10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Sep 5 - Monster Town

He stared at the letter in disbelief. None of this made any sense. Had he been accepted? In a fake contest? He thought it was just a joke, just an interesting article in the magazine. Why did this letter even exist? He reread it, just to be safe.

"Congratulations!" it praised him. "You have won the prize draw! Your personality type has been judged as suitable for Téras, a town of non-human people races, and you have been selected to move there! You are one of only two to have been accepted, so consider yourself very lucky! Pack your bags, we'll help you into Greece in two weeks from now!" The letter continued, though in small print. "Acceptance of this letter means you agree to permanently move to Téras. Moving to Téras requires a vow of secrecy regarding the residents of Téras. Leaving Téras is not permitted under any conditions."

"What the hell is this crap?" he read the letter once again. "This can't be real..." he grumbled, but soon held his tongue. Non-human people... he couldn't deny, he was fascinated by the idea. Still, something like this... he growled softly. It was utter nonsense. A town filled with monsters? One that just so happened to accept him? Yeah, right. He dropped the letter onto the table.

He had a meal. The letter stayed there.

He watched some television. The letter stayed there.

He went to bed. The letter stayed there.

He woke up the next day. The letter was still there. He grumbled as he read it again, sleepily rubbing one eye.

"Complete bullcrap..." he muttered, throwing a large travel bag onto his bed. "Probably not even real..." he started filling it with everything he could get his hands on. "That staying-there rule is bullcrap." he grumbled, starting on a suitcase next. He grumbled as he worked, but he had soon packed most of what he owned. He didn't know anything about Téras. All he knew was that he was going.

-----

Weeks passed. Nothing came. He had almost given up hope when there was a heavy pounding on the door. The sound had him jump out of his skin, as well as his seat. He came to the door and looked through the peephole. It was a huge figure hidden by a large, black trenchcoat and black hat. The figure knocked again; the movement suggested the figure was being gentle, but the pounding betrayed the strength behind that simple motion. This thing was... powerful. He gulped as he opened the door.

"Kai Mays?" the asked, bringing out some paper and reading it briefly. The voice betrayed it was female.

"Yeah, that's... that's me." he mumbled, stunned. Something about this woman reeked of raw strength, strength enough to humble him.

"Brilliant. I'm Holly, and I'll be helping you to reach Téras." she smiled, tipping her hat in greeting. "Do you have everything packed?"

"I, uh... yeah..." he mumbled, stepping aside.

"Need a hand with it?" she asked, stepping into the room. "You need to have some strength to move all this stuff out."

"I... yeah, I've got the clothes and stuff through here." he guided her through to his bedroom.

"Right, come here then." she grabbed the cases and lifted them easily. He stared, stunned. She couldn't be human, those cases were bigger than his torso. He followed, already lost in thought. This couldn't be happening... and yet, here she was.