The ValueMart aisles stretched unnaturally long, shelves towering like jagged skyscrapers.
The smell of burnt plastic and artificial lavender hung in the air, mingling with the faint metallic tang of the shard's energy.
Roderick twisted and ducked, ValueMart-brand products flying at him like missiles.
He shouted over the chaos, "Uh, guys, I think it's getting bigger!" His voice carried both panic and a touch of disbelief.
The team turned, eyes locking on the Discount Duckling.
Its feathers darkened, an eerie light beginning to glow in its eyes.
The tiny ValueMart vest it wore ripped apart, unable to contain the growing, mutating creature.
It fed off the corruption seeping from the shard, growing larger, more sinister by the second.
