2 Magic and Monsters

A legend tells of a mysterious figure that lives in a cabin in the woods.

It is said that if you enter the forest this mysterious figure will mangle your body and turn you into a monster.

It is also said that this figure comes into town every once a month, with a list of supplies and items. And the townsfolk give him everything he demands with no retaliation.

So in return, this mysterious figure keeps the town safe from the monsters.

---

"He lives in the middle of the woods." (Townsfolk)

"A kid once went into the woods and came back a monster." (Tonsfolk)

"He's our hidden protector." (Townsfolk)

"You want to go and meet the man in the woods? Do not go! Lady, it's a death wish." (Townsfolk)

"He's a hero. There has never been one monster in Grand Marais for years." (Townsfolk)

"He's a monster, he once came into town and stole all the stock from my shop, in one fell swoop." (Townsfolk)

---

Marsh and Red are sitting in an old diner.

"A mysterious man in the woods who kills monsters. I'm definitely going to check this out." (Red)

"No no no! Did you hear what those people said? That's basically suicide." (Marsh)

"Chill. Remember I'm a First-Class Sorcerer, I won't die that easily. And the monster's corpse was nearby where his cabin is, so it can't just be a coincidence. He's strong. And I want him on my squad." (Red)

"Captain Red! You said so yourself, he's stronger than an A-Class Monster. That's like picking a fight with a giant when you're an itsy bitsy ant." (Marsh)

Red cracked her neck.

"Are you calling me an ant?" (Red)

She picked up her glass of coffee and took her last sip.

"Either you're coming or you're not?" (Red)

Marsh sat staring at his food, his fear, his anger, his past. He looked up at the powerful female Captain in front of him.

"NOOOOO WAY!" (Marsh)

"Ok, suit yourself." (Red)

She stood up from the booth and walked to the entrance.

"Oh, and by the way, a helicopter's coming in..." (Red)

She looked at her wristwatch.

"...In ten minutes from now. It's going to arrive in the field we landed in. And it's across the town, so you better hurry." (Red)

Marsh bolted out the door.

---

Red slowly strolled down the street, past the weird stares and the odd glances at her white suit and black flower pin.

She walked into a field. Past the fenced off farming land and into the dense forest.

She then looked up at the ungodly amount of branches in her way.

"Always so much trouble being a woman." (Red)

She pulled her long luscious black hair into a bun and tightened up her military-style boots.

She strolled in without the worry of branches or mud getting in her way.

---

Eventually, she reached the corpse of the A-Class Monster Gilgamesh.

But that wasn't the end, she kept walking.

She reached a cabin in the middle of the woods.

It was a regular cabin, with a smoking chimney, foggy glass windows, and a deck of cracked old wood.

She walked onto the deck, passing by hanging decorations that made no sense and had no style. She walked past a swaying rocking chair that swayed the wrong way and a bird hose that was hanging on its last rope.

She reached the front door.

She knocked.

"Who is it?" (Mysterious Human)

The voice of a man echoed throughout the cabin.

"I work for the FBI and I have a few questions." (Red)

The voice walked closer.

"The FBI? What does the FBI want to do with me? Out here?" (Mysterious Voice)

Red leaned closer. She spoke through the small crack in the door.

"I have come to ask you questions... About Magic and Monsters..." (Red)

The door quickly opened wide.

There stood a twenty-year-old six-foot one-inch man. He had brown hair and tired green eyes. He wore a long brown cloak over a dirty plaid shirt with un-complimenting ripped jeans.

He looked straight at the lady in front of him, the lady who stood in a perfectly clean white suit, with perfectly clean black hair, and a perfectly beautiful face.

He blushed.

"Your... Your FBI?" (Mysterious Guy)

"First. What is your name?" (Red)

"It's Jack Pelli." (Jack)

"Um... Ok... That's a weird last name." (Red)

"It's my families name, but you can just call me Jack. Ummm..." (Jack)

He looked into his cabin.

"Ummm, please come in!" (Jack)

Red walked into his cabin. She looked at the rough blue wallpaper, the cracks and tears from wall to wall, the dripping wet marks and stains on every inch.

"How long have you been living here?" (Red)

"Two years since-" (Jack)

He paused. He sat down on his moldy couch in front of his broken tv and off center table.

"It's a nice and humble life." (Jack)

"A humble life killing monsters? I heard the rumors, how you turned kids into monsters, how you stole food from stores, how you saved the town from monsters." (Red)

Jack leaned back looking at the beautiful woman standing in his home.

"I know... I'm a freak... But I don't turn kids to monsters. That's just fake news." (Jack)

Red looked at his tired green eyes. His face of unknowing virtue and lost leverage.

She jumped onto the crooked table across from him. She leaned forward, with a grinning face of excitment.

"I knew it! You're the same as me! You're not alone in this world. There are others out there who have the same abilities as you. Who can do the same things as you... Well not exactly like you, but you get the gist, right?" (Red)

"Yeah, but... So your not FBI?" (Jack)

"No no, I'm something even better, something stronger! And I want you, Jack Penini, to join me... To join my squad. To join the Magic Force!" (Red)

Jack looked around. He looked at the broken clock on the wall. He looked out the windows, at the lowering sunlight that hit the treeline, the setting sun. He looked back at Red.

"What's a Magic Force? And also my last name isn't Penin-" (Jack)

She interrupted.

"It's a force of the greatest magicians and sorcerers in the world. And we kill monsters." (Red)

Jack laid back on the couch.

"I... I don't know... I got a lot of responsibility here. Protecting this town. And I don't know if after I leave this town everything will be ok. Like your a pretty lady and all, but giving up my life here, it's like..." (Jack)

Jack kept rambling on. Red leaned forward, her grinning face turning to disappointment. She grabbed Jack by the wrist and pulled him close.

Jack immediately shut up as she stared straight into his green eyes.

"I want you to understand something Jack. That wasn't a request. It was a command!" (Red)

She quickly and forcefully pulled him down to the floor, his face squished against the creaking wood. She stepped on his back.

"Either you come in peace or you-" (Red)

An explosion.

The cabin exploded to the sky, a pillar of smoke, debris in all directions. Red was propelled out and into the sky, flipping over herself. She flew into the woods, flying over the tree line. She landed on her feet with grace. She looked out at the pillar of smoke.

The cabin was utterly destroyed.

And Jack walked out with his brown cloak smoldering to the wind, the leaves effortlessly falling across his face, the ash and smolder falling onto his old rugged clothes and shoes.

Red rushed back from the forest. She reached the small area surrounding his destroyed cabin. She looked at the burning debris, the destroyed trees surrounding the perimeter.

"I thought so. You really did kill that A-Class Monster." (Red)

"That monster. The big one. Yes, I did kill it in one hit. But I'm not actually that strong-" (Jack)

She interrupted again.

"Yes! I finally found a Sorcerer with promise!"

She realized what she might have just found, what she may be facing, that she may have called upon a monster stronger than anything she had ever faced before.

"Your perfect. With just one hit, you're really worth it. When you join the Magic Force your definitely joining my unit." (Red)

Jack wiped the smoldering ash off his clothes and hair. He looked at the destruction around him, the empty area where his cabin once stood.

He felt a little sad but quickly got over it.

"So, are we going to fight?" (Jack)

"Do you not want to?" (Red)

"Not really. But... You did make me destroy my home. And... Now it's going to be a pain to buy a new one. And it was in such a good spot too-" (Jack)

Red interrupted again. She walked forward provoking him.

"Are you angry?!" (Red)

She took off her white gloves. She readied herself to fight.

"Not really... I don't want to fight." (Jack)

He looked off confused by his own anger, his own feelings. He looked off wondering if he should fight this beautiful woman? If he should actually try to fight her? He didn't know if she was strong and if she could take a hit from him. He was confused.

His memories.

He was angry.

Red summoned her magic. She placed her fingers in a triangle.

"Gates of Heaven and Hell." (Red)

Four large Torii gates fell from the sky. They fell perfectly in a square formation, trapping Jack inside their great domain.

Each gate was a different color, a different shine, with different engravings and different languages written on them.

"Each gate I summon can trap any creature and or being that exists in this world. I can summon up to ten different types of gates and each gate is suited for different strengths and weaknesses." (Red)

"This is magic?" (Jack)

He tried to walk out of the gates but for some odd reason, he was magically pushed back, and blocked in.

"Not even a demigod can escape four heaven and hell gates. They are some of my strongest." (Red)

"Strongest...?" (Jack)

He walked up to the edge. He looked at Red on the other side.

"You said strongest. But can these things block out magic?" (Jack)

Red sat down on a smoking log.

"Nope." (Red)

She smiled watching him as he stood motionless, perfectly still.

---

A whole minute passed of nothing

"So I'll ask you again? Are you going to join the Magic Force?" (Red)

Jack held out his hand. He closed his dark green eyes.

"This magic you have, this gate...? You say that I also have it? But my magic is different than yours?" (Jack)

"Every Sorcerer has a different type of magic that is unique to them. And the only thing that connects us is that we all get our magic from the Rifts that form between the Monster World and our Earth. It's difficult to explain but there are a lot of ways to get magic, but one thing is true. It connects us." (Red)

Red stood up. She walked closer to Jack. She stared at his closed eyes, his peacefully calm face covered in ash.

"Are you going to use your magic on me Jack?" (Red)

"Yes... But I have never used it on a human before. So..." (Jack)

"It's ok. I'll be fine. I'm very strong." (Red)

He held his hand out. He held it closer. He touched the invisible force field between the inside and the outside.

"Yin and Yang!" (Jack)

A black orb and a white orb appeared above him.

He opened his green eyes looking at Red.

He closed his palm and grabbed the magic between nothing and everything. He grabbed Red's magic and placed it inside the white orb.

"Now your power is mine." (Jack)

"What do you mean?" (Red)

"Just watch this." (Jack)

He grabbed his floating black orb and tossed it through the barrier between gates. Red stood still. She let the orb hit her, to see how his magic works.

It smacked against her chest.

Nothing happened and the black ball slowly floated back toward Jack.

"I don't get it?" (Red)

"Try moving." (Jack)

She tried moving but a magical force kept her stuck in place. She put two and two together and realized what had just happened.

"Ohh so you took my magic, put it in the white orb, and used it with the black one." (Red)

"Yeah, that's the run-down version of it I guess. There's a lot more to it, with a couple more features, but that's the gist. And now we're both stuck here. And I won't release you until you release me." (Jack)

Red smirked.

"Smart. But, I won't release you until you say yes to being in the Magic Force." (Red)

The two stared at eachother. Jack stared at her beauty. Her stunning looks. He looked away embarrassed and blushing. He sat down in the tall wet grass, he thought of some reasons for why he should go and why he should stay.

---

Five minutes passed and he came to his ultimate decision.

"Sure why not." (Jack)

"Finally!" (Red)

---

An hour later the day turned to night. Jack and Red walk up to a field where they are supposed to wait for a helicopter. They see Marsh sitting alone in the darkness, his face focused on the bright light shining from his phone.

"What are you still doing here?" (Red)

Marsh looked up from his phone. He took out his earphones and exhaled a deep sigh.

"I missed the helicopter." (Marsh)