The Jelly Alien Will Save You! Chapter 19

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

 

Draaaag……

 

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

 

Draaaag……

 

Cha Haeeon watched from the front gate for a long time as I grew further away.

 

Is he doing that because he’s worried?

 

I was going to tell him it was fine if he wanted to come along, but just then, Cha Haeeon slipped right back into the house.

 

I shrugged my shoulders. Well, it should be fine.

 

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

 

‘If I walk about 500 meters from here… and turn to the side…’

 

The contaminated zones were so jumbled together that places originally far away could be close, and close places could be far. 

 

Fortunately, the place I was heading to was the former.

 

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak.

 

I wound my way along the map until I stood before a traffic light. 

 

It’s a red light.

 

The moment I subconsciously obeyed the signal and waited.

 

‘A traffic light?!’

 

Why is the traffic light on?!

 

Before that thought could even finish, the surroundings began to darken. No, it didn’t darken; it was covered by silhouettes.

 

It was because people were crowding in front of the crosswalk. 

 

To be precise, they were “things that looked like people.”

 

Someone was wearing a suit, and someone was pushing a stroller. Everyone looked so familiar that I felt the strangeness a beat late.

 

Gulp.

 

I swallowed and pulled the string.

 

I needed my spaceship. Right now!

 

Drag-drag… Thud! 

 

But the spaceship got caught on the people’s legs and wouldn’t be pulled forward. 

 

Thud! Thud!

 

No matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn’t budge because of those waiting for the light. 

 

‘Wh-what should I do…’ 

 

It was just as I was rubbing my damp hands against my waist to dry them. 

 

“Hey, do you know that story going around lately?” 

 

The whispers of girls wearing school uniforms could be heard.

 

“What story?”

 

“The one about getting cursed if you do ■■■ and ■■■ in front of a mirror.”  

 

“Ah, I heard that too. It was doing ■■■ and ■■■, right?”

 

“Right. You do ■■■ and ■■■ in front of a mirror.”

 

The girls’ voices were getting louder. 

 

For some reason, it felt like my ears were perking up because I wanted to hear exactly what they were saying.

 

It had a strange magnetic pull. 

 

So, in front of a mirror…

 

What are you supposed to do?

 

“So, you do ■■■ and ■■■.”

 

It was then.

 

Slap!

 

My brother, who was sitting on my head, slapped my forehead with his tentacle.

 

“…!”

 

In an instant, I came back to my senses.

 

I quickly looked to both sides and saw two faceless figures bending their waists left and right.

 

The high school girls had been talking right into both of my ears.

 

As if they desperately wanted to tell me the story.

 

I clamped both hands over my mouth and screamed inwardly.

 

Kieeeeeeeek!

 

Tears pricked my eyes. I didn’t cry much even when I was in the hospital, but I’ve been crying a lot since becoming a healthy alien. 

 

“So cute!”

 

“Even cuter when she cries!”

 

Clinging closely to both my sides, they rapidly muttered that I was cute.

 

“Why are you talking right next to me!”

 

Flustered, I shrieked.

 

“Kyahahahaha!”

 

“We’re caught! We’re caught!”

 

It was the moment the high school girls laughed and dashed out, ignoring the red light.

 

“Uh……”

 

Screeeeech—!

 

From a place where not a single car had been seen, a massive truck came barreling through the fog at tremendous speed.

 

CRAAASH—!

 

Thump!

 

The high school girls were hit by the vehicle and collapsed right there.

 

“…!”

 

After hitting the high school girls, the dump truck suddenly began to fly upward.

 

I saw the fingers gripping the dump truck and looked up with my mouth agape.

 

But all I could see was a giant silhouette.

 

‘Something’ the size of a high-rise building had grabbed the dump truck like a toy and used it to smash into the high school girls.

 

Just then, the traffic light turned green.

 

Swish—

 

The waiting pedestrians began to move as if on cue.

 

I blinked blankly, like I had just woken up from a dream.

 

The forms of the high school girls had vanished completely and were nowhere to be seen.

 

‘Scaaaary!’

 

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!

 

Draaaaag—

 

I hurriedly crossed the crosswalk, on the verge of tears. Because I didn’t want the light to turn red before I finished crossing and get hit by a car!

 

* * *

 

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!

 

Draaaaag—

 

Fortunately, once I passed the traffic light, it was only a short distance to my destination. 

 

‘Thank goodness.’

 

I was instantly filled with relief and anticipation.

 

The place I was heading to was none other than an ‘Animatronics (character robots used in movies or theme parks) Factory’!

 

In <Squishy Squishy! Planetmon!>, the ‘Animatronics Factory’ was depicted like a theme park.

 

Now, sparkling lights and exciting music would greet me.

 

I turned the corner with a pounding heart.

 

However.

 

Stopping dead in my tracks, my mouth slowly fell open.

 

“…?”

 

I stood in front of the destination and lifted my gaze all the way up.

 

A theme park?

 

Here?

 

The character illustrations on the exterior walls were halfway peeled off, rusted steel frames were exposed between patches of flaking paint, and the streaks of rust running down the walls were as red as blood.

 

To make matters worse, the sign above the factory entrance was tilted halfway, looking as if it could fall at any moment.

 

Only a few letters faintly remained on the unpowered electronic display board; the phrase that must have been ‘FUN’ now looked like ‘UN’.

 

‘Is this the right place?!’

 

I opened the map once more.

 

There, the teddy bear icon on the map gave a wide grin. Sharp shark teeth were revealed inside the cute bear’s mouth. 

 

‘Kyaaaak!’

 

I swallowed the shriek that tried to slip out.

 

‘This is weird! Something is definitely wrong!’ 

 

Just then, my brother wrapped around my arm. Looking at his teary eyes, it seemed he meant we should go back.

 

“S-should we?”

 

Just as I was about to sneakily step backward.

 

[All workers please gather at the —- site—.]

 

A broadcast filled with static and hard to understand flowed out from a speaker covered in cobwebs.

 

Simultaneously, from the vicinity shrouded in darkness, the sounds of unknown things moving in large quantities began to be heard.

 

L-let’s run away!

 

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

 

Draaaaag—

 

At that moment.

 

A huge shadow fell over my head.

 

A massively built platypus animatronic stood blocking the path ahead.

 

“Hic!”

 

My two upright ears went stiff with tension.

 

The animatronic’s two hands moved to grab me.

 

I swiftly bent down and dodged.

 

‘I need to get into the spaceship…!’

 

But the moment I took a step, a heavy sensation hit the back of my neck, and my body floated—whoosh—into the air. 

 

A large claw machine claw had descended from the factory, grabbed me, and hoisted me right up.

 

The claw wasn’t just picking me up; it was hoisting up all sorts of things from everywhere. 

 

Shouts erupted from the front, back, left, and right. 

 

They sounded like the cries of monsters, and also like human curses and screams.

 

Having been lifted so high I could see the factory chimneys, my consciousness finally faded to black.