The Others

Chapter 5: The War Between Monsters and Men

She attacked on June 2nd, my Grandmother once told me.

I sat idly at the table, finishing my homework for that day as she bustled around her cramped kitchen. It was a relatively quiet evening, save for the sound of birds chirping and the scratch of my pen against the notepad. When she first spoke, I
thought it was a trick of my imagination but then she continued.

"I was thirty-five and your grandfather and I were divorced at that point. Your father- Nicholas- was staying at his friends house that weekend and I was left all alone," She grabbed a pot from the cupboard and a bundle of vegetables from the fridge.

"It happened as I stood in this very kitchen, the news was playing in the background," She began to mince the vegetables with expert precision, her hand moved at the speed of a hummingbird's wing.

We learned about the war in History class. Just like we learned about World War I and II and the Cold War and every armed conflict since the inception of the United States. Wars happened all the time. We were still fighting with the Middle East and Russia and half of Asia and those wars began way before my grandmother was even born.

"The newscasters stopped mid-sentence. I can't remember what they were talking about but it doesn't really matter now," She threw a basil leaf into the pot. "They paused for a good five seconds, which I thought was strange because the news people do love hearing themselves talk and then suddenly it was chaos. I remember one of the News Anchors tried to warn us. He said, 'We don't want to alarm anyone but the pentagon has just been attacked.' Well, naturally, everyone freaked out."

I remembered that man. We watched the taping of the broadcast in class. He was a relatively attractive man with salt and pepper hair and a thick beard which concealed his strong chin. The woman beside him sat frozen in her chair, her mouth hung ajar, eyes wide open. They thought it was a terrorist attack at first. Those happened from time to time, nothing to sweat about. But, then a video surfaced from one of the bystanders. It was a video revealing, her.

"She stood on top of the burning building, her ebony curls twisting and snapping around her face like the snakes of Medusa. Her eyes were as black as coals and fire engulfed her fists." Grams wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist. She was staring at the bubbling pot, with a vacant look on her face as she were no longer in the kitchen with me.

"They called her Lilith- the mother of demons- because it was like all of hell had escaped."

The State Department and the Capitol Building were attacked next. She rampaged throughout D.C., attacking any and all who stood in her way until she reached the White House. The west wing was practically burnt to the ground when the news broke about the President's death. She killed him, herself, my teachers said.

"Why are you telling me this Grams, I know all about the war."

They called it the war between Men and Monsters. The monsters had crawled out from the shadows, following Lilith's lead, in an attempt to claim their 'rightful place' in the light. At least, that's what they claimed. The humans pushed back, frightened and angered by the attacks. The two continued to fight senselessly for another two years until Lilith went into hiding. And then, eventually an agreement was made between both sides and a resolution passed at the United Nations, instating HOSCA. The Human and Other Species Control Act. The Monsters, or Others, as they were now referred to as, had forged a home in the void of reality, bending both time and space. It was entirely too complex for my thirteen year-old brain to comprehend but I liked to think of it as an alternate dimension.