The Monsters Did It

Sensitive Content Warning: Implication of parental death (not shown directly in story, but talked about).

Ten- year-old Venetia Johnson smiled to herself as she skipped towards the school. She looked over at the lake. It was such a pretty lake and was one of the reasons why Venetia wanted to be a marine biologist when she grew up. She wanted to stop, but her older sister, Emmeline, grabbed her shoulder and kept her walking. 

“We have to get to school, Tia. We are running late as it is. Keep walking,” Emmy said. 

“Fine,” Venetia huffed as she stomped her feet. 

They were almost to the school when Venetia gasped and stopped, causing her sister to bump into her. Emmy stopped and started to get mad at Venetia when she saw what was causing her sister’s fear. 

The water in the lake had started to disappear in a giant whirlpool. They froze, just watching as the water disappeared from view. Neither could move, but they knew they had to. They had to get home or to the school before the monsters came back. Somewhere safe, it really did not matter where. 

“Come on Tia,” Emmeline called out, dragging her sister behind her. Emmeline may have only been fifteen, but she was quite strong. Her father always said she was as strong as an ox. Now she had to put her strength to good use. 

“I will carry you if I need to,” Emmeline threatened. Venetia straightened out at the threat and ran alongside her sister. 

They made it back to their home before they heard the first call. One of the monsters had found its first prey. The screams of the monsters were spine-chilling and often gave Venetia nightmares.

Venetia stood near her sister while Emmeline unlocked the door. She pushed it open and shoved Tia inside. She quickly followed and pulled the door shut. They stood, quietly. 

“Girls? Is that you?” their mother, Charlotte, asked. She walked to the mudroom and looked at the frightened faces of her daughters. 

“Is everything okay?” she asked, pulling them both into a hug. They shook their heads before Venetia started to cry. 

“What’s wrong?” Robbie, their brother asked. His voice was hoarse. He was still getting over the flu.  

“I don’t know. They just walked in here and started crying,” Charlotte said, hugging them harder when Emmeline started crying too. 

“They’re back. We were almost to the school when we saw the lake disappearing,” Emmeline said after she had gotten her tears under control. 

Charlotte’s brows furrowed and she moved her children into the living room. She sent Robbie to all of the rooms. They had to turn the lights off or else the monsters would be onto them. 

“Get your father, Jade,” Charlotte instructed her seventeen year old daughter. She nodded her head before running out to the barn. 

“It’s okay. We’ll survive. We always do,” Charlotte crooned, pushing Venetia’s hair out of her face. “Go get your coats.”

Both Emmeline and Venetia ran out of the room, still feeling scared, but having a tad more confidence than she did a few minutes before. They gathered all of the coats in the closet. 

Venetia could hear her father’s low voice coming from the living room. She smiled at him when she handed him his coat. She put hers on before running back to where her sisters sat. Robbie came and stood near them. 

“Okay, guys. You are aware of our situation and what to do. We can’t get outside of the gates, so we will have to focus on surviving in our house,” Henry said. They all nodded seriously. 

“Emmeline and Jade will help me put the tin foil up in our windows and you two will help your mom get our food and water put up in the basement,” he said, looking at his children. 

“Okay, let’s get going. Sooner or later, they’re going to be here and we have plenty of tasks to get done in the meantime.” He stood up and gave each of his children a hug. 

“Why do you think they’re back early?” Robbie asked his mom. She shrugged her shoulders. No one knew why they did what they did. Scientists had tried to, but they had been unable to crack the screams that was evidently their language. The government quickly pulled out and put a fence around the town and lake. Now no one cared to find out why, they were just focused on surviving from one attack to another. 

The kitchen went silent as everyone focused on the tasks in front of them and on their own thoughts. Venetia imagined what life on Mars was like. Would it be like the monsters that terrorized her town or something else. She hoped to find out someday. 

“Can you hand me those pots, Tia?” Charlotte asked, pointing to the cabinet near her right leg. Venetia turned around and reached into the cabinet. She grabbed every pot she could find and set them on the counter. Robbie started filling them up with water and taking them to the containers in the basement. 

Venetia watched as the water stream slowed and stopped. Nothing else came out. She shut it off and took the last pot down to the basement. The monsters were starting their plan. They had not fully recovered from the last drought that had devastated their town and the surrounding land. The land would be in a severe drought for at least a year. 

It took several hours before everything was set in place. Now they had to get a few of their favorite items and settle down in the basement. Venetia grabbed her favorite books and a few card games. Then she ran down to the basement. 

“Is everyone here?” Charlotte asked, counting each person in front of her. She nodded to herself when she saw that they all were there. She sat back, a sigh of relief slipping from her lips. 

“Does anyone want to play UNO with me?” Venetia asked, holding up the deck of cards. 

“Sure. That sounds like fun,” Robbie said, walking over to Venetia’s bed. They sat on it, playing round after round, until their parents said it was time for bed. 

Henry turned the lights out, listening to make sure the monsters were not above them. Hearing nothing, he went back to his bed and laid down. He could feel his wife on one side and the children in their beds on the other. He said a silent prayer for the families and victims of today’s attacks and said a second prayer for protection. He did not want to lose his children or his wife. He did not believe he would survive if he did.

Venetia awoke the next morning, feeling excited. She felt a small smile come to her face before she realized where she was. The basement was still as dreary as she remembered it. She lay there, wide awake, careful not to wake anyone else up. 

“Are you awake, Venetia?” Robbie asked, turning on his side to face her. She looked at him and nodded. 

“What should we do today?” she asked, sitting up in her bed. 

He shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the stack of games. He looked over at their sleeping sisters and mother. Their dad was nowhere to be seen. He started to feel an inkling of fear, but pushed it back down. He may only be two years older than Venetia, but he still needed to protect her. 

“Where’s Dad?” Venetia asked, walking over to their mom. 

“Don’t wake her up,” Robbie whispered, trying to grab onto Venetia’s arm before she could wake their mother. He missed. 

“Mom? Are you awake? Dad is gone and I was wondering if you knew where he was,” Venetia whispered. Her mom’s eyes opened and she sat up. She looked around. Both Jade and Emmeline were awake now too. 

“Stay down here. Don’t come up, no matter what,” their mom whispered. All four nodded hesitantly before giving her a huge hug. They all tried to take their minds off of the disappearances of their parents. 

The hours turned into days and then weeks, until eventually, a month had gone by and there was still no sign of their parents. They all dutifully waited for their parents, hoping each day would be the day that they saw them again. 

Five weeks later, a knock sounded above. Jade pushed her younger siblings behind her before grabbing a weapon. She held it ready, just in case. 

“It’s Ronan Smith. Are you guys okay down there?” a voice called out. 

They sighed a breath of relief. Ronan was their dad’s best friend as well as their neighbor. Jade quickly pushed the door open. 

“We’re okay, but we do not know where our parents are,” Jade replied. Ronan nodded his head and motioned for us to follow him out of the basement. 

“Your parents are gone,” Ronan said, after he had gotten them settled in their living room. “We can’t find them, but we don’t believe they’re alive anymore.”

Jade, Emmeline, and Robbie let out a gasp. They looked at each other before they started crying. Ronan walked over to them and put his arms around the siblings. 

“Get some of your stuff. We need to head back to my place. The monsters are gone, but we don’t want to be outside too long.” He stood up and watched as they all took off to their rooms. 

Venetia started to cry, but stopped quickly. She felt an all consuming anger come in its place instead. It scared her, but she also welcomed it. They would all pay. As sure as her name was Venetia Elizabeth Johnson, the monsters would pay.