Killing Big Things

ravaena

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Okay, let's say you're a teenage girl, with no combat skills to speak of. You have a car, and whatever miscellaneous things might be found at a public barbecue area as your assets. A creature the size of a bear attacks. (It's not a bear, it's a bunyip, so its possibly more similar to a walrus. Either way it's massive.) How the hell do you manage to kill it?
 

SianaBlackwood

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Wouldn't it be more sensible to escape in the car than stick around looking for improvised weapons? I mean, if it was a bear or walrus attacking your barbecue, would you try to kill it? I'd imagine the type of person who answers 'yes' to that would have some actual weapons on hand and the skills to go with them.
 

Quillandink

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The first thing that comes to mind is a tyre iron from the boot of the car. A fallen branch from a nearby tree, or break off a branch. Are there fold-up chairs brought by other people or your character? Maybe use a spatula to slap the bunyip on the nose whilst trying to find something. Table parasol.

Maybe visit a public barbecue area and wander around looking at what is available and the things people bring.
 

frimble3

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Get in the car, get up some speed and drive into the bunyip. Then back up and do it again. I don't know much about bunyips, other than them being Australian mythical creatures, but a big enough vehicle will kill most things, or at least encourage them to leave the area. Give her whatever an SUV is called Down Under. Or a big pick-up truck. (A 'ute'?)
 

benbenberi

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Why do I, a teenage girl with no combat skills or equipment, want to try to kill the bunyip by myself on the spot? Shouldn't I just get into that car and drive away as fast as I can? And/or livestream the Bunyip Attack! on my phone?

Failing that, like frimble3 says, the car is my deadly weapon. If my car's not big enough to tackle a mad bunyip, that's down to you, dear Author, to fix in the next draft!
 

Sage

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Poor bunyip. Here it was, coming to the park to enjoy a barbecue, and suddenly this teenage girl starts throwing things at it, lighting it on fire, and driving into it. That's the last time the centennial mythological creatures reunion takes place around humans.
 

ironmikezero

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Headlines - Pacifist Bunyip Attacked by Crazed Teenage Driver at Park, Distracted Driving/Cellphone Suspected - Online Video Shocks Millions! See Link.

:poke:
 

MythMonger

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SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KILL A BUNYIP UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE!

Take this online quiz to see how well YOU'D do!
 

ravaena

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Hah, thanks for the ideas guys. I initially did have her just drive away from it, but got feedback that it was too anticlimactic/defused too much tension. It's also most definitely not a pacifist - it's been summoned with the express purpose of killing her, so I think we can safely call it self defence. The fire idea is good, and giving her a bigger car. Much to think on.
 

Cobalt Jade

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Yeah, lighter fluid and lighter/matches. For dramatic tension, you can have the fire igniter not work on the first try. FOr more dramatic tension, the bunyip runs (flops?) back into the water to put out the fire, so we're not sure if it truly died or not.

Alternately, perhaps the girl has some of those long, pointed toasting forks to spear hot dogs on, and uses them.
 

Brightdreamer

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Hah, thanks for the ideas guys. I initially did have her just drive away from it, but got feedback that it was too anticlimactic/defused too much tension. It's also most definitely not a pacifist - it's been summoned with the express purpose of killing her, so I think we can safely call it self defence. The fire idea is good, and giving her a bigger car. Much to think on.

Can you split the difference? She does drive away, but must fight past it or distract it somehow to get to the car (or get to her keys), or distract it from bystanders. My first instinct would be fire and/or hot coals. Aim for the eyes... but be ready to run. If it's cumbersome, try zigzagging; cumbersome things don't corner well. Keep in mind that angry grizzlies have been known to keep coming through hails of bullets, so putting an aggressive creature that size down is no minor feat, even for experienced hunters - hence it possibly being more "realistic" (in quotes, when you're talkin' bunyip attack) for your inexperienced MC to wound or distract and flee than take the beast down single-handed, especially without high-powered firearms.

If you're talking something walrus-sized with a car, you're gonna need something bigger than a subcompact. I'm not sure I'd face down a grizzly in anything smaller than a full-sized pickup, frankly. It's gonna leave a dent - possibly totaling the car, or at least rendering it inoperable. (Gonna do a number on the insurance either way...)
 

ironmikezero

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If she's going to use the vehicle as a (ramming?) weapon, at least let her be smart enough to use it in reverse--that is, using the rear bumper for impact, like drivers in demolition derbies do. Were she to impact the front of the vehicle, she runs the risk of damaging the engine and stalling out. That would leave her at the mercy of a (justifiably?) aggravated and pissed-off bunyip--one shudders to imagine how dangerous a wounded bunyip with a nasty attitude can be . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_derby
 

Richard White

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I like the lighter fluid/match flamethrower idea.

Another idea might be insect repellant/match. Basically, most creatures (except for dragons and salamanders) won't rush directly into fire coming at their face.

Might not kill it, but would give her time to attempt an escape.

Also, tossing that mean girl who was picking on her earlier in its path is always an option. :evil
 

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Well, if this is a situation where someone decided to go all "deluxe grilling experience" and brought a gas grill, then you'd have a container of highly pressurized propane to play with in this equation as well, but I don't know if you want to take it that far. Still, exploding tank of liquid propane is going to get the job done if you can swing it.
 

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Does she have magic?

While your betas say it killed the tension, I can't imagine a teenager (or an adult, no matter how well trained in combat) without a weapon doing anything but running. I'd question their sanity if they tried to fight it.

Why not blow up the car and take the beast with it? If she tried to ram and it moved or jumped, like I'd assume a predatory creature would, she'd be no better off. She could set up a trap with her car, maybe position it near a lit grill, and then sneak out the door away from the creature and run like hell while it sniffs around looking for her and the - BAM! The bigger the bang, the better. Just another random idea that doesn't involve her accurately evaluating her chances and running in the first place.
 

waylander

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If she's going to use the vehicle as a (ramming?) weapon, at least let her be smart enough to use it in reverse--that is, using the rear bumper for impact, like drivers in demolition derbies do. Were she to impact the front of the vehicle, she runs the risk of damaging the engine and stalling out. That would leave her at the mercy of a (justifiably?) aggravated and pissed-off bunyip--one shudders to imagine how dangerous a wounded bunyip with a nasty attitude can be . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_derby
In addition to this could she wedge a branch in the rear cargo area and ram the monster using the branch as a spear?
 

Luciferical

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How about the ultimate way to stop a bunyip attack for those lacking combat skills?

Befriend it? Offer it a shrimp from the barbie?
 

GeekTells

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Firstly, you folks are funny.

I, for one, assume this particular bunyip has been killing her friends and and needs to die.

With that in mind:

She runs to her car, but the bunyip is on her. She dodges out of the way and the beast roars its anger. She rolls under the car and scrambles up on the other side. The car is locked! The bunyip gathers itself to leap over the car as she fumbles the key into the lock. She wrenches the door open as the bunyip lands. Darting inside (in the nick of time), the bunyip yanks the door off its hinges. Man, is it strong.

It reaches into the car and she almost drops the keys. But she gets it started as the bunyip tries to reach her. She guns the engine and peels out, parking lot gravel arcing behind the car. The bunyip is clinging to the car, and just as she thinks she's going to get away, it grabs the steering wheel. The car veers wildly.

Everything happens in a blur, and when she comes to the bunyip is trapped between the car and the broken ruins of a cement picnic table. The engine dies and won't turn over. The bunyip bellows in rage and pushes against the car. He might get free. She crawls out the shattered window and sees the bunyip. Every instinct screams to run, but if it gets free, she's dead. She couldn't outrun it on foot, and she's been running long enough.

She looks around. A BBQ fork stares at her from the rubbly. She grabs it and evading a swing from the bunyip, she stabs it through the eye. The beast spasms and looks almost surprised before dying.
 

Cekrit

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I'd throw the nearest, oldest family member at the Bunyip- and as its eating would likely try to blow it up with the propane tank from the grill.

Ok, maybe I wouldnt have to use the elderly as bait, but I would definatly try to blow up that tank, other than that your only options would be to grab a steak knife and go to town but I dont see that working out very well.
 

snafu1056

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Maybe a David and Goliath situation where one well-placed attack unexpectedly does the job. Maybe she throws something seemingly harmless at the Bunyip and it just goes in his mouth, down his throat and he chokes on it.
 

themindstream

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Well, if this is a situation where someone decided to go all "deluxe grilling experience" and brought a gas grill, then you'd have a container of highly pressurized propane to play with in this equation as well, but I don't know if you want to take it that far. Still, exploding tank of liquid propane is going to get the job done if you can swing it.

You might get it working as a component in a makeshift flamethrower but if the many seasons of Mythbusters I've watched is anything to go by, propane tanks are harder to make a'splode than you'd think. They're built to be very resistant to exactly that. Also, the safety valve would generally be the first thing to blow turning the tank into an out-of-control rocket that would be as much of a hazard to your protagonist and bystanders as the monster.
 

Shoeless

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You might get it working as a component in a makeshift flamethrower but if the many seasons of Mythbusters I've watched is anything to go by, propane tanks are harder to make a'splode than you'd think. They're built to be very resistant to exactly that. Also, the safety valve would generally be the first thing to blow turning the tank into an out-of-control rocket that would be as much of a hazard to your protagonist and bystanders as the monster.

That... actually sounds pretty damn cool. Maybe I've just been playing too much Just Cause 3...

I know it's a bit late in the game since this question was asked, but why does there have to be a confrontation resulting in the Bunyip's death in order to keep the tension high? What's wrong with actually having a car chase, where the triumph is that the teen's driving skills, or calm-under-pressure characteristics allow for an unlikely getaway against a superior, supernatural force? It doesn't have to be a straight up confrontation with a clear victor to be exciting, it's not like people win against a Terminator the first time they fight it, and chases and getaways are some of the best parts of those movies. Successfully getting away from a superior force doesn't necessarily imply the character is weak.