"Oh shit!" Ken yelped out a curse as he dodged out of the way, the humongous centipede broke through the window and the wall surrounding it.
Glass and block debris flew about, as Ken ran for the door. He used his shoulder to bash open the door as he quickly went down the stair well. The centipede brushed past him as he made the quick turn, sending a nice gust of wind his way.
Ken ran towards the lagoon as fast as his legs could carry him. He wished he could grow more legs just to run a little bit faster.
Turning at a corner, he left the open area behind as he ran through a car park. The centipede was hot on his trail, as he barely managed to avoid it thanks to the pillars and other obstacles.
The cars could do little to it as it flipped them over like toys, the sight of which was enough to make Ken feel his leg go soft.
Navigating through the car park of several floors was easy enough for Ken but not so much for the centipede. After several twists and turns, he managed to loose sight of it.
'Once I leave the car park, it will be a straight run towards the lagoon. The security officer with a shotgun should be near there but can I make it?'
Ken did not like his chances, he was reaching his limits from the constant running and the creature was just too fast to outrun.
Splash!
Ken felt water enter his shoes as he ran towards the lagoon, the rain was truly brutal during the rainy season but right now Ken was thankful for that. In the school, they have a 'bridge' which goes over a shallow marsh like area.
The bridge was now surrounded by water thanks to the rain, Ken couldn't spot any crab in the water, which he would have used to gauge the depth but it was deep enough for him to give 'it' a try.
Jumping off the wet bridge and into the water, Ken almost lost his balance on the slippery ground as he ran away from the bridge. He brought his bag to his front as the black centipede crawled out of the car park.
Ken hurriedly brought out the chunk of sodium metal which was soft and slippery, he threw it towards the charging centipede and prayed for the best.
The next moment and he felt his prayers were answered. The centipede was too fast for any plan, which worked against it as it moved over the area where the block of sodium had landed.
The water under the creature ignited, an explosion ensued causing it to reel in pain. Seeing that the centipede was still alive, Ken gritted his teeth as he continued to run away from the vile creature.
He convinced himself to keep running but his body really was too tired. He had pushed it well past it's limit in a few minutes than he had done since his birth. His breathing was uncoordinated and his posture fell apart.
He finally reached the lagoon but collapsed on the soft ground. Its wet texture did not feel pleasing at all, his black skin was caked in dirt as was his hair.
His expression, one of despair as he watched the centipede approach. Although he was about to die, he was happy he had injured the creature. He thought back to when it was thriving in pain and managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Come get me!"
Ken yelled, the centipede was right before him. He closed his eyes while waiting for death.
'Sorry mom and dad. Where are you bro?'
Ken waited for pain or would it be relief but it never came, he could only hear the sound of water splashing and metal groaning.
He opened his eye to witness a truly harrowing creature. An enormous crab held onto the massive centipede, its pincer the size of a bus holding unto a lower segment of the centipede. It struggled to use it's second pincer to grasp the centipede while the centipede attacked it.
The metal like chitin of the centipede sounded like it would break at any moment while the centipede could only leave superficial marks on the carapace of the crab.
After several moments of struggling, the crab managed to get a hold on a body part of the centipede near the head. With a tight squeeze, the head of the centipede fell to the ground near Ken.
The ground shook lightly, as Ken recoiled shock, the massive head of the hateful centipede was just a few meters away from his feet.
The crab picked up its spoil of war and dove into the lagoon ignoring Ken who felt like he was watching a movie.
"Ouch!"
Ken yelped as he noticed a crab which had pinched down on his finger. Several other crabs rose up from the soil converging towards him.
Gathering strength he didn't know he had, Ken sprinted away as fast as he could from the lagoon. It occurred to him that he did not see the security guard he was looking for.
After he had run some distance from the lagoon, he felt more distress coming from his fingers. The small crab from earlier persistently held unto his finger in one claw while the other had a small fish.
Ken tried to drag the crab away from his finger which only resulted in more pain. He saw that the other pincer had almost snapped the fish in half and was reminded of what the giant centipede had done to his classmates.
"What is going on!" Ken yelled in rage, he smacked the crab on the floor and enacted his rage on the little creature. After demolishing it he picked up the dying fish, and noticed it was a mud fish.
It might have been his imagination but he felt like the mudfish was also happy to see the crab dead. It was weird sharing emotions with the little guy.
Keeping it in one arm, Ken kicked the crab away then made himself scarce. It was obviously no coincidence that the giant centipede was followed by hundreds of smaller centipedes, same with the giant crab.
'They are like kings, or should I say queens? I'll go with rulers, and they have a gathering of minions at their disposal. Worst of all, their numbers seem to be much'
Just in his school, Ken had encountered two rulers and who was to say there weren't more of them around. He saw a boy sitting on the floor while resting his back on the wall.
The boy looked to be in his late teens just like Ken, He had a thin stature and bloody mark running from his eyebrow to his cheekbone.
Ken ran up to him and gave him a hand, he asked if he was alright as he helped the boy stand up.
'Wait. wasn't there a mudfish in my right hand? Did I drop it?'
"I don't think so, I was chased by hundreds of centipedes. While running I fell and injured my face and several centipedes crawled up my body and one entered into my ear" The boy shivered as he spoke, he looked to be on the edge of insanity.
"But suddenly, they all went away. They scattered in different directions but I could feel the one in my ear was stuck. Oh my, am I going to be alright?"
"Do you have a phone?" Ken asked
"What"
"Your phone! let me check your ears"
The boy fumbled for a bit before he brought out his phone from his back pocket. Ken had lost his phone somehow, probably from all the running he did.
He used the torch of the phone to check the boy's ears. The left ear was clean while the right ear had some scratches but it was also alright.
"Hey what's your name?"
"Jack"
"Okay Jack, I'm gonna borrow your phone for a bit" Ken said as he went to the phone app.
"Uhm what's your name"
"Kenneth, but you can call me Ken"
Ken said as he dialed his mom's number, the phone rang and rang but there was no response. He had forgotten his dad's and relative's numbers but managed to recall his brother's number.
His brother was in his last year of school while Ken himself was just in his first. The phone line was busy, reducing ken's little hope that his family was alive.
He couldn't begin to imagine how hectic outside would be. There was a good chance his brother was outside the school right now and who knew what was going on.
He returned the phone to Jack and looked down with a forlorn expression. He had survived the onslaught of the centipede and the harrowing crab but now what? Does he try to leave the school and head home or should he find and fortify a specific area.