Curate, connect, and discover
A short horro story I wrote:)
TW: Blood & psychological horror
I've been such a coward.
Never before have I stooped this low.
Never before have I done something like this out of fear.
Yes, it's all because of a fear that can thoroughly be explained and the reason is an understandable one.
But somehow the feeling I got from doing it hasn't left me.
It's like it's slowly rubbing my back, poisoning my skin.
It has burned itself deep into my soul and the chills I got from that day still haven't disappeared in the slightest.
I dislike this feeling.
I hate this memory.
It feels like I will have to watch my back until my last breath.
That day I went with my students to do research on a strange cave that had been recently found, I'm a teacher you see.
We were driven there by the group that secretly had been holding my family hostage, I knew, but pretended not to and I was lucky that none of my students noticed.
The group wanted me to investigate this cave in order for more power.
It was said that monsters had been created from this cave.
The research I had done before had proven that somehow it's real.
That's when they found out.
My God, why did I have to find it?!
Why did I have to be the one to do this?
If I could go back in time...
Well it doesn't matter anymore now, everyone is dead.
All my students have been killed, every single one of them.
I still remember all their faces, I still remember their ideas, their wishes and the possible futures they could have had.
Well... I don't really want to go on about them anymore.
We found and caught the monster that was needed for the group's project. They needed a weapon and that's the one they wanted.
A monster that could destroy cities with ease.
Somehow the one we found looks much different from what had been foretold in the stories I had studied, no hairy paws or yellow eyes, but it was a monster nonetheless.
A monster of great skill and strength beyond that of a simple human being.
Now years later, the monster sits before me.
It has an almost angelic appearance, with white wings on its back like a lower class angel from the bible.
Its skin is dark grey, its form almost human, and covered with small white feathers, except for on its neck, face and claws. The head somehow has longer feathers growing out of it, like the hair on a human's head.
Its claws are like a combination of that from a bird and the hands of a person.
Having five 'fingers' on each hand that are more longer and slender than that of a human being and of course ending in sharp nails.
The other researchers and I have been unable to find out the gender of the creature, which is another strange thing. But then again, it's just a monster, nothing more, nothing less. It has already killed so many.
It snuffed out their lives like it was nothing and it will surely do so again.
Somehow, by continued teaching it has mastered the human language.
And now it sits before me, eerily calm.
There is a thick glass wall between us, since this monster is being used by the group as a weapon and is of course still a danger to everyone.
"Professor, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" the monster asks politely.
I can feel myself growing irritated by its tone.
Since when did it believe to address me by 'Professor'? That was reserved for my students, not this monstrosity.
Still I decide to let it slide for now, I don't want to anger it.
"Well..." I hesitate, while mustering up the courage: "It's about that day."
"I see." The monster looks down, does it remember? Does it feel guilt for what it has done?
"The day you found me, I assume." It guesses.
I nod: "That day I will never forget how you slaughtered my students." I almost growl at it whilst glaring.
"I didn't." It answers as if trying to hide its guilt.
I hate it.
I hate this monster.
"I want to know what went down there." I demand it: "How did you get there and why were you there?"
The monster hesitates for a moment but then begins to answer: "Well, I don't remember too much about that place. I believe that there are things I don't know about it at all."
"Be more clear."
"Yes, professor, I'm sorry."
"Quit calling me that." I guess I'm saying it now anyways.
It stops for a moment, almost looking shocked from my sudden burst of anger. Well it probably doesn't feel that anyway, I must have imagined it.
Then it nods as I sign to it that it should continue.
"From what I heard about the cave, it could be used as a way to conjure up monsters or demons."
"Go on."
"I don't think you would want to hear it."
"Continue." I say glaring at the monster.
It sighs in discomfort and then does as told: "I believe that there is something inside that cave that has the ability to turn something or someone who enters into a so-called monster."
"Yes, we noticed with the rat."
"Pro- erm, I mean sir, why did those students got sent inside? If you knew-."
I don't let it finish: "It was an emergency."
I was powerless that day, I couldn't do anything. It's not my fault.
"So, then do you remember entering the cave?"
To my displeasure the monster shakes its head: "No I don't. There are no memories from before I awoke."
"Awoke?"
"The moment I heard their screams."
"Well you are the monster of that place after all."
"Sir, I actually don't believe that to be the case."
Annoyed, I look at it: "And what the hell does that mean?"
"Like some of the other scientists say, I don't believe to have come from there, nor am I the creature you have been looking for. I'm just too different."
"They are just toying with you, giving you false hope, you're a monster after all."
Is it just me or did it seem slightly annoyed when I called it what I did?
No that can't be.
For a moment it remains silent.
"But then, isn't the monster in this situation yourself?" The monster then asks me as if it was something completely normal.
"What?! No! You're the monster, you are the reason they died." I panic, wondering what it is trying to do to me..
"I didn't kill them. I tried to save them all."
"Bullshit! You killed them, you were covered in blood when we found you!" I yell as I feel my face growing red. Why would it say such terrible things?
Somehow the monster remains completely calm.
"I didn't kill them." It repeats: "I tried to save them, but the one who went rampant was already killing the others even before I awoke."
"SHUT UP!"
But the monster continues: "I saved one person though, the girl, one of your students, she left the cave alive."
Rage has filled my mind and I'm unable to think clearly.
"I didn't do anything wrong!!!" I yell, slamming my fist against the glass.
But then calmly the angelic monster throws the undeniable truth in my face:
"Wasn't it you who pulled the trigger?"