The Monster and the Stones

Prologue

On the side of town where no one goes there are many shops. Some are forgotten and not used too often while the rest are completely abandoned. It is a playground for teenagers to wander off and trespass. A perfect place. While this place is usually very quiet throughout the day, it is completely deserted at night, especially in the cold winter.

Through the blinding snowstorm of November 22nd, a shadow creeps through the dark streets. He blends into the dark like a shadow, but the blanket of snow reveals his size. He is a large man with a rather strange and pointy hat, and while many usually get lost in these streets, he knows exactly where he is and where he is going.

He paces through the dark, creeping under one dim streetlight. Finally, he reaches his destination, and enters through a boarded glass door into a very small pawn shop. By the looks of the inside, it is still up in business, however the pawnbroker was nowhere to be seen.

The man surveys his surroundings and shakes off his coat. The heat in the small shop melts the snow quickly. He looks back up at a small statue. A woman wrapped in serpents who is seemingly naked, and there are other similar ones. She could be a goddess with proclaimed beauty, adored by many. The man's eyes flickered at the sight of her, and he resumed to survey the shop.

Next to her, a shimmering rock. The man eyes it, occupied by the warm glow of it. He gently grabs it, feeling the warmth of the stone in his fingers and letting it rest in the palm of his hand. However, he is suddenly interrupted when the owner of the pawn shop walks to the front and spots the man, who sets the rock down quickly.

"We are closed-" he starts but interrupts himself. He stares at the mysterious man who keeps his head tilted so that the brim of his hat can barely reveal his dark eyes. "...what?" he starts again. "How - how are you here?"

The man removes his hat, revealing his facial features. He looks very similar to the pawnbroker, however some of his features are torn and blurred by scars. He lifts his chin proudly and dominantly. "You seem surprised to see me," he replies. Silence falls between them as the pawnbroker stares in disbelief, the strange man continues, "you didn't come for me."

The pawnbroker is shocked. He steps forward some before responding, "brother... I-I tried... I-..."

This time, his apparent brother cuts him short, "Couldn't what? Couldn't come find me?" He growls, and steps closer, laying his hat carelessly on top of the glowing rock. He looks back at the pawnbroker. "There are many things you can't do."

The pawnbroker looks down foolishly. He realizes that he has been acting rather cowardly. He lifts his head back up, shocked by his brother's comment. "Listen now, Vamorn. There many reasons why I couldn't come to your rescue. I tried; I really did. It was not my choice. I cannot disrespect Iris; we both know that." The shop owner explained himself, stepping out from behind the counter and into the shop, circling it with Vamorn.

"Be honest Druhzel," Vamorn laughed. His laugh was difficult to decipher, it sounded like it was somewhere between a light-hearted laugh and a menacing laugh, however by the look on Druhzel's face, he was not being so friendly. "Just admit that you did have that choice, and that you didn't come for me because you want the glory all to yourself. The glory of the crystals."

"It isn't about glory, brother. I don't think you quite understand-..."

"No brother, it is you who does not quite understand! Do you understand what I have been through? Banished out by our mother and father for what? I waited for you, a thousand years. I walked those deserts, hopeful that you would appear, but your pleads and apologies won't fool me this time, brother. I am going to make you pay for what you did to me."

"You tampered with your power. Mom and Dad didn't trust you, so they cast you out to keep humanity safe." There was a pause. They stopped moving to look at each other firmly. "We need to protect humanity," Druhzel reminded him.

Vamorn scoffs, "humanity? What has humanity ever done for you. Look at this place!" He waves his arms around, gesturing to the small, run-down shop and everything outside. "Humanity has cast us out. We are freaks. They don't care about us or what we are capable of, yet we are supposed to protect them?" Druhzel remains quiet. He has nothing to say. He starts walking back to his spot behind the counter. "We can be so much better than this," his brother adds.

Druhzel slowly creeps to the phone, keeping his intentions unknown as he shuffles objects around. As he is occupied Vamorn turns to a dark corner of the shop. Behind a large pile of magazines and old tapes and records hides a large piece of wood. It appears to be a staff, the long slim body of it has an interesting look. It seems twisted from the handle up to the end where a large hole seems to be shaped effortlessly.

"The stones..." Vamorn starts. "What did you do to the stones?"

Druhzel looks up. He takes a deep breath before starting, "when Mom and Dad died, they left me to protect them. I was not sure how I was quite able to do that alone, so I consulted with Iris." Druhzel turns his head slowly, unable to look at Vamorn, wondering if he should share this information with his brother, yet he continues. "I cast them out. Five stones sent to five different places of the world. Now, they cannot be exploited."

Vamorn growls. "Your shitty way of dealing with your insecurities have failed you, brother." Suddenly he reaches into a pocket in his cloak. Out he pulls a bag tied with a small string. He rips it open revealing a blue crystal, which glows in the light of the shop, however inside it almost looks as though water is trapped inside, splashing around it like a rocky ocean shoreline.

Druhzel looks from the crystal up to his brother, then quickly turns to an old telephone, picking it up and dialing quickly. Vamorn dives to the corner for the staff, sticking the blue crystal into the hole at the end. He taps it against the floor of the shop, blue sparks fly across the surface from impact and the crystal glows in the staff, sending blue streaks through the cracks and indents in its wood.

As Druhzel turns to his brother, Vamorn grabs him by the collar, holding the staff in his other hand. "You're so powerless without them. You always were." The phone finishes ringing, but before Druhzel can respond to the receiver Vamorn taps the staff against his chest. Druhzel drops the phone which dangles from the counter. He loses control of his muscles, they feel like jelly, liquifying and falling motionless. Vamorn grabs a vase from the shelf and encloses his soon-to-be liquified brother inside, closing the top on it.

Vamorn now stands alone in the shop. He looks at theglowing staff and smirks. He sets his brother up on the highest shelf in thecase behind the counter and closes it, locking him away. He then walks backtowards his hat and returns it to his head, revealing the glowing rock that hehad been admiring earlier. He grabs it gently, letting it sit in the palm ofhis hand. "I am back, boy," He says to it. The rock glows bright, almost as ifit is breathing, warming up in the palm of Vamorn's hand. It recognizes hisvoice.