The Beast Inside You

A week had passed since Jane was woken by the creature outside her bedroom window and the paranoia had not left her quite yet. Every snap of a twig or flap of a birds wing had her jumping and scanning her surroundings whenever she was outside, so it was somewhat of a relief when grocery day rolled around and she had to go down the mountain to the small village that nestled at the bottom.

Grabbing her keys and wallet, Jane jumped in her Jeep and made her way down the mountainside. She thought about her old, little Volkswagen she'd had to sell to get the Jeep and how much she missed her little yellow car, but she knew it wouldn't make the trip up the mountain with it's terrain. After thirty minutes of driving downwards, the ground beneath the truck started to level out as she entered the town limits and made her way towards the one street shopping district. Only a handful of shops slid by as she made her way to the supermarket at the end of the street when a bookshop nestled between a clothing outlet and a shoe store caught her eye.

Pulling over and parking the car, Jane went to where she saw the bookshop and peered through the glass door. It was dim and dusty but she pushed the door open and went inside, the nagging feeling that there was something important here pushing her in. A bell rang as the door opened, signalling her presence in the store and an ancient looking woman peered out from behind one of the many stacks of books. She gave Jane a small nod before disappearing once again. Looking around, Jane realised there were too many books here for the size of the outside and wondered what exactly she'd gotten herself into.

Squinting into the dimly lit space, she saw that the shelves were labelled for their genre and she quickly found the stacks on folklore, that nagging feeling growing stronger as she drew closer to the books located there. Browsing the rows of books, she noticed a leather-bound book that appeared older then the rest. Her instincts screamed at her that this was what she'd been looking for and she pulled it off the shelf, opening it to the front page. It was a journal, and at the bottom of the page, a drawing of a monster.

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After she'd paid for the journal, Jane quickly did her grocery shopping and jumped in her car, hightailing it up the mountain, the journal on the passenger seat taunting her with every breath. Once she made it back to the cabin, she packed away her groceries, brought in more firewood and locked all the doors and windows, not wanting to risk anyone or anything catching her off-guard while she delved into the pages of the leather-bound book on her table.

Once she was sure she was safe, she flipped open the front cover of the journal and began to read.

The author of the journal depicted monsters small and large, detailing their features, their behaviour, their food choices. Absolutely everything someone living on the mountain needed to know about the things that lurked in the night. Jane wondered how this person was able to gather this information when she reached the last page and her veins turned to ice. It was the largest monster in the book by far standing at at least twelve feet tall, it's grey skin taut over it's limbs as it's jagged teeth seemed to be bared at whoever read this journal. According to the author, this monster was once human.

Leaning back in her seat, Jane thought about what she'd read. Flashbacks of the day she'd lost her brother dragged her deeper and deeper into her own mind until she was completely back at that day.

Jane was lying on the floor of the living room, colouring a picture she'd drawn while the sun was setting that day. Her grandfather had sent her brother, Jordan outside to get their father who was supposed to be collecting firewood but still hadn't returned. Looking at the last open window anxiously, Jane decided to go outside to make sure Jordan and their father were on their way in. It was almost night and even at this age, she knew that when they were visiting the cabin, you stayed inside after dark. She rounded the corner of the house where the log pile sat when she saw a much too large figure breathing heavily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bright clothing Jordan had been wearing, torn and strewn around, but she didn't dare take her eyes off the monster that stood before her.

It sniffed the air, catching her scent on the gentle breeze blowing from behind her and turned around, it's eyes piercing straight into her soul. She turned and ran as fast as she could before that thing could grab her with its grey hands and sink it's teeth into her the same way it had done to her brother. With only seconds to spare, she got into the house and slammed the door behind her, locking it tight as she panted. Jordan and their father were dead.

Blinking, Jane realised something she never had before. Jordan's clothes were clean. Their father's clothes were covered in blood but Jordan's remained pristine outside of being torn apart and she read the last page again.

"Though this monster is the king of the mountain, it was once human. Bursting into existence when the host of the specific gene experiences a most traumatic event, the monster mind takes over immediately and any living thing in it's vicinity will become a target for their insatiable hunger."

Jane thought back again to that day, not wanting it to be true. Not wanting it to mean what deep down, she knew it meant. Not wanting it to rock her entire world... Tears slid down her cheeks as she said out loud to herself, "My brother is the monster."