Real World Monsters

Sharp stones stab her feet as she runs. She doesn't stop to pluck the rock chunks out of her feet. She just keeps running. She can’t stop if she does, she dies. Her hot tears stream down her face. She looks behind her long enough to see the dark huge shape coming through the trees. She stifles a sob as best as she could but kept running. Finally, she sees the road ahead of her. The monster behind her is catching up to her. The adrenaline is keeping the exhaustion and pain at bay but if she calms down she’ll pass out. She can’t resist another look behind her. She immediately regrets that the monster is a few leaps behind her. Its red eyes are wide with fury. It lets out a howl that shakes the top of the trees. The monster's black, long, wide-body chases after her. It leaps at her but in that split second luck causes her to trip and fall. The monster flies over her head and lands with a grunt in front of her. It pulls itself up. 

“Jessica.” Its voice is something that comes out of her worst nightmares. “Come back home with me and Mommy.” Jessica shivers in fear. She starts backing up. The monster follows her. A long black leg lifts and holds in front of her. 

“Jessica. Don’t disobey me. You know what happens when you do that. Mommy gets hurt. Do you want mommy to get hurt because of you?” She shakes her head furiously. The leg lowers. 

“Don’t-don’t hurt her.” Her small voice doesn't have any effect on the massive trees. She wishes she could be like the heroes like in the stories her mother read to her every night. Strong and brave, willing to risk everything just to save somebody. The monster’s giant head lowers until it’s in front of her. She can smell its horrible breath. Like smoke and something horrible lying underneath. Something with a sharp it burned her nose and throat. The giant head tilts almost questioningly. 

“I won’t if you come with me. Why do you seem so scared?” 

“I’m not scared.” 

“Good. You better not be.” The monster turned and started to walk away. Jessica looked back toward the road with a burning desire to run. To hide but she follows the monster’s giant footsteps.

Branches hit Jessica, giving her more scratches. After a particularly painful one, she lets out a sharp yelp and falls to the ground. The monster turned to look at her. 

“Get up and keep moving.” The monster’s cruel voice urges her to get up. They keep walking through the trees until they reach a clearing with a log home sitting in the middle. It’s run down with several broken windows. The door creaks. When the monster shoved the door open a muffled scream came from inside the broken-down home. When Jessica looked inside she saw a woman with brown hair and dark eyes, wide in terror. Her hands were tied behind her back and a cloth over her mouth.  

“Mommy?” Jessica took a step forward wanting to help the woman on the ground. But the woman shook her head. Motioning for her to stay there as best she could. Jessica stepped backward back to where she was. She saw the monster step forward and lower its head to whisper harsh words into the woman's ear. Jessica couldn't hear what it said but, as the monster stepped away her mother slouched and looked even more defeated. The monster slowly walked around her and untied the woman, she fell to the ground.

"Mommy!" Unable to stand still anymore she ran to her mother and hugged her fiercely. She looked up at the monster. "Please let us go." She could feel tears at the corner of her eyes and she let them fall.

"I can't. I love you two too much." The monster stepped forward and brushed a strand of hair behind Jessica's ear, she saw a flash. The monster in front of her disappeared and instead was replaced with a man with short blond hair, medium build, and green eyes. She remembered this man. Her father. She remembered when she was younger they all went to the park and had a lot of fun. But when she blinked the man was gone and back was the monster.

"What happened?" Jessica whispered.

"What?" The monster pulled its limb away.

"What happened to my dad?" The monster's eyes widened at this and it took a step back. Then the malicious eyes narrowed and it took a few steps toward her.

“Dad’s still here.” The voice lowered and a shiver went up Jessica’s spine. 

“I don’t see him. All I see is a monster.” At this, the monster quivered and sprang toward Jessica jowls open howling, and limbs reaching for her. 

“Jessica run!” Her mother had sat up behind her and had worked the cloth off. Jessica burst through the door and made it to the woods before the flash of blue and red lights stopped her in her tracks. The monster skidded to a stop as well. Men came filing out of the cars and grabbed the monster. As it was grabbed and pinned, it shrank four legs became two legs and two arms, the body shortened, its howls no longer shook the treetops and its lungs shrank. In front of her now was a man with blond hair, medium build, and green eyes. As the man was pulled to one of the cars he howled and thrashed screaming:

“You can’t take my family from me! That’s not your right! They’re all I have left!” The howls became muffled as he was shoved into a cop car and sped out of sight. 

Twenty-five years later Jessica is now thirty-five. She stands in the rain staring at the clouds. As the memories of who she found out as her abusive father and what she thought she had seen ran through her mind. A little girl and boy come running to her and run around her legs playing tag. Their laughter and warm smiling faces bring her happiness. She would never become like her father. She would never be happy then let one thing change her whole life, and become a real-world monster.