What Makes a Monster

♱Fifty-Nine♱

Third Person P.O.V.

Warning: Violence & Gore

The palace was littered with corpses in mere moments. Once glistening golden halls were stained red. The east wing was set aflame. Dark plumes of smoke scattered into the sky and across the panicked city of Vashna. Guards charged through the front gates, unaware of the bloodthirsty beast still rampaging in the halls.

Soran never fed from a person before. As a child, the priests brought him glasses and bowls, treated it like any other meal. But now that Soran had a taste, he wasn't sure he could ever go back. The taste was far sweeter, the sensation of life resting in Soran's grasp then slipping away. He took a sort of sick pleasure in it yet, somehow, the hunger only grew. On and on Soran went, cutting down any and all in his path without a thought other than; hungry, hungry, hungry.

He fed only briefly until another caught his gaze. A rabid animal among the defenseless. None stood a chance, falling to Soran's teeth and claws. He searched in cupboards, under beds, in closets, finding those huddled in fear within. No where was safe, he made sure of that.

As time went on, Soran could not deny that he became aware, awake. Hunger no longer controlled him by the time he cleared the first floor. Instead it was rage and realization that he was not as helpless as they made him out to be. Powerful. Soran was unbelievably powerful, far more than some measly humans cowering in the corner. They were cattle. Nothing more.

Nothing stood in Soran's way. All the years he was hungry, defenseless, in pain, he could finally pay it back, and he planned to. He planned to run the city dry for what they did, for what they had done for so long. That day would be the end of Vashna.

And so, Soran butchered the king and queen in their beds as if he were merely swatting some annoying flies. He crushed knights like bugs beneath his boots and he slit the throats of every prince and princess he came across. But when he came upon one in particular, he actually smiled.

Alita Baylor stood frozen in fear shielding a young girl behind her not much older than Soran. Alita was not dressed in her priestly robes, but rather a garrish gown befitting of her title as princess, tenth in line or not. Her face paled. Soran crept closer, a lion stalking his prey.

"Hello Alita," he hissed her name, taking great joy in the visible shiver that ran down her spine. His head cocked to the side. "I've been hoping to find you."

"Run, Meysha!" Alita cried.

Meysha ran, only hearing Alita's scream as Soran tackled her to the floor. Meysha chanced looking back only once and she would regret it for the rest of her life. What she witnessed was a beast clawing at her sister, ripping away flesh with every swipe. Alita fought helplessly beneath him, crying out in agonizing cries. Meysha kept running through the halls, out the back door, until running into Kailyn. She screamed, thinking it to be the monster, but was met with a warm brown gaze.

"Princess." Kailyn knelt with a pained wince. "Princess, look at me! Soran, where is he?"

Meysha shivered in terror.

"The young boy, the--"

"Monster!" Meysha shouted. She pointed behind her before rushing past Kailyn into the courtyard without another word. Kailyn would have followed but he had to find Soran. If he could put a stop to him then he would, he had to try. After all, he was the one that woke him up.

Kailyn stumbled through the halls, finding Soran a moment later but wishing he hadn't. What he came upon was a sight he couldn't put into words. There wasn't much of a human left beneath Soran, merely a blood stained rug with chunks that had Kailyn actually throwing up. Yet Soran continued to hit the cracked floor, splashing blood as he counted, "1,233. 1,234. 1,235."

"Soran," Kailyn groaned. The stench of blood, strong metallic and copper, and smoke burned his nostrils. "Stop. You're...you have to stop."

"1,239. 1,240."

"More knights are heading this way. They're innocent men. They didn't know about you or what the Baylor's did!" Kailyn tried, hoping to break through to the scared and innocent child that first woke. "None of us did, so many of the people today didn't. Please, come with me! We'll leave. We'll go wherever you want to go."

"1,253. 1,254. 1,255."

Kailyn took a chance to step closer. By then, he was covered in blood and soot himself until he couldn't recognize his own limbs. As he grew closer, he noticed tears rolling down Soran's face. He was paying Kailyn no mind, continuing to count in a trance until he finally stopped, "1,460."

Soran finally faced Kailyn with a crooked smile. "One for everyday."

"What?" Kailyn asked, but the stomping of footsteps outside earned his full attention. "Damn it, we have to leave, Soran. Do you understand me? We need to go." Kailyn held out his hand, but Soran did not take it, only stared in clear distrust.

"Kailyn," Soran growled his name for the first time, as if it were a curse. His eyes narrowed. "Brother, you said."

"A bastard son, yes."

Soran eyed Kailyn suspiciously. When he stood, he took two steps back.

"I understand if you don't trust me, but we must leave," said Kailyn.

"I can handle myself."

"By killing more innocent people?"

"Innocent?!" Soran's eyes flashed vibrant red, like burning fires upon the horizon or the sun at dawn. His high pitched scream shattered the windows. Kailyn dropped. The entire city did, every citizen clutching their pounding skulls that screeched with every word Soran bellowed. "You dare call them innocent?! None are innocent! None deserve to live! I'll burn this hell to the ground for what they've done!"

"You have every right to be angry!" Kailyn cried out.

"Angry?" Soran laughed, finally letting up. All of Vashna heaved a deep breath, capable of standing, capable of crying in fear and confusion.

"Angry?" Soran repeated, watching Kailyn with a cold, lifeless stare. He stood motionless, head cocked to one side and blood dripping from limp hands. "They took my home. They locked me away. They starved and beat me."

Soran glared at the bloody floor. "They tried to kill me over and over and over, everyday for years, laughing all the while. I'm not angry. I'm fucking furious. I'm going to butcher every last disgusting creature in this cursed hell and then we'll see who laughs then!"

"You will only prove to them that you're the monster they made you out to be!" Kailyn shouted, watching Soran's eyes widen. He took the chance, reaching out his hand in desperation. "Some of the Baylor's did this. Some who worked for them did this, but the people of Vashna did not. They are told what the royals want them to hear. They are innocent, ignorant but innocent. Do not let the Baylor's win. Do not be exactly what they fear you are."

Kailyn stepped closer. His hand shook almost as violently as his voice, "Please."

"You're asking me to be the better man?" Soran asked mockingly.

Kailyn shook his head. "No, I'm asking you to believe in someone just once."

"In you? A stranger?"

"For the time being."

The castle doors opened. Troops marched in. Soran growled, but Kailyn's voice caught his attention over all the chaos.

"Please, Soran," he said, risking a few more steps until he was standing in front of the boy. "Believe in family just once."

The troops were growing closer. Their footsteps were loud. Kailyn waited in concerned silence. His hand trembled, a hand that Soran did not take, but he healed Kailyn's wound with a mere snap of his fingers.

"Just once," Soran whispered, and he followed Kailyn willingly out the back door.

♱♱♱

Well, we learned that Soran really did kill a bunch of people at the palace. Kailyn managed to calm him down, but how else will everything play out?