. When he had stopped staring like she was about to explode, he checked back around the corner, gripped her wrist again, and began leading her down the hall.

"What was that?!" Riley whispered, "Are we in danger?"

"I- I don't know," Choco stammered, his teeth clattering. "P-Patches was down there, right? He can't be here, he can't..."

Riley swallowed. "What did y-you see?"

"I-I don't..." he muttered, his words dying in his throat.

"Choco, why are we even doing this? Why don't we just leave?" she pleaded.

"Be..." he took a deep breath, "Because Echo. He doesn't trust me, and-"

A sniffle, Choco sounded like he was about to cry before he choked the feelings back down.

"He's a really nice guy, he's helped me a bunch- I just want him to stop worrying about me so much; I want to show him I'm strong too."

"Well," Riley scoffed, "are you?"

The dog didn't spare more time on his thoughts, tepidly guiding Riley forwards and past another intersection, staring down a dead end not fifty feet away down a hall which seemed to end in a set of bulky double doors- the main entrance, maybe. She followed where the mutt was pointing towards, spotting a red fire alarm on the wall just opposite the entryway.

"Hey, I..." she began, trying to think up words of comfort for the dog and herself. "Th-The exit is right there, let's just flip the switch and leave, okay?"

"I..." the younger dog's sunglasses had hid them, but the clenched paws and shaky stature came just before his tears rolled down his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just s-scared."

She thought about bringing him into a comforting embrace, like she had seen in the movies. "It'll be okay?" she murmured instead, sounding as confident as she possibly could. What had the dog actually seen?

Wiping his tears, Riley led the dog closer down the hall, stepping past a stray piece of yellow-black tape and into the dead end. Once she was close enough, Riley paused, staring at the fire alarm like it was a mouse. Letting go of Choco, her irises narrowed vertically, her heels tensed, and she leaned forward, heart beating in her ears. She couldn't believe she was here- it was as if that alarm was going to take off her head if she wasn't quick enough- it had to have been trapped or something, right?

The turkish van lept- paws landing on the top of the alarm and pulled it downwards- shattering the glass rod keeping it in place.

"Nice try. -Coco"

The small note flapped about once, then fell still as the tape holding it in place nearly gave. The van almost didn't dwell on it, until she realized things were quiet- too quiet...

Oh shit, the alarm hadn't gone off.

"W-Whats wrong?" Choco asked.

Riley huffed, squeezing her eyes shut and turning to face the dog. "Nothing, it just-" her eyes bulged- nearly tearing themselves out of her sockets. "BEHIND YOU!!"

Choco hardly had the time to turn around before the ghost sticking through the locker behind him swallowed the upper half of his body in one voracious bite. She saw Choco's entrails unravel as the crack-eyed demon sunk its shark-like maw into them, beginning to sever his body in half.

Through the monster's translucent, snaking form, she could see his horrified face screaming and crying for the beast to stop. The yells landed like ringing in her ears, stunning her as she watched it begin to crush his muzzle flat in its body, cracking the bone as his snout folded, then crunched into his own head. She saw how, like a hammer, the creature's 'insides' crashed ribs and shoulders, violently splurting arteries from his form as he was torn- no- squished apart.

His struggling only stopped when his face was crushed as flat as a plate, parts of eyes shattered and swimming around in the gore as the pressure let up. One singular orb floated throughout the ghost's form, fleshy tendril trailing behind as it stared up at the celing.

Then it fixed its broken eyes on her.

She screamed, vomit rising out of her throat and horrifically squelching into her mouth and onto the floor as her knees wobbled, and the beast's miniature arms grasped at nothing- excited to see the cat.

The van dashed over to the main door in the middle of her spew, slamming against it with all of her weight, only to be thrown back in stubborn resistance. She saw a magical rune flare on her side of the door before fading back into invisibility. With a grunt and cough, she slammed into it again, feeling bruises crawl their way up her shoulder. She couldn't die- no.

When she turned about, she saw the creature on her now, standing above her with its little claws opening and closing in a mockery of what was once something living. It gurgled out Choco's blood from between its teeth, then it purred.

It was surprisingly tame, the beast shutting its smaller eye and relaxing the other, rubbing the top of its squishy head against her shoulder, dripping blood and bits of organ onto her uniform. Oh god, was this thing fucking petting itself on her?!

It was just happy to be there, apparently, like a kitten after their first mouse. She sobbed as it wormed its way into a hug, relaxing against her slumped body as she felt her paws scratch up against its marshmellow-y exterior. 'Please get away,' she begged. It closed its eyes and smiled.

A crackle of magic decided the moment was over, causing the demon to open its gaze and crack a circumferential grin. It got up and then indifferently began floating towards the sound as if she wasn't there, murmuring.

Choco, he was dead- but the creature was floating off towards someone else, someone...

She slammed her paws against the ground, shielding her eyes from Choco's pulped top half and rushed down the corridor, pausing to gag and retch, but ultimately determined to find Echo before the beast did.

--- Authors note:

As usual, let me know if you find anything to complain about. Thank you!