6 Three More Monsters

(From Ella's Perspective)

"I mean, you want to know about my family as well? There is no need, trust me. I mean, I can tell from the moment when I found that strange hole. Is that okay?" I asked.

"Just tell me about it," he said impatiently, his voice as cold as it had been all the time, his eyes fixed on me, sending chills through my skin.

"So I've been on my way to school. My friend lives just one block away from my place. We go to school together on our bikes. I went to her house and then her mother told me that she had a fever. I was about to stay at her place for a week starting from that day as Mom and Owen were going on a vacation. Before you ask, Owen is Mom's boyfriend. Really annoying. But that's not the point, of course. And Linda was supposed to stay at her disgusting long-legged friend's house. Linda is my stepsister, two years younger than me. So, after Zoe's mother told me that she was ill, I had to go to school alone. But well, there is a forest on the way. And in the forest, there is an old mansion. People say it's haunted. Rumors, you know."

"What is this place? There is no place like this here," he said.

"I'm not talking about here. Let me finish," I said. "Well, I live in Brigade. It's a town in New York City. You know, the USA."

"Are you taking me as a fool? There is nothing like this here," he said, looking angry.

"I told you I'm not talking about here. I might seem comfortable in repeating myself, but I don't like it as well. Listen first," I said. "I go to that mansion a lot. At least, once a week. You know, it all happened today, just before I ended up here. I went to that mansion again and that's when I heard a sound. Kind of like the rumbling noise fireplace makes if the burner is dirty. It was coming from the basement. I decided to see what it is. So, when I went down, I saw a golden light, with a mixture of red. It's really odd, you know. And there was a hole. The light was coming through it."

"And you entered it?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I was just curious. I just wanted to see what the hell it is," I replied, biting the inside of my bottom lip.

He sighed loudly. "I thought it was not possible," he muttered, standing up.

"What's not possible?"

"How will I know if you are telling the truth?" he said, suddenly looking at me.

"Why would I lie?"

"How can I know? You might be working for Nicklaus," he said.

"I don't work for him," I said firmly. "How many times do I have to say that?"

"Listen, girl..."

"Stop calling me girl. I have a name," I yelled.

"Don't raise your voice at me," he said calmly, more calmly than I would have liked. "And you haven't told me your name."

"That's because you haven't asked," I pointed out. "Anyway, my name is Ella. Ella Griverd. What's your name?"

"That's none of your business," he snarled.

"Be a bit more polite. I'm not a fan of too politeness, but a bit, just a bit. Be a bit polite."

"Listen, Ella. You have to get out of this place and never come back," he said.

"Yeah, I want that too. Do you mind telling me where my backpack is?"

He went towards the closet. I was surprised to see a closet here. It was very weird but cool. There was even a dressing table here.

He opened the closet and brought out my black leather backpack. He threw it on my lap. It was very heavy, but he did not seem to feel it. But it landed on my lap very hard.

"Stop throwing things! Just because you have those uneven cylinder-type arms and properly worked out body, doesn't mean that you can show your strength to everyone you see," I grumbled.

I got out of bed, grabbed my backpack, and began walking towards the door. "By the way, is the monster your pet?" I asked, before pushing the door open.

"No. He is something more," he replied coldly.

"He? Alright then. Tell him that I'm sorry for touching his fur. I just... never mind, just tell him that I'm sorry. Tell him not to mind," I said.

He did not say anything. He was acting as if he was someone significant, and talking to me more than needed, if not less, would make his mouth dirty. I did not want to pursue him to talk. I pushed the door open.

"Ella, he did not mind. No one has ever touched him before. He is just a bit surprised," his voice came.

I smiled slightly. "Good. Then tell him that I like his eyes. I mean, they are a bit frightening, but they are... I don't know, something about them feels really special. By the way, you did not tell me your name."

"You can go now," he said dismissively.

"You know being a bit polite and friendly won't kill you," I murmured and left without looking back.

I noticed that I was right all along. It was a cave. The room was built into the cave. The cave was enormous. I was certain there were more rooms on the inside.

The forest was dark. I did not know which way to go. I did not even know where the yellow Meranti tree was. I was not sure if I would be able to find the hole again. I left the cave only because I did not want to be a burden, the way I was in my family.

I walked straight. I took silent steps into the dense forest. The wind felt chilly against my skin. I hugged myself tightly with both of my hands.

I did not know for how long I walked. But I was sure that at least one hour had passed. I did not stop. Not because I was not tired, but because of the growls I could hear from afar. These growls were terrifying, but not nearly as much as the monster's growl.

I wondered what this world was. But I was sure about some things; that it was a completely new world. This world was different than the world I was living in. And the hole must be the entryway to this world.

And there were some things that even science could not explain. Science might be able to explain things in my world, but in this world, I had a feeling that science had no place.

As I was pondering on what my family might be thinking at this moment about my missing report, I heard roars nearby. I held my breath and stopped in my tracks, keeping my eyes and ears open to detect any kind of movement around me.

There were a lot of dry leaves here. So it was easy to tell whether something was approaching. I could hear noises coming from everywhere.

And before I knew what I was going to face, I was confronted with not one, not two, but three creatures. They were not like the monster. They were at least two feet less than the monster's length. But I found them to be far more terrifying than the monster.

They were dirty black. Black was a beautiful color and also my favorite. But their black skin was covered with greenish filth, giving them look disgusting. They did not have any fur. They had no body hair, kind of like Sphynx Cat. Their skin seemed to have some kind of slimy substance on them.

Their fangs were large and pointed, with a silvery gleam about them, as if they were made of silver. Two pointed needle-like things protruded from the sides of their heads, coming up to their narrow round jaw.

Their head was bald and fully round. Their eyes were very little and ash in color. I could not even see their pupil.

Two scarred, narrow, nearly broken wings protruded from their back. But I did not feel that they were used to fly in. Rather, they were useless.

The creatures had four bony legs each of which had had three long fingers with sharp claws. The creatures snarled at me. It was the moment I noticed that the creatures had no nose, which meant they could not smell me, at least I thought so. They did not have any ears either. I felt that it would look weird if they had ears on the sides of their round head.

There were three of them and I was alone. It was their home and I knew nothing about this place. Moreover, they were monsters and I was just a human, a silly little human. But I needed to run, at least try to escape.

And before I knew whether or not to run, I found my legs sprinting in the opposite direction, the same way the cave and the mysterious man were. I did not know why, but I wanted to go to him. I felt that if there was anyone who could save me, it was him.

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