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Monster, by Jezebel Rose

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There was a legend running around in the Vurillian kingdom. A monster captured by the king’s army during one of their campaigns in foreign lands. Some said that it was a demon, others that it was an abomination send by the gods to punish them, but nobody had ever seen him other than the soldiers in the king’s army, and they didn’t socialize with the plebes.

The monster was used by the mothers to scare their little ones into behaving. This piqued Emma’s interest.

“If you don’t behave like a good boy, the monster of the labyrinth will come to get you, and he will trap you in his labyrinth forever,” said the mom.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be good,” said the small boy.

Emma knew that those tales scared his little brother, and she decided that she would find out the truth. Was there an actual monster? Was it all gossip and fantasy?

She knew one of the soldiers, and she brought the subject up when he ran into him.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” said the soldier. “I’ve never seen the monster with my own eyes.”

“But you know some of the soldiers that were there when he was supposedly captured, right?”

“Yeah, and all of them tell the same tale, with the same details. It would be amazing if it were a fabrication. I’m convinced that it happened and that the beast exists.”

“Thank you.”

The soldier knew of the girl’s curious nature.

“Don’t go there. It’s dangerous.”

“Okay, I won’t,” she said.

Her mind was already made up, though. She took off one day with the excuse that she would go to the woods to gather some berries, but she headed to where the labyrinth was supposed to exist. The story behind it is that one of the king’s religious advisors told him that the beast was an insult to god and that he should incarcerate him in a labyrinth covered in holy symbols. The king agreed, and thus the maze was built.

Emma walked for a couple of hours, through the woods outside the city, following the instructions she had gathered by asking around some more. She was carrying a bag with food and water just in case, but she was planning to come back home by nightfall.

She reached the spot. The labyrinth looked like a temple at first, but it was bigger. It was built like that by the direction of the religious advisor. The door was locked from outside.

“Well, I’m here, so let’s do this,” Emma said to herself.

The girl unlocked it and pushed the heavy doors open. A cloud of dust welcomed her. She coughed a little since it caught her off guard, but she endured it. She went on ahead with teary eyes and labored breathing. She walked through the labyrinth, being careful of not getting lost. “That would be a blunder,” she thought. After a few minutes of walking, she heard the rattling of some heavy chains. She followed the sound.

“Hello?” she asked, but there was only silence.

Her heart was beating fast. There had to be someone, something there. Everything else had been real so far: the location, the weird temple-like structure, the religious symbols on the walls, everything. She reached an open area in the middle of the labyrinth, and there was something there, lumped over, in chains. The center of the maze had no roof, and the sun shined over the area.

The figure raised his head and looked at Emma. It looked like a man, a tall one with hairy arms and legs. He was wearing trousers that looked more like rags and nothing else. His eyes looked sad and defeated. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t talk; only guttural sounds came out.

“Wait, I have some water.”

Emma rushed to his side and gave him some of her water. He gulped it down instantly.

“You must have been thirsty.”

He nodded. The water revitalized him and probably saved his life. Emma saw that his skin was different, and it had some strange markings.

Please purchase this story and support me as an author! Thank you! ~ Jezebel Rose

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