❝how do you kill a monster without becoming one?❞
In the last city ruled by man, fish soar in the skies above and monsters lurk in the alleys below. Ten years ago, Jase lost both his legs and his mother to one such monster. However, tragedy couldn't...
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The glass walls of the simulator darkened as a bright blue holographic one appeared in midair, hovering above Jase. It disappeared, casting the room in complete darkness before the pixels shifted into something else. The first Smile. Its body was blue with no defined facial features besides its eerie fanged grin.
Jase didn't even give it a chance to move. He fired two shots at its chest, but pistols had never been known for their accuracy. One hit the holograph's shoulder, bouncing off, but the other pierced its neck and the Smile exploded into pixels before another one appeared. Jase fired shot after shot, ruthlessly and sometimes pulling the trigger before he even saw the Smile pixilate. The simulation had patterns, from the way the Smiles moved to the place they appeared. Not to mention all of the Smiles on the first level were slow and had large weak points.
After exactly fifteen Smiles, there were three seconds of complete stillness before Sleeping Beauty materialized. Her pixelated skin was dark and smooth and her long golden locs were tied back in a tail. She licked her lips.
She wore a pink and white striped jumpsuit with a sash around her waist tied in a bow in the front. She'd crowned herself with a floppy white sun hat, the type a Governor's wife might wear on a Sunday picnic. Jase had no idea how she could fight without that thing flying off. She looked... normal. Human. Jase hated her for it.
Beauty lunged and Jase step-sided, aiming for her left hand. Both of his shots missed, however, and Beauty turned to lunge again. This time Jase rolled out of the way, trying not to get hit. Three hits and he was out. The rolling did give Jase a clear shot of Beauty's palm, simulating the kill and returning the Smile to pixels.
A blue number two floated around the simulation room as Jase got to his feet, preparing for the next wave of Smiles.
They were faster and had slightly smaller weak points than the level one Smiles. Each level got progressively harder and there were more of them. Jase shot Smile after Smile, counting each one as it fell. His lungs felt tight and he hadn't even made it to Snow yet.
Slowly, the Smile pixelated. She was smaller than Beauty, if only slightly, and Jase doubted she was as pretty beneath her dog mask. Her skin was bone white and her hair reminded him of tar. Jase also guessed the scar on her lip only deformed her further. However, appearance wasn't exactly a priority as the Smile lunged forwards, attacking Jase without hesitation.
Jase fired a few shots, trying to hit her lip, but they went wild as Snow barrelled forward. Gritting his teeth, Jase fired a few more wild shots, counting down the seconds until Cinderella came out of nowhere to swoop Snow up and disappear into the night. But for now, Jase just had to keep moving, keep firing and he should be okay. However, shooting and running at the same time was going to be an issue.
Jase was going to have to lose a life.
Freezing, Jase turned and fired a perfect shot but just as the bullet hit the place on her mask where her lip would have been, Snow stuck her fist into Jase's chest. It didn't hurt physically, but Jase wished he could figure out how to beat this level without losing a life.
