Chapter 6: Stop!
Nick had spent a day getting used to the tentacle. He had also received its favor when it possibly saved his life from a strange bird flying quickly right at his head. He wasn't afraid of it anymore.
However, he had been scared out of his wits when he first discovered it.
Kai's parents weren't just seeing it for the first time. They were realizing that a tentacle had been tying up their son, not a thick rope. It would be difficult for them to see the tentacle monster stretching out of the bottomless, menacing darkness encroaching on reality as benevolent.
Nick slowly looked at the scared caretakers of the young bear, subtly gesturing with his hand for the tentacle to withdraw for the moment.
"Now, I know what it looks like, but I promise, this...tentacle is not scary. It's just a...movie prop. I work in engineering or something. There's no reason to be afraid."
Contrary to Nick's words, the couple was still very wary. They were worriedly nudging Kai behind them while slowly backing away so as not to startle either Nick or the tentacle peeking out from behind the basement door.
"Please stop backing away. I just want to talk," Nick said calmly.
They didn't stop backing away. It was as if they didn't even hear Nick. All of their attention was focused on the tentacle. It was like it was magnetic. They couldn't tear their eyes away from it. It was hypnotic.
If their instincts weren't moving their legs backward, it was very likely they would have moved forward instead.
"Stop," Nick said loudly this time. He didn't know what had gotten into the couple, but he was not patient enough to let his only connection to the outside world just slip away.
He wasn't sure when he would meet another person again.