I'm in Love with a Monster

Way Down Under the Ground

After her encounter with Lilith, Elena had started thinking about what she said. Monsters weren't real, were they? No, they couldn't be. Monsters were products of folk tales and mythology, created to frighten people into doing this and believing that. They were products of active imaginations, and that was all.

But still... she couldn't help but be curious. There had to be a reason Lilith believed in them so strongly, and the same went for those twins and possibly the townspeople. Just what had them all so spooked? Elena had always loved a good mystery, and this was no exception.

As she and her father rode home, she listened to him go off at how Lilith and her lackey had acted. She had told him about it a few minutes ago and he was not having it.

"She had no right to talk to you like that! You were just minding your own business! And that boy! He had no right to be so rude either! Elena you listen to me, if anything like that happens again, you leg sweep them and run, got it? There's nothing wrong with getting into a little trouble for showing someone who's being a jerk you're not to be messed with."

Elena laughed at her dad's ranting, "Yes dad. You know, most parents try to teach their kids not to get into fights."

Her dad grinned and side eyed her, "It's not a fight if it's not an even match, honey. And I'm appalled you would think I'm 'most parents'.", he said with fake hurt in his voice.

Elena laughed louder. Leave it to her dad to put her in a good mood after that fiasco.

They pulled into the drive a few minutes and jokes later, and by the time they did, Elena had a plan for how to investigate the monster rumors.

"Hey dad, is it ok if I clean the paint off the cemetery wall? It really shouldn't just be left like that."

Her dad nodded, "Yeah sure, it's fine with me. Just come back before dark, okay?"

She smiled, "I will, bye dad!"

With that, Elena went back into the house and grabbed several things. Some bleach, rags, rubber gloves, and her satchel. After that, she blitzed out the door.

"Hi mom! Bye mom!", the blonde girl called out as her mother came down the stairs, barely giving her time to process what she had said before she was by the street.

"Bye sweetie!", Elena heard her mother's call faintly as she made her way towards the cemetery.

The place was as she had left it last night. Graffiti tagged on the tall stone wall of it and a huge iron gate with the word 'cemetery' above it in iron letters. In the light of day, it didn't look half as eerie as it did last night.

Elena sighed and got to work. She meant what she said when she said she was going to clean the wall, it just coincidentally became the perfect excuse to do some snooping to sedate her curiosity. She knew monsters weren't real, but half of her, the half that lived for the fantastical wanted them to be real.

It was stupid, she knew, but it didn't hurt to look. Elena finished up her scrubbing of the wall, admiring her work. Not a speck of paint in sight. With that out of the way, she gathered her courage and speed walked through the gate.

The graveyard was peaceful. September leaves filtered through the crisp cold air. Gravestones dating back hundreds of years dotted the hills. Elena could hear the call of crows in the distance and saw a murder of them fly through the air. If monsters were real, they would likely be here.

The green eyed girl strolled through the hills, observing the area for signs of monsters and occasionally stopping to read a tombstone. The blonde was expecting for there to be nothing, but to her shock and fascination, there was something.