May's anthology

Meeting the Monsters

Finally, I can stretch out. Home is a beautiful place, but sometimes it feels so suffocating, so unbearably small. There is a whole new world just outside this small world of mine, and I have always dreamed of exploring it, of discovering how it is to finally be free.

I wiggle all my limbs, every part of my body, finally being able to stretch to my full size, it's invigorating. The fresh air that rushes into my face is refreshing in its pureness, in its lightness.

Water is amazing to live in, but at times it feels like to much burden to carry on one's back, no matter how big the said back is. Sometimes, everyone needs the freedom of the air, and although I am one with the sea, I am no exception.

The restless sea doesn't bother me. I enjoy its energetic game, up and down, in an endless loop. It makes me feel alive.

Energized as I am, I can't help but relish the sensation, the sea rumbling under me, the waves kissing my body and washing away the frustrations that plagued me.

It's a striking change to the dark cave at the bottom of the sea that I call home which at times feels so dull. Although I enjoy its serenity, sometimes I need some excitement in my life, and that's what the surface has to offer me. Even when it is not restless with a storm, it's fun to visit.

There is always something new to see, something fun to do and freedom to stretch my necks which keep cramping from being thwarted by the cave's walls for far too long.

I am so lost in the mixture of wonderful sensations that overwhelm my body that I don't even notice that I have opened by mouths wide, delightedly testing the salty sea and the coolness of the air.

Only when I notice an unfamiliar fragrance to the air do I finally open my eyes in search of what it might be. That's when I see them. The bloodthirsty monsters of our legends.

They are in a strange-looking vessel that by some miracle manages to withstand the crashing waves. Their fragile pink bodies fair surprisingly well in the storm, but I don't allow their looks to deceive me.

The stories say that although their bodies are brittle, they are vicious killers who manage to use different materials to protect themselves and kill the living beings around them. They think of themselves as the most intelligent beings on the planet, although that very claim shows how low their developmental level is.

To claim that one is better than others, to claim that one form of life is more important than others is horrible, but even worse than that is how easy it is for them to slay other forms of life. They have murder more sentient beings than I can even begin to imagine.

Standing there, with my eyes wide open, I can't stop myself from shivering in fear. I am terrified of those senseless creatures. Those that have no respect for life can so easily destroy it, and I dread what they might do to me.

As the stories go, they fear the most what they can't understand, and I wish I had listened to my mother when she told me to stay in the safety of the ocean depths. Why did I have to disobey?

Is this how it all ends? Looking for freedom, have I found my own death?

Even from this distance, I can feel their hateful glares, I can hear their harsh words, and I know it's only a matter of time before they attack.

I try to tell them to stop, that I mean them no harm, but the sound I let out only seems to make them scatter around the vessel gathering crude-looking metal things. Although I know that they must be assembling a weapon, I can't move.

I am frozen in fear. All my nightmares are coming true, and my heads are swirling in fear and disbelief. I know I should do something, but I am not sure what the right thing to do is.

It occurs to me that they offer each other their limbs to shake when greeting each other, so I decided to try that. Perhaps that will make them understand that I am no danger to them.

However, my limbs are shaking so much that when I do reach the ship with one of them, it falls more violently than I intended, and that starts even louder screaming. I try to pull it away, but before I have the chance to do so, I feel a sharp pain going through my limb, leaving me breathless.

I shriek in agony, not only because of the pain but because I am trapped. They pinned my limb to the ship with a sharp object, and escape is no longer a possibility.

Pain is so new and strange notion to me, I have never felt such a big injury in my life, and I can't stop myself from screaming which doesn't cause those vicious beings to feel any sympathy, quite the contrary, they seem more determined than ever to end my life.

Why are they doing this to me? I haven't done anything to them! Why are they torturing me?

Then a huge ball flies toward my left head, and I barely have enough time to dodge it. It only grazes my head. New balls start flying before I have enough time to recover, and I can no longer tell where the pain is coming from, it feels like all of me is in pain.

My heart beats so fast that I fear it might escape my chest and become an easy target for those heartless creatures. My limbs splash around without my conscious control, and the only thing I do seem to have control of are my necks as I duck from the painful things they are firing my way.

They scream and laugh at me, as if my pain amuses them. What kind of beings enjoy other creatures' pain?

My brains are becoming fuzzy, and I am not sure for how long I will be able to evade the balls which are bound to crush my skull if I don't move away.

Before I have the chance to give up, I see one of those disgusting pink creatures take a sharp-looking metal and swing over my limp. In a flash, he cuts it off, and my blue blood splashes his teeth as he looks at my severed limb with an evil grin.

However, what the monster didn't count on, was that his vicious action had freed me from their ship. I know that it is the only chance I will get and I am ready to take it, to fight for my life.

I lash towards him, flinging his body in the air, for the first time in my life not carrying if I hurt another living being. The rest of my limps splash violently, as I do my best to swim away.

Doing so also creates huge waves that seem to be huge problems for the pink monsters. However, they do not affect my strong body.

Finally, when I have created enough distance between their vessel and me, I dive in, hoping that the warm embrace of home would ease all my wounds. Hoping beyond hope, that one day, I would be able to forget that horrible experience and vowing never to come out on the surface again.

If that was necessary so as not to see those pink creatures ever again, that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.