Forlot: Return of the Monster Protector - Book Eleven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nobody said a word. Nobody moved. We all just stood there - well, I was being held up - and were completely stunned. Even me.

What did a baby have to do with this?

Little did I know back then...

The wind kicked up, and every piece of everyone's hair obeyed it and danced. They waved back and forth, and Margaret and I both got hair in our mouths.

I tried spitting mine out, and Margaret spit hers out easily. She clenched her free hand into a fist and shook it.

"Even we get our own hairs in our mouths! At the same time!" she shrieked, her shrill voice echoing. "We are the same!"

"W-we are not the same, Margaret," I stuttered, attempting to reassure her. I will admit that I was afraid of what she could have done to me. "We are different. We wear different clothes and shoes. We have very different personalities. I have a heart. And you...well...you have a heart, but you are not using it."

Right after I had said that, I had to blink three times. I was assuming at first that my own eyes were just playing tricks. But no. That was not the case.

In the corners of Margaret's eyes...were tears! Actual tears!

And to think that I thought that Margaret was not capable of crying, and can you blame me?

Finally, Stanley spoke.

"Margaret, I have had enough of this. Enough with you." He strolled up to her. "Where is the girl who always had on a smile? Who was always willing to help others?" He reached out and gently took her wrist. "Please, Margaret. This is not you."

Margaret freaked out, jerked away, and shoved him to the hard ground.

Stanley fell on his back. "Oof!"

"Stanley!" Sage said his name.

Tippy and Tappy went over to my boyfriend and assisted him in getting back on his feet, and before anyone could tell on Margaret that what she just did was not right, Margaret beat them to it.

"You could not know, Stanley! You have not even met her!"

Tippy crossed his wooden arms over his wooden chest. "Who now?"

She sniffed and could no longer hold in the tears. She dropped me and ran into the woods nearby.

I fell on the grass and on my side, and Scarlett dashed to my side. With an arm wrapped around my shoulders, she helped me get back up.

"Are you alright, Margie? Did she hurt you?"

"Physically? No. But I think that she harmed me mentally, sis."

Mr. Hawk rubbed in circles all over his forehead with his thumb. "Gosh, Margie. I cannot help but to think that this is all my fault."

"Duh? Where have you been?" Tippy said sarcastically.

Stanley and I ran to each other and hugged. That was when I remembered Sarah.

"Sarah is trapped in the bus. She saved me and Margaret from her grandparents, and her leg is lodged in between the gas pedal and brake."

I imagined that knowing that Sarah and my sister are best friends, Scarlett, without hesitation, would go to be with her. And that is what she did.

Scarlett scrambled up the bus and disappeared through one of the broken windows that was open.

"I will get Sarah out of there," Stanley reassured me.

"And I will find Margaret and...take her to a mental hospital," Mr. Hawk told us. "It is clear that she is too unstable to even live with us."

"Jeez, man. Where were you when she broke Margie's nose?" Tippy wondered. "That was the final straw."

"I will go after her, Mr. Hawk," I volunteered.

Mr. Hawk and his friends looked right at me. It was as if I had said something crazy.

"Are you crazy?" my boyfriend asked me. "She could hurt you even more. Possibly kill you, and I would never forgive myself if that happened."

I pulled away from him. "I promise that I will be careful. And if she tries to harm me in any way, I will scream for you guys." I started walking off.

Stanley grabbed my wrist. "I am coming with you, Margie."

"No, Stanley. I have to do this on my own."

"Why?"

Honestly, I did not know how to answer that. So I said, "I am the Monster Protector now. It is my duty to assist others, even if some are just boring humans."

That seemed to convince him because he released me, and I went on my way.

I entered the woods and began my search. I was hoping that she did not wander deep into the woods. If that was where she was, I would surely never find her.

But I was lucky. I soon found her.

She was sitting on the ground and lying against a blue boulder. Her head was down on the boulder, and I could easily hear her sobbing.

Careful to not startle her, I crept up to her and sat next to her. I thought about what to say and eventually said this:

"You know, I love babies."

Lame. I know. But this led to some interesting stuff.

Margaret's head shot up and slowly shifted to my direction. I waved to her.

"Hi. I wanted to see how you were doing."

She clenched her teeth and growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I just told you. To check up on you."

Tears had covered her face, and she wiped them and turned her head away. "You are the last person that I expected to see."

"I have to. But I also want to. You know. 'Cause it is my job."

Before I could react, Margaret shot out her hand and arm and got ahold of my neck. I coughed and choked.

"I am the Monster Protector! Not you! And I would still be if that guy had not gotten me pregnant with a baby!" Her eyes softened. "A baby...whom I accidentally killed."