When the lights had gone off

<ooc>-- Truly sorry for my absence. I'll try not to contradict anything. If I do, do not hesitate to correct me.</ooc>

<snip>
“We’ll get another shuttle and... What the fuck are those!?”
He pointed up at the hundreds of pallid, jellyfish-like predators, soaring up out of the ruined mine shafts around them.
</snip>

Jacky was stuck in some dark corner. When the lights had gone off, he heard nothing but the screams- the agonizing screams. The terror he felt was unmatched by anything he had experienced. He had been in danger before, he'd felt terror before, but this paralyzed him. He could feel a wet slapping sound as the unseen horror that dwelt in the darkness searched for something to kill. The others were big, but this one sounded enormous. Jacky felt the need to run, to scream for assistance, but could only sit in silent fear, hoping that the darkness could keep him hidden.

Then the light went on. Just the one light, the one directly above him. Against the darkness, he stood out clear as the sun against space. The wet slithering stopped.

He held his breath. Either it had given up or it had noticed him.

The noise began again, this time faster, and with each moist pounding against the ground, it got louder. Closer.

Jacky could not think properly. His mind was numb with fear. He could only sit and watch as the horrible jelly-thing shook its way closer to him. He felt as though he was experiencing his own life as an observer, only casually noticing the tears pour from his eyes.

The thing, the putrid abomination of the cosmos, reached slowly forward to his face.

This was it, he thought. No one to save him this time. He closed his eyes, before hearing a loud sizzling noise.

He carefully opened his eyes again to investigate.

The monster had recoiled, and the closest thing it had to a hand was smoking and bubbling. It was trying to back away from Jacky. Was it afraid? It wasn't before.

Jacky stood up, accidentally kicking a chunk of salt that had been mined near the beast. It backed away immediately in terror. Jacky slowly started to figure things out, but he could not believe it.

It's harmed by salt, he thought. That's why it was burned when it touched my face, because there's salt in tears!

Jacky picked up the chunk of salt and hurled it into the creature, causing it to squeal and boil away into a flat mass on the floor (that smelled faintly of jam).

Well shit, Jacky thought. I'm alive. I suppose I'd better find the others.

He moved in the direction where a distant call of "what the fuck are those" was yelled.