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I cautiously poked the cat monster's belly.
"You guys think it's dead? It doesn't seem to be struggling or anything."
Ronald pressed his hand against its body, frowning.
"Body is still warm, so I can't tell."
Rona, meanwhile, got bored in less than three seconds. She stretched her arms lazily, then flopped onto the ground, rolling back and forth.
"Rona is bored," she muttered.
She rolled once, twice—and then her stomach let out a loud, tragic rumble.
Rona sat up straight, blinked down at her tummy, and announced seriously, "Hmm? Rona's tummy went goo goo~" She rubbed her belly with both hands. "Rona needs food~" Her eyes wandered up to the monster's enormous abdomen. A glint appeared in her eyes.
"Large food!" she declared, smacking her lips hungrily.
Without hesitation, she raised her hands like a mischievous child about to commit a crime.
Ronald's eyes bulged.
"Rona! Stop!" he screamed.
But Rona ignored him, her little fingers inches from tearing into the monster's warm belly.
I whipped around and pointed a finger gun at her.
"Stop moving, or I'll shoot!"
I pressed my fingers tighter together for emphasis.
"Lower your hands, greedy pig, and no one gets hurt."
Rona froze, panic flashing across her face.
"Oh no, the police found me!"
I advanced on her with narrowed eyes.
"That's right, the police have found ya. Now put ya hands down and let me cuff ya."
Ronald stood to the side, looking utterly baffled.
"Ermm... What's going on?"
Without missing a beat, I moved in front of Ronald and said with the most serious voice I could muster:
"Don't worry, innocent citizen. Officer Llyne will save ya from this vicious pig who's trying to eat up your food."
Ronald gasped, covering his mouth in shock.
"The pressure must have gotten to the both of you... I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner."
I ignored his tragic misunderstanding and turned my 'gun' back at Rona.
"Okay, piggy. Put your hands down, nice and slow. Turn around and lay on the ground."
Pouting dramatically, Rona dropped her hands and obediently lay down.
"I'll succeed next time! Just you wait," she grumbled.
I knelt and pretended to slap on invisible handcuffs with loud 'click click' sounds.
Pulling her up by the collar, I declared:
"With me around, that ain't gonna happen."
Ronald watched from afar, his hands covering his face in grief.
"It's hard to watch when you lose two best friends..." he sobbed. "Why didn't I notice it sooner? I'm so stupid."
Rona and I exchanged looks, and then grinned proudly at each other.
"I didn't know we were such good actors," I said.
Rona shot me a thumbs-up.
"We're the best!"
I strolled over to Ronald and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's get out of here."
Ronald blinked at us in confusion.
"You all are alright?"
I laughed heartily.
"We were just acting! Looks real, right? We can be movie stars!"
Rona hopped between us and threw her arms up dramatically.
"Best actress award goes to Rona and Lil!"
Ronald chuckled, finally catching on.
"You can only give the award to one person."
Rona froze, then grumbled, "Fine. Roli, then. Hmph!"
Ronald laughed harder.
"Shall we go now?"
We nodded and began crawling out from the wreckage.
Dust clung to our clothes as we emerged. We dusted ourselves off and looked back at the monstrous corpses still lying still behind us.
The atmosphere between us was awkward.
To break the tension, I stood up straight and screamed dramatically:
"What the hell, man! In superhero shows, the villains always wait for the heroes to power up or finish talking. But here, leh, the monsters just charge at us without waiting! Oui! Those superhero shows are a scam!"
Rona and Ronald burst out laughing.
"Hehehe, that's true."
I leaned against a broken pillar, wiping sweat off my forehead.
Up above, I caught a glimpse of Mr. Gregory standing on the stage, microphone in hand, addressing the crowd.
I strained my ears, picking up his smug voice.
"Unfortunately, the three survivors were crushed to death. Therefore, the ceremony will come to a closure. So—"
Thunk!
A small rock sailed through the air and hit the stage near Mr. Gregory's feet.
He ignored it completely.
Frowning, I picked up a larger rock and hurled it at him.
Again, no reaction.
Frustrated beyond reason, I turned to Rona and Ronald.
"Find me the biggest rock you can!"
They exchanged a glance, looking nervous.
"Are you sure?" Ronald asked.
I clenched my fist.
"Of course. I'll make that pillock know who's the boss here."
Rona and Ronald scrambled and finally dragged back a massive boulder, nearly as big as Rona herself.
They plopped it down in front of me.
"Are you sure you can throw this thing? It's really heavy. It took both of us to lift it," Ronald said anxiously.
I didn't answer.
I simply grabbed the rock with both arms.
GRRAAAH!!
I let out a primal roar, hoisting the massive boulder above my head.
The ground cracked beneath my feet from the sheer weight.
Rona and Ronald's jaws dropped open in disbelief.
Muscles trembling, veins bulging, I channeled every ounce of strength into my throw.
With a wild scream, I hurled the boulder straight at Mr. Gregory's head.
Fwooosh!
The rock tore through the air like a missile.
I shaded my eyes with one hand, grinning with satisfaction.
"There it go," I said.
The crowd gasped as the massive projectile hurtled toward the oblivious Master of Ceremonies.
This time... there was no ignoring it.
Boom!
The rock exploded on impact, sending a violent shockwave through the stage.
Mr. Gregory howled in agony, clutching his bloodied forehead.
"Who... Who did that?!"
He spun around like a broken compass, blood trickling between his fingers as he searched for the culprit.
I casually raised my hand from behind the cover and flashed a cheeky V-sign.
"Bullseye," I said, chuckling under my breath.
Rona immediately started running circles around me, both arms flailing in excitement.
"It's a hit! It's a hit!" she sang.
Meanwhile, Ronald collapsed to his knees like a defeated soldier.
"I wish Isaac was here..." he whimpered, mourning our collective sanity.
Mr. Gregory's eyes burned with uncontained rage. His face twisted into something monstrous as veins bulged across his forehead.
He roared like a beast, his voice cracking the stadium's air like a whip.
I slapped my hands over my ears.
"Take shelter!" I screamed, pointing urgently at the rabbit monster's gigantic corpse.
Without hesitation, Rona and Ronald nodded, and we dashed under the hulking body, using it as a makeshift bunker.
The moment we slid under, Ronald turned to me with trembling lips.
"What now? Mr. Gregory looks super angry. You don't think he'll... kill us, right?"
I spat to the side, completely unfazed.
"Nah. He doesn't even know we're alive. LOL!"
Rona sprawled out dramatically next to me on the ground, folding her hands behind her head like it was a sunny picnic.
"Rona agrees with Lil!"
Ronald stared at us like we'd lost every last brain cell.
He sighed heavily, his spirit already halfway to the afterlife.
"Now I know why people say life is short... Appreciate it..." he sobbed, voice breaking like glass.
Tears streamed down Ronald's cheeks as he hugged his knees tightly.
Rona poked Ronald's chubby cheeks with one finger and burst into giggles.
"Ronald is such a baby."
I couldn't help but giggle too, the ridiculousness of it all bubbling out of me.
Above us, Mr. Gregory's furious stomps shook the stadium. His voice, amplified by a broken microphone, shrieked across the arena.
"SHOW YOURSELVES, YOU DAMN BRATS!"
The ground cracked as his power started to leak into the surroundings, sending spiderweb fractures through the marble floor.
BOOM!
Another thunderous step.
Debris fell around us like rain.
And under the shadow of the rabbit monster's cooling corpse, the three of us huddled together—one idiot who picked a fight, one idiot who encouraged it, and one innocent soul dragged along for the ride.
Not heroes.
Not survivors.
Just a trio of idiots clinging to life in the middle of a storm they created themselves.
And somehow... it was the most alive I had ever felt.