Go for Gold

Chapter Two: A Ringing Sensation

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The single moment of hesitation spent analysing what might be your only means of defence costs you dearly, as the walls cascade down around you, descending into the muddy earth below, and the group of youths breaks; the fighters charging the centre while the flighters make a break for a safer haven. Cursing, you dart forward the necessary few inches and seize the golden object in your fist, taking quick stock of the fact that it is, in fact, an ornate gold ring - adorned with a shimmering emerald the size of a golf ball, and inscribed with all manner of runic looking symbols and intricate carvings. Something was captivating about this little piece of jewellery. Too captivating, you realise with a start as you rip your gaze from your newly acquired possession.

You muster a brief look upward to see chaos unfurling before your eyes.

On your right, you watch in horror as a muscle-bound mustachioed latino boy, coated in a strange translucent substance, grabs hold of a cowering blonde cheerleader-type, wrenching her jaw apart with both hands before forcefully shoving his arms inside her mouth, somehow impossibly fitting his entire girth into the confines of her throat. She gargles incoherently and claws feebly at her neck as it orbs out obscenely to accommodate her unwanted intruder. The further down her trachea the boy descends, the more her body convulses, her arms swinging in a macabre dance of interspersed flailing and gagging. Before long, the bulge in her skin recedes down to nothing, and as her struggles cease, a wicked, almost lecherous grin creeps across her face as she pulls the elastic on her top and peers downwards.

To your left, a wiry pale girl with a ponytail slashes the back of an imposingly built dark-skinned boy with what appears to be a samurai sword. The boy stands there dazed for all of a few moments, his face overcome with bewilderment, before the girl simply opens up the hole made by her blade and steps bodily inside him, a series of bulges and contortions rippling through the skin of his lower abdomen as she settles into place inside of him. Before she disappears, you catch sight of the girl’s own back, a noticeable tear running from between her shoulder blades to her backbone. Clearly somebody had already claimed multiple victims.

Whirling on the spot, you turn back towards your planned escape route, only to smash face-first into what could only be a giant boulder. Picking yourself up of the floor, your ears ringing with the impact, you turn face your assailant. Before you can even make it to your knees, however, the human-shaped rock formation plants a knee in your chest, pinning your back to the floor. Glancing upwards, you assess the smirking blonde gorilla-woman currently crushing your sternum. Her hair is cut short around the back and sides, and her face is a labyrinthine mosaic of freckles and contusions. She grins derisively at you, revealing a set of teeth like a vandalised graveyard. “Well what do we ‘ave here?” The golem chuckles. “Yer a real pretty one, you know that? I’m gunna ENJOY wearin’ you, sunshine!” And suddenly, her face begins to descend towards yours. Curiously, though, she doesn’t seem to have bent her back.

Alarmed, you glance down at your chest, to see her hands sinking into your torso, as though you were made of play-dough. Already, she has dropped all the way up to her wrists inside of you, and with a start, you realise her legs are doing the same thing further down. As you begin to thrash, albeit fruitlessly, the girl catches the glint of fear in your eyes and leans in menacingly. “Don’t fight it lover. I’d hate to damage my new property before I’m finished moving in.”. Her eyes are alight with the predatory glee of a shark who has cornered a flounder, and still she continues to sink into your helpless cadaver.

The Ring! Maybe it can help, you suddenly recall. Your eyes frantically scan the dirt for any sign of your only salvation. To your dismay, the ring was knocked from your grasp during the scuffle, and it now lies inertly underneath your soon-to-be possessor’s left leg. Grunting with the effort, you summon the last vestiges of your strength and channel it into your right hand, and to your great surprise, the limb moves!

It moves roughly an inch to the right. Embarrassingly, not even in the direction you had willed it to go. Naturally, this elicits a triumphant cackle from the behemoth straddling you. “You know what, darlin’. Don’t feel bad. Yer gunna get the honour of being the first host of the winner of this shitshow.” Her face is close enough that you can smell the reek of her breath. You wince and turn your head aside, only to catch a huge pair of eyes fixed on you from the undergrowth of a bush several yards to your left. You dismiss it, still desperately writhing in the grip of your oppressor. “You know what the first thing I’m gunna do when I’m you is? I’m gunna use yer skinny muscles to lull the others into a false sense of security, then pick ‘em off one by one.” She snarls, her face unbearably close to yours. “See; big pretty me is a target, y’know. Everyone wants to get a piece o’ this hot bod.” She winks, not at all seductively. Behind her, you hear the sounds of leaves rustling as a tiny shadow scampers away. “But wiv’ your scraggly, scrawny arse, nobody’ll suspect I’m a threat, yeah?” Your noses are mere millimetres away from touching. You gulp apprehensively, bracing yourself for the inevitable. “So, whaddaya say? Here’s to the start of a wicked partnershi-” Her gloating monologue is cut off as she notices a light tapping on her shoulder.

Standing there, somewhat unbelievably, is a tiny asian girl, her hair unkempt and wild, the strands flickering around her face and neon pink “100% Princess” shirt unabashedly. “G'day there, mates! I'm Sheila!” She squeaks in an unexpectedly Australian accent, beaming up at the two of you.

A grimace of disgust crosses over the she-monster’s face as she sizes up the newcomer. “Sod off, pipsqueak, I’ll get to you in a minu-ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!”. The mutant female lets out an unexpectedly feminine scream as the asian girl’s enthusiastic smile vanishes in place of a pouty frown, and she almost instantaneously evaporates into a dense pink cloud of smoke, which makes a beeline for the giant’s exposed earhole, forcing its way deep into her head at a startling velocity, until there is no further trace of any pinkness inside the grotesque exterior, bar a distinct rose-hued outline to her previously baby-blue pupils. Her hands come up, clawing at her temples, and she rolls aside, out of your body! Seizing your opportunity, you heave yourself to your feet and stagger off beyond treeline, hobbling as fast as your dazed brain can process, leaving behind a colossal girl rolling and swearing on the floor, and a shiny gold ring, glistening in the undergrowth.