Monster Under My Bed

Chapter 1

Tonight. Tonight is the night when I will become a woman. Am I ready? Am I prepared enough to fight the monster that will be waiting for me under my bed?

Yes, monsters are as real as you and me. And in my hometown, we have a "rite of passage", so to speak. When we are at that age of adulthood, we have to kill the monster that lives under our bed on our eighteenth birthday. If we kill the monster before the sun rises, the monster disappears forever, and you are considered a young adult by the community. If the monster is not slain before the sun rises, you are exiled. Or you are killed by the monster. Whichever comes first.

The biggest problem isn't so much as having the courage or not, it's whether the materials you have can kill the monster. For every person, the monster is different. My mother had to kill a werewolf, my father had to kill a futakuchi-onna, and my older sister killed a troll. There is no definitive way to know what monster you will have to face. Our community once thought that it had something to do with ethnicity and that might indicate possible monsters from that culture, but that didn't take long to be disproven.

I sighed. I could never tell anyone, but I kind of felt sorry for the monsters. For the most part, they never bothered anyone. If they do, it's because someone was messing with them. They aren't known for being territorial, either. It's just this one day. Why? Why specifically this day? I've tried to ask, but my father always told me that I can't question anything. That's the thing that bothered me, though; no one bothered to question anything.

I hate this. This tradition, this town, and destroying the monsters. Even as a little girl, I never really liked hurting anything. We've been trained since the age of five how to fight and kill. But I never liked doing it. Sure, I was a decent enough fighter, but I never asked for this. I've thought of running away many times when I was younger, but the thought of never being able to see my friends and family terrifies me.

I shake my head. I need to focus on the task at hand. After I defeat this monster, I can put all this behind me. I'll never have to worry about the monster anymore and I can move on with my life.

I squeeze the doorknob, hesitant to turn it. What if I fail? What if I succeed? Then what? What am I supposed to do?

I almost talk myself out of doing it, when a voice behind me yelled, "Wait!"

"Huh?" I questioned, turning around. My younger brother greeted me with a bear-hug.

"Don't go yet!" shouted little Mason.

He startled me, but I managed to hug him back. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "You should be at Grandma's house."

He looks up at me with his puppy-dog chocolate brown eyes. "I know, but I wanted to see you. I'm scared you won't come back."

I chuckled and knelt down to his level. "You don't think I can do it?"

He shook his head. "I know you can, but I'm still afraid."

I "boop" his nose. "Don't worry. I'm the best fighter in the family. The monster has no chance."

He nods, but I can tell he's still worried.

I frown. What can I do to make him feel better? I thought.

After a second, the lightbulb dinged in my head. I remove my necklace and held it in front of his face. "Can you hold on to this for me?" I asked.

"But this necklace was Mom's. You never take it off," he said.

I smile softly to him. "You're right, I don't. So, I want this when I come back. Can you protect it until then?"

He hesitated. "What if I break it?"

"You won't," I replied. "I trust you."

He finally nodded and cupped his hands together as I slowly place the necklace in his hands. "I'll keep it safe."

I held my pinky out to him. "You promise?"

He intertwined his pinky with mine. "I promise."

I smile and stand. "How did you get here, anyway?" I asked.

"I walked," he stated.

I face-palmed. "You snuck out didn't you?"

He nodded, looking down in shame.

Before I could reassure him, the front door burst open. "Mason!"

Uh oh, I thought. She's pissed.

Footsteps pounded up the stairs, causing Mason to hide behind me. He gripped my jeans so hard I thought he was gonna tear them. "She found me."

"You're damn right I found you."

At the end of the hall stood our older sister, Sam. An angry aura blazed around her, her usual kind and wise hazel eyes now a hellish red. I felt sorry for Mason.

"Now, let's calm down," I said cautiously, trying to hide Mason more behind me.

"Don't try to cover for him," she snapped. "Do you understand how terrifying it is that we couldn't find him? Dad almost had a heart attack! He's lucky that I figured out where he was."

"Then there's no reason to be mad. You found him and he's not hurt."

"He's still in trouble," she replied. "What is he doing here, anyway?"

"Oh, you know. Coming to see his sister off because he was scared she wouldn't come back," I said matter-of-factly.

The fire in her eyes died down a bit. She scratched the back of her head and sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just been so stressed out up to this point."

"Because of tonight?" I asked.

She nodded. "It's not that I don't have the confidence in you," she started. "I just have a bad feeling is all."

I smiled. "Don't worry. I was scared when you had to do this, too. But you came back, just like you promised."

As I spoke, she sauntered over to me. At twenty-three, she only stood a couple of inches taller than me. When we were kids, she would always make fun of me being shorter than her. I'm five years younger than her and I am certain I will be taller than her by this time next year.

She only stared at me for a moment before she surprised me with a hug. She squeezed the air out of me, but I managed to squeeze her back.

"Don't get yourself killed," she whispered. "I can't lose you, too, Olivia."

She only uses my full name when I'm in trouble. She's scared, I realized. She's scared that I'm going to die, too.

I rested my hands on her shoulders. "I'll come back. I swear."

She nodded and looked to Mason. "Come on, Squirt. We need to get back before Dad decides to come looking for you."

He took her outstretched hand but looked back at me.

"Go on," I urged.

I stared down the hall, even after I could no longer see them. Their footsteps sounded ten times louder with no one else in the house. After the door closed, I finally let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

I turned and stared at my wooden door once again. For them, I thought. I will fight for them and them alone.

I placed my hand on the golden doorknob. Now or never, I thought. I turned the knob hard and kicked the door open.

"It's about time," a voice complained.