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"This would be an excellent time to stop the machine," called the professor nervously, as he backed away from the demons.
I knew he was right, but at that moment the machine was just behind the giant creatures, and to reach it we would have to first defeat them. Meanwhile the menacing creatures continued to advance on the professor in a most unhurried fashion. There was no reason for haste, since they had us trapped in an enclosed space with very little in the way of defences. First, we possessed an electric sword that would barely register against their scaly hides. And second, a revolver wielded by a bookkeeper who had never fired a gun in his life. We weren't so much trapped, as enclosed in an oversized feeding trough.
I feared the professor would be torn asunder before my very eyes, his innards splashed across the floor. Then, these creatures would come for me, ripping into my battered and bruised body with those piercing claws. And finally, the pair of them would corner Roberta, and who knew what terrors these slavering otherworldly beasts might subject her to before she too was torn limb from limb?
I was tempted to fire my gun, but the professor was bravely taunting the beasts with his sword, waving it at them whilst calling them every name under the sun, and I was worried I might accidentally shoot him. He'd retreated from the machine, leading the creatures away, and that's when I realised his intent. With the way clear, Roberta could approach the thing and bring it to a stop! I looked to her, but she had come to the same conclusion as I, and was already in motion.
Then one of the beasts spotted her. It turned away from the professor, who redoubled his efforts to attract its attention, but to no avail. The beast took one step towards Roberta, and I realised it would end her quickly if I did not intervene. So, I raised my pistol, sighted along the barrel, and squeezed the trigger.
The shot was tremendously loud, and the gun bucked in my hand, almost leaping free. As the smoke cleared I saw the beast was now looking directly at me… and it had murder in its yellowed eyes. Where the bullet went I had no idea, but at least the creature had abandoned Roberta. I encouraged it further by waving the gun and shouting at the top of my voice.
The beast lowered its head and began to stalk me, padding along on its clawed feet. It was as tall as a horse standing on its hind legs, and with its barrel chest and thick legs it looked twice as sturdy. I had no hopes of surviving the thing, should it get closer enough, and I decided to save my ammunition until I was looking right into its eyes.
I heard a muffled thud, and I looked around the creature to see Roberta hammering at a joint with a block of wood. I saw her intent, for if one part of the machine were to collapse, the rest would fly apart from the stresses of the spinning core. What those same forces would do to Roberta when they were unleashed, I did not wish to consider. She clearly wasn't thinking about the outcome either, for she was raining sickening blows on the machine without pause, as though determined to smash the entire structure to pieces with her bare hands.
I was still looking at Roberta when I heard the professor cry out. Turning, I saw him pinned on the ground, the beast crouched over him like a hound from the depths of hell. I raised my gun and sighted, but my hand shook and half the time I was looking at the beast over my sights, while the other half I seemed to be aiming at the professor. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the beast closest to me spring into action.
Turning towards it, I had to raise my gun near-vertically to bring it to bear, for the beast was in the midst of a tremendous leap. Then, as it descended towards me, I closed my eyes, turned my head and pulled the trigger as fast as I could.
The first five pulls on the trigger yielded deafening explosions. The last three, mocking clicks. Then I was cannoned into by the huge creature, and the gun flew from my hand as I was thrown to the floor. I rolled as I hit, more to protect my already-damaged side than from some form of acrobatic training, and even as I rolled away, over and over, I felt the ground shake as the beast thudded down.
I risked a look, and saw the huge red creature lying face down, limbs twitching. I thought it might rise again, come after me, and I looked around for the revolver so that I might quickly load it from the pouch in my coat pocket. Then I saw my gun, and my heart sank. It was wedged between the monster's knee and the floor.
"Help!"
The faint cry came from my left, and I turned to see the professor still trapped by his beast. But instead of ripping his chest open to devour the contents, as I expected it to do, it was holding one clawed hand above the professor's face, palm down. I thought I saw a shimmering light between them, and I wondered whether it was trying to drain the professor's very life force.
I glanced again at the beast I'd felled, but it lay still aside from the occasional twitch of a limb. I hurried closer, and then took my life into my hands as I crouched next to that hideously muscled
