A Tall Strider

Continuing down the street and turning a corner, Julie eventually came to a halt. A large wall made up of some strange organic mass blocked her way, going from building to building. This was something she has never seen before and decided it was best to not approach and look for an alternate route. It could be a Pseudosect nest after all. Once again checking her map, Julie saw there was another way she could go, but it would lead her down a pretty dark alleyway.

Seeing no other alternative Julie made her way to the alley, gulping at how creepy it looked. A part of her wanted to turn on her phones flashlight, but know that was foolish as the light would just attract monsters. Giving her cheeks a light slap, she steeled her resolve and headed in, preemptively taking out her trust crowbar. Julie found it difficult to walk down the alleyway, as she was afraid to make too much noise and there was lots of trash to step on.

She got halfway down the alley when disaster struck. Julie was so preoccupied with her front and behind, she had neglected to keep watch above. Her first sign that something was wrong when a drop of some sticky fluid landed on her shoulder. Freezing up, the foolish girl reached up slowly to feel what got on her shoulder, hoping it was just water or something else. The fluid was warm and gooey, and smelled odd, it was definitely not water.... Against her better judgment she slowly took out her smartphone, turned on the flashlight and looked up.

The first thing she noticed were the four long legs around her, with a dark black exoskeleton, perfectly blending in with the darkness. Following the length of the leg up with the light, she measured it at about four meters tall, and the legs connected to a large bulbous body. The exoskeleton covering the body was a deep red and seemed thin, and it seemed to lack a head. In its center it had a puckered hole lined with tentacles, the source of the mysterious liquid, as well as several orbs Julie assumed were eyes. Out of all the Pseudosects she had seen, this one was the most alien, and it filled her with a primal terror.

All of the Tall Striders eyes were on Julie, for some reason she had the feeling it was just as shocked to see her as she was of it. Tightening her grip on her crowbar, Julie took the initiative and made her move...