Monster Wars

Watching you sign your life away

Thanks so much koreangirl111 for being my editor. You're helping this not to suck!

I hadn't meant to kill anyone. Ever. Even when I said I wanted to be a Monster Fighter. I thought I would only kill creatures of the night. Not humans.

The first time I went into that interrogation room, I was petrified. The man in there with me wasn't very nice. He was supposed to make sure I could handle pressure, hand a weapon. He handed me a handgun. It was heavy, so heavy I had to force my hand up.

But he didn't just want me to hold the gun; he wanted me to shoot. I am warning you: never hand a loaded gun to a seven year old who has just witnessed her mother getting murdered by a "mythical creature". And then tell the seven year old that her mother was stupid to take the child on a hike when there were warnings of rock slides on that particular mountain.

I'll say it again, I never meant to kill the man. Technically, it wasn't even my fault. I had almost given the gun back to him, then he insulted my dead mother further, and something inside me just snapped. I shoved the surprised man over. The gun was still in my hands. I must have squeezed the trigger at some point, because there was a loud noise and the man lay bleeding on the floor. He had been shot through the stomach. I never learned his name, never wanted to.

I half stumbled, half walked in. Why did Matt even want me here? Sure, he knew me, but why would he want to talk about my mistakes right in front of me? He must really be ticked off at me. Or just cruel.

I forced myself to sit and not fidget or look at Matt's face. I gave a little nod to the interviewer. I got a small frown in return. Okay, he's not one of my fans.

"Are you ready now?" The interviewer asked Matt. I glanced at his name tag, Jeffery Sugar.

Matt nodded. I saw the tension on his face and wondered why he was worried. Did he even know that he would soon have to answer the question that would haunt him for the rest of his life? To be a Monster Fighter, or not to be.

"Describe what happened yesterday, when you found yourself and Agent Night in the ogre's home." Jeffery Sugar asked. I wondered if he was called Jeff at home. Jeffy? Sugar? There was no ring on his finger. He probably lived alone. Or with his mother still. I'll go with Jeffy.

"Well, um. I was kind of tied up. Hands over my head. I heard Kara talking. I guessed it was to herself but I recognized the voice." Matt swallowed. He still sounded nervous. "And so, yeah, we talked. She unhooked herself and fell, cuz she's so short and was hanging. So she helped me down. And told me to shut up. And um, the ogre came and said some cheesy line about eating us. I guess Kara didn't like that, so she stabbed him."

Jeffy had been jotting stuff down on a yellow lined piece of paper. "So then what?"

Matt looked flustered. "Um, she found a door. And made a big noise by kicking it out. Even though she could have just unlocked it. But it was cool."

Jeffy looked up. "What did Agent Night do after you escaped the ogre's lair?" I smirked. Did he just say lair?

"She, um. She took me home and told me she would explain everything tomorrow and take me to a headquarters place. Which is here. Right Kara?" I stared at him in confusion. Was he covering for me?

I realized I was supposed to respond. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, that's what happened."

Jeffy peered at us. "Are you two positive that's what happened?"

We both mutely nodded.

Jeffy stood up. "I'll be back after conversing with the boss."

After he left we sat in silence. Matt started to speak, but I cut him off. "See that mirror? It's double sided. Just to let you know."

He nodded. I glanced around the room. Why isn't there anything to do in an interrogation room? They could have at least left a book. Or I could have brought in my school stuff. I had a test tomorrow.

Jeffy strolled back in. "Agent Night, you are off probation. You may go."

As I went to stand up Matt grabbed my hand. Again, I looked at him, confused. What the heck was he doing?

"I want my girlfriend to stay." Matt announced. Wait, what? Did he say girlfriend? In his dreams!

Jeffy sighed, loud and obnoxiously. "If you must."

I slowly lowered myself into my seat. Girlfriend? I was going to have to have a nice little talk with Matt. Besides, I didn't want to hold his hand. It was all sweaty and gross.

"Mr. Downs, you, ahem, you are a liability. We here at Monster Fighters depend on the outside world knowing nothing about the world of monsters. If they found out, panic would ensue. You now have the option of joining our cause."

Matt frowned. "And if I don't want to?"

Jeffy cleared his throat again. "There would be legal... complications. "

Matt leaned back in his chair. "You know what? I'm eighteen. I can do whatever I want now. Sure, I'll join you." He smirked. "As long as Kara is my partner. For everything. She doesn't leave my side."

I gaped wordlessly at him. I was going to kill him later.

Jeffy looked startled. "It's not easy. Or safe."

Matt laughed. "I already am not safe. Not if I know about these monster things."

Jeffy shoved some papers over at Matt. "Sign. But I must warn you, it's a lifelong commitment. You're in this until death."

Matt scribbled his name down. I studied his face, trying to figure out what he was doing. As he scribbled his life away, his face was blank. The piercing blue eyes didn't even scan the paper.

"I'm not worried. Not while Kara is with me. She'll protect me."

I just glared. He. Was. A. Dead. Man.