Monster Legends - Volume 1: A World Of Monsters

19. The change

I was standing, Stella two metres in front of me, sitting on her knees hunched over. Her stomach heaves and she vomits blood. The sight of it makes my stomach churn. Her breaths comes in ragged bursts, her hands clenched into fists. She screams as she starts to change.

Her clothes rip open as her spine elongates and her muscles widen. She thrashes on the ground, fur sprouting from her skin. My legs buckle in fear but I manage to keep my balance.

The change takes close to three minutes. She was completely different. Her eyes were blood red, her ears long and pointy, her nose and jaws lengthened to form a snout. Fangs hung down from her upper lip, her hands muscular and her fingers ending with coal black claws. She's grown a tail, her fur, covering every inch of her skin, was dark brown. She was whimpering, staring down at the ground on all fours.

"Stella?" I ask. My heart skips a beat as her head slowly raises upward, her eyes locking into mine. They were not Stella's eyes anymore. They were the eyes of a beast.

"Stella, I know you can hear me." I say, my voice hoarse with fear, throat dry. "Fight it!" I say, Stella growling in answer.

I back away as Stella stands up, standing way taller than her human form. The beast starts forward, Bolt crying with fear next to my feet.

I cry with surprise as she leaps at me, so fast. I had no time to attempt a dodge. Stella lands on top of me and we sprawl to the ground with a thud, my Monstagram undone from my belt. My hands reach forward and using all my energy I struggle to keep the beast from biting my face off.

Her hands were on my shoulders pinning me to the ground, the claws digging into my shoulders sending waves of excruciating pain down my arms. The weight of her on top of me stopped me from breathing. My hands were on her chest, pushing up as hard as I could, keeping her open jaw away from my neck. I hear a crack of lightning as it hits Stella in the side. She doesn't even seem to notice.

I couldn't take it anymore, the beast had way more strength than I did. My hands gave off under hers and she knew she has won. "I love you Stella." I say, eyes open and waiting for the deadly bite. Her jaws open as wide as they could and she leans forward, head to the side, fangs touching my throat as she prepares to rip it open.

There's a bright flash and then she's gone. I take a deep breath, confused of what happened. I sit up groaning, blood running down my shoulders were Stella's claws pierced the skin. I look to the side and see Bolt, wagging his tail, a paw on the Monstagram.

Stella's POV

Anger, sorrow, sadness, fear and most notably: hunger. They were the feelings I've felt the moment I changed. I could see, hear and think. But it wasn't me, not really. The thought of killing felt completely natural. I could remember me on top of Shay as I tried to kill him. But the thing that surprised me most was that I didn't feel anything. I didn't care who I killed, as long as I managed to fill my mouth with blood and meat. It was a strange feeling, being so empty inside. And then it happened. There was a click and I felt my body being sucked into some small box. And now I was here, standing confused in the middle of a large land with no idea where I was.

"Are you Stella?" A voice speaks behind me. I turn to look and see a Komocat. "That was my name when I was a human." I say, growling. "And you still are." "No, I'm not. I'm a Monster, and I need food." "Then go and hunt. There are plenty of animals in my habitat. We can share." I growl again. "Where am I?" "In the Monstagram." "How do I get out of here? I need to finish what I started." "You mean killing Shay? I don't like him much either, but you will not do that. You are his friend. You love him." I laugh at her words. "Love him? I don't love anyone. I don't feel love. All I feel is anger, and hunger." "This is the beast speaking. Stella, you have to fight it. Fight the beast and control it. I don't know how you feel, but I know a bit about anger and control. Remember what happened before you changed?" "No." I answer coldly. "You do. You held Shay's arm and you kissed him. What did you feel?" "Nothing." "What did you feel, Stella?" "I felt nothing." I answer, but something was happening. Komocat's words hit me like a wave, waking me up. I could remember now. "I felt at peace." I say finally. I close my eyes, thinking of Shay, the feelings he made rise within me, and I feel myself change again. This time, there was no pain. No sickness in my stomach. I've driven the beast back and all my feelings return. "Thank you." I say to the Komocat as I feel myself being pulled again, and with a bright flash I was back, staring into Shay's beautiful eyes.

Shay's POV

With a flash she came back. I meet her eyes as she smiles back at me. "You're ba...ck!" My voice quivers as I realize she was naked, her clothes ripped on the ground when she changed. I turn away hurriedly before I saw anything. "Got any extra clothes?" "Yeah." She laughs. "Don't wanna give me a welcome back hug?" I blush. "Maybe later." She laughs again and walks away to her tent.

*

"Hey Stella, there's something I wanna show you." We were staying in Dayton  Hotel for the night. "What is it?" She asks, coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her. I show her the red cotton cloak in my hand. "Put it on." She takes it and walks to the bathroom to change. When she comes back I tell her to look in the mirror. "What now?" I grin at her. "I've decided a name for you." "What do you mean? I already have a name." "A name for your Monster form." I say smiling. "Oh. What is it?" I look her in the eye and say: "Little Red Furry Cap."

2 and a half years later

For almost six hundred years, the eggs lay dormant. Their insides were frozen solid, dead long ago. No ammount of heat or even magic could revive the small and undeveloped creatures inside. They were doomed to die the moment they were laid. Their parents knew that. They were never meant to hatch. The parents had something else in mind.

A silent, deathly breeze filled the dark, freezing cave, long buried and forgotten by the human kind. The sounds of death, sorrow and torment reflect off of the cave walls. Yet the cave has never felt this alive before. Not for the last 600 years anyway.

The breeze disappeared as soon as it appeared. Yet it left something behind.

A faint sound, slow and rhythmic. A heartbeat.
--------------
AN: Thank you for reading the first volume of Monster Legends. Volume 2 coming soon! Your opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated.