I Didn't ask to be a Monster

Chapter Nine

Lydia sat in the sunshine at the table surrounded by her four friends. They discussed what exactly could be going on with them.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Peter was texting her.

“I am going out of town tonight with Derek, I should be back in a few days.” 

“Okay, please be safe.”

“Of course.”

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“Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near death experience and comes out of it seeing things?” Scott asked.

“And is unable to tell what is real or not?” Stiles added.

“And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?” Allison concluded.

Lydia looked at all of them with worry thick on her face, she didn’t even hear the argument that was going on between Isaac and Stiles. She was jolted out of her worried state by a new voice that came up next to her.

“Hi, hi, sorry I couldn’t help over hearing what you guys were talking about.” This mysterious girl said.

Lydia quickly looked at her friends at the table in panic.

“And I think I actually know what you are talking about. There’s a Tibetan word for it, it’s called Bardo. It literally means, inbetween state, the state between life and death.”

Lydia squinted suspiciously at this person, “And what do they call you?”

“Kira.” Scott answered for her.

Lydia snapped a look at Scott and then turned her attentions back to Kira, “So are you talking Bardo, in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?” She questioned as she twirled her hair.

“Either I guess,” Kira sat down, “But all the stuff you guys were just saying, all that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states, where some you can have hallucinations, some you just see, some you hear and you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities.”

“Wrathful deities, like what are those?” Isaac asked.

“Like, demons.” Kira smiled.

“Demons. Why not…” Stiles interrupted.

Lydia went frantic and pulled out her notebook trying to write all this down for further research.

“Wait, hold on.” Allison’s words interrupted Lydia’s search for paper, “If there are different progressive states, then what’s the last one?”

“Death. You die.”

Lydia and the group became extremely uneasy at those words.

Her finger tapped nervously, she needed to do research and read. Now that she had something to go on she could at least find out some information that could be useful.

She had a free period and fully intended to use it. She quickly got up from the picnic table outside and went straight to the library. The rest of the group was a little dumbfounded by her sudden leave.

She was immersed in several books and a computer screen when Allison sat next to her and scared her.

“Oh god, I am sorry.” Allison apologized.

“No, no, it’s okay I am still a little jumpy.”

“From, yesterday Lydia I am so sorry about that I didn’t mean to do that you have to believe me.” Allison had sorrow in her voice.

“Allison,” Lydia put her hand on Allison’s, “It is okay. I forgive you. I know that you didn’t know what was going on around you. You are out of your mind. Trust me I know how it feels. Which is why I am going to stay the night at your place. We can do homework and research possible explanations, which is what I am doing now.” She smiled reassuringly.

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Peter and Derek were off in the woods several towns away near the Mexican border.

“So what are we doing here?” Peter asked as he trudged behind his nephew.

“Cora said she found out some information about something Mom left behind for us, she was going to meet us here.” Derek stood still and waited.

Peter huffed in protest at waiting.

Minutes turned into hours as they waited.

“I am sick of waiting, call her.” Peter barked.

“She doesn’t have any service.” Derek reminded his Uncle.

Peter stood up and stretched and kicked around a branch when something caught his foot. A metal string tightened around his ankle and yanked him upside down, “SHIT!”

“Peter!” Derek turned to see his Uncle hanging by his foot.

A group of hunters came out of the trees and black bagged their heads after knocking them out.

They awoke groggy in a dark place. They discovered that they were tied to a chain-link fence, their shirts had been removed and they were hotwired with electricity.

A table of blood stained tools lay before them and their phones sat in the middle of the torture devices.

Someone flicked a switch and began to electrocute them.

Their whole bodies started to convulse which prevented them from healing.

The torture stopped momentarily.

The slowly looked at one another, Derek glaring angrily at his Uncle.

“Why are you looking at me like this is my fault?” Peter asked with a shrug.

Derek replied breathless, “Because it is your fault.”

Another torturous electrocution was triggered only to cease seconds later.

Through his panicked breaths Peter responded sarcastically, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”