15. Monster

The year 1817.

One hundred years after escaping death, Simon continues his life, but this time he is not as vicious as before. Simon still hunts animal or human prey but only at certain times. In addition, he moved from place to place far from where he came from.

"Eleanor, didn't you hear me?" asked a child with round eyes, staring at a girl who was busy tidying the blankets.

"Yes, My Lord, I heard what you said."

"Could you repeat what I said earlier!"

Eleanor, one of the maids of the Dowager Countess of Moreland, who was assigned to look after the little Master in the house, looked at the boy standing in the mirror.

"If I heard correctly, you said you met a monster in the lake," replied Eleanor.

"Do you trust me?" asked George hopefully.

Certainly not. Eleanor never believed the creature that George mentioned. The boy said he saw a man standing up from the bottom of the lake. His eyes were yellow, and his entire body was covered with hair. Eleanor thought George imagined fantasy when he saw someone swimming in the lake.

To keep the child from being delusional, Eleanor responded to the child's words from her master.

"What is that monster doing over there?" asked Eleanor.

George walked over to Eleanor and sat on the edge of the bed. He recounted what he saw enthusiastically.

"Maybe he was playing in the water or cleaning himself in the lake. But when he got into the water, the monster didn't come back to the surface. I only saw a dog from the lake. Could it be that the dog bit his, and the monster died at the bottom of the lake? "

"That's impossible, My Lord. If the monster dies, the townspeople will be in an uproar to see the corpse in the lake. Until now, our city is still safe and peaceful. I think the dog will lose against the monster." Eleanor spoke as she made George's bed.

"Could it be that what I saw was a demon? And he turned into a dog."

Eleanor just smiled at George's reaction. The child is always curious about everything. Maybe that's why his imagination is too high, and he fantasizes too much. She went over to George to make sure his clothes were neat.

"My lord, perhaps what you saw was one of the citizens with thick hair on his body. That's not something strange. Do you remember the gardener in the garden who had a big nose and acted like a child? He was human, just that he's unique. I'm sure the person you saw in the lake is also a human."

"So you don't believe me, Ela? I saw it." The young master looked disappointed.

"I believe what you see, my Lord. But I believe that he is a human, not a monster." Elanor replied with a smile. "Let's get out before your mother scolds me."

The conversation between Eleanor and George ended. They came out of the room to go to the dining room. There was already Lady Moreland at the table.

"What's with his face?" Lady Moreland asked Eleanor when she saw the frown on her son's face.

"He saw a monster turned into a dog in the lake, madam," Elanor explained in a low voice.

Lady Moreland's sparse eyebrows rose, and she smiled at her son. She could already guess what had been said earlier between George and Elanor.

"What do you see, my dear?" Lady Moreland asked as if interested in the monster Eleanor was talking about.

"Never mind, I'm sure mom won't believe me either. Stop making me look stupid!" The boy, about nine years old, grabbed the bread from the plate and put it in his mouth. Eleanor and Lady Moreland looked at each other.

"I don't believe in fairy tales. Werewolves, I think, are just fairy tales. But I do believe in the truth about dwarfs and ghosts." Lady Moreland provoked her son's reaction.

Eleanor decided to go into the kitchen when Lady Moreland and George started talking about imaginary creatures. She smiled wryly from never trusting any of the creatures.

One afternoon, Elanor was ordered to inspect the sheep on the farm. The rancher said that on several nights the sheep were always noisy at night. There is indeed a stray dog ​​after the sheep because two days ago, a sheep died with bite marks from a wild animal on its body.

Elanor speaks to Joseph, a ranch keeper there. The older man told about the condition of the sheep, who were always noisy at night.

"They just stopped when I checked into the cage. I think the sheep saw a stray dog ​​about to eat it. And the stray dog ​​was gone when I came." Joseph explained as he led Eleanor around the stables.

The evening sky was getting darker, and Elanor left the farm on foot. She walked while wrapping a scarf around her neck. The air was quite cold because of the strong wind.

As she passed the lake not far from the trail, Elanor remembered George's story a few days ago. Something pushed Elanor to step towards the clear water lake.

She entered through the overgrown fence into the lake. The distance between the lake from the trail is about fifty meters. The trees whispered in the wind. When a child, Eleanor used to come to the place to play with her friends. Now, around the lake, it looks dark because it is overgrown with big and tall trees. But the beauty of the clear lake is still the same, always soothing to the eyes.

Eleanor frowned. She wondered why her master's son had come to that place. Because people rarely set foot there.

Eleanor suddenly stopped when she heard a snort. Her heart was beating fast because she was worried that there were wild boars or wild beasts around her. She immediately looked around, but there weren't any animals there.

Eleanor then decided to return for fear that the beasts would pounce on her. However, when she turned and walked a few steps, she heard the moaning again, this time louder. This time it sounded like a growl.

The voice came from the bushes beside her. Eleanor walked slowly towards the bushes, fear and curiosity mixed.

Eleanor's body suddenly trembled, and she almost screamed when she saw something big hairy moving behind the bushes. It turns out that the monsters George said were real, and Elanor regretted not trusting the boy.

The fruit basket that Elanor was holding fell, causing the monster to turn towards her. An eerie look glared at Elanor. Bloodstains were around the monster's mouth, and a rabbit was lying near the monster's body.

Elanor gulped and backed away slowly, preparing to flee. However, the monster moved faster than expected and instantly grabbed Elanor's body.

Elanor screamed as loud as she could. She hoped this wasn't the end of her life.