Monster of Monsters #1 Part Two: Mortem's Contestant

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  She lifted it as she told her children, "Green Serpent said this amulet had other uses. He said I could peer into her memories by just looking at her and grasping the Blight Stinger. He also said that these memories will be much clearer than what the mummy can manifest on his own when he uses his power to consume pain." Shukujo walked over to Kein and peered at her as she questioned her children, "What do I want to see in this miserable human's past? I know..." Shukujo grasped the amulet as she said, "Show me where and when you first learned the Kumovon lullaby."

  The enchantment took hold, and Shukujo was no longer standing in her lair, but she had been thrust into Kein's past as if she was a spectator.

  Kein's past...

  About a week before the lady left...

  "Playing with any spiders today?" Bruno questioned her as he surprised young Kein and snuck up behind her as she sat on a bench behind the school.

  "No," she replied to the boy. "I'm only sitting here working on my writing."

  He looked over her work, and then he said, "Your handwriting is messy. No wonder none of the families want to devour you. Who would want to devour such a weak thing like you?"

  "Why do you care so much to tease me? Why do you even talk to me?"

  "I get bored," he told her. "And you are easy prey." Bruno watched as she ignored him, and then he said, "I learned something today. I learned that you are now the only student here who has not been devoured. There were ten, but now you are the only one who has no clan or house. The other students are saying you're truly cursed and that no one will ever devour you. The others say you will be all alone forever and that you'll never have a proper name. You will always be the one whose name means not a." He mocked her, "Kein, the nothing. Kein, the pitiful. Kein, the stupid."

  "Stop it!" she yelled as she stood. "I will be devoured. I will, and then..."

  "No one or thing will ever want to devour you," he told her as he shoved her to the ground. "You will always be a not a! Kein, not a daughter! Kein, not a sister! Kein, not a friend! Kein, the undevourable!"

  She ran away from him into the woods, then down to the underground temple, and shouted, "Lady! Lady!"

  "I am here," the lady spoke as a figure of a Kumovon female riding a Kumo'uma appeared, but the Kumovon's face was hidden by darkness. "You do not need to shout. What are you upset about?"

  Kein held back her tears as she asked, "Did you say you would devour me?"

  "I did."

  "You said you would devour me when I'm big enough."

  "I did," the lady replied.

  "Am I big enough yet?"

  "Nearly, why are you in such a hurry?"

  "All the other children..."

  "Go on," the lady urged her when Kein said no more.

  "All the other children have been devoured by a house or a clan. I want to be devoured too. I no longer want to be..."

  "What do you talk of, child? Are the other children at your school being devoured? What creature would dare enter the grounds of the school and..."

  "No, they have already been devoured," Kein said as her whole body trembled with despair. "They all have a family. When will you devour me?"

  "I do not think I understand. Has some monster entered your school and consumed your fellow students?"

  "No, no monster has entered our school."

  "I understand now, and I believe it is I who is confused. Tell me of these children who have been devoured."

  "Head Mistress Blindheart said that few children are devoured at birth. They must be very special for that. Most are devoured when they turn three and the family sees that they're worthy. On occasion a child is devoured by a clan or house they're not born to," Kein explained, and then she asked, "How much bigger do I need to get? I'm already six."

  "Little morsel, you are very confused," the lady said as she leaned her head on her elbow that rested on the large spider's head. "I almost feel sorry for you, but as is your lot... I would say that you will be big enough for me to devour in another two to three weeks. You will be my final meal before I leave this place."

  "And you will take me where you go? You'll devour me, and we will leave together?"

  "Yes, little morsel. I will devour you, you will be within me, and you will go with me."

  Kein ran over to her, quickly climbed up a boulder, and for the first time, she wrapped her arms around the lady's neck and said, "Thank you. Thank you. I thought I would be alone forever. I thought I would be Kein forever."

  The lady jerked back, not expecting such an attack from a small child. Kein sobbed as she hugged her very tightly. The lady wanted to grab the child and toss her away from her, but the more Kein hugged her and sobbed, the more the lady thought of her own nieces and how she missed them. In a moment of weakness, she placed her arms around Kein and returned her hug.

  "I guess it is true what they say," the lady spoke softly as she stroked young Kein's head. "When those around you turn their hearts from you, even the darkness is inviting."

  The lady continued to stroke her head, and then without considering what she was doing, the lady sang in a sweet voice to help calm her, "My child... My child... Why has sleep not touched your eyes? Do you fear the howling wind or the creatures of the night? There are many things to fear and many things that fear us but know one thing, I am here. When the shadows fall and night has come, know I will wrap you in threads of white. When beasts of darkness prowl and eat, know that I am here as I wrap you in threads of white. No one will hurt you... No one will harm you... I am here, and you are safely tucked in my threads of white. Time has come to shut your eyes as I spin my soft web around you. Fear not my child as you sleep in my cocoon's warm embrace. My threads of white will hold you tight, so when shadows fall and night is here, know I love you and you are safe."

  The lady finished singing sometime later, and Kein said, "That is very pretty. Sing it again."

  "Have you completed all of your assignments?" the lady questioned her. "I would hate for you to leave anything undone once I devour you."

  "I completed them, but I still haven't gotten your name just right, but I will have a name for you before it's time for us to leave," Kein told her. "I promise."

  "I will sing for you again."

  The lady started the song over, and Kein sang with her in her soft child-like voice that couldn't carry a tune. The lady sang it over and over till Kein fell asleep in her arms.

  The present...

  Shukujo pulled out of the memory as she released the amulet, and she stared at Kein with this glare.

  "There is no possible way that happened," Shukujo told her. "There is no possible way..."

  "Okasan..." Kein spoke out in sleep in a desperate call still caught within the memory the amulet induced, and then a tear streaked down her cheek as she repeated, "Okasan..."

  Shukujo took a few steps back from her as she felt wet droplets roll down her own cheeks, and then she said, "It would seem that we have both scored high off of each other today. I never thought something like this would make me cry." She picked up the Blight Stinger and peered at it as she said, "It must be this enchanted amulet. Green Serpent did warn me to be careful." Shukujo walked around her as she said, "I will be careful. I only need to nullify the enchantment you have over my children. I do not need to see anymore of your past. I just cannot understand how you are able to manipulate your memories. There is no possible way a Kumovon raised you and cared for you as you remember." Shukujo sobbed as she insisted, "A Kumovon would never take a human's precious child and treat her as if she were of her own flesh and web." She regained control of her emotions and stated, "Maybe you had this curse all along."

  Nearly an hour went by as Shukujo patiently waited for Kein to wake; she had planned on tormenting the human till 3 A.M. came about, but with it already fifteen minutes past it, Shukujo could more forward with her plans. The human finally started to stir after the official start of the third day of her Probation Period. Shukujo had all her children take their places as s
he stood on her own feet in front of the human. Kein slowly opened her eyes to see Shukujo staring at her with this wickedly evil grin. Kein peered at her for a few seconds.

  "You shrunk," Kein spoke still very groggy.

  "What do you speak of?" Shukujo questioned her, then glanced at herself, and said, "Did you not know this is our true form? The large one you are referring to is called a Kumo'uma, and he is a separate creature from myself."

  "A Kumo'uma..." Kein repeated, then looked up before Shukujo could motion, and saw her larger half hanging upside down above her on a large web. "So it's like a giant Kumo'usagi."

  "You sensed where he was even in your muddled state," Shukujo spoke as she became upset. "You knew where the Kumo'uma was even before I motioned to it." She looked to the Blight Stinger as she said, "I am beginning to wonder if I am using this amulet correctly."

  Kein was very confused. The last she remembered she heard a child crying and went to investigate, but she couldn't remember anything after she entered the dark area of the hallway. She guessed she had been knocked out by a drug; she felt kind of woozy. Kein regained more of her senses, and she realized where she was and that she was suspended off the floor by her wrists. Somehow she wound up in the feeding chamber of a Kumovon. There were hundreds of other bodies within the chamber all wrapped up in body length cocoons. Kumovon did this to their victims so that they could take their time and wait for the victim's insides to liquefy and then they could feed on them.

  "Someone attacked me... I think he was a vampire," she muttered. "I also remember purple smoke with silvery sparkles. I feel so weird..."

  "The vampire must have used a knockout smoke laced with silver in case he also had to deal with the werewolf child," Shukujo told her.

  Kein looked around again as she regained more of herself, "I can't be here."

  "Are you afraid?"

  Kein thought about it, and then she said, "Not yet... that's why I need to leave now."

  "You are very unusual," Shukujo told her. "I cannot let you leave just yet. I just started."

  "Started? Started what?" Kein questioned, and then a few things suddenly came to mind, and she said, "I'm in your lair... I'm in your lair beyond the white borderline."

  "Your relocation is a gift from my Coach," Shukujo explained. "Coaches, for the most part, can be helpful. Look what mine gifted for me."

  "Let me go..." Kein yelled as she wriggled to free herself. "I need to leave before..."

  "Before what?"

  "Before fear sets in," Kein replied.

  "I believe I am losing my touch if fear has not set in yet," Shukujo told her. "I will just have to rectify that. What are you afraid of?"

  "Being here when fear sets in," Kein replied.

  "You have such cryptic answers sometimes or is it–" Shukujo questioned as she tapped Kein's forehead with her finger, "–your brains have been scrambled?"

  "Please, you have to let me go," Kein pleaded.

  "Now that is more along the lines of what I thought I would hear. Beg some more. I really like hearing you beg."

  "Fear is quiet right now. The smoke has made fear sleep..."

  "I think the smoke did a little more than make you sleep. Are you high?"

  "It is hard to think," Kein told her. "My head's so cloudy."

  "It will wear off soon enough. Right now I want to test this amulet out and see its full potential."

  Kein peered at the amulet as her vision blurred, and then she asked, "What is that?" Kein felt something waking from within the amulet, and she gasped before questioning, "Is that the Blight Stinger?"

  "It is and this is the first time I have seen you react out of fear of it. I am curious though. You brought me this amulet and yet you are afraid of it now."

  "It's awake now," Kein told her, and then she asked, "What are you going to do?"

  "I am going to have my Kumo'usagi finish what they had started. You see this special amulet will nullify any enchantment you might be using against me to subdue my children," Shukujo replied, then she spread her arms, and commanded, "Come my children! Come! It is time to feast!"

  The Kumo'usagi crawled in from all over the lair and headed for the webbing that bound her wrists.

  "Don't let them touch me," Kein pleaded as she tried to free her hands. "Don't let them touch me!"

  "You should be screaming," Shukujo told her. "When I devour someone, I take my time with them, and I am going to take special care of you."

  "Please don't! I don't want the nightmare to happen, not again!" Kein shouted, and then she whispered to herself, "Don't be afraid... It's okay. Don't be afraid. I'm here... I'll protect you." Visions of death surrounded her, and Kein begged with her whole heart, "Please... don't do anything to Shukujo."

  Elsewhere in one of the Coaches' office...

  As with the Residents, Coaches couldn't leave the building the Mortem took place in, so they each had an office above ground. One of those Coaches reviewed video of the contestant right after she had survived Opening. Each Coach had been permitted to ask a question through Controller, and each Coach only had access to the video of their question and video of how the human answered it. This particular Coach watched the reply to their answer for the first time.

  Video of earlier within the Black Arrow room...

  "Final question, and this one is a little odd..." Controller told Kein.

  She inquired, "Odder than the third one?"

  "Afraid so, but what can I do but ask it," Controller answered, cleared his throat, and questioned, "Of all the monsters that are on the Basement Level, who is the most terrifying and dangerous monster? You can take your time. You must need to think about it. There are so many to pick from and..."

  "I don't need anytime," Kein stated, and then she replied, "And the answer's easy. The most terrifying and dangerous monster is me."

  The End-Next Click Here for MOM1 Part Three

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