Chapter 2.

When I first saw an octopus at the when I was five, I thought it was some sort of alien. I looked so strange and foreign to my immature eyes back then. Now that a real alien was in front of me, I felt that same feeling return.

"We caught it, so where's the TV crew?" The man with glasses asked.

"We have to shoot it, or it won't count, that's why they gave us the guns." One of the older gangster men stated.

"I'll give you an onion." The alien offered.

"If this is like one of those Thrill Factor shows, they kind of failed at making this thing scary. Weird, yeah. Scary? No way." I bent down so I was eye level with the creature. It has to be a robot or something... yeah, I bet it's made of metal...it's not like it's real... this is just some TV show stunt.

BAM. One of the gangsters shot of the gun, but the little alien was off and running, jumping away from us and hurrying down the street.

"We have to catch it!" The blond shouted.

"There's no time to go down the stairs, let's take this way!" I sprang up off the ground and jumped from the platform, landing down on the ground a story below without any impact trauma. I just did that because I didn't care if I broke a bone or two for half a mill but... it has to be this suit, that has to be the reason I got down with no problems!

I had separated from the others and was running ahead of them, the alien in my view. If I reach it before them, the whole half a mill will be all mine!

I had the alien backed into a corner as I reared up my blade, watching the creature hold it's hands in front of it's self in defense.

"Die!" I went to swing my knife down, but my arm was caught in a firm grip. I turned my head to see the yankee standing there, looking upset.

"You can't kill it!" He told me.

"It's a robot, it isn't real." I told him, tugging my arm away. With this suit I can even slap away big guys like him, this is great!

"Do you know that? It looks alive to me!"

"Look just leave me alone." I growled at him.

ZAP!

The two of us looked to see the blond boy with the other three behind him. "Hey, you tried to kill him before us, girl? I thought we were a team!" He laughed. "But, hey... why didn't it die? I'm sure I shot it..."

There was the sound of flesh tearing and ripping apart behind me, and I felt the hot, wet liquid cover the back of my body and stick in my light colored hair. It was the feeling of a substance I had been covered in not long ago. Blood.

Kato screamed, rushing to the alien, but it was too late, the creature had been eradicated. Entrails were strewn across the pavement and painted the wall the onion alien had backed into. "Does he still look like something that wasn't alive!? Why did you have to kill him!?" Kato cried, his eyes welling up with tears.

I turned my head, falling over to my knees and vomiting, the white of my throw up mixing with the crimson that covered the sidewalks. Even in horror movies, I had never seen anything that vile-that real. Every detail of his organs, every drop of blood. The stench that filled the air. It was all real, and it was all inescapable.

"That "him" wasn't even human. What does it matter if we killed it?" The blond smirked.

"He was alive! What does it matter if he was human or not?!" Kato argued.

"When will the camera men come out and give us the money...?" The man with glasses thought out loud.

A violent roar pierced the dark night and we all spun around to look, a new creature causing shivers to run down my back. It looked like the onion alien, except bigger. Much bigger. He was taller than even Kato, and wore a long trench coat.

"Looks like the onion alien had a friend." I gulped, taking a step backwards. Even with this super suit, I don't have one of those explosion guns.

I was off, running as fast as I could. The other's will keep it busy... it won't follow me... it won't follow me...! I ran with everything I had, putting my very being into each pump of my legs, but I had no clue why. What would it have mattered if that thing had killed me? I tried to kill myself, anyway! I wanted to die, and lived on accident, there's no way that my attempted suicide was the work of hypnotism, and there's no way this is a setup or a TV show! That carcass was too real! But... why am I still running?! My plans got messed up... I should just turn back there and die like I wanted but...

I didn't realize how fast I was running until I finally came to a stop in front of the two Keis.

"Hanamaro!" Kurono's eyes were wide. "What the hell happened? You're covered in-"

"Blood? I know." I grabbed his arm, "There's really an alien, Kurono! We killed one but another came, and this ones so much bigger, and-and-!!" My mouth was moving faster than I could think.

"Where's Kato?!" both Keis panicked. "H-he's back with the others."

"We have to help him!" Kishimoto begged.

"Alright." I nodded. Some of the people there might want to live. I have no right to run away and save my own ass when they're all in trouble, when they're lives are more important than mine!

I began to run off, leading Kishimoto to the scene of the massacre when Kurono ran up to us and began to run besides us.

"The suit makes you stronger." I told Kurono, "but it will be hard to help without any weapons."

"I wish I could just go home..." Kurono whined, yet kept following us.

I was silent for a moment as we ran. I skidded to a halt, eyes wide at the horror in front of us. Bodies were thrown about like party decorations, intestines like streamers and spreads of organs becoming crimson confetti. There were only two guests left at the party: Kato and the alien.

Kato held a gun to the alien's head, but tears streamed down his face. "I can't do it... I can't kill you..." with a smack the alien sent Kato rolling down a hill, leaving us the alien's only focus.

"Kato!" Kishimoto cried.

"Shit! Come on!" Kurono grabbed my hand in one of his and Kishimoto's in the other, but it seemed we both had the same thought in our minds as we slapped his helping hand away.

"What the fuck, come on!" Kurono urged us.

"Kishimoto, I'll held this, you have to go on. I'll save Kato." I promised her. "Trust me." Maybe my words have a way with people, or maybe it was the fact that the alien had started charging at us, but Kishimoto listened to my instructions and began to run off. Kurono tried to follow, but the alien was in front of us now, and it seemed he had a new resolution in his unreliable eyes.

"Die!" My battle cry rung out as I rammed the blade into the chest of the alien, yet the blade only seemed to crack against it's hard skin.

"Shit! Run, Kei!" I urged him, but it was too late. The alien had reached one of it's claws out to jab at Kurono, who stood still in panic. The moment seemed to last froever, as the claw came closer and closer to Kurono, endangering his precious life.

That's right... I thought. I can't let his precious life be wasted!

I wanted the claws to go in deeper-to rip and stab and pull out everything that was inside of me. My body longed for the cold blade to empty it out, and fill the hollows of myself with it's promising, sharp blade. I felt the fat, wet tears pouring out of my eyes as quickly as the blood gushed from the wound in my chest.

And I knew why I was crying. Finally, I knew why I was crying.

"Hanamaro!" Kurono screamed from behind me. The pain was so much more intense the what the puny dagger had caused me to feel during my first death, and I realized it was because this time I hadn't just be stabbed, this time the claws had gone clean through my chest. "I bet this would hurt a lot more if I was Kishimoto... he tits... are huge." I coughed with a chuckle.

"Hanamaro! Why did you...?!" Kurono's voice was high pitched and panicked.

It was only background noise to me as I fixed my hand around the skull of the alien that had stabbed me.

"I told you to just FUCKING DIE!" I closed my fist, crushing the alien's skull so that the little pieces of bone scattered around the massacre. Even with the head gone, the alien stood erect, it's hand still lodged within me.

"You know, Kei..." I told him, in too much pain to turn my head to face him once more. I liked the sound of his first name, the name that had matched mine so nicely. I wanted to say it, to feel the letters roll of my tongue.

"You know, Kei..." I began again, my sobs becoming heavier, "I really don't want to die."

Kei Kurono was silent. "You know, I was so dedicated to my art. I really thought I was great." I retold the events leading to my death, summarizing as much as I could. "I lived for it, you know. I thought I would end up dying for it, too... but... when I entered in a competition.. I heard the judges making fun of my work... I just couldn't bare it. I always relied on my skill. It was the only thing I had. I'm the kind of person that cares a lot about money and has trouble making friends... and I'm no where near as pretty as Kishimoto...so it was all I could rely on. It was my good trait."

I took a deep breath, I was speaking fast, yet still everything was becoming blurry. The hazing of the scenery... it wasn't my first time seeing something like this.

"I couldn't take critic, so I killed myself... I wanted to live for my art, but I ended up killing myself over it... but... I don't want to die, Kei!" I cried. "I want to live for my art, I want to become a great artist! By dying I haven't accomplished anything!" I let out a bitter laugh that made my chest sting.

"But I did save you, Kei, and if I hadn't been placed in this situation, I wouldn't have realized how important life is." I know he couldn't see my face from behind me, but I smiled, just for him.

"I guess, in a way, I started living because of this death."

My hands recoiled and fell to my sides, my legs feeling wobbly as I tilted backwards, my entire being shaking. I felt myself fall back into Kurono's arms. I can see it. I grinned, my vision blurring. I can see a future that includes Kei.