Misunderstood Monsters

Chapter 35: An Eye for an Eye, A Life for a Life

"Dr. Collingwood, John and Billy have informed me that Charlie has something very important to tell you," Director Jones said sternly.

"Um, okay?"

He nodded. "Follow me."

He led her to an empty room. Two folding chairs were leaning against the wall in the corner. Charlie was quietly sitting in the middle of the room, fiddling with his tail. Director Jones soon left, closing the door behind him.

Charlie pointed towards one of the chairs. "Have a seat."

"It's fine. I'll stand."

Charlie sighed. "You'll understand once I tell you. So for some background, at the time that this all happened, Eddie wasn't born yet, so there was just me and my brother. I recently shed my skin at the time, but Simon hadn't done so yet."

"Shed your skin?"

"It's our transformation from normal human child to the beastlike form you are most familiar with. We rip off our human skin and head and grow new ones, then consume the old."

"Okay then. Carry on."

"I was born a runt and scorned by both my peers and my father. In fact, he neglected to raise me and my brother at all, dumping that responsibility onto his older brother, my uncle, who was called Gallant. Uncle Gallant was what you call immunocompromised and was constantly ill. He was frail despite being in the prime of life and his left arm and hand were shriveled to the point of being useless. He had a son of his own, named Cornelius. I just called him Corny, though."

He paused and chuckled a little.

"I'll be honest, even though Cornelius was very kind and sweet-tempered, he wasn't the brightest. He was secretly being groomed to be the pack leader by my father when he grew up, as he was of a much stronger build than I, even though it was against the pack law. In our pack, the role of leader is always passed from the parent to the eldest child, regardless of gender. The birthright can only be passed to others in extreme circumstances, like if the original holder dies, is proven unworthy to have that title, or simply cannot lead the pack properly. In my father's case, it was because my uncle was deemed too sickly to be able to handle the stress of the position."

Dr. Collingwood shook her head. "That's one messed up family situation right there."

Charlie nodded. "My father kept trying to force his racist beliefs onto poor Corny. I would have probably been jealous of him if not for that fact. Luckily he never accepted them, and told me in private that he was terrified of my father. I would often help him avoid Bloodfang. I suspect that the only thing that kept him from downright hating my father was because he was such a kind soul. He was just too good for this sinful earth."

"Sounds like he was a really nice person."

Charlie smiled sadly. "Alright, onto the actual story. Simon's birthday and his Shedding Ceremony were both fast approaching. We were living near a rural neighborhood and in that town was a farm with a herd of cows. So my father thought that it was a good idea to steal one of those cattle for Simon's birthday, as it is customary for the child to be allowed fresh, raw meat after they finish shedding. Corny and I, still being young and dumb, decided to tag along and help out. Uncle Gallant came too, as my aunt, his wife, had recently died from being trampled by cattle and wanted to prevent the same thing from happening to us. We were creeping through the shrubs and passed by a house when we heard shouting and gunshots being fired. A man had spotted us and mistook us for wolves."

Dr. Collingwood gulped. "He shot you?"

Charlie nodded, his face sorrowful. "Me and Corny were terrified and I was crying. It was the only time I've ever seen my father scared. My uncle tried to shield us with his body and he got shot, but he couldn't get to Cornelius in time. Uncle Gallant died almost instantly, while Corny died the next morning."