Impractically Broken

Chapter 5

Sal's eyes went wide. Was he going to die? Pushing against the girthy tendrils with all his might, Sal managed to free both of his arms. Q growled at his meal's attempt to escape and showed his teeth as a warning. Q's teeth were pure white and razor sharp. Sal wanted to cry out so badly. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs and beg for mercy. But he didn't.

"You think you're so funny." Q removed any and all tentacles from Sal's body and allowed him to sit up. "You're not. Nothing you do will save you. Nothing! Do you have any last words before I wipe you from the face of the earth?"

"I do," Sal said grinning. "Behind you."

Before Q could say or do anything, someone ran up behind him with a shovel and knocked him out. It was the woman from the store. Now that Sal had a better look at her, he noticed that she wasn't a woman at all. It was a little girl. A small, light brown girl with curly hair and blue glasses. She was panting heavily as she tossed the shovel to the side.

"Take... that...sucker," she said in between gasps for air. "I'm...the...QUEEN!"

Sal watched the girl fall to her knees, still struggling to breathe, then lie down on her side. She made a few noises of discomfort before laying flat on her back, staring into nothingness. Slowly walking over to the hyperventilating child, Sal took a seat next to her. She glanced at him, turned herself around, and rested her head on Sal's legs.

"Hey there," the girl greeted. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sal. Who are you?"

The girl shrugged slightly and went back to looking at the sky. She claimed to have forgotten her name a week or two ago when she moved. Sal let out a small 'oh' and glanced over at Q. He was still breathing, but was knocked out cold. One question Sal had was how did a little girl have the balls to knock a grown man out with a shovel.

"Neleh!" The girl exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. "That's what my name was. I'm Neleh."

'Neleh' laughed at her sudden discovery and laid back down. Sal had jumped at her sudden outburst, but didn't say anything. Kids will kids. A sudden white light flashed in his face and nearly blinded him. Looking down, Sal noticed that Neleh had taken a picture of him.

"Joe and Murr are at the park," Neleh said softly. "You should get there before...um... Q gets up."

Sal tilted his head to the side and stared at Neleh. She knew their names before her own? That thought stayed in Sal'a mind for so long that he forgot Neleh was still there. Her slightly squinted eyes stared blankly at Sal's, peering into his very soul. When Sal snapped out of his trance, Neleh quickly looked away and started texting someone.

"You really need to go." Neleh's voice was laced with worry. "They need you for something."

"I'm not going alone."

Grabbing Neleh's hand, Sal helped her stand and started towards Central Park. He wasn't about to be responsible for the death of a child. As the two of them slowly crept part Q, Neleh saw him move. She froze like a deer in headlights and refused to move.

"What's wrong with you?" Sal asked, not seeing what she was.

"He's awake."
------------------------------------------------------Self insert because why not.