Monsters Don't Come From Under The Bed

Chapter 5

Genesis felt a soft, cold brush on her back. It lightly stroked her, and then it tapped her.
“G-Genesis. A-are you o-ok? P-p-please wake u-up.” Hilda poked her. Genesis brought her head up from a soft, fluffy platform. She was lying on top of a green moss shrub, right next to a river.
“There is a-a bridge u-up the r-river. I k-know where w-we are. I-if we cross i-it, w-we’ll be at v-village t-three.” Hilda explained.
“Why three? What does that mean?” Genesis asked.
“T-there are f-five villages. Each o-one is surrounded b-by a f-forest, and theres a-a trail that l-leads to the n-next village. V-village three is t-the only one w-with a b-bridge leading t-to the next o-one. If w-we want to get t-to the palace, w-we need to get to v-village five.”
“Where is everyone else?”
“I-I don't really k-know.”
“I think we should find them first before we do anything else.”
“O-ok. W-we can start looking in V-village three.” Hilda suggested. Genesis crawled off the moss and down into the river. Hilda followed behind her and into the village. Village three was bustling with monsters.
“I guess this will take a while.” Genesis groaned.

“Cat man dead?” Kali asked Zita. He lightly kicked Rico, and rubbed his side with his foot.
¨No, but he did hit his head pretty hard.¨ Zita looked up at the sky and rubbed her head.
¨Of all places, we had to land on a roof? We look so silly up here. Can you see where everyone else landed?” Zita asked. Kali sinked into a black liquid and slid across the roof, down the wall, and onto the ground. Zita lifted up Ricos neck and felt the back of his head.
¨Well, he's fortunate he's not bleeding.¨ She thought. She patiently waited for Kali to return, and kept Rico from falling off the roof. Kali returned and emerged from his dark puddle.
¨Kali can't find kali friends.¨ He said sadly. Zita peered over the edge of the roof and looked around.
¨We can't go around looking for anyone. Were sure to be discovered, especially Rico and I. Our best option is to seek shelter in an alley or a building.¨ Kali picked up Rico, and hung him over his shoulder. Ricos toes dragged across the roof and his paws hung over the other end, barely scraping the roof. Kali turned into a puddle again, sucking Rico in, and emerged out.
¨Where did you put Rico?!¨ Zita whisper-screamed.
¨In Kali storage! Kali can't carry queen and guard at same time.¨ Kali explained in a know it all tone. He picked up Zita like a dog and slid down the wall. Zita pointed towards an alley, and Kali weaved past a crowd of monsters. They received a few stares, but no one recognized them. He set Zita down and went to fetch Rico. He came out of his puddle with Rico in his arms.
¨WHERE DID YOU PUT ME?! WHAT WAS THAT?! I COULD ONLY SEE BLACK.¨ He screeched.
¨Kali can put things into Kali's storage puddle. Biggest thing Kali put was a truck!¨ He responded proudly. Rico looked around, and then sprinted forward.
¨Zhen! Zhen!¨ He called. Zhen turned around before exiting the alley.
¨Rico! There you are! Where is everyone else?¨
¨They're not with you?¨
¨Only the mushroom men.¨ Zita and Kali came running up behind Rico.
If you landed close, everyone else shouldnt be too far off. We should look around together.¨ Zita informed them.
¨But won't we be discovered?¨ Zhen asked. Zita looked around and spotted a black paint like substance covering patches of Ricos fur.
¨Kali? Can you turn back into a puddle?¨ She asked. Kali did as he was told, and Zita reached in. She brought out her fingers, and they too were covered with the black liquid. She smeared it onto one of the mushroom men, receiving a hard bite.
¨We’ll color ourselves black!¨ Zita suggested.
¨Will that work? Rico asked.
¨We’ll have to try.¨ She picked up one of the mushroom men and dropped them into the puddle. When all three of them were inside, she fished them back out. They were all black and very angry. They screamed and jumped up and down.
“Rico, when I go in, can you bring me back out?” She asked. Rico nodded. She placed her hooves in and slowly slid in. When her antler was completely covered, Rico pulled her back out. Everything was black except her eyes.
“My turn.” He exhaled. He jumped in, and climbed back out. He was a regular black cat. They turned to Zhen who was staring at the puddle.
“Oh, yeah. Im not doing that.” He slowly turned from a lime green to a dark grey.
“That works. Kali, you can come out now.” Zita called.
Kali came out, and he looked smaller. He was now as tall as Zitas leg. He gazed upon his friends.
¨Why you bathe in Kali?¨ He asked after staring at them for a few minutes.
¨Its a disguise. There are others of our species, but what the royal guards will be looking for is our color. They can't recognize us if we dont look like ourselves.¨ Rico explained. Zita slowly led them out of the alley and into the crowds. They joined the crowd of monsters, and looked around.
¨Keep an eye out for Genesis, Hilda, Andy, and David.¨ She instructed.