Shay Thaug is a determined fifteen year old boy who one day decides to become the greatest monster master the world has ever seen. The world is inhabited by old and ancient creatures known simply as Monsters. But after a while, Shay realizes that th...
The moment we walked to the top of the hill, looked around and saw the town, we knew something was wrong. Black smoke of burning wood emmited from it into the sky. Its gate was smashed to pieces, and so were some of the larger buildings. The market stalls were ruined and the roofs of houses smashed inside. It was a miracle, that some of them even stood upright. "What happened there?" Stella asks with wonder. I myslef felt very curious to know what hapened. "Well, whatever happened here, it's nothin' good." "You got that right." We move towards the destroyed town.
The closer we got, the warmer the air got. The place was heavily burnt down. "We've got to look for survivors." I could tell that Stella wasn't keen on the idea, but she knew I was right. "You first." She says, motioning with her hand towards the town. "How nice of you." I say, rolling my eyes.
We stepped carefully over burnt or smashed pieces of wood and bricks, our eyes scanning the ground and insides of houses. We entered the ones with the most of their walls still intact, but found no one. The town was small, much smaller than Chillamoore. After about fifteen minutes of searching, we finally found a body. A body burnt to ash.
"Oh god!" Stella gasps, taking a step back from the horrific scene. "Who could have done this?" She asks. The burnt body had no hair anywhere, his face black, mouth open in pain and agony. "Viktor." The gruff voice came from behind us, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. We turn back to see a Monster behind us.
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It was just alittle shorter than me, standing upright. It had a large belly, its skin black but dotted with bright blue curled lines. It had some sort of crown on its head, the front part from wood, covering its face so that only its bright blue eyes and mouth peek out. The top used to have bright green leaves, but they were burnt now, as was the wooden part of the helm. It carried some sort of staff in its hand, topped with a hawk skull. "Who are you?" I ask with curiosity. "I could ask you the same question. I am after all the leader of this town. But since you asked first... My name is Houglas, an Erpham. Now your turn." "Right. My name is Shay and this is my friend Stella. We are Monster trainers, and we came here to see if there were any survivors." There were, but they're gone now. Fled the city before the Gradies could get them." "Gradies?" I ask, unsure of the term. "Yes, Gradies. The Upgraded ones?" I raise an eyebrow. "What does that mean?" "Viktor's specimens? His subjects? You never heard of 'em? He's been developing them for over a year now. People though he was crazy, that he would never succeed, but he has." "Succeed? Succeed with what? And who are the Upgraded ones? And Viktor? We have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." The old Erpham sighs. Alright, I better start from the beggining. Sit down over here and listen up. This is Dr Viktor's story."
"He was a human once. Just like you and... well, not me, but like anyone else. He was a scientist, working right here in this town. Town Gale. But then he started experimenting. He thought of a terrifying experiment. One he's been attempting for over a year now. The experiment to turn humans into Monsters. And he succeeded. It started three month ago. The first person was kidnapped. The next week, another. Soon, twelve people went missing. We had no idea what was going on. Some people already left, but most remained, searching for their loved ones. The Gradies are the successful subjects. On the outside, their human. In the inside, they have Monster DNA flowing through their system. They gained abilities only Monsters are meant to have. Viktor works in his lab our people built for him about five miles north. It was an attempt to keep him away from out people and Monsters. We banned him from our city, hoping he'd just give up when he has no subjects to experiment on. But it was to no good. He started experimenting on himself, turning more Monster than human. We knew he succeeded when our people went missing. They were turned into Gradies, just like himself. They attacked two towns before this one. I think it was a tester go. The attack on us was what his main goal was. He hated us for banishing him. For not believing. He wanted revenge, and now he got it. We don't know what he plans to do next. He captured seven more of our people, and they're bound to turn to Gradies soon. So yeah, I hope that answers your question." Houglas finishes. A chill of fear runs down my spine. "Sounds just like a mad scientist from the movies." Stella jokes, but her voice gives away her sudden fear.
