Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

Where The Next Stage Begins

A/N: Recap. In the last chapter, everyone was off fighting different Monsters on different sides of the island. Ravi, Isaac, Abigail, and Amarie were fighting off a pack of wolves. Amarie was surrounded, then screamed and fainted.

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I sat on the floor, my back pressed again the cool stone wall. My eyes were closed. I didn't want to have them open right then.

Exhaustion settled over me like a thick blanket. How long had it been since we last had a good night's sleep? I couldn't say. I had been plagued with fitful dreams the past few days, images of fire and blood always lurking in my subconscious. I was unsettled, to say the least.

My thoughts drifted to the girl lying on the bed just a few feet away. I still couldn't be sure what had happened to Amarie, but it hadn't been good. One minute, everything was fine. Then we heard her scream and watched as she transformed into a wolf that haunted nightmares and horror films.

There was something different about Amarie than the other wolves. Her eyes seemed more intelligent, her intentions more malevolent. Was it because she was real?

That was the other thing. We had all intellectually known she was a monster. But to watch it happen before our very eyes...it struck a deeper chord that sent disturbing tremors across my body.

Just then, an elbow nudged me. I opened my eyes and looked up. Abigail pointed to Isaac and Mr. Marquez, who were standing over the bed. It seemed Amarie had stirred.

I stood up slowly and approached the bed. Her eyes slowly blinked open. She looked around, scanning our grim faces. She seemed confused.

Then she gasped and burst into tears.

Isaac placed his hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it off.

We stood there for a few moments, silent, watching the tears stream down her face. I felt a pang in my heart. It was hard to watch someone cry knowing there was nothing you could do but watch them cry.

She took a few steadying breaths and closed her eyes. In a few minutes, the deluge had ebbed. She looked down.

"I am so sorry," she said, her voice breaking. "I didn't mean to, I swear, they just surrounded me, and there are voices in your head and then suddenly I can't stand it, and I try to fight it off but I just feel so overwhelmed, I just—"

"Amarie," I said abruptly, cutting her off. "First of all, calm down."

She nodded meekly.

I crossed my arms. "Second of all, what are you talking about? Voices in your head?"

She seemed to shrink a little. "Well...you see...that's how monster powers work. It's all based off of...insecurity."

Oh.

"That would make sense," Isaac said quietly. "So they surrounded you, and you felt alone, so you transformed? Unwillingly?"

She nodded slowly. "Sort of. Yeah."

"What's the insecurity for wolves?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her eyes flickered down. "That we'll never belong. That no one will ever accept us."

We were silent.

"Amarie..." Abigail said softly.

"How did you stop the attack?" Amarie said suddenly. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," I said. "Sierra, Audrey, Sophie, and Deynan showed up, and that was enough to drive them off. Abigail knocked you out."

Amarie nodded. "Good. Thank you."