Come on!
My face morphed into fear as the time ticked away. I knew that what we were doing here was dangerous enough as it is, but the fact that we were doing it with my child in the back seat was even more ridiculous. My heart thumped in anticipation as seconds and minutes flew by.
My husband, on the other hand, didn't seem to have the same anxiety as me. He patiently filled the car up with groceries, not allowing me to step out of the car to help speed the process. I hated how calm he was in this situation, as I was quite opposite.
"Alright, Guk. Baby, honey, darling. Get in the van!" I bitterly snapped at him, turning in the passenger seat to see him adding one last bag into the trunk. My eyes flickered to my baby girl who was too tired to even react, her eyes dropping as she fought sleep.
He closes the trunk door, and takes his time to go put the cart away. As he did so, he never once looked ahead where the trouble truly was. Because of his clueless and peaceful nature, I couldn't help but freak the moment I saw him take his time getting back into the vehicle.
It was too late by the time he sat next to me in the drivers seat. Ahead of us, in the dark parking lot, stood a large frame in the distance. If it wasn't for years of studying fantasy creatures due to my husband being one, I wouldn't have known there was a monster out this late.
And at Walmart.
I cursed under my breath as the form shifted slowly, the tinted parking lot lights revealing a small amount of the brown tree bark that moved from its spot. My eyes squinted at it as the once normal tree now stood to its full height, towering over the Walmart building. If it wasn't for the fact that I became aware of such creatures, I could be like a normal human and not be able to see him.
But I didn't have such ignorance and bliss anymore. I hit Yongguk's shoulder and pointed to the beast that stretched out its root legs. It was too dark for just anyone to see, but I knew it's flopping leaf head had just straightened up at that moment.
"You see that! Thats what I was afraid of!" I hurried to unbuckle myself and him as the creature began to move, trying to scout out entertainment for the night.
Yongguk turned to me. "What is that?" He questions, watching me hurriedly move.
I put up the arms on our seats to make room before looking up at him again. "A tree monster, you can say. And no, it isn't like Groot. This guy is real and a huge jerk." I fumble with a few things while glancing out the front window to watch where the beast was heading, before jabbing a thumb in the backseat. "Go."
"You want me to sit in the back?"
I shook my head. "No, I want you to unbuckle her car seat and lay down the center of the van." He didn't move for a second, hesitant on the seriousness of my words. "I mean it, Guk. This guy won't know the difference if we are in the car or not if he can't see us. So get in the back."
He sighed and started to climb in the back. "You know that if he truly saw who I was he wouldn't act this way."
I rolled my eyes, following quickly behind him as I helped unbuckle the seat. "No darling, he still would. He's a terrible creature, I tell ya. He wouldn't bow down to anyone, not even you."
Guk carefully places the carseat in the very back of the can on the floor. He spreads out his legs in between the chairs and begins to focus on his daughter who had just awoken. Because he was too tall for the small walkway the vehicle provided, he curved his legs around the seat and laid on his side.
I took a quick glance at the tree monster before laying behind the passenger and drivers seat. Holding my breath, I wished for the best.
Guk started to play with his daughter while sneaking glances down at me. "Why are we not leaving instead?"
I let out the shaking breath that I held. "Because he'll see us. And yes you maybe stronger than that thing, but it's smart and cunning in battle. I don't feel like starting up trouble with the baby now."
Yongguk smiles at me before turning back to his baby. "Alright understandable." There was silence for a moment as he worked on getting her to sleep. "How long do we stay here for?"
I furrowed my eyebrows and bit my lip. "To be honest I'm not sure. I just know before we even think of moving this car we have to wait until he was passed us."
Guk waited it out with me patiently, allowing me to feel comfort that he was willing to sit in this ridiculous position so that I wouldn't freak anymore. A few minutes passed by when all the sudden the thumps of huge feet had become louder. The van jostled a bit as the creature came closer to us.
Why did we have to park in the center?!
I groaned internally as I awaited the worse, staring straight at my husband and child with the greatest fear of something happening to them. But I had to put faith in the fact that he was the king of all magic, and if anyone was going to save us, it would be him.
The footsteps stopped. My heart was beating erratically as I peeked over my shoulder to see the monster right in front of our van, staring down at the car in front of us. But because there was no one in it, he moved away slowly and past our vehicle to the next lot.
Bastard wants to play again.
My thoughts were bitter as I recalled the last time I had come to Walmart this late. I had just met Guk and was starting to see these creatures more often. I didn't even know the tree monster existed until he came out the one night I needed stomach medicine. He had noticed I could see him and chased me around all night. I only managed to escape because of my wizard friend had cloaked us.
I slowly sat up, looking in the rear view mirrors to see how far the monster was from us. Lucky for us, he was at a far enough distance for me to make an escape. Immediately I climbed into the drivers seat and started up the van. "Hold on tight baby," I yell back to Guk before swinging back the van.
Another vehicle in the distance had also started to pull out. But they were aware that the creature was here, and because of this they were safe. So I sped across the lot to that same car and drove behind them, right out of Walmart area and into the streets. When I knew we were of a distance, I glanced back at the parking lot to see the monster unaware of our presence as he scoped the place out.
I let out a sigh of relief. "That was so close," I whispered to myself, calming my heart knowing that we were safe now and heading home.
Guk began to fumble in the backseat, putting our daughter back onto the seat before and buckling it into place. He struggled for a few seconds but with my guidance, he managed. After safely placing back the baby he climbed into the front seat and buckled himself up.
"So I guess we won't go to Walmart that late anymore."
I glared at him harshly as the words left his mouth. "You think?"
