Monster

by Yolanda Olson

  I watched the city signs come as we walked past them.

  Carrington. Well at least I’m heading in the right direction.

  At least I thought I was. I knew I had to head south but at some point eventually I’d have to cut over and I wasn’t exactly sure where or when. Maybe I should’ve put that microchip in her when I had the chance, it would’ve saved me a lot of grief right now.

  Of course if I would’ve paid attention to a lot of stuff growing up then I wouldn’t be going through this grief either. As it stood I could only get to Eden’s and Pompeii without getting lost and one didn’t even exist anymore.

  I held a hand up over my eyes, when the sun shot into the sky signaling dawn. It was so bright today for some reason. The last few hours of night had gone quickly.

  I wondered what Kaeden stayed behind to do. I wonder if his game plan would work. I also wondered why he had to pit me against my sister.

  No.

  I didn’t wonder why.

  I knew why he had done it.

  Out of everyone that was going to die that day, I would be the only one that would be able to match Phoebe’s strength and speed.

  Of course I would pull out some of my tricks that she wasn’t familiar with and wow everyone. And of course we weren’t all going to die that day per se. It was just a figure of speech.

  Glad I cleared that up with myself, I thought with a grin.

  “You smile a lot,” Billie said suddenly.

  “Yep.”

  I think that had to be the demon in me. Angels were so serious. Everything was a mission and every mission needed to be accomplished in a timely and orderly fashion.

  There was no time for smiling!

  Do it and do it now!

  With a straight face!

  I shook my head. It was no wonder I very rarely let that side take over me. But now that I thought about it, I wondered why demons smiled so much. It’s not like they had anything to be happy about it. I mean they had it pretty rough.

  Alright, stop right there Confucius before you drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out. Focus on Finnegan.

  I cracked my neck a couple of times and shook it off. I didn’t care about the underlying characteristics of angels or demons. I just wanted my girlfriend back.

  And I was going to get my girlfriend back or I was going to possess myself, stay that way, tear the world in half, and let the bad boys of the dark side loose on humanity.

  Hm. I might do that anyway. I haven’t seen them fight since the beginning of time. It was pretty cool.

  “Is it?” Billie asked interrupting my thoughts.

  “What?” I asked focusing on her again.

  “I asked if it’s the demon half of you.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Why was I suddenly having a heart to heart with Billie? She baited Finn in Devils Tower, she used the kids to get her to come out and fight, and then when Finnegan almost had Pheebs, she showed up and stopped her.

  Granted, she must obviously be a great friend of my sister's, but I didn't want to have anything to do with her. I started racking my brain for a way to get rid of her. I could ask her to just leave but that wouldn't exactly be polite, and I'm sure she'd go running straight for Pheebs to tell her that Finn was missing.

  I didn't need that.

  I didn't need to know that my sister would be happy because the girl I loved had disappeared.

  I put my hand in my pockets and picked up speed, at this rate, I’d never get to where I was going. Of course all the daydreaming I was doing wasn’t helping either.

  “Hey, we’re gonna need to pick up a little speed here. We’re only in Jamestown and we’ve got a ways to go,” I said pointing at the sign we just passed.

  “But the humans will see us,” she said urgently.

  I threw my head back and laughed. Angels had another downfall of a trait. They were such goody goodies.

  “Billie, learn to live a little. I’m going to pick up speed, you can stay here if you want,” I said.

  I knew that once I got there, if I had enough time I'd have to continue to learn how to control my demonic powers. I didn't know if it would be easy, but I definitely had to try.

  For Finnegan, I had to try.

  I didn’t wait to hear her answer; I took off. Like a bat out of hell.

  Part IV

  Ava

  24. The Children

  (Dusk of Day 26)

  I had a feeling the sun had gone down again, but since I didn't have a window to the outside world, I wasn't sure. I stood up and looked around. I had been forced to live in this hellhole since Finnegan took Kaeden’s trust away from me.

  I hated my new home.

  Concrete walls to keep the sun out. Slabs of marble to sleep on. A heavy iron door to keep intruders out.

  Everything in here was so cold and the air was so condensed. If I were alive, I’d die in here. If not from the conditions, then from going mad.

  The sounds I had to endure! The whimpering of my new “children”, the way they howled when they were hungry, it was enough to make me crazy. But I knew they would prove to be invaluable in a few short days.

  I put a hand tenderly on the head of one of my new little ones. He was my favorite; he learned to control his hunger. He never made noise, he never screamed, he was so obedient. He taught the others as well as he could to fight the hunger.

  He glanced up at me with his stone cold eyes. I smiled at him, but he didn’t return the smile. I knew he was still upset for being made into a monster, which I would admit was half my fault.

  I had finally, somehow managed to convince Brian to help me. I had convinced him to make a small group of animals like him.

  Because that’s what he and Finnegan are. Filthy, conniving, manipulating animals. It hadn’t been easy. It had taken quite some time. But after I told him about the idiot boy that had fallen in love with her, it was enough to send him into a blind rage.

  And in that rage I gathered my chosen few out of the crypt I had kept them in and convinced him that they would help us avenge him.

  It was a beautiful frenzy.

  So much death. So much hate.

  The screams.

  I closed my eyes and smiled remembering the screams. The fear and confusion of what was being done to them. The pleading and begging for their miserable human lives and not wanting to die a pitiful human death.

  There was no reasoning with Brian though. His anger had blinded him to what he was doing and as I watched him feed, I noted most of his movements. I knew they would be invaluable in defeating Finnegan.

  I open my eyes and walked away from my favorite creation. I went to the farthest room in the catacombs and rested my head against the giant boulder that was used to keep the sunlight out.

  I felt it scratch the side of my head, but I didn’t care. That simpering little girl had seen to it that Kaeden had me punished by the sunlight already. No scrapes or scratches would make a difference in my appearance.

  Above me I knew would be the final resting place of Finnegan. Above me in the gravel pit she would meet her death. I wanted to be the one to deliver the deadly blow to her.

  That was the point of my children. To create enough of a diversion to keep the others busy while I rid the world of that horrendous girl.

  I felt the smile creeping across my face again.

  I knew exactly how a monster like Finnegan was supposed to be killed. I would take my time though. I would drag her out of the gravel pit and bring her back down here. I would move this boulder to the other side of the catacombs where the iron door stood. I would set it firmly against it to make getting in here an almost impossible feat.

  First I would make her beg for her life. I would make her give me reasons to spare her then I would laugh at each one.

  Secondly I’d start tearing her limbs off of her body. It sounded like it would be a difficult thing to do, but after having dragged her through the pit and down into the depths, she would be badly bruised an
d injured. She wouldn’t be able to put up a fight.

  Lastly, I would take her torso back up into the battleground. I would make sure that Kaeden saw what I was doing. I would make sure that everyone saw what I had done to her. Then when I was sure I had everyone’s attention, I would rip her head from her body and crush her skull in between my hands.

  It would be a glorious win. One I'd gloat over for as long as anyone would listen. The great Finnegan Sloane silenced by my hands. I wasn't exactly sure what was so special about her that made all of them trip all over themselves anyway.

  Maybe it was because she was the first female monster of her kind? Certainly not the last, I thought smiling as I heard my children howling.

  Of course there was another. No one knew who the other was but me. I saw her with my own eyes. I couldn't wait to see the look on Finnegan's face when she saw that she was walking into something completely unexpected.

  Naturally, I'd let the other give her speech. I'd let her tell Finnegan all the reasons she wasn't as special as she thought she was. As special as everyone else made her feel.

  Always the victim, Finnegan. Never the evil doer.

  That was a lie. I knew it was a lie, but I was going to make sure she was the victim she liked to pretend she was.

  I opened my eyes and looked around the ground. I found a small twig and I grabbed it. Crouching down, I started to think of a strategy.

  I'd have to find a way to keep my children quiet long enough to surprise her. I suddenly remembered Drake. Didn't he have some kind of multiplying ability?

  Maybe I'd let them loose on him.

  He probably still trusted me enough to let me lure him down here. Unless of course he too had fallen under that damn girl's spell.

  Spell.

  Ah yes, the gypsies. They should be easy enough to dispose of. After all, they're only human. So pathetic to bring humans into this fight between the eternal. So pathetic of them to bring themselves into it. As if they had an actual chance of beating any of us.

  The rest of the gypsies would be so heartbroken when their king was sent back to them in pieces. I wonder what a gypsy burial looked like. I'd have to be sure to stop in and see.

  I crouched there for a moment trying so hard to remember everyone involved. I was almost certain everyone had forgotten about Brian, so that would definitely be in my advantage.

  I drew a large circle in the dirt.

  In the middle I set Finnegan and myself. Surrounding the circle would be my children. No one was going to get out if I didn't want them too.

  Hm... unless...

  Maybe luring Drake down here wouldn't be such a good idea.

  I think I'll let the kids have him. They've never feasted on a vampire before. I wonder what it will do to them.

  I felt that same sinister smile I seemed to smile lately spread across my face. Even though they were my children, I didn't care if Drake and his clones dispensed of them. Most of them anyway.

  If anyone hurt my favorite creation, I'd make them wish they had never been born. If he died I wouldn't be able to replace him. I don't think my heart would be able to take the break of losing another man that I cared about.

  Without realizing it, I had drawn the entire battle. I had all the key players that I could remember, and I noticed that I put my favorite creation on the field of war.

  I scratched him out. He would have to stay here until everything was done.

  I called out to him, my voice echoing on the catacomb walls. I heard the scurry of his footsteps as he approached me. Without as much as an upward glance at him, I told him the entire story.

  Why I was so hell bent on ending Finnegan and why they had been created. I also explained to him that he was not to leave the catacombs when the end was upon us. At first he tried to argue with me, but the sharp look I gave him silenced him.

  Angrily he hung his head and jammed his hands into his pockets. I had to fight to suppress my smile.

  He wanted to fight.

  He wanted to be part of the action.

  But I wasn't sure if he wanted to fight for the right reasons.

  All the same, he was to stay. He was too valuable to me to be injured or killed. I wouldn't allow it. That was a decision he was going to have to live with.

  “This isn't up for discussion,” I said to silence him.

  I saw his shadow get larger as he stepped closer to take a look at the strategy I had lain out before myself. Reaching over, he grabbed the twig from me and scratched out some positions.

  Asking me what every enemy’s skill was, he proceeded to make adjustments to what I had done. I sat there quietly watching all of his rearrangements. When he was done I looked up at him and asked him why he had done it and what he thought the advantage would be now.

  When he told me everything he had thought of, I grinned. He was obviously an amazing choice and I was glad I had turned him. Even though the taste of biting into a newly formed corpse made me gag over and over, I was happy that I was able to push through it.

  After all, he was the last one that I had finished turning.

  I cringed thinking about it.

  I had run off to keep them from seeing me throwing up. It was a horrendous taste but I knew through each bite that it would be worth it in the end. And it definitely was.

  I had a brood of grateful children who were ready to kill indiscriminately at my command and not even know why.

  It was good to be a leader. Regardless of what the underlying purpose is.

  I studied the plans drawn out before me. I waved my hand to get him to leave.

  Sighing, he dropped the twig back into the dirt and left.

  Every new adjustment, no matter how subtle he made it, was perfect. This was going to be the final plan. I knew it. And it would work.

  Standing, I used my foot to shift the dirt back and forth. I walked back to where the children were bickering and whimpering and continued past them. When I reached the iron door, they all froze. The silence was absolutely beautiful.

  They knew what I intended to do and they were all terrified.

  Good.

  With one shove, I let the door fly open and the moonlight poured in. They all stepped out and looked around curiously. I yelled to them to stay quiet and in a single file. I was going to have order.

  After the last one filed out of the underground hell we had been stuck in, I told them to go up into the gravel pit.

  I led the way, the children scampering behind me eagerly. They must've thought that there would be food waiting for them, but I intended to starve them until the fight. That would make them ravenous killers.

  I beckoned my youngest to me. “You know the dangers. You know the skills we are up against. Make them engage each other but kill none,” I said in a ruthless tone.

  He nodded and had them line up into two separate sides. I turned and ran up the side of the pit up to the ledge to oversee the mock battles. This would tell me who was worthy of the fight and who would surely die. Those would be the ones I would send in first.

  I watched the skirmish as it broke out. I didn't expect it to be so coordinated. Each child waited patiently for their turn. Each one was cunning and fast as hell.

  My youngest made me proud. It looks like he had inherited quite the ability. He was able to mimic everything that the others were doing with perfect precision. It made him impossible to defeat.

  I felt a hand firmly grip my shoulder. I glanced out of my peripheral vision and saw Brian standing there. I smiled viciously and turned my attention back to my children fighting each other with such barbarous brutality.

  No. Not my children.

  Our children.

  Part V

  Ryker

  25. Embrace

  (Day 26)

  In the past few nights that I had been turned into a monster, I was struggling with my hunger. Tonight though, I woke up with such an insatiable thirst for marrow that I didn't know if I would be able to control myself.

 
Of course Remy stood guard at the door as usual. During the day she had locked the doors from the outside and whenever I tried to pull the door open, I would hear her crack her whip in warning.

  I didn't know why she did it really.

  I assumed it was to keep me away from my people.

  It almost seemed like she didn't trust me to roam freely among them anymore.

  I didn't blame her to be honest. I couldn't blame her. I almost didn't trust myself at times. Especially when I would sit on the front steps of my home; that was the furthest she would let me go. I would smell the sweet scent of the marrow of my people and at times, she would have to force me back inside.

  I fed of course. But only on the animals that she would bring me. She would not let me taste the marrow of a human, assuming it would turn me into a frenzied monster.

  I had already embraced the monster inside of me, while Remy still wrestled with it. Eventually I hoped, she would come to terms with what I was and trust me as she trusts Finnegan.

  I knew it would be hard to gain her trust, but my people still loved and trusted me, why couldn't my own sister do the same?

  That made me wonder about Cody and Phoebe. Their situation was different because they were the same. The one thing driving them apart was the one thing we were all banded together to save.

  I rolled over on my bed and held my arms tightly around myself. I had no personal stake in this. I had everything to lose and nothing to gain. I felt that I had to help because I let Skiles take the other girl. I told Finnegan I would protect Paige, and I failed. I had to prove myself to her.

  My stomach rumbled deeply and I took a deep breath to steel myself against the hunger.

  The vampire Kaeden. He was willing to help Finnegan because he knew he would have to dispose of the burned one. She was so crazed I wondered how he was going to handle it. Crazed because of her distress over his dismissing her for Finnegan.

  I smiled.

  Finnegan seemed to be causing a lot of trouble for herself. No wonder she wanted our help. Well, not wanted more so than needed.

  I wonder what Finnegan will say when she sees who at the gravel pit.