The Monster Inside Me

Chapter One

It had been eleven years since I'd seen the sun. I never forgot that day; because that was the day I was locked away. I was six years old when my brother had locked me away in this mansion. Brother said it was for my own good, so no one could hurt me. I wondered if that was true. Was it worth getting whatever I wanted, having fake friends, and having a replica of the outdoors, just for my protection? I would rather take the danger any day than live in this isolated mansion.

I loved my big brother, Zachariah, but this fate he had chosen for me, I can't forgive him for it. I missed out on everything a normal person had. Since being here I couldn't have friends, family, or experience public school; I couldn't even find true love. Sure, the mansion had everything I ever needed to survive, but this life wasn't for me. I wanted to see the world, explore outside the walls, but brother wouldn't let me. I'd beg and I'd plead with him, even if I could just go outside for a measly minute, I'd be the happiest person alive, and yet he refused every time I asked.

'The world is better off not knowing your existence,' Zachariah would say to me. Over time those words would repeat itself in my head. Those words made me not want to exist. If I had to hide my identity from the world, what was the point of living? Was it to make my brother happy, or was it for another reason I was unaware of?

Today was my birthday, June 2nd. I turned seventeen and so far brother hadn't come and wished me a happy birthday. Unfortunately for me, and luckily for him, he could come and go out of the mansion as he pleased. Zachariah would be here for a day or two and then vanish for weeks, sometimes even months. I never knew where he was going, he never told me. I wasn't even sure where I was located, map wise. Was it California, Pennsylvania, Paris, or maybe even Japan? I didn't know. I didn't remember much about my childhood days, before I was forced to live among these walls. How this place came into existence, I didn't know either. It was kept a secret from me, including the disappearance of my own parents.

I stared at the fake hologram sky. I took a deep breath and smelt the fresh cut grass. All the trees, grass, flowers, and birds in the room were from the outside. Zachariah wanted me to live a normal life. That's why he created this room, so I could enjoy the outdoors without having to go outside. Even if everything in the room was real, I knew it was fake. I wanted to feel the real sun on my face, not a light bulb shining through a hologram sun.

I grabbed the remote next to me. Each button was a different control for the weather. If I wanted it windy, the side vents would open up and blow air into the room. I could make it rain from some of the ducts on the ceiling, or I could have it thunder. I could even change the temperature with the remote. The only thing the weather controls couldn't do, was make it snow. The last season I remember outside was snow.

I pressed the button on the remote for it to rain. The hologram sky turned gray and I could start to hear the ducts open. Water slowly began to flow out and attempt to imitate the rain. There was panel on the wall next to the door, which leads into my bedroom. The panel was the real weather machine, the remote is just so I didn't have to get up and change it. The panel eventually would change the weather by itself every day. Zachariah said it matched the weather with outside.

"Melia, come out of the rain. You're going to get all wet." Miss Blench said from the doorway.

"How many times must I tell you? Call me Milly!" I yelled to her. "And I'm not leaving this spot until brother comes back."

"Milly," she said and popped an umbrella open, "I have some bad news for you." She walked over to me. "Your brother just called and he said that he's not going to be able to make it today."

"Why did I have a feeling he wasn't going to come?" I whispered to myself.

"He did say he was coming tomorrow. Give him a little credit. Zachariah does a lot for you. I'm sure he wants to be here with you. He hasn't seen you for a couple of months." Miss Blench picked up the remote and changed the weather.