My Friend Who Was Raised By Monsters

    I’m gonna tell you a story you won’t believe. The only reason I believe it is because I lived it. It’s a crazy story but it’s true. I’m sorry I'm not a very good storyteller, but I want to do this the best I can so why don’t I start from the beginning.

    I grew up in a city but not a huge one you see I grew up in the city of Waco, Texas. The thing about Waco is that it’s the kind of city where even though it was big, everybody knew everybody by name and frankly, I hated it. 

It all sounds really warm and fuzzy but in reality it feels captivating. Everyone I’d ever met had lived in Waco their entire lives. No one ever left, and even if they did, for some reason they always came back. Like my parents. My mom grew up in Waco, had a great job in Houston, then came back. My dad went to college in Waco, followed my mom to Houston, then for some unrelated reason, he went back. 

Because of this, it felt like my life was always going to be in Waco whether I liked it or not. The only thing that made my life different from everyone else was Human. By that I mean his name was Human. Humanus De Monstro, but I just called him Human. 

I first met him when I was about five years old. I had heard a noise in the middle of the night so I got out of bed and went to the living room with my favorite stuffed frog, Hoppy, for companionship and protection. It sounded like the noise was coming from the kitchen so I crossed the living room slowly, ducking behind the couch and the other furniture. I turned the corner and saw something I didn’t expect. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t a kid my age who looked kinda similar to me but with really really long and unruly hair rummaging through my family’s pantry and putting food in a tiny little sack.. He had a ripped up orange shirt and leather shorts. He noticed me and was scared. He jumped onto the countertop and hid in one of the cabinets. I just stood there wondering what I had just seen. Eventually he came out. There’s this indescribable connection with little boys. They’re still allowed to be emotional and they understand each other. In other words, they aren’t caught up in the toughness and ego of toxic masculinity. This connection that they have lets them just stare at each other and even without saying a word, when one little boy sees another one things just feel better. And that’s exactly what happened. The little intruder looked at me looking at him for a few moments, and then as if we shared a mind, the two of us just hugged each other and laughed and smiled. That was how I met Human. 

Ever since that day me and Human were completely in sync. We were practically the same person. I barely ever went anywhere without him and it drove my mom nuts. She didn’t like that I was friends with a boy who dressed like a homeless person, had hair longer than her’s, and had parents she never met. I knew who Human’s parents were, but I couldn’t tell her. They were monsters. Chupacabras to be precise. “Chupacabras are like Werewolves”, Human explained to me once, “The difference is that Chupacabras change their form at will, whereas Werewolves can’t.” Of course, the Chupacabras weren’t his birth parents. They found him as a baby while hunting and took him in as one of their own. This pack of Chupacabras had never had a human to care for before so they just named him Human, The Monster. Or as they call him, Humanus De Monstro. They found it ironic that they were naming a  human monster, the word of which humans have used to brand those who are different from them for millions of years. My mom eventually got so tired of Human that she got him a haircut and some clothes. She even got him a bed in my room for when he needed a place to sleep for the night. 

After my mom finally accepted Human as something that wasn’t gonna go away, me and Human did everything together. And by everything I mean everything. We even went to the same school when we got old enough. How a Chupacabra was able to enroll a child in a public elementary school is something I still wonder to this day. But like I said, we were inseparable. With Human by my side I had the perfect childhood.

That is, until one night.

I’ll never forget that summer night. I was eleven years old. Human was spending the night and we couldn’t sleep because of the argument my parents were having in the other room.  I don’t recall what the fight was about but I will always remember the anger in my mother’s voice and the rage in my father’s. Then, after about an hour of this shouting, I heard my older brother’s voice enter the conversation. A few minutes later something broke, someone screamed, and there was absolute chaos. I broke into tears as I hid underneath my covers in fear but for some reason, Human was not afraid. He grabbed my backpack and began to stuff some of my clothes into it as well as some of my belongings. He pulled me out from under my protective bed sheets and said, “We have to go.” The connection that the two of us had was still there but it was now different. It was brotherly. It was trust. I trusted Human with my life. He gave me my bag and picked up his own as I opened the window of my ground floor bedroom. We leaped through the window, still hearing the commotion and chaos of my family, and ran to the end of my street. I turned back to look one last time at my home as a tear fell from my eye, but now I knew that wherever I went my life would be completely different from anyone I had ever met. I would finally be special. 

I know it was a horrible night but there was a single good thing about it. The cool wind as it flew through my hair as I ran. When we reached the dead end at the back of my neighborhood, Human pulled a small whistle and put it to his lips. Out from the whistle came a high pitched noise. A few moments later, two large creatures burst out of the ground. These creatures were as beautiful and impressive as they were large. These were Chupacabras.

I lived in a series of caves and tunnels with the magnificent creatures for over a year. I learned almost everything about them. I hunted with them, ate with them, and in a way, they became my family. Fun fact: while Chupacabras are known for their hunting, they actually take more pride in storytelling. Every night we would gather around a fire underneath a hole in the roof of one of the caves. We would tell marvelous stories and tales. Some were true and some were false but either way you will never find such great stories to be told anywhere else on earth. There was even a tale about a forest in Georgia where humans and monsters lived in peace and ate great food.

Life was great until one day when a prophecy was foretold. A story that is sadly true. 

It was after dinner and me and Human were escorted into the main chamber by two of the pack’s greatest hunters. The Chupacabras had their backs up against the walls with three Chupacabra priests wearing robes in the middle of the room. The head priest spoke saying, “The time has come for us to rise from the shadows and claim the earth from those who unfairly subdued us.” The second priest stepped forward and gave Human a sword and sheath. The third priest gave him armor, a satchel, and a large leather bound book. Human put on the leather armor and satchel with the book held under his arm. Finally he put on a mask that covered his entire face. It had goggles that stuck out of the eyes and a mouth painted with fangs and a nasty tongue. The armor was brown and green like the mask. On each hand he had a gauntlet with runes that would allow him to cast spells and curses and charms. “What is all of this?”, I asked. “Did I not tell you?”, Human answered with pride and excitement, “I am destined to rule everything!” I raised an eyebrow at the statement and one of the priests began to explain that a prophecy had been foretold long before either of us were born. It said that a human raised by those called monsters would conquer and rule every realm and land in existence and with the aid of fifty seven monsters of great power, he would enslave all other humans as punishment for their cruelty.. But first, an act of loyalty was required. 

The Chupacabras dragged in a girl and threw her at Human’s feet. I recognized her immediately, she went to our school. Her name was Darby and Human had a huge crush on her and honestly I don’t blame him. She was beautiful and kind. Darby groveled at Human’s feet, begging for his help and in a way, he did. He helped put her out of her misery. Human unsheathed the sword the priest had given him and plunged it into the girl and just like that she was dead. The girl was a saint, never did anything to anyone and now she was dead.

 The Chupacabras howled and screeched in celebration and triumph. Human turned to me and said with excitement and pride, “Alright, let’s get you fit for some armor! We need to leave ASAP, I’ve got a friend in Rome who says he’s got a lead on one of the first monsters.” “You want me to join you?!”, I asked, still in shock at the murder I had just witnessed. “Yes,” Human answered, there is no one else who has ever lived or ever will live that I would be more proud to be my second in command than you.”

I nodded slowly and then followed him through the tunnels back to our room. When we were finally alone I told him I couldn’t do what he wanted me to do. I couldn’t kill my own kind. He didn’t understand, but he respected my decision and promised that if we were ever to meet after he had fulfilled his purpose that I would be spared from slavery. He showed me a way out that no one knew about and I ran back towards town. As the sun set on the horizon, I gazed at my town for the first time in a year. It was beautiful. I had seen Waco a million times at sunset but I finally saw why people always came back. It was their home. And there’s nothing on earth that could ever change that.

As for Human, I went looking for him. I started a group dedicated to stopping this invasion. We called ourselves the Hunting Party. Eventually we grew and became the House Of the Unknown which still exists today, though I hear they have averted their gaze away from Human and towards other matters which I personally believe will be their doom. But what do I know? I’m an old man in a small city where everyone knows everyone. Maybe you’ll come and visit me here in Waco. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you some more stories about my friend who was raised by monsters.