Where The Wild Things Go (Joshler AU)

Chapter 1- The Great Book of Monsters

Credit to: spacepilxts (for the plot and title) and to 21chumpstreet (for the cover)

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~Tyler~

The world was divided into two main parts; the Central City- where Tyler grew up and spent most of his life, and the Zones- which were split into twenty smaller parts. Last year, every single Zone was attacked by these terrifying horrible creatures- everyone referred to them as monsters. All Zones were evacuated and everyone was forced to move into the Central City. The government organized a campaign and trained twenty volunteers to fight these beasts. After eight long months; today was the final day. There was a ceremony being held at the front of the campus. There they would announce all the monster hunters, and the Zone they would be placed into. Tyler feels a little tug at his chest, as the realization of what today was sank in.

Tyler had volunteered to be a monster hunter because of his grandma. Unlike him, Tyler's grandma lived in the Zones. Twice a year Tyler and his family would go and visit. Tyler loved his grandma, she alway had so many interesting stories from when she was his age. The world was so different then. Sometimes, she would read him old books, from her childhood. She was defenseless when those horrible monsters attacked her, back when the monsters first entered the Zones. Being a monster hunter was the only way Tyler could avenge her death, by killing the monsters that killed her. His mom disagreed with his decision. She told him that he she had already lost her mom, she couldn't lose her son too. But he had to, this was the only way he could live with her being gone.

Tyler then realized something- he could actually survive; after all he did have eight months of training. There he learned about the different monsters, and each of their strengths and weakness. Sometimes, Tyler would sneak out at night and enter the library. There he would find as many books as he could- about the animals he was hoping he'd see in the Zones. He loved learning and reading about things. He even gained some knowledge on plants.

He pulls himself out of bed, and changes into the only clothes he had left- he had packed up the rest of them- the night before and stored them in a bag. He had around nine bags, filled with essential equipment to fight off the monsters, and stay alive. He wrapped a black leather belt around his waist, the belt contained a few holsters, for all his weapons. The clock beside his bed read 9:10. Tyler had fifty minutes before he was to arrive at the campus. He heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He rinses his mouth, and stares at himself in the mirror. Staring back at him was a boy with pale skin, brown eyes and brown hair.

After washing his face he exits the bathroom and steps into his living room. All of his bags were piled into a cart, that way he didn't have to lug around all nine of them. He glances around the apartment, all of his furniture and belongings were still here, because he couldn't take them to the Zones. If he died, all this stuff would be taken to a dump, and then new people would move in. Tyler heads into the kitchen and makes himself some breakfast- scrambled eggs, and pineapple pieces. With the plate in hand he walks over to his couch.

After he finishes eating, Tyler decides to check his bags before heading to the ceremony. He lifts all the bags out of the cart and opens the first bag labelled as WEAPONS. They weren't any weapons inside it yet, but when he hands over his bag at the ceremony, they would place them inside. He would get three guns, of various lengths and five boxes of bullets, each filled with 200. He would also get a bag of arrows, a bow, and two swords. 

Tyler sighs, as he remembers his training. All those days in front of a target, squeezing the trigger and releasing the bullets. It took him longer than most of his peers to hit the target, but he was way better when they practiced archery. Training consisted of morning runs, training to fight and then he would head to class and learn about monsters- to end the course, they had to fight a robot monster. Tyler tried shooting it with a gun- but the bullets just bounced off. Bullets didn't kill every monster. His next approach was by slicing it's leg so it would lose it's balance topple over. Then Tyler went for his head, causing the robot to die, and leaving Tyler victorious. Most of Tyler's peers made fun of him for how scrawny he was, but whatever he lacked in muscle he made up for in knowledge. The bag also had a first aid kit, and some poison medicine. He zips it up, and moves on to the next one; FOOD.

The suitcase was just filled with canned food and other non perishable food items, this one also had a canteen with a filter built inside. He places the other two in the cart as well, since they contained more food. The next two bags were used to carry Tyler's clothes. Tyler moves them into the cart with the others, and opens the next one. This one was labelled; INFORMATIONAL. It stored important objects like The Great Book Of Monsters, which contained every single monster that lives in every Zone. Tyler goes through the book, remembering those sleepless nights studying for the exam about monsters. It was actually quite fascinating learning about the monsters. They were all so different; like humans.

He stops on a page filled with monsters from Zone 3. A monster with similar features to a dragon catches his eye. It's scales were dark red and it had hundreds of legs, like a centipede. It also had long wings- like a bat, that matched the crimson shade of his body. The creature's name was Ash Scorpios. There was information about the creature below. The level of difficulty was twenty-three. On the next page, there was a monster named the Red-Eyed Frost Lynx. The picture depicted a blob with five eyes- however, two of them are red; hence the name. It also had legs and claws similar to those of a crab. He places the book bag, and scans the rest of the items in the bag. There was a hand held receiver, that he could use to talk to anyone in the Zones. He was required to report back to the government, every day with how many monsters he had killed. If he didn't report back, they would assume he's dead.

His Monster Finder would be placed in this bag. He didn't receive it yet, he was supposed to get it at the ceremony, when he found out what Zone he would be entering. The device was extremely important, it would notify Tyler of any monsters near by- giving him time to prepare for his attack, it also had a calendar and a map of the entire Zone and other important programs. The next bag stored his tent for him to sleep in. It also stored blankets for the winter. He shuts the bag, and opens the last one; WINTER. Inside were three thermal pants, a coat and some snow boots. He tosses the final one into the cart, and hauls it out the door. He gives his small cozy apartment one last look, before shutting the door. This may or may not be his last time here.