Bye Daddy, I Love You!

(^(00)^)

If there was only one thing he knew in the world, it was that he loved his daughter. Every fiber of his being cared for the beautiful little girl that he protected. She alone smiled when he arrived while the others ran away screaming. No matter how angry he was, the sight of his baby girl always warmed his heart. Though he was hideous and deformed, from his misshapen head, to his massive drill, and down to his gigantic feet she thought he was handsome. She was his little girl, his daughter, and as her father it was his sole duty to protect her and her alone.

He knew she loved him too. From time to time his girl would bring him a surprise to show her gratitude. The most recent was a shiny rock that he kept hidden away in his massive suit. One day, she crawled out from her hidey hole not to go to work, but just to see him. The tiny girl held the sparkling rock tight to her heart as he lifted her gently from the dark tunnel. When he expected her to start searching for angels he realized that she had left her needle behind.

She smiled as she showed him the rock and proudly exclaimed, "For you daddy!" He never forgot the look of pure happiness on her face as he accepted the stone. He was shaken from musings as he reached her favorite spot.

Four knocks was their special call. Only she responded to his calls, and he only wanted to see her. She was his special girl and he wanted to make sure she was always safe, so he never let any other protect her. He could not trust this important task to any other, she meant too much to him. She was his little girl, his daughter, and as her father it was his sole duty and his alone to protect her.

A warm sensation filled him as he watched her crawl out from the hole in the wall, needle in hand. She grinned from ear to ear as his daughter enthusiastically waved to him.

"Hi daddy!" She cheered as she lifted her self from the dark tunnel. His little girl tried, yet again, to impress him by getting down on her own, but he held her in his massive hand when the fall proved to be too far. She squealed happily as he lifted her into the air for a moment before setting her safely onto the ground. She curtsied as she thanked for his help, pretending to be the princess rescued by her handsome knight. He tried to bow this time, but almost fell, this accomplished nothing more than making her laugh, which was just as perfect.

She paused for a moment to sniff the air. "This way, daddy." She exclaimed as she caught the scent of her first 'angel'. He never knew why she called them that, but what she wants he makes sure she gets. He followed as his daughter grabbed his hand and 'pulled' him to their first stop.

While he tailed his daughter, he discreetly watched the shadows, looking for any signs of trouble. He had been lucky that his girl liked to stay in the least populated area around, the sights outside were horrible. The violent ones that wanted her, they usually stayed away when he was alone. But when he was with his little girl, they would hunt him down to get to his daughter. He could not understand why, but he never stopped to wonder when she was in danger. But when they did come there were not many, at least not enough to cause any problems. He would be strong and protect her from the evil things that wanted to hurt his daughter.

"Daddy, daddy! Look over there! It's an angel!" She cheered. His little girl released his hand as she ran towards the corpse sprawled on the ground a few feet ahead. It took only a few seconds to catch up but she already had the needle in the corpse's cold body. As part of routine he stood watch as she worked, no matter how quiet it was he needed to be ready.

Clink, clink, clink, clink…

He paused for a moment as the strange new noise filled the room. His girl was blissfully unaware as she hummed her favorite tune. He slowly shifted to a more prepared stance in hopes to keep her from noticing. The sound seemed to echo throughout the room, disguising its location in plain sight. He swung his head to the right but found nothing.

Clink, clink, clink, clink…

Louder now, the sounds taunted him with their echoing. H shifted his body to the left, and again found no indications for the sound.

Clink, clink, clink, clink…

The noises were so loud now; they seemed to be right on top of him. The thought struck fear down into his very core and he could not keep himself from shifting his gaze upward…

"Why hello there tin daddy!" The creature dropped from the roof and landed directly on his face. It had been clinging to the ceiling by a pair of rusty meat hooks that it now used to attack his face.

The commotion broke his daughter's concentration on her work. "Daddy!" He heard her scream, "Leave my Daddy alone!" Her pleas fell upon deaf ears as the mutant continued its assault with vigor. It was luck that he was able to grab the creature's leg as it slipped from its perch. He felt the bones snap and crumble as he griped the appendage in his massive fist. The offender squirmed in his grasp as he held it at a safe distance and activated his drill.

He could hear his little girl cheering as the object easily entered the creature's chest and emerged from the other side. The corpse was disposed of as he flung it mercilessly from its position. He immediately turned to his daughter to see if she had been harmed, but as always she was unharmed. She buried her face into his leg as she hugged him. Her muffled thanks were barely heard, but it still felt wonderful to hear her words.

"Thank you daddy, I love you." She pulled away with a warm smile gracing her beautiful face.

The happy moment was short lived as the cries of more creatures filled the air. He could see their figures skittering across the ceiling, making their way towards them at an alarming rate. He could feel his little one gripping his leg again, but this time it was in fear. She cowered behind his leg, trembling as her focus darted between the numerous figures advancing on their position.

"Daddy," she cried in a small and scared voice, "please make the monsters go away."

That quiet request from his precious daughter forced him to take a grim look at the odds. He could count five, maybe six of the sneaky bastards above them, taunting him as they skittered about. He had been fortunate enough to be rid of one of them, but he couldn't tell if it was because he was caught off guard or that it was truly skilled. He forced his attention from the creatures and down to his little girl for a split second, but that was all the lime he needed to make his decision. His unarmed hand slowly reached down to her as he formulized his plan of action.

In one swift motion he lifted his precious daughter and held her against chest as he protected her head with his left arm. He was quick, yet at the same time careful as not to accidently hurt her. The creatures shrieked as they began their attack, descending all at once as he dropped his shoulder and fled from the room. He retraced his steps through the familiar halls, searching for the escape.

Their frustrated cries echoed through the dark halls as they gave chase. He nearly stumbled to the floor as one of the creatures latched their hooks into the venerable material on his back. Though the pain caused him to scream out, he kept running as the creature lost grip of his weapons. The hooks remained lodged into his back sending horrible jolts of pain with every step he took.

"Daddy, what's going on?" It broke him inside to see her so worried about him. His daughter had never seen this much chaos before, and now she must be so confused at the current situation.

His vision was torn from her as another of the beast latched itself onto his helmet. His girl screamed as it clawed across his face and tried to grab her. A hook shattered one of the many lights that adorned his head as tried to shake it off, but the mutant held on tightly. Thinking quickly he tilted his head and spun around to slam his back against a wall. He shielded his girl as blood sprayed from behind him and the offender was reduced to a smear on the wall.

More furious cries filled the air as more of the demons joined the chase. A hook sailed through the air towards his daughter, but it was stopped short as he lifted his armed appendage o block the attack. He had no time to pull the offending object from his arm as he resumed his tactical retreat. The cries grew louder as he could hear the monsters getting closer. Too many, even more than before, now gave chase. His spirits lifted as he could finally see their destination:

Her hidey-hole.

"Are we going home?" She asked as he charged forward with unbelievable speed. The distance was increased between their pursuers and him, giving him enough time to stop at the tunnel in the wall. He carefully lifted her into the hole like he always would, letting her grab hold of the ledge as she used his helmet as a stepping stool. As she crawled into the darkness she paused and turned around to face him. For the first time ever she placed a small kiss on the tom of his helmet and said,

"Bye daddy, I love you!" She turned from him and crawled away. He watched her for as long as he could, ignoring the pain of the creatures' attack as her figure disappeared from his view.

When he could no longer see his daughter, he spun on his heel and swung his massive drill, crushing the first monster's head.

(^(00)^)