The Mythical Hunt

Chapter 17. The Monsters of the Unknown

Ferris takes Bain, Maxwell, Smith, and the rest of the police officers down town in Sammyville in the van. "So where exactly are we going Dr. Volkof?" Asked Smith. "Patience boy." Said Ferris. "We are not far from our destination." Suddenly, they turn the van into a private area. The driver of the van shows the guardsman his identity before letting him cross the fence. They arrive at a science facility building. "What is this place?" Asked Smith. Ferris faces Smith and looks at his face. "Oh no." He said. Smith becomes nervous. "What?" He asked. "What's wrong?" "This must be Phoenix's work." "Phoenix?" Asked Bain. "Phoenix the Demon." Said Ferris. "Very dangerous monster. He's extremely aggressive towards humans. You lucky to survive my boy." "Can you tell us about the others?" Asked Bain. "Once we're inside." Said Ferris. Once they made in the laboratory, Ferris points at a picture of what appeared to be the smoke monster. "This big guy here is Haze." He said. "He's the Smoke Monster. He's not the brightest, but he's pretty strong. He can also be dangerous if falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that is exactly what happened. Phoenix orders him around into doing wrong things." He walks to a room that seems to get colder with every step they take. "Follow me." He said. "What you are about to see, is something that is beautiful." Everyone walks into a room with a giant spider that was frozen in contaminated ice. "This ol girl is an Ice Spider named Crystal." Said Ferris. "She is not half bad actually. She is just  hibernating right now until the weather turns much colder. Instead of making sticky webs like a normal spider, she makes ice. She can get along with you, as long as you're not a threat to her in any way." They leave the freezing room and go back into the main office of the facility. "There is one more I would like to mention." Said Ferris. "Which is?" Said Maxwell. "The one I hear you were all after this entire time." Said Ferris. "Taren. The Lightning Creature. We don't worry about him too much. He comes here when we need him." "What do you mean when you need him?" Ask Bain. "To do some tests on him." Said Ferris. "Taren is the smartest monster out of the four. He's smart as a human. Sometimes we even think he's smarter than that." "What all can he do?" Asked Smith. "Well," said Ferris. "He can attract lightning through his body and let's it go when either he needs to or want to, he only comes out at night, and disappears as soon as the sun comes up. That pretty much his routine." "Carl Maxwell seen him years ago when he was much smaller." Said Bain. "Even did a painting of him." "He never caused any trouble Dr. Volkof." Said Maxwell. "He never does." Said Ferris. "He's much larger now, but he is still as gentle as a puppy. We learned that he loves being around humans." " Where did these monsters come from?" Asked Smith. Ferris adjusts his glasses. "I've created them." He said. "How?" Asked Bain. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you." Said Ferris. "It was an accident when they were created. That's why  we call them the Monsters of the Unknown. In 1972, I was a young lad working in the old science lab before this one. And I dropped my ingredients all over the floor. They mixed together and Phoenix, Haze, and Crystal had risen up to life. We were very afraid. They went by us and all the scientists ran after them. Myself included." "What about Taren?" Asked Maxwell. "Taren was delayed." Said Ferris. "He came after we all left the room. Unfortunately I came back for something. I don't remember what I went in there for, but I saw him sitting at the window. He looked at me for a moment and ran out the window. Phoenix, Haze, and Crystal escaped together, but Taren went his own way. Months later, he came back. We wasn't going to take any chances, so we forcefully apprehended him. He didn't fight back though. After a couple of years of getting used to him, we was able to trust him more than the other monsters. And over the years, we've captured the rest and kept them locked away, but Phoenix found a way out just recently and escaped with Haze. And later on, Taren went out of range from our facility. He went all the way to Sammyville." Maxwell finally realized the reason for Taren's return. "To warn us." Even was confused at first. "Excuse me?" Asked Ferris. "He's warning us about the other monsters. That has to be his reason." "How do you know?" Asked Bain. "Because I know him that's why." Said Maxwell. Smith just remembered something. "Oh god." He said. "I-I just remembered! Haze was chasing some high school students in the woods. My sister is one of them!"