“THE MONSTER WITHIN”
By: Michael Heitkemper
I was walking the sidewalk when I saw the breaking news through the window of an electronics store. There was some sort of horrible monster thrashing through the city. It was something unheard of. I listened for the location, and realized that I was not far from the disaster. Even though it was frightening news, it was something that I had to see. Being a scientific biologist; if a new species had arisen, I wanted to be one of the first to see it.
I tried to hail a cab, but they were all going the opposite direction. No doubt, they were running from the monster. I had no choice but to pursue on foot. After all, it was only a few blocks.
As I neared the disaster area, it was obvious that I was getting close. There were people screaming and running. One man looked directly at me, and shouted out a warning, “It’s the devil! Everyone run for your lives!” I ignored the man, and continue my pursuit, following the trail of destruction.
I turned another city block, only to be confronted with stalled traffic, several cars had wrecked into each other. There was a lone woman lying in the street. Out of the several people scrambling to run away, no one would stop to help her. I couldn’t ignore her as they did. I ran to her and knelt down. Her chest was covered with blood, like something had impaled her. Her face was stark white, and her eyes were wider than they should have been allowed to open. I could only imagine the horror that she had seen. She didn’t speak or scream, choking on her own blood. I applied pressure to her chest, but her injuries overcame her, and I watched her choke on her last breath. There was nothing more that I could do for her. And as scared as I was, I continued my chase of the monster.
I turned another city block, and the destruction was twice as ravish than the last block. Cars and trucks were overturned in the streets, and some run into buildings. A fire hydrant sprayed water into the air, busted at the base. The glass of every building’s ground floor was shattered and spread across the sidewalks and street. And through all the devastation that I could see, there was silence.
I couldn’t believe it, but it was like the entire block had been deserted. But there were people there, at least a dozen. They were all dead; brutally murdered. With every step that I took into the chaos, I prayed that there would be a survivor amongst the wreckage. But to my dismay, there wasn't. There was blood split across the sidewalk that I stepped upon. I’d yet to see the monster, but I had already seen enough images to scar my mind for the rest of my life. The sheer horror of seeing ravaged dead bodies lying in the street made even me feel ill. I’d seen my share of blood before in surgery and autopsy. But still, I got nauseous and light headed. I had to get out of there.
My steps became faster, trying to run from the horrific images in front of me, but my nausea kicked in. I tripped on something in my path, and landed on the broken glass that covered the sidewalk. The pain of the glass shards piercing my skin quickly awakened my senses.
I buried the pain from my fall into my gut, and started to climb to my feet. But as I raised my head, I noticed the most horrid looking creature off to my side. It was the monster. It was staring at me as if I were his next meal. The monster was inside a building, a mere ten feet away. The outside wall of the building was completely destroyed, so there was only open air that separated me from the monster.
The creature was gray and scaly all over. It stood on two feet that had long claws reaching from its toes, and a matching set on his spiky hands. The monster’s head was shaped like that of a huge lizard, but it had fangs that were dripping with blood hanging from its mouth. The monster’s body appeared strong and immense, perhaps eight feet tall. Its eyes were beady and red, as if they were filled with evil.
I couldn’t move. For several moments, I only stared at the creature, and it stared right back at me. The suspense was chilling, and I could feel my heart race as I waited for the monster to attack.
I heard sirens far in the distance, and a helicopter, possibly naval, nearing the scene. I looked in the direction of the noise, and I could see that the monster heard it too.
We again attached our stares to one another. I wanted to leave, and I was at least going to try. I moved my arm to better support myself to get to my feet. Simultaneously, the monster raised his arm as well; he was going to attack. I quickly dropped myself back onto the ground and rolled away from the beast.
I couldn’t believe it when I had managed to get to my feet. I’d thought I was easy prey. I started to run as fast as I could. I couldn’t help but think that at any second, I was going to feel the monster’s spiky grip sink into my back. But it didn’t happen. I didn’t even hear the footsteps of the monster chasing me. I stopped running and turned around to look behind me. The monster was gone.
I skimmed the area with my eyes; looking to the left, and then to the right. The beast was no where to be seen. I looked back to the building; the one that the monster was inside of. I looked into the hole in the side, but the monster was no longer there. The helicopter and sirens were getting closer, and I wondered if the noise had scared the monster away. But then, that’s when I saw it; the sign above the hole in the side of the building. My mind just barely let me read the red painted lettering. It read: “Custom Cut Glass & Mirrors, By: Frank”. I couldn’t believe it. The monster that I thought I had seen was not there at all. The monster I saw was only a reflection; a reflection of me. My stomach turned, and I looked down at my very hands and confirmed that it was true . I possessed the bloody claws, I was the monster… the monster was within me.
Suddenly, some things made sense. It was no wonder that I couldn't hail a cab; they were all running away from me. The man that yelled at me, it was a curse to me, and a warning to everyone else. And that poor woman; while applying the pressure to her chest... I killed her, by crushing her rib cage. I wanted to get sick, but it was clear that I already was.
The fogginess of my mind started to dissolve even more. I remembered the experiments, the ones that I had done at work. What were they for? I couldn’t remember. My mind was still too clouded to recall every detail. The sounds of the nearing helicopter didn’t help either. But the experiment; I remembered that I tested it on myself. So stupid! I had a good reason… I had to have. I remembered noticing the changes in my body, day after day for a week. Then finally, I morphed into the monster.
I had lost control over my mind for a short time, but at that moment, and in the few moments that had passed, the control was returning to me. I could tell what was happening, I was returning to my human form. I looked down at my hands, and the monstrous claws were shrinking and disappearing into my fingertips. The transformation was painless, and my sanity returning to me was like a breath of fresh air.
I completely returned to my normal form, and just in time. Seconds after the transformation was complete, the heavily armed helicopter rounded a building top and was in direct view of me. It didn’t waste any time, and continued its search for the monster; the pilots oblivious to the fact that they had just passed it.
Sometime later, I had regained my senses completely. I sat on the same sidewalk, and relaxed myself until the emergency crews arrived. They wanted to aid me, but I refused them, telling them that there were others worse off than me.
I should have told them everything; who I was, and what I had done. But I didn’t. I was too ashamed of it. But the shame would never add up to the guilt that I would have to carry for the rest of my life; the guilt of all the lives that I had taken that day. I tried to reason that it was all done unconsciously, out of my control. Maybe that’s how I lived with myself after that day. Or maybe it was so that I could return to work and discontinue the experiments that had changed me into the monster. It was something that no one needed to tamper with. Maybe then I could find a cure for myself. But if not, I'd have to do something to ensure that I’ll never hurt another soul. Destroy myself, in order to destroy the monster within.
END
