Aliens and Dates

04: Shopping and Preparation.

❝Are you ready to see something really cool? Well, neither am I! Damn, I felt like I was in a SpongeBob cartoon... how weird.❞

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WHEN I FINALLY GOT UP, the first thing I saw was at least five aliens coming towards me, twenty meters away, they turned a corner and seemed more than excited to see me, probably hunting me like a deer in the forest.

Damn, I almost forgot about those weird aliens!

Without thinking twice, I held Benjamin's hand tightly, easily ignoring all his protests regarding my action that 'wasn't something a woman would do', and I ran back to the opposite side of the beings from another planet who were trying to dominate the earth.

Where are the great heroes of this universe, when we need them, I wonder.

— "Harley, you're hurting me." — Montgomery complained as we continued running through the rubble of the buildings, occasionally dodging a few people who were already on the ground without any trace of life in their bodies.

However, I was more than capable of seeing behind the taller man's words: Lewis wasn't just complaining about the pain in his wrist, but also saying in new words how unfeminine I was compared to his old girlfriends.

I rolled my eyes the next second, seriously considering letting him die at the hands of the aliens right behind us. However, I took a deep breath mentally, managing to control myself as I looked around, trying to find a safe place to leave the spoiled rich kid, even if it was in a pit.

Maybe that way he would finally find his long-awaited soulmate. Or he would die of leptospirosis, that was also something to be considered in the equation.

Honestly, anything that came was already a profit for me, as long as this insufferable being got off my back.

— "Do you want to die for a bunch of lizards today, Benjamin?!" — Even a deaf person could tell how rhetorical that simple question was. My anger could be seen from a distance, so the best thing anyone could do was to stay silent while I thought of a plan.

But it was clear that Montgomery wouldn't do that. — "I don't feel like dying…"

— "Then shut the hell up because I need to think!" — I shouted, this time not trying to hide my anger in a silent threat.

Luckily for me, Benjamin kept quiet, seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation only now, probably realizing how screwed we were when he looked back and saw almost half a dozen aliens heading our way.

More time passed with the two of us running, me being responsible for dodging new bodies, and a few more aliens seemed to be enough to throw off the ones who had been hunting me for a while.

Noticing this, no longer feeling a horrible sensation while running as I had since the second I saved that woman's life, I turned a new corner, entering the first establishment I came across, which was something I quickly realized was a shopping mall. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one who had this idea, as I could see a good number of people there, hiding behind some counters or higher up, where the escalators were (which were currently turned off, by the way), looking very scared of whatever was happening outside.

Seeing no reason to run any further, or even to stay alert as I had been for a long time, I was finally able to let go of Lewis's wrist from above; turning my neck to look him in the eyes, I was firm in telling him to hide in the bathrooms, stating that their structure could withstand a few blows, and that I was sure they would be a good hiding place, at least for now.

Benjamin didn't even see the need to try to answer me or thank me for saving his ass, he just nodded once at me with his chin, looking at me for a brief second before running away the next minute, half-staggering at this simple action, almost falling to the ground from how scared he was.

I imagined that due to the panic the man had felt, his body had gone limp (or gone into automatic mode), and Montgomery was leaning completely on me. Now without my support, Benjamin noticed how much his body was not in the best shape, which, honestly, I was not capable of judging him.

No one deserves to go through something like that, not even an idiot like him.

Watching until Benjamin disappeared from my sight, somewhat afraid that the man would end up fainting, I took a deep breath before doing something I already wanted to do: I bent down to the hem of my dress, tearing it with some difficulty due to the number of layers the clothing contained, even taking off one of them, in an attempt to become lighter so that I could finally feel like myself, and move more lightly.

Standing up again, sure that a look of determination would take over my face in the next moment, I knew that I was almost ready to go back outside and save the people who were still in the chaos that Manhattan had become in just under two hours (honestly, who cares about the clock at a time like this?), being killed or injured by the beings from another planet who deserve to suffer for having invaded my new home.

— "If these lizards think they can invade Earth without further ado, and not have some good consequences for it, they are terribly mistaken" — I muttered to no one in particular, letting my anger come out in my sentence, not caring at all about feeling the fear of the judging looks of the people around me.

However, I knew I couldn't just go back outside empty-handed, since, besides being hunted by a group of flying lizards, I wasn't exactly Superman either and could defend myself only with my eyes and my steel skin, so I would have to find something to use as a weapon, even if it was just a piece of iron.

With that thought in mind, I walked around the mall for a long time, picking up some snacks along the way, which were free samples abandoned in the aisles, looking at some jewelry that cost an arm and a leg in the shop windows before realizing how distracted I was getting and trying in every way to focus on my main task: weapons! Focus, Harley! You need something to finish off these creatures!

To my sudden luck, I found a shop window with a strange accessory next to an outfit that reminded me a lot of Captain America's outfit, but much more... exposed, let's say. It was only when I looked at the name of the store that I realized: it was a Sexy Shop.

Shrugging my shoulders upon noticing this fact, I entered it, not surprised to see it without a single living soul to serve me, so I just deigned to walk to the main display case, not taking long to climb the only step for that, and borrow the baseball bat that was on display, right next to the sexual outfit of America's golden hero, being a little surprised when I held it, and noticed that it was heavy, indicating that it was of good quality.

That would do, however, I still needed some kind of weapon. I didn't care if it was a bladed weapon or a firearm, I just wanted something to defend myself from afar, knowing that the aliens had great firepower.

A few more minutes walking around the mall, with new sneakers on my feet that were still calloused, but now much more comfortable with the new shoes I bought (I'll return them at the end of the fight, pinky promise), a baseball bat in one hand, and a chocolate cupcake in the other that was already half-eaten (as for me I'm not crazy enough to pick up something half-eaten from the floor), were enough for me to see the body of what appeared to be a mall security guard.

The man was still breathing, so he might have fainted due to the shock of the invasion and fallen asleep the next moment,as a way for his brain to protect him from the possible trauma.

Shrugging this off, not at all keen on waking him up, I stuffed the rest of the cake into my mouth, then crouched down beside him, leaving the bat aside, next to my feet, preferring to use both hands to search all of his pockets as quickly as possible, finding two weapons that were happily loaded, a Swiss army knife, and two perfectly sharpened knives.

Now things were going to get, at the very least, fun.

Smiling to myself at my newly acquired belongings, I ripped off a few more parts of my dress, using the straps of it to tie the knives and the knife to my legs tightly and with a few extra layers, not at all keen on losing my newly acquired weapons in the middle of the battle I was ready to face.

When I finished doing so, I picked up the baton from the ground, said a soft goodbye to the security guard still unconscious on the ground, and turned on my heels, walking in the same direction I had taken to get here, finally feeling confident enough to leave this place and return to the streets.

— "Let's see who the hunter is now, lizards from hell."

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞?

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