Monster

The sun was setting, and the shadows were starting to consume the city. It was just after dusk when I left the disintegrating factory and descended into the tunnels beneath the streets. It didn’t take me long as I navigated through the interconnecting branches of tunnels to arrive at the Smith house. I did a little research with one of Emily Smith’s flyers and a phone book to find an address under her father’s name. Even that was tough. Phone books are hard to come by in this day and age.

Expertly navigating the subterranean tunnels, I found myself only a few blocks from where I needed to be once I breached the surface. Only a minute or so more of rushing through the shadows, I was standing on their front porch with their daughter’s crucifix in hand. It was the only thing salvageable from this horrific tragedy. There was nothing else left I could do. I thought that if I returned it, then maybe they would think they just overlooked it. They would think it was safe and sound inside of their home the whole time. I thought it would help them after everything that happened. An anchor to cling to while they struggled in their anguish.

Lights were on inside the house, and people were awake, making noises and shuffling across the floors. I moved like a ghost when I wanted to, so I never feared being caught. I stalked around the edge of the house, looking for an entry point. At the very top floor of the three-story house, was a window that was barely ajar. I listened carefully, hearing all of the movement, voices, and heartbeats pulse through the house. No one strayed to the third floor. I took two steps back and then quickly pounced silently up the wall. I lodged myself against the window frame and the wall as I silently slid it open, and then slipped in undetected.

The room was low lit, warm, and smelled of apple cinnamon. I didn’t want to leave. The smell reminded me of a class I had in high school. The teacher’s classroom seemed to appear around me as I took it in, a reminder of a previous life, a simpler life. The fantasy faded just as quickly as it had appeared.

It was her bedroom, Emily’s. Pictures of her posing with her family and friends littered the room. It looked like they had left it untouched since she vanished; in hopes that she would return like nothing had happened. More likely, I figured that they couldn’t face the reality that would strike them once going into their daughter’s room. A place she would never be again. There were no fresh scents present, so I knew they were avoiding this room and the memories.

On the side of the third-floor bedroom was a desk with all kinds of junk strewn across it. A messy table was the perfect spot to misplace a small personal item. It wouldn’t even draw attention, especially with no one coming into the purposefully avoided room. They might just believe that she had taken it off before she had left for the very last time.

It was possible.

The house oozed with grief and anguish. It was palpable, hanging in the air, even in a vacant room. I could feel the loss even in the silence. Their pain flowed into me, raising my own hurt from deep below. The loss of my own life, my wife, and my family… all the things I would miss. Those things I had isolated myself from, for the sake of the ones I loved.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and buried them deep where they belonged.

I moved some papers that layered the top of her desk, and then placed the necklace underneath them. Once I buried the cross in her work, I made sure I didn’t disturb anything else in the room. No evidence. Then, I left her room like I was never there. Like a wraith, I descended from the room and down to the earth below without a sound.

As quickly as I had jumped inside, I was back out on a small sidewalk, adjacent to the row of houses. I stayed clear of the streetlights until I was about a mile away. Couldn’t be too cautious.

For me, this story was complete. The ending was horrible, but it was finished.

I walked deliberately through town, lost in thought. I was having a hard time shaking the feeling that came up in Emily’s room. I usually excelled at keeping myself together, but not this time. Emily struck a nerve with me somehow.

I was taking everything in, watching the cars, the lights, the people, in hopes of being distracted long enough until I could force it all to back down.

It was always a lot easier to be around people in the first couple of days after a kill, so I was feeling good enough to stay topside for a while. I didn’t crave the kill, or want to rip my claws through someone’s chest, almost at all. I tried to blend in, smile, and nod as I passed people, but common courtesy seemed to be lost on a lot of the citizens I met in the evening hours.

I paced the darkened sidewalks of St. Louis for a while. I passed people that hurried along away from me, avoided eye contact, or just gave curt nods.

I had a guy tell me to, “Fuck off,” once. Then I didn’t care how recently I had killed someone. The monster wanted to be let loose, and it wanted to rip his throat out. I kept it together, though.

This was getting to be routine for me; walking through town, exploring, looking for possibilities, a new target. It was second nature now.

I had to be as prepared as possible. When the time came, and I had to kill someone, it had to be someone that fit the bill.

This had been my life for the past two years. Ever since I became the monster. I had to be careful; watch how many I killed in one area. Although, when killers, rapists, and gangbangers went missing, not too many people noticed or cared. Mostly it would look like an animal attack, or I would take them deep into the wooded area on the outskirts of the city and let the animal’s feast. Then I didn’t have to make it look that way. But still, too much death concentrated in one area would surely draw attention, even if it was dubbed an animal attack.

I was close to the river, slowly making my way back to my hideout when I heard the shatter of glass. I stopped walking and gazed in the direction of where it had come from. Everything was silent after the shards of glass settled.

I paced through the dark, closing in on the location where I knew it had originated. As I got closer, I began to hear footsteps, whispering, and a sort of hissing. Or maybe it was more like a raspy exhale.

It was strange. I had a weird feeling that was only boosted by what I smelled. I smelled blood, everywhere. It wasn’t like someone was bleeding out, but more like many different sources of blood all pooling together. I had never experienced it before. It was strange… and powerful.

I jumped a chain-link fence and came into a paved opening behind a large white building. No cars in sight, just an empty, wet, loading area. The place had to be some kind of storage location, like a warehouse or distribution center for a local company. Many eighteen-wheeler loading bays lined the outer wall on the backside where I approached.

No one was in the immediate area, but the footsteps and whispers grew louder and louder. Then a new metallic clicking started sounding. The scent of all the mixed blood flooded my senses. Something I had never experienced was happening. I could sense it but not see it. I wasn’t afraid, just more curious. Fear never crossed my mind anymore. At least, not for myself.

Then, in a series of rushes, people started appearing about ten feet in front of me. There were three of them, two men and a woman. They moved fast, but I could see them as soon as they left the cover of a bay door on the back side of the building. They ripped across the wet pavement with incredible speed. I watched the grins on their faces widen as they sped to me, thinking I was unaware. I could have reached out and touched them if I wanted.

“What do we have tonight?” the man in the middle asked.

He eyed me, unamused like this was all monotonous to him. He was slightly shorter than me, not by much, about six feet tall probably. He was bald, nothing but skin shone on top of his head, and his eyes looked tired. The more I focused on his eyes, the stranger they looked.

“Just a lone wanderer, it seems. How… fortunate. I really was in no mood to chase anyone,” the woman beside him said.

She had short black hair, looked to be in good shape, and was actually pretty attractive. But I wouldn’t give her too much credit, because almost any woman looked good to me now. I hadn’t been with a woman in two years. Not since I had turned into this. It was one of the things I wanted almost as much as the kill itself. Especially right after, when the urge to end lives was at its weakest. I was still a man… at least partly.

The last man just stood in silence, grinning.

I never said anything. I didn’t even really think about what they were saying. I was too fixed on the strange oddities that all three of them shared. I examined them all, comparing each one to the other. Their eyes were the most bizarre. They almost looked like they were bleeding. The iris was like a magnet, pulling blood into it to color them a deep crimson, leaving the whites of their eyes severely bloodshot. The smell was overwhelming up close. It smelled like dozens of people were standing in front of me, not three. It was… unusual. I had never experienced anything like this in the past two years. But the speed, that was the kicker.

“You smell funny, boy,” the bald one accused.

He could smell me across the distance between us.

I looked at him, cocking my head to the side, realizing that they were like me. Well, not like me, but different. They were something… definitely something: fast, stealthy, and strange. They might have answers for me. The thing I craved almost as much as the monster craved death. I needed to figure out what I had become. What if they could help me?

I could still hear the clicking of metal around us somewhere, along with the whispering. Was there more than just three?

“Aren’t you scared?” the woman asked with an accent I just picked up. She sounded like she might be British or something. She looked interested.

I wasn’t. What could they do to me? I had already tried everything I could think of to kill myself. If they could somehow kill me and end my horrifying existence, I’d welcome it.

“No,” I said truthfully.

They all looked shocked. This wasn’t a part of their usual game. They exchanged glances amongst themselves for a quick second, baffled by my lack of fear or increased heart rate.

The woman’s reaction was instantaneous, a storm of fury crashing across her features. Her initial, calm demeanor shattered into a vicious snarl, the sudden transformation almost palpable in the charged air. Her eyes, once a muted shade, began to flare with an intense, searing red. It was as though her anger ignited a fire within her gaze, the flames of her wrath almost visible in their intensity.

Her face, still a moment before, now twisted with a predatory hunger. The change was horrifyingly swift and dramatic: her canines, once ordinary teeth, elongated grotesquely, extending into sharp, menacing fangs. The transformation was stark, a physical manifestation of her primal rage.

In that moment of chaos, something within me stirred. It was an unexpected relief. My burden, which had been a lead weight in my mind, lightened. Here were others like me, existing in the shadowy corners of this forsaken secret world. They weren’t exactly like me, but they were like me. The realization that I was not alone in this desolate realm filled me with a potent mixture of hope and desperation for answers.

A smile began to form on my lips, a hesitant, almost incredulous curve that spoke volumes. The very notion that others might understand the hell I endured, that they might offer a semblance of companionship or answers, soothed my tortured soul. The thought of finding someone who could share my burden, who might have knowledge or assistance to offer, was a flicker of light in the consuming darkness. I needed help. I needed answers. They could be the key to unraveling the mysteries that tormented me, or at the very least, they might make this hellish existence a bit more bearable.

Then it hit me, they were about to kill me. Well, at least that’s what they thought was going to happen. How many people had they done this to before? How many would they do this too again if I let them live?

They thought I was just some random person who wandered into their trap. They had no idea about the monster. No clue of what lived just beneath the surface, waiting for another chance to kill. No matter what I thought these people could be, or tell me, it didn’t matter anymore. Not as I felt the beast rising prematurely. They wouldn’t walk out of this parking lot alive.

I started stepping forward, advancing toward her. They all looked utterly taken by surprise. The two men matched the woman and bared large fangs after their eyes pulsed stronger with blood.

It didn’t change my mind. I knew I would kill them. I continued forward, ready to change. To show these creatures what a real monster looks like.

The whispers got louder for a second. I heard someone in the shadows say, “Now!”

There was a quick snap of metal on metal, and then I could tell something was flying above us. The three creatures in front of me all looked up, eyes wide.

“No,” the bald man yelled. “Close…” he was interrupted.

There was an explosion, like a flashbang, and everything went white. I couldn’t hear or see anything. It was a strange feeling, almost peaceful. I knelt on one knee and waited for it to end. The ringing dulled as time passed, and the fog that the flash had seared into my eyes started to clear. Once my vision came back to me, the ringing had begun to disappear entirely.

As my vision cleared, three men emerged from the murky haze, charging forward with precision. They were a formidable trio, each a striking figure.

The first man, tall and lean, moved with fluid sure motions. His light, closely cropped hair was streaked with gray, hinting at experience and hardship. His eyes, sharp and calculating, flicked between the three creatures with an intensity that suggested a deep familiarity with danger. His attire was practical and worn, a black tactical vest over a fitted shirt, and a weathered leather jacket hanging from his shoulders. His boots thudded rhythmically against the ground, echoing his disciplined approach.

Beside him, the second man was built like a wall of muscle that had a layer of fat surrounding it. He looked like an old-school powerlifter, strong as shit but not chiseled like some new age body builder. His face was a rough map of scars, each line telling a story of past conflicts. He had a rugged, unshaven look, and his eyes were a steely blue, reflecting a readiness for violence. He had reddish-brown hair that had grown out and was cut in a strange almost mullet-like style that seemed kind of ironic. He wielded a large machete with effortless strength, his movements spoke of a confidence born from countless engagements like this. His heavy leather jacket creaked with every powerful step he took, emphasizing his sheer physical presence. Him and the first guy had similar features that made me think they were related.

The third man was the most agile of the group, his movements a blur of efficiency. He was leaner, with a wiry strength that allowed him to dart and weave with remarkable speed. His hair was dark and short, and his eyes were a sharp green, glinting with a mischievous edge. He wore a lighter, more flexible combat outfit, suited for rapid maneuvers and quick reactions. He seemed different from the other two.

Together, they moved as one cohesive unit, each man’s movements seamlessly complementing the others. Their synchronized assault was a testament to their training and experience. They focused intently on the three creatures, who were beginning to stir and regain their senses, their growing awareness only adding to the tension of the moment.

Everything that happened, happened very quickly. The man in the middle attacked first. He pulled a large knife from a sheath on his belt and thrust it straight into the chest of the fanged woman. Screeches and gasps flew from her as she thrashed and fell to the ground. She swiped at them on her way down, but there was no strength behind the attacks. It was a last dying thought. Suddenly, she froze like a statue, dead.

As soon as the woman went down, the other two fanged creatures started to fight back. The bald man flashed in front of the lead human, who had just killed his friend, and shoved him clear across the lot. The blood-covered blade fell from his hand as he left the ground. It rested only a few feet from me. It looked strange, covered in twisting symbols.

The silent one sped forward and took on the two men left standing. He was fast, but I could track his movements as quickly as I could track these humans. He slashed at the bigger, red-haired hunter’s chest with sharp claws that I had not seen until that point. They were nothing compared to mine, but still, they looked sharp. The big guy stumbled back, unscathed, save a few shreds that fell away from whatever kind of protective vest he was wearing. He seemed strong but too slow to react to this creature’s speed, even though it was slower than earlier. Before they could react, the creature ran towards the last hunter and began a flurry of swipes.

This last man was quick. He pulled a longer blade, a machete made of the similarly strange-looking design, from behind his back. He swung it with perfect timing and met the attacking creature’s flailing, clawed arm. It stopped the attack and sent him reeling in pain. He hissed and screamed as his arm lay separate on the ground, completely severed from the rest of his body. He cowered down and rushed towards the building, trailing blood the entire way and then hiding behind a small concrete barrier to regroup.

The bald man was the last active fighter of the three inhuman creatures. He could see that they had been beaten, so he stopped his forward march toward the first human attacker. The retreat was in his eyes. If he decided to run, the men wouldn’t be able to catch him. He was too fast for them. I had already decided that they weren’t leaving alive.

I couldn’t transform in front of the humans. That would leave witnesses to my existence. This was another rule I had made for myself. I only changed when the people that would see were going to die. No one had ever seen my monstrous form and lived to tell anyone, and I planned to keep it that way. I couldn’t kill these humans. I knew nothing about them. So, I would do it their way.

I jumped forward and picked up the metal blade near my feet. I lunged forward and stepped into the fleeing creature. I plunged the shiny knife into this strange being’s chest, right into his heart. The bald man looked into my eyes, confused. He could feel my strength, holding him in place like a vice grip. The hunters couldn’t see my face at this point, so when I spoke to the dying monster, they wouldn’t be able to see.

“What…?” the man-beast couldn’t understand what was happening. He thought I was human.

I sent a pulse into my own eyes, the beginning of my personal transformation, turning them completely black.

He looked scared, confused like he had a question for me.

“Do you know what I am?” I asked as low as possible. Really trying to convey that it was an actual question.

He didn’t answer. He looked like he was staring through me. Sifting through every thought and memory he had ever had, trying to figure out what he was seeing. I twisted the blade that was resting in his chest cavity, slicing into more flesh and organs. He coughed blood out of his throat.

“What am I?” I asked again, angry at his inability to answer. I suddenly thought I was so close to getting an answer that I had already accepted there was none for.

He was trying to form words and speak, but all his strength was being sapped by the blade. Blood flowed freely out of his mouth as he spoke his last words, “What are…”

He was dead. He took the same stillness that the woman had. I pulled the knife from his chest, and he fell back onto the pavement. The monster inside welcomed the death, satisfied for a while longer.

The red-haired hunter was up the trail of blood, machete in hand, finishing off the one-armed monster that hid in the shadows. I could hear the swing of the blade, the cleaving of flesh, and then the spatter of blood as the machete slung the red substance with every motion. It was like a butcher slaughtering a pig. His heavy swipes and cleaves thudding with a wet sound across the area.

Footsteps were approaching. The two other hunters came to stand beside me, unsure of my awareness of what had happened.

“Are you alright?” The leader of the three asked. At least he seemed like he was the one in charge. It looked like the others were taking his lead in the beginning.

“Yes…” was all I could say. I had too many questions flying through my head.

“A little shaken? That’s alright, most of us were when we first saw one,” he said. “I’m Carter. Carter Chasse.” He reached out to shake my hand. Something I hadn’t done in a very long time.

“Sam,” I said, reaching out to shake. After I shook Carter’s hand, I met the other.

“Wayland Porter,” the green-eyed man greeted.

I gathered my thoughts and attempted to get some answers since they seemed to be grateful for my help.

I tried to act like a human would. “Look, I appreciate you guys saving my ass, but what the fuck was that?” I asked, putting on my best act. I hoped I could play the part of the helpless average Joe. “What were they?”

They both looked at each other, probably trying to brace themselves for a reaction they had probably seen many times.

Just then, the third man, the red-haired hunter, lumbered over to us in slight exhaustion. He was out of breath, a little heavier than the other two obviously. He looked like he was laughing to himself about something when he walked up.

“Damn, guy! You stuck that sum-bitch in the chest like you meant it,” he said, looking back to the bald one I killed. “Right in the heart too. He ain’t getting’ back up,” he laughed, kicking the dead body.

“What were they?” I asked again, looking at the dead things in front of us.

Carter adjusted himself, preparing to explain, “They were vampires.”

“What?” There was no way.

Vampires… were real? Two years ago, I might have had a different reaction, but now it was almost expected. I knew that there had to be other things out there. I mean, there had to be… right? Even still, it was strange to find out this hidden truth about the world.

I replayed the entire situation over and over in my head. Things began to add up. The blood infused eyes, the speed at which they moved through the shadows, and the smell. All of the different blood that confused my senses. The only things I knew of vampires were what I saw in movies or read from books. To see one in real life, even for me, was unsettling. How had it taken me two years to find one? It was like they didn’t exist until now.

“How is that possible?” I asked.

“It’s a lot to explain, but,” he paused, looking at the other two men, “first, we need to clean up and get out of here. There may be others near, or on their way, and we aren’t equipped for more of them.”

Wayland set off towards the woman and began dragging her body into the brush beside the lot.

The red-haired man stuck out his hand, “Francis Chasse, but you can call me Frank.” He smiled, very friendly. “I’ve never seen anyone ready to fight three vampires by themselves before. You got some balls, kid,” he laughed.

He’d also never seen what would have happened if they hadn’t interrupted.

“Good thing you guys showed up. I don’t know how long I would have lasted by myself,” I acted the part, scared of what could have happened. I smiled on the inside.

Carter nodded in the direction of the vampire that Frank had killed behind the barrier. Frank nodded and walked back towards the body. Carter turned back to me with a look of question.

“You killed that vampire easily. I’ve never seen that before, not like that…” he shook his head. “Fighting these things takes training,” he said.

I shrugged, “I got lucky. Besides, I still think he was stunned by that explosion. I know I am.”

“Silver bomb,” he said. “It blinds them first, then poisons them and makes them slower, weaker. Then we can fight them.”

Silver bomb… I wondered what kind of effect it had on me. Whatever it did to them didn’t really seem to have an impact on me. I felt one hundred percent in my prime.

He reached towards me and took the blood-stained knife from my hand, “This is a silver blade. They can’t even hold it. It’ll poison and slow them down if you can cut them with it, or kill them if you get the heart. You were dead-on,” he said, looking towards the dead vampire at our feet.

“Is that the only way to kill one?”

He motioned for me to grab the vampire’s feet while he grabbed the collar of his jacket. I followed his lead as we carried the bodies into the thick brush, just outside of the back lot.

“Sunlight works the best. I’m sure you knew that one. Legends got that part right,” Carter smirked at some passing thought. “We move the bodies somewhere out of sight, and then when the sun comes up, it burns away any evidence, body and all.”

Just then, Frank tossed the body of the smaller, quieter male vampire off his shoulder on top of the female. It didn’t have its head.

“Cutting their heads off seems to work pretty good too,” he said as he tossed the head into the pile of bodies. “But I got him in the heart afterward, just in case.”

Carter was serious, “Hunters are hard to come by, and not many have the mental strength to fight the things that are out there,” he motioned towards the shadowy woods, “in the dark. We could use you,” he said.

I thought about it for a second. I actually thought about it. There were so many possibilities.

Should I put myself close to humans, close enough to possibly do them harm? It was a chance to learn more about the world that I knew so little about. It was a tough choice. I needed to learn more, I wanted to figure out what I was. I could always disappear if things got too hard or complicated. I just couldn’t let them too close, no matter how recently I had killed, or how good I felt. I could never forget what I was, what lurked just beneath the surface, waiting to feed… to kill. Or could I?

“No pressure. We all know that this is a lot to take in, the world not being what you thought it was. If you want to learn more about them,” he waved towards the vampires, “or more about my family and the things we hunt… we can teach you,” Carter offered.

I nodded, accepting his invitation, for the moment at least.

“Well, alright,” Frank laughed and patted my shoulder. “Let’s get back.”

“You can come with us back to the house. We’ll try to explain as much as we can,” Carter said.

“Alright,” I agreed.

Carter nodded, “My car is this way if you want to ride with us, or do you have a vehicle around here somewhere?”

Shit. How was I going to cover this with a lie? I didn’t have a car, and why would I be out here in the first place.

Then I decided I wouldn’t lie, “No, I was just out walking, trying to clear my head.”

“You can ride with us then. We can get something to eat, have a drink, and talk. Then I can take you back to wherever you need to go,” he offered.

“Sounds good,” I agreed.

Dinner. I hadn’t sat down for dinner with anyone in forever. Actually, it was… that night. That last night with my family… I quickly forced the memories back down. I couldn’t slip. Not in front of humans.

We walked out of the area where we piled the bodies, crossing over to the other side of the warehouse. There, parked by itself, was a large black Suburban that was so blacked out that it melded with the shadows in the dark. We stopped at the back door, and Carter popped it open with the remote. They all unloaded their weapons. Carter had a sleek black handgun that he pulled out from behind his waist. They all threw their gear in the back, cleaned themselves up, and then we all piled in.

We pulled out of the lot and onto the road. The feeling of the street beneath us brought back so many memories. I hadn’t been in a moving vehicle for a very long time.

I hadn’t spent this much time with anyone since before I was turned into this… thing. I tried to justify going along with all of this in my mind. I was weighing all the pros and cons as we drove. But I knew deep down the real reason I went with them. I was lonely. I had tasted enough of this secluded life, and I wanted to belong. I wanted to have friends again.

In the back of the Suburban, in the quiet of the night, memories broke out.