Prompt: You meet a monster straight out of a Lovecraftian horror novel. Except it isn’t Cthulu or any of the more well-known ones. Instead, you meet Bob! The happy-go-lucky tentacled horror that loves going on adventures and havong a nice cup of tea! (source)
Behold a floating obelisk, and its spirit, dread! The vantablack pillar descended from the heavens towards the frozen wasteland beneath it. Miranda held her breath, her fingers grasping the locket around her neck. The obelisk continued its decent towards the icy ground.
She closed her eyes and clutched the locket firmly, had it all come to this? Not two hours ago she had lost her entire team within the frozen ruins, she had only been so lucky to have outlived them. Anthony, Migan, and Henry, they had met swift deaths, or so she hoped.
Anthony had been the first to go after opening the chamber door to the frozen cathedral, a formless abomination of what she could only describe as a whirlwind of teeth, tusk, and eyeballs charged him. The team did not stick around long enough to see what had become of Anthony.
Migan went next, after the formless beast had bested them they had been pushed into the unexplored depths of the ruins, into the catacombs. With only a flashlight among the three remaining crew members, the catacombs were far from the ideal place to be. Henry had taken the lead, Miranda held onto his shoulders and Migan onto Miranda’s. It had happened so swiftly. Migan’s grasp left Miranda’s shoulders, she heard a loud thudding sound right behind her. Reflexively Miranda turned around towards the void behind her. Migan’s voice shrieked from the darkness, it grew deeper and further in tone, until her voice was no more. By the time Henry had pointed the light towards the void Migan was no more.
Miranda and Henry ventured deep into the catacombs for what felt like hours before they had seen any natural light. With miraculous luck, the tunnel had ended at a wooden ladder, illuminated by the sunlight above. Henry went up first, once she had been given the okay she followed suit. When Miranda surfaced Henry was nowhere to be found.
The ladder had brought her to a frozen wasteland, behind her stood the impossibly tall mountains that had housed the frozen city. The sky above her was whited out, without the sun she had no way of telling which way was north. Would it even matter at this point?
She closed her eyes and sat in the snow, and began to cry, grasping the locket of her mother she had worn for protection.
A low rumble came from above. Had the research center sent out scouts? She opened her eyes and looked towards the sky. Instead of a helicopter a giant pitch black pillar slowly descended from above. She clutched the locket tighter, accepting her fate that her expedition was no more than another mysterious antarctic disappearance.
The obelisk ceased it decent a meter above the ground. Miranda sat still with the pillar, her anxieties were no more, she had accepted her fate. She stood up and touched the dark pile. As terrified as she was her first and foremost mission was that of a scientist, and with that she had an an obligation to understand what had descended before her.
Visions had shot into her mind’s eye. She saw an enormous beast like an octopus, except it had no body, its entire mass had been composed of nothing but tentacles. She saw herself with the creature across space and time. In one the beast chased her across the barren wasteland, but instead of terror she saw herself laughing and smiling as the monster pursued her. In another vision she and the tentacles beast had strolled the streets of Manhattan together, laughing and smiling as she showed it memorable sights like the Empire State Building, and The Statue of Liberty. In another vision she and the beast enjoyed a nice quaint cup of tea on the English country side.
The visions ceased, and the pillar was no more. In its place the giant tentacles beast stood. Its tendrils twisted and turned, a low purring noise came from within its tangled mess.
“What do you want?” She asked.
~Hey there!~ The beast, answered? She wasn’t sure, the response appeared to have both come from within the abomination, and within her own head at once. ~I’m so sorry about your friends, I wanted to save them but my vessel has been banned from the city limits for a millennia. My name’s Bo’ub, and you are?~
“M-M-Miranda,” Miranda answered.
~Happy to meet you M-M-Miranda,~ the thing called Bo’ub said.
“What do you want?”
~It’s been a while since I’ve been to Earth, last time I was here humans had just invented the wheel.~ the tangled mess called Bob rolled towards her ~As you could tell from the visions I presented to you I’m looking for an easy going human to be my tour guide. Can you be that guide for me M-M-Miranda?~
A harsh wind picked up, Miranda shivered, her teeth clenched.
~You look cold, let me help you.~
Miranda blinked, when she opened her eyes she was back at base camp, in her hands she held a warm cup of hot chocolate.
“Welcome back Miranda,” she heard a voice behind her. She turned around, it was Victor her commanding officer. “Did the rest of the crew make it?”
She shook her head, and looked at the steam as it drifted upwards gently from the hot cup of coco. She took a sip. A wave of warm pulsed through her body, she took a sigh of relief.
“That’s a shame,” Victor said. He sat next to her. “Well good news for you, you’re tour here is over. We’ve already packed your things and loaded it on the helicopter, you’ll be back on the mainland in no time.”
“Thank you sir,” she said taking another sip of the coffee. The warmth flowed through her again, this time stronger and heavier, like a weighted blanket.
“You’ll be joining Bob back to the mainland, he’s already at the helipad,” Victor said, “common, let’s go.” He stood up and gestured towards Miranda. She followed him, hugging the cup of hot chocolate like a precious gem.
They rounded the base camp and arrived at the helipad.
“Who’s Bob?” She asked, she did not recall any fellow researchers with that name.
“The intern,” he said, “he’s been helping you with your research since you arrived. Are you okay Miranda?”
She took one final sip of the hot chocolate embracing the warmth as it filled her once more. Sitting on a chair besides the helicopter sat a young man she did not recognize. She approached the man.
“How do you do M-M-Miranda?” He asked, extending his hand towards her. She shook it. Despite his hand being covered with a glove, she swore she felt something limp and slimy on contact. “I am very excited about our adventures to come.”
