I'll Never Leave you Behind

Chapter Two

The ocean water glistened in the afternoon sun, small waves creating a look like a mosaic of blues, deep greens, and gold. Stan adjusted the replacement pair of glasses on his nose, almost as good as new.

I pick up a smooth grey rock from the edge of the sand and say, "I bet I can skip this farther than you!"

Stan picks up one too and taunts, "Oh no you can't! Watch and learn, bro."

He runs up to the water's edge then tosses the stone, and it skips a good fifteen feet before sinking below the water's surface.

"Ha! Take that!" Stan exclaims, then puts his hands on his hips in an I'm so superior way and says, "Your turn!"

I make sure I have the rock in the time right position and hand, then I toss it into the water. Mine goes about Twenty feet, (sheer luck, but I'm not gonna tell him that) beating Stan's.

"Boom! How's about that, brother?" I say, grinning. Stan rolls his eyes, as he always does when I'm right or outperform him.

"Ugh. You just did better because you're a big nerd."

"How would that even effect the results? A non-physical trait doesn't hardly ever-"

"Stooooppppp! Ya see? Big nerd proof right there!!!" Stan interrupts, then laughs, his braces slightly whistling as he does.

But then he looks back at me, and stops dead, his eyes wide.

"What?" I turn around, and I see an eight-foot tall monster about a foot behind me. I scream, then instinctively grab my brother's hand and take off in a run.

The- uh... thing- chases us, its eyes glowing yellow. I've never seen anything like that before., I think as I run, It's some sort of goblin-like creature. Nothing like the cats I've investigated...

We run off the beach and into the town, but it is still on our tail. I try to go faster, my heart pounding in my chest.

I quickly turn a corner and drag my brother along with me behind a dumpster, then I peer around it to see if the thing was still there.

"We... lost it?" I say, then glance at my brother. He seems fine, no major injuries or anything. But where did it go? It was just chasing us...

Stan takes a deep breath then replies,"I've had enough people trying to maim me today, bro bro. What the heck was that thing?"

"I... I have no clue. I've never seen anything like it. I really never thought there was anything off in this town, but just because I wanted it to didn't mean that!" I exclaim, half to no one in particular, half to my brother.

"You worry me almost as much as the thought of some goblin roaming the streets, Lee." Stan says with exasperation.

"Okay... Okay. Now, where did it go?" I ask, and he shrugs, looking all around.

"C'mon. We need to find it. Be quiet, I don't want it to hear us." I say, then in walk as quickly as possible to the edge of the building we are hiding next to's wall, then peer around. Nothing but a few cars and some kids riding bikes. This is really weird.

I retrace our steps, looking everywhere, but nothing. No trail, no evidence, no anything.  It's like the thing evaporated into thin air or something.

"This is so peculiar... where is it???" I ask.

"Dude, I have no idea." Stan replies, but then I notice something. His glasses are gone. He can't see an inch in front of him without them. Why would he take them off?

"Hey, Stan, where are your glasses?" I ask, and he looks confused.

"My what?" He ponders the question, then suddenly murmurs, "Dang it!"

"What?" I ask, confused myself.

Then the weirdest thing all day happens. Stan appears at the edge of the beach, about ten yards away, and yells "Monster! Lee, that's the monster! It's not me!" His glasses are crooked on his nose, and his shirt has a rip in the sleeve.

Okay, now I'm very lost.

The other Stan, the one without glasses, growls and warps back into that goblin thing. I can barely stifle my scream. The thing, though, now looks more annoyed than murderous.

"W-what are you?" I question it, scared.

"Oh, ye will find out soon enough, lad." He replies in the strangest accent, "But fer now, I've decided to let the both of ye go. I can't kill ye just yet, now can I?" He chuckles, but the laugh seems not one of humor, and he looks at the sun. "Not on this day, especially when the sky is lit!"

I just stare, unable to speak.

"Better keep an eye out, lads, fer I tis not the one you should fear. I just wanted to scare ye for a bit 'o fun. I've come to warn ye two. A fiend approaches ye two, and is reckless. They will stop at nothing to get you two destroyed. Yer more important than ye think. I have to be on my way, but know he is coming. Beware lads. That's all I can say."

And with that, the thing shimmered, then disappeared into the air along with the setting sun on the horizon.