Marvel's Princess - Chapter 67
“Can you handle this or not? You’re going left and right all over the place!” Natasha said, exasperated, as Bella led her in circles around the not-so-large room.
“Of course I can! It’s just a minor monster! Minor, you know!”
Bella reassured her with words, but the spider was much stronger than the ones they had encountered at the gas station. Its strength, speed, and reaction time were nearly on par with hers.
That was why she hadn’t been able to finish the fight quickly.
Having Natasha as a sidekick severely impacted her speed, and the towel was a distraction.
She had to use her ace in the hole.
Merging her index and middle fingers, she silently chanted a spell. A thin silver line shot out, piercing the spider’s mouth.
She then thrust the fan base into the spider’s head.
The direct hit from her ice ray had already killed the spider, but the additional stab was to disguise the wound.
Bella used considerable force, breaking the fan base in two. The remaining metal part lodged in the spider’s head as she shoved its body out the window.
She leaned out to check. The spider was still twitching violently, its legs jerking uncontrollably.
But the ice ray wound was concealed.
Natasha felt deeply uncomfortable seeing her room drenched in the spider’s colorful blood. She would never stay in this room again; the psychological impact was too great!
“Don’t think about it. We might not come back. Grab your important items and let’s go.”
Bella didn’t think she could turn the tide. The fall of the town was inevitable. There were too many spiders, and not even Captain America could help; they needed a large-scale weapon of mass destruction!
They quickly changed clothes.
Bella ditched her skirt, sleeveless top, and everything else. She didn’t take Natasha’s old cartoon vest but found a plaid shirt. She couldn’t find pants that fit, so she wore denim shorts and a new pair of basketball shoes.
She tied her hair into a ponytail and removed all her earrings and necklaces, finishing her battle prep.
But finding a weapon was tough. In modern society, where would she get a sword? Plus, the spiders’ blood contained corrosive substances. The steel rod from the gas station had already been corroded; a sword wouldn’t last.
They hurried outside, where chaos reigned in the town.
The townspeople’s screams echoed everywhere—not out of excitement, but terror from spiders invading their homes.
Caught off guard by the spiders, even seasoned soldiers would be flustered, let alone ordinary townsfolk.
Not everyone had Bella’s physical prowess. While she could fight while worrying about her skin, appearance, and clothes, the townspeople just wanted to survive.
Fifteen minutes could be long or short.
Samantha had contacted the mayor, sought National Guard assistance, and completed a series of procedural steps, which took about ten minutes.
Now, the lady sheriff was frantically organizing the townspeople’s evacuation.
The continuous screams had cast a shadow over this usually peaceful town.
“Guns!” Natasha pointed at a glass cabinet on the first floor, where a shotgun her mom had used during arguments with her ex-husband was displayed.
Having spent considerable time learning firearm skills and knowledge from Shaw, Bella was no novice.
She smashed the glass with an elbow, grabbed the shotgun and two boxes of shells, and ran outside.
Chaos reigned in the town.
Despite Samantha’s calls to the National Guard, they wouldn’t mobilize easily. They’d send scouts first and then gradually dispatch forces. In the meantime, the townspeople had to hold out on their own.
“Leave the town! Get on the highway to Phoenix!”
“Impossible! The spiders are too fast. We’ll lose many people.”
“Then kill those monsters!”
“We don’t have enough guns and bullets.”
“Then let’s hold the central mall!”
When Bella and Natasha returned to the group, the townspeople were still arguing.
Some wanted to flee, some wanted to hold their ground, and others seemed ready for a final showdown.
Bella gave Samantha her suggestion, “There are too many spiders. That central mall might not hold. We should head south to Tucson.”
Her advice was reasonable, based on parts of the movie plot she remembered. She knew real life differed from movies, but the central mall wasn’t a fortress. It wasn’t built to be very sturdy. Hiding there was suicidal.
But Samantha’s reasoning was unexpected.
She pointed at the townspeople, “Look at their faces. They’re already breaking down. If we don’t give them a break, they won’t make it to Tucson! We have to go to the central mall!”
Bella then noticed the townspeople’s panic, helplessness, and terror expressions. Most would break down if they didn’t rest and went straight to the highway. While she had exceptional physical abilities and a ghostly pickup, they had no such means.
“You and Natasha go to Tucson and seek reinforcements!” Samantha wanted Bella and Natasha to leave first.
Bella couldn’t leave. She needed to be on-site to handle emergencies.
“I’m not leaving. I’ll go to the central mall with you.”
“Neither am I!”
As the spiders surged in like a tidal wave, their discussion ended. They had to run!
“Get in the car, quickly!” Charlie, driving the pickup, arrived and pulled the girls in. They followed Samantha’s police car to the central mall, the only somewhat defensible place in town.
“I’ll drive!” Bella handed the shotgun to Charlie and took over driving.
Charlie’s first love was fishing, and his second was hunting. As the town sheriff, he handled guns daily. While not a sharpshooter, he was competent.
He leaned out the window, shooting at any spiders that got close to the pickup.
“You’d better let me drive. You’re too steady. Sis, we’re fleeing for our lives here!” Natasha criticized Bella’s driving skills for being too cautious.
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