…
He collapsed in front of the sink, blood oozing out of the wound in his shoulder and what felt like 4 or 5 cuts on his back. He couldn’t tell for sure but when the projectile had impacted his skin he could feel it split apart into several smaller pieces, each one passing through his body and shredding out the other side. He was no paramedic, but even he knew, if he didn’t end this fast and get medical attention, he was as good as dead. The water being thrown around the room by the broken faucet felt nice on his skin and helped to wash some of the blood away. With the water falling on his skin he remembered the time when he had separated his shoulder as kid trying to climb the cliff near his family’s cottage in northern Ontario during a terrible rainstorm. He had been there with his best friend, Shane, and his sister, Kaylie; they had decided to climb the cliff but once the rain started Kaylie had wanted to turn back while he and Shane wanted to press on.
Shane and he were inseparable. They had been mistaken for brothers on more than one occasion and liked it that way. They had grown up living three houses away from one an other and became fast friends at the ripe old age of 3. They didn’t remember this but their parents had told them that when they first met, they fought over who would get to go down the slide at the local park first. As they whined and threw temper tantrums their mothers put them both on the slide side by side, as it was big enough for both of them, and the crying stopped immediately. From that moment on, they were glued to each other. Through day care, elementary school and even high school. Shane’s dad had accepted a job on the other side of the country during their grade 10 year. They had kept in touch but it just wasn’t the same. It was like someone had cut a piece of him out and he wasn’t sure on how to cope.
They made it to the summit and snapped a picture of victory against the high winds and driving rain. It was in that moment that he was happy, happier than he had been in a long time. It was the first time he had seen Shane in over 2 years and they had spent every waking moment together. It made this victory up on top of the cliff that much sweeter. Even despite her reservations against climbing in the rain, Kaylie had the biggest smile on her face. That was the last good memory he had. After that day, everything had gone to shit in no time at all. Not two days after their trip to the cottage, his parents told him they were getting a divorce. Kaylie would be going to live with their mother and he would be going to spend time with his father before he went off to college. He was six months away from his high school graduation when he got the call, Shane’s mother called him and could barely get the words out between sobs, Shane and his father had been killed in a car accident. When the phone call ended he sat there on his couch, staring straight forward tears welling up behind his eyes.
“Everything alright, Champ?” his dad asked taking his gaze away from the hockey game they were watching on the projector.
“Shane’s dead” was all he managed to get out.
The following days were a blur. His dad had taken time off work to fly him across the country to attend his best friends’ funeral. He felt numb the entire time, waiting for the feeling to come back… but it never did. He finished high school, university, and law school by himself, he got a job at a great firm by himself, he lives by himself, and… he might die alone he thought laying on the floor; the pain of his shoulder bringing the present back into focus. As the water continued to spray from the faucet that had been severed, he reached around for something he could use as a weapon, having lost his own when he had been thrown by the creature. As he scrambled around on the floor never taking his eyes off his opponent who had begun to lower its weapon again, his right hand closed around a can from one of his cupboards. Without pausing to see what it was he pulled his arm back, ignoring the searing pain in his left side, and launched it across the small space at the assailant. As the can flew through the air, it spun slightly throwing some of the water being sprayed into the air onto the attacker. There was a sizzling sound as the creatures shrieked. It had dodged the can but the water that had hit it caused the creature to recoil in fear. It moved around to the far side of the granite topped island and took cover lowering its weapon and firing off some more shots.
He slipped and slid around on the wet floor as he tried to slide closer to the island to get out of the path of the alien’s weapon. He slid through coffee grounds, broken dishes and glasses, some moldy bagels he had been meaning to throw out, boxes of Kraft Dinner, and non-perishable cans of all types. As he scrambled around on the ground he spied his trusty cooking knife he had in his hand before being thrown laying just in front of the island the assailant was using as cover. As he slid into the island with a thud, his hands gripped the handle on the knife as he grabbed it off the floor. He could feel the blood oozing from his wounds and sliding down his arm as he crouched against the island holding the knife in front of him. The alien had stopped firing, and was presumably, crouched on the other side of the island. He took the chance and slid around the far side of the island closest to the pantry and the hallway to his bedroom. As he made his way around the island, he held the knife in his right hand ready to strike at a moment’s notice. He came around the far side of the island and the creature had not noticed him. He got closer to the creature until he was nearly directly beside it. As he got closer it must have noticed him because it let out a shriek and its body morphed to face him. Not turned. Morphed. Rather than its body turning and bringing its weapon to bare, it shifted its entire mass so that it was now facing him with its weapon on the opposite arm. This time he didn’t hesitate, he drove the knife directly into the creature near the top of its mass, right where the neck would’ve been on a human.
His knife sliced into the creature and it let our a shriek. As he pulled the knife out, a substantial amount of the metallic liquid inside began to ooze out and sizzle. The assailant let out a shriek and began to move towards his living room to seek help from the other one that was still smashing its way through his possessions. “Oh no you don’t” he said as he grabbed hold of the creature’s weapon, making sure to keep the business end away from his person. With a searing pain he pushed/tossed the creature across his small kitchen into the counter right in front of the sink… right into the path of the spraying water. As the water made contact with the creature, it shook violently like it was having a Grand mal seizure and then fell to the ground in a smoldering pile of ooze and foul smelling fumes.
Amazed at what he had just witnessed, he stood for a moment staring at the smoldering remains of the attacker. When a grunt came from the living room and the sound of smashing had stopped he knew the other one was about to come into his kitchen. He moved into the pantry and pulled the water jug off the cooler.As he heaved the jug off the top of the cooler, he heard a growl of anger and the sound of one of their weapons being discharged. The sound of the spraying faucet ceased and was replaced by the sound of dripping and water pouring onto the floor.
As he held the jug of water from the cooler he was glad he hadn’t gone with his mother’s idea to get a bigger one. He was hing trouble holding the 10L jug with his injured arm as it was. He was biting his lip against the pain and he knew if it was any bigger he wouldn’t have been able to carry it. He moved out of the pantry and slid behind the island, the jug of water striking the side of the island causing a loud thud to sound through the small room. The other creature had been standing over the remains of the first as the water slowly oozed out across the floor from under the sink. At the sound of the thud, it morphed to face him firing its weapon instantly. The shots flew over his head and embedded in the wall behind him before dissipating. The can he had thrown at the first assailant was on the ground and he picked it up with his good hand, laying the knife he had been carrying on the ground in its place. He hefted the can once more and let it fly at the assailant. As the creature moved out of the way it stepped to the right which brought it into contact with the water making its way across the floor.
There was the sound of liquid being boiled off of a stove top as the creature growled in pain and anger. He swung the jug, ignoring the pain in his arm and shoulder and tossed it at the creature. The creature tracked the jug as it flew through the air and fired its weapon at it, as the rounds made contact with the airborne projectile, they stuck into the outside of the jug, causing cracks to appear in the receptacle. The jug struck the creature and broke apart at the cracks causing the water to spill over the alien.
He ducked behind the counter his hand finding the familiar handle of the knife as he stood up to move towards the alien. As he stood back up he saw the second alien had collapsed back onto the ground right in the puddle of water and was sizzling as it laid there. He rushed over and began stabbing it in the center of it’s mass, each stab harder and more vicious than the last. after about 10 seconds he stopped and watched as the metallic center made contact with the water and instantly boiled away leaving that foul smelling smoke in its wake.
Amazed at what he had done, he hadn’t noticed how dizzy he had become, he looked down at the arm to see it covered in blood which was still running from his wound. He moved towards the pantry his legs not cooperating with his brain anymore and he crashed to the ground inside the small space.
This is it, he thought to himself, this is going to be my casket, I’m okay with that. He laid on the ground, his body getting colder and his vision darkening, This is fine, I’ll be able to see Shane again… He could hear footsteps as the darkness took over his vision right before he lost consciousness he heard a gasp.
…
The Multiverse 
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