The story of Creature

Chapter 2: Awaken and revel

The Creature abruptly stopped its story and glanced as the dawning sky. The boy was confused for a moment due to this, but followed the eyes of the thing, and noticed the sky. A look of panic erupted on the boy's face as he had snuck out, and soon his parent would be waking. The Creature took note of the boy's face and asked
"Why are you so shocked? If the start of my story provokes such a response, then I won't tell you the rest!" The boy hurried to stand up and started to apologize profusely.
"I'm so, so, sorry, but I really must go, my parents don't know I left. I don't want to get in trouble. I do want to hear the rest of your story, but I really must go. I'm so sorry" And with that the boy fled into the forest. The Creature sighed in annoyance and turned towards the sky as the sun's warmth began to break through the blanket of the nights cold. The thing sat there in silence, unmoving, unspeaking, unthinking; as the sun rose and chased away the remaining evidence of the night. And there the Creature sat, staring at the sky until a raven settled on its head.

At once the thing erupted in movement, striking and grabbing the bird that had landed on its head. The creature inspected the Raven; a bird of death, a fitting meal for the damned. The thing quickly twisted the bird's neck, killing it, and then began to clean it. The feathers were plucked and dropped, it made for a feathery meal. The talons, legs and the beak were removed, these parts made for an overly crunchy meal. The guts and brain were removed, it made the meal sour. All of these actions were done with a clear practiced efficiency. When the bird was clean, and the corpse resembling an uncooked chicken, the Creature dug in. It was a fantastic, and filling meal. The bones gave a subtle crunch to the juicy and smooth meat, and the blood served to add a bit of tang, acting as pepper. A fitting meal, stereotypical of a monster. The Creature chuckled at that thought, stood up and patted itself down to get rid of the bone fragments and meat chunks that had escaped its mouth. The thing then turned and started to walk back down the hill, hobbling through the well-trodden path of the forest, back to the Creatures cavern.

One would expect the home of a creature would be unkempt and unclean, however to the astonishment of any sane human, the Creature's abode was kempt and clean, a peaceful cavernous sanctuary. A small window with a curtain occupied a corner of the cave. Ferns and leaves stuffed in a weaving of vines, resembling a bed. A small sink of clear water stood on the left, next to a benchtop, both carved from the cavern wall at waist height. Such a civil place for a seemingly savage being.

The Creature slept from noon to the first hoot of the owl. And once it woke went about its nightly routine. Bed making, cleaning its scales and rocky skin, and catching, cleaning then eating a meal. A squirrel will have to do for today. After the Creature's normal regimen, the thing then stood and smoothed its clothing, and hobbled through the well-worn path of the forest, towards its usual hill. The Creature was surprised at the small silhouette at the top of the hill.
"I'm surprised you came so early boy; you normally wait until the moon reaches its peak before you give me company." The thing remarked. The boy turned and faced the Creature with a startled look on his face.
"I wanted to hear your story. I said I would. I'm being sincere." The boy looked at the thing with hopeful eyes.
"I know, but it doesn't change that you left without informing me off the reason, leaving me to misunderstand that you lost interest." The Creature responded.
"I'm so sorry" Spoke the boy "I snuck out to meet you tonight. I've done it before. Whenever I came to talk with you after midnight, I normally wait until I'm sure my parents are in a deep sleep. I'm sorry." The Creature sighed and thought, then answered
"Very well, I will tell you the rest. But if you must interrupt or leave again, let me know, don't leave like the whims of the wind." A look of hope appeared onto the boy's face.
"Thank you. ..... Also, what's your name. I don't like how I don't know your name."
"I don't have one, and if I did, I've long forgotten it. When you live as long as me. It becomes second nature to forget important things." The Creature showed a look of dissatisfaction and looked at the boy. "Call me Creature."
"Why?" Questioned the Boy.
"It's the name for things that aren't monsters, aren't animals and aren't humans." The Creature replied. "I'm not any of them." The thing chuckled at the inside joke.
"But you have the shape of a human. Don't you?" The boy sounded confused. "And you also look like a monster. And how do you know you're not a monster?
"Because like you I know what I am. And it's rude to say someone looks like a monster. Of course, I do look like a monster, but it is still rude." The Creature signed at the boy's incessant questions. "Now, if we're finished with the questions can you sit down so I can start. Okay? Great." The boy sat himself in front of the creature and looked at it expectantly.

"After I entered my apartment, I went about as I usually did. Keys on the bench, cigarettes next to them, grabbed a beer and dropped myself on the couch. I picked up the remote and turned the TV onto my normal channel. Now I would love to give you an excuse as to why my default channel was a government controlled one, but, way back then I was mediocre. I excelled at being mediocre. I worked at a convenience store and was pretty much employee of the month every month. I wasn't the smartest and I wasn't the dumbest. I was better than the average person, but not so much as I'd stand out. I was the best mediocre person you could ever meet. And a mediocre person watches mediocre news. I knew that the information that I got from the channel was mediocre and filtered; But I listened and lapped it up like a thirsty dog.

"But I was beyond shocked when I found out that the channel I normally watched, one that always had the safest answer, and the most easily digestible answer, reporting 24/7, wasn't broadcasting. In a panic I checked other channels such as sports news now, weather stations, and other general news sites. 1 out 10 channels were broadcasting, the rest were static. There were more than a few confusing headlines as well.

· 'Southern – Northern lights' Scientists shocked at the phenomenon.'

· 'A majority of news stations, power plants, and corporations left without power.'

· 'Advent of god's – multiple online religions proclaim this phenomenon as their gods descending, or displaying their unbelievable power.'

"In the end I turned off the tv and threw the beer can in the bin. I was tired. I was confused. And I believed that the government would fix any problems in the end. So, I went to bed. Without a care in the world. With nothing much to say. When our current world was starting to end. Ironic.

"I didn't think I had been asleep for a long time, but when I woke up, I knew something was wrong. My head felt strangely clear and I felt strangely refreshed. I hadn't had a sleep this good since before I developed insomnia around age 16. Well, I thought, It's probably just that. I hope someone's found out what that thing was by now. But as I reached for my phone on the bedside, it wasn't there. I felt around the side of the bed to see if it had fallen. It had. I picked it up, and felt sand on my fingers. Rust. Alarmed I sat up, the screen was cracked in multiple places, the metal parts were rusting and the internals were exposed. I then noticed my bed. The sheets were all torn and moldy, the mattresses springs were sticking out and the fabrics all looked as if small insects had bitten them. As this point, I was panicking; I looked around my room and was the floorboards were splintering and decaying. The pictures that were once on my wall were now on the floor with the pictures looking aged and the glass eroded and scratched. The nails on the wall were bent and looked as if they were made of rust. And the roof was the most decrepit, with holes big and small plotting the ceiling like skylights, except these ones showed the upper floors, which did not look any better. I quickly made my way down the hall towards the kitchen and dining room, except the hall did not open into either of those, but rather into a beautiful sunset. A yellow orange mirage cascaded towards the encroaching blues of the night, as if waging a quiet war over the sky. But in all its beauty, it felt sinister, as if a god of death was waiting in the night sky, as if something was deeply wrong. I peeled my eyes from the sky and towards the debris around, noticing the front door, looking almost exactly like the wooden floor boards.

The Creature ceased his story at that moment, becauseit was an easy moment to leave off on, and it had noticed the brightening sky. Itlooked towards the boy and pointed at the sky, which directed the boy to headhome.