Monsters under your bed are real. So are the ones in your closet. Or the ones that hide under the stairs in your basement. Every time you hear a creak from the attic or a door slowly opens, that is probably a monster. Something evil and gross that feeds off of your fear and madness. They crave the terror you have at putting your feet down off the bed, or when the power goes out and you have to go down into the basement. They might eventually try to kill you, but what gives them the most joy is the moments that lead up to it, the game of it. And I’m the one that brings them to your house.
It’s me and my partner Slade, actually. And this is our job.
I decided to write all of this down. It’s important for whoever finds this to know where they came from. I’m sure it’s already too late, they probably have already accomplished their mission. But, maybe this will help you fight.
We are currently on our boat coming back from the island. It’s the new one that came from Antarctica after it broke off the continent. You remember the stories, I’m sure everyone does. All the talk of global warming and melting ice caps, well something happened and new islands started to appear in the ocean. It was a mad dash to explore those islands, maybe discover something new to exploit. The last one that floated into the ocean was claimed by the company I work for. No one talked about what was on the island, but the company started sending crews like mine to it. It was a few months after that when crazy stories started to pop up on the internet about monsters. They were dismissed as hoaxes. Except, I have a cargo hold full of proof under me right now.
The business that Slade and I run is for those that might need someone who won’t question much and won’t mind getting their hands dirty. We’ve never been picky on what we chose. If you needed someone fast and knows how to stay under the radar, we’d be your choice. Our boat has seen its fair share of bloodshed. Maybe that is why they chose us, because we weren’t too worried about transporting unholy things across the ocean.
I’m still not questioning why we are doing it. But, something was different about this trip. I can see it in Slade’s eyes. She seems more determined. She has been disappearing more than normal and questioning our usual tactics. Especially when it came to how we treat the lizard men. I remember her saying, “Chase, can we change the way we bring them over? We don’t need to dope them up. Can’t you see how intelligent they are?”
I didn’t care. I still pumped them so full of drugs that they were beyond tripped out. It was hard not to laugh as they spun around spitting fire at nothing. I told her if they were so smart, why were they letting us drug them? I avoided the fact that we had been spreading small doses of the drug around so that they would become addicted and do just about anything for another hit. However, now I am wondering if I should have noticed the change in Slade sooner..
The first night off of the island as I was laying down to sleep I heard a creak on the boat. I know what you are thinking, a boat on the ocean is going to creak and moan. But, if you’ve been on a boat, a boat that you’ve owned for years, you recognize all of the purrs your precious makes. This sound was different. It was a soft padding, as if someone was creeping around the passageway. I sat up and peered into the dark, wondering if it was Slade, but saw nothing. I couldn’t fall to sleep after that.
We landed on the island in the same spot that we always did. One of the first trips to the island we discovered a freshly built dock; it made it a lot easier to transport the cargo onto the boat. Each mission directed us to a different part of the island and to a specific type of monster. The island could be considered a paradise. Sandy beaches, lush jungles, a few mountains, and gorgeous inland lakes. You just need to ignore the horrors that call it home. We walked away from our familiar hunting grounds near the dock and dug into the jungle.
Strange and unusual noises in the jungle surrounded us. No matter how often we had been on the island, the noises were unsettling. Yet, we learned how to fight the fear. For instance, there are strange goat things that roam the island and fill it with the sounds of a human baby. I had a buddy that used to come to the island as well, and he told me a story about how one of his members ran into the jungle to save a baby. They never made it off the island. As we made our way through the jungle, we ignored the baby cries, we’ve brought enough of them off the island. I was looking for the ones that talked like we do.
The company usually paid us on the more demented or haunted a creature was, but every once in awhile they would put in a special request. It always seemed random on why they asked, and I never thought question their needs. I just assumed that maybe they had someone they really wanted to frighten. Usually the specific monsters were the ones that could really drive you mad. There is a bat like thing that could literally drive you insane if you heard its siren call for too long. I watched as someone clawed their ears to block out the sound; while they were distracted, the bat snatched them up and they disappeared into the jungle. This time the company was asking for the lizard-men.
The second night on our way back, I heard new sounds. I was in that strange stage between being asleep and awake, where dreams mix with your rational thoughts. A noise came from above me, on the deck of the ship. It was a strange clopping sound, like hooves on wood. Before I could investigate it, I heard my closet door open. I sat up, looked at the closet and thought I saw a shadow move. I grabbed my knife and jumped up, but there was no one in my room.
Something is happening on my boat and I don’t know what it is.
After a sleepless night I asked Slade if she heard anything the night before, but she said she slept like a log. I asked her to investigate the cargo, to verify that the box was locked tight. There was something strange about the way she looked at me, but she went down without question. A long time passed before she came back up. I’m not sure what kept her down there that long, she never told me.
Our days on the boat are pretty quiet. Besides our daily tasks of boat maintenance and watching the radar, we don’t have much else to do. Our passengers are locked in a large box, even though they are so doped up they wouldn’t do anything if the box was wide open. Slade usually wanders around the boat, working out or reading. I sit in the bridge and navigate, but we’ve been on this route so many times I could almost do it with my eyes closed. This trip though, I’ve barely seen Slade.
Fog began to follow us and slowly envelope our boat that day. I’ve never seen that much fog on the open ocean before.
After our first visit, we found a bunch of large crates scattered throughout the island. They were not like the usual shipping crates you might have seen in a shipyard. They were made of some sort of wood I’ve never seen before. And there were bizarre words carved all over the surfaces. I assumed they were from the company, to help us bring the monsters to the states. I asked Slade if she had ever seen markings like this before. She traced the carvings with her finger, as if they were some sort of holy text. When she looked at me, her eyes were distant. She mumbled something about them being shipping directions. I thought about asking her how the crates got there, but figured she had no idea.
We were hiking deep into the jungle, heading toward the lizard-men village when I was attacked. I was being an idiot, careless and not as vigilant as I usually am. I should have noticed the markings on the trees, the way the ground had been trampled, and the quiet. Slade was ahead of me, chopping at the overgrowth when a blur jumped at me from the side and knocked me on my ass. It was one of the demon stuffed animal penguin creatures.
The monsters on this island are perfect for haunting bedrooms. Some are absolutely terrifying and don’t need any tricks. But, I think the ones that look cute or normal are worse. They are can put you at ease and lower your guard. Once they reveal themselves as monsters, your defenses are useless and your mind can’t comprehend what is happening. I remember seeing a cute lion cub at the zoo playing with a ball. The zookeeper came in and brought it a live mouse, the cub played with it for a moment before tearing it apart. The penguin monsters are worse because they look exactly like a stuffed animal you would have on your bed.
I had enough of my wits to not scream. Screaming around these things just get them excited. I was told by my buddy in one of the other crews about a time one of their members came across a pile of rocks that moved, it caught him off guard and he screamed. Within an instant a group of the rock snakes came out of nowhere and he was gone. So, there I was sitting in the dirt watching this toy penguin thing coming at me with it’s razor sharp beak. It’s so hard to look at it and think that it is going kill you, but it is. With no sudden movements, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my knife. I don’t think they are used to anything fighting back because it waddled closer to me, savoring the look of fear in my eyes. Once it was in reach, I slashed at it, ripping open its stomach. For a second I thought literal stuffing was going to puff out. But, black blood squirted out, staining my shirt. It stammered back from my attack. I finished it off with another slash, this time hitting its neck.
Slade had gone ahead while I was busy fighting the demented toy. As I exited the jungle, the village opened up in front of me. I’m still in awe at the way their village: the wood huts, dirt padded down into a road, and a village center. It was like walking into the past. For being strange lizard monsters, they had progressed a lot further than I could have imagined.
I found Slade sitting down talking to one of them. It nodded toward me and they wrapped up their conversation. I should have known then. I should have killed her on the spot. But, I was too worked up from the attack and was distracted. I asked her what she was doing. She avoided the question and instead asked me not to bring out my drugs. The other lizards had started to come out to see me, seeking their fix. I was happy to oblige them, giving them extra so that we could take a couple of them.
After I had delivered my drugs, I took Slade aside so that we could prepare a crate. We stood in the shade and watched the lizard people dance around, high as kites. Slade asked me if I knew anything about them. I told her that they were monsters, on an island full of monsters.
She told me that they were more, that they were an intelligent species, maybe something had split in the evolutionary chain and created these creatures. We needed to peacefully interact with them, so that they didn’t think we were the monsters. This was a dawn of a new age, we were not the only ones in this world that showed real intelligence. It could be an amazing discovery that might help us understand our past, and maybe even our future. This was a good test for if we ever discover something from another world. Do we really want to introduce ourselves as terrible people that will capture you and force you to attack those we don’t like?
I remember it all, everything she said. It was unbelievable. I was scared at what it could mean. She had lost it. She had either snuck into my drug stash, or had been in the sun for too long, or they had somehow poisoned her mind. I told her she was nuts. They were not something to be studied, and even if they were, it is not our place. Our place is to do the job that was put in front of us. That is how we work, we don’t get involved with the politics or problems our job might cause. We simply take the money and do the job. And then I went and ruined everything.
The leader of the lizard men was sitting in front of his stick building watching the others. They were continuing to roll around and dance in their drugged out depravity. I left Slade in the shade and walked over to the leader. He looked up at me as I pulled out my revolver and shot him in the head. The bullet whizzed through his skull and embedded itself into the ground next to him. He followed the bullet’s trajectory and landed with a thud. Green blood oozed out and mixed with the dirt. Slade ran at me screaming. The other lizards didn’t notice, too high to know what was real or fake. As Slade came at me I pointed the gun at her.
I told her that I saved her by lifting the curse it had cast on her. I wanted to give her an out, so I said that it had to have been a curse because there was no way she would question what we were doing. We both knew that it was crap, but I’m not completely terrible. She has been with me for a long time and I wanted to giver her a chance to save face. She nodded, her face red. I could feel the daggers her eyes were shooting at me. But, I assumed she had enough professionalism to shake it off and get on with her life.
We silently picked up a couple of the passed out lizards to put in a crate. Then we rounded up a couple of the other monsters. Finally we dragged the box to our boat.
I’ve lost track of the days we’ve been out on the ocean since we left the island. After those first two nights of strange noises and missed movements, I’ve had a hard time sleeping. I’m noticing more things happening at night. More noises, the feeling that something is touching me, doors opening and closing. I might have only slept a few hours in a week. Or maybe a month. I’m sure we should be close to land, but so far I’ve seen nothing but fog and ocean.
Slade has almost completely disappeared. I haven’t seen her in the galley, the passageways, or out on the deck. Since I’ve been writing this and looking back, I should feel remorse at what I’ve done. I think she saw away out of our past and I ruined it for her. She kept telling me how smart they were, maybe she was hoping she could use our discovery for good. Instead, I shot that lizard in front of her. I know I can’t fix it now, she’s hidden somewhere in the boat.
I started sleeping in the cockpit of the boat. The last time I was in my room, I found strange claw marks on the floor next to my bed. I don’t remember hearing anything while I was laying down. But, when I rolled over and looked down, I found the new scratches. Goosebumps popped all over my arms, and my hair stood at attention. Something told me that there was more underneath my bed than my boots and an empty bottle of whiskey. Like a child, I sat up and hugged the blankets close to my chest. The thought of putting my bare feet on the floor in clear view of whatever was under there filled me with dread. And so, I jumped off the bed, landing as far away from the space as I could. The door to my room slammed shut behind me as I ran.
I’m afraid that I’ve lost control of my boat. And I’m afraid that there is something loose roaming the passageways. I will check the crate in the morning, to verify that the feeling in my bones is right, that the crate is indeed unlocked.
I need to write this quickly. I want to finish my story but I’m afraid that I don’t have much time. Hopefully you’ll read everything that I have written and do something with it. It sounds crazy, all of it, but you have to know it is true.
The fog had found its way into the boat and seeped into the halls. Everything is wet and the light reflects strange shapes in the mist. I woke up this morning and headed into the bowels of the ship to search for the crate. I thought I could navigate my ship with my eyes closed, but this morning, with the fog, the ship seemed brand new. I found myself struggling to get to the cargo hold to find the crate.
I could hear the ocean lapping at the hull of the boat as I roamed the passageways. The noise was more comforting than the other sounds I heard echoing of the walls. Strange sounds that reminded me of the island surrounded me as I tried not to get lost. The passage twisted me around, taking me to the galley and staterooms. Behind me I heard the clicking of hooves, similar to what woke me up the first night. Ahead of me I swore I could hear the silent cry of a baby. All of the sounds mixed and swirled in my head, drowning my thoughts in an ocean of madness. I held my head, fighting against the sound. There was too much noise on my boat cramming into my brain.
The only thing I could do was laugh at the insanity of it all.
I remember sticking my hand out to hold the wall. I knew that if I followed one wall around my ship, eventually I’d come to the stairwell that lead down to the cargo bay. With my other hand against my head, I ran through the mist and noise.
I tripped on a pile of rocks and fell face first into a demon stuffed animal. The pile of rocks began to roll, crushing my feet. The stuffed animal slashed at my face. Warm blood dripped down my cheek. I struggled to pull my legs out from under the weight of the rocks, like squeezing out of death’s grip. At the same time, I swung out at the stuffed monster, flinging it out of my way. I limped away from the monsters and continued my mad dash toward the stairs.
The dark mouth of the stairwell loomed in front of me. At the bottom I could see the dance of a lamp. Before I could make it to the first step, something swooped down at me, hitting me in the back of the head. I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs like a toy soldier tossed by a child. Consciousness floated away and I drifted into a sea of monsters.
When I woke up, I was face to face with Slade. She was wearing a sleek metallic grey suit and holding a cell phone to her head. She said something to the phone, nodded and winked at me, then hung up. When she spoke, I knew I should have killed her instead of the leader of the lizards.
Slade’s smile was cruel and twisted. Her hand clamped on my shoulder as she dragged me into the cargo bay and in front of the crate. The lid of the crate was leaning against the box. She then started to talk.
(I’m doing my best to remember everything she said, I apologize if it is not exact)
You are a fool Case. Do you know what is going on? Of course you don’t. You follow your stupid rules thinking that you can hide behind them. That if you don’t know the terrible things we are accessories to, then you aren’t apart of them. But, we both know that isn’t true. Every murderer we ferried across the ocean, every load of guns we delivered, or drugs we moved. We are just as guilty as the people who requested them. In fact, I think you are worse than they are, because you know what is happening, and you don’t do anything to stop it. Well, now it is finally going to bite you in the ass.
I know that you didn’t meet anyone from the company. That all you got was a call and a point on the map. Did you ever stop to wonder why a company would want a bunch of monsters haunting houses? Maybe you had an inkling that it was to hurt certain people. Maybe to scare them into doing something. Which you were right, but you probably had no idea who the people were, did you? It didn’t matter right? As long as you got paid. You are so predictable. Which is why we chose you.
The people we haunted was definitely picked for a reason. They were leaders, generals, CEOs, innovators. Anyone that had some control of the world. No one knows it yet, but they are now completely useless, or dead. Now, think about it, who would benefit from the collapse of the world? You can’t be that thick, can you? How about this, where did the crates come from? Why couldn’t we pick up any monster? Why was there a certain type of monster that we waited until just now to pick up?
I knew they were too smart. That there was something about the lizard men that I didn’t like.
Exactly, the lizard men. They came from under the ice, and they have been watching and waiting. We signed our death warrant with the melting of the ice. You have no idea what else is hiding in that world. Are minds would crack if we saw what else was under there. And the lizard men are the keepers of those ancient monsters.
The islands that are coming from the ice are full of the monsters. There are other ships like yours, delivering the legion of death on the world. They are going to clear the world of us and reclaim it as their own. It’s too late to stop it.
We would have allowed you to live. I tried telling you that they were smart, but you didn’t listen. And then you went and killed one of our chieftains.
That was about all I could listen to. I was glad that my revolver never left my side, hidden away in my back holster, which she never thought to search. I let her talk as I reached back and pulled out my gun. I just wasn’t quick enough.
I lifted my gun, pointing the barrel at Slade as time slowed down and exploded into a flurry of action. The crate slowly shook as monsters jumped out. A crazed lizard monster spewed fire, catching Slade’s hair on fire. A bat demon fluttered its wings and lifted into the air. A goat monster leaped out of the box and started to charge toward me.
The clock unfroze and everything played out in fast forward. I fired my gun at the lizard, exploding its head in fire and blood. Then I leapt out of the way as the goat charged past me and slammed into Slade, knocking her to the floor. I got up in time to see the goat trample Slade on its way to me. My hand cocked the hammer on the revolver and blasted the goat before it got to me. Its baby voice gurgled in death. Slade moaned and writhed on the floor. I walked over to her and put her out of her misery. I left the bat monster to roost in the ceiling and I walked up the stairs, locking the door behind me.
So, now you are all caught up. I’m sitting in the bridge, writing this on paper, with an empty whiskey bottle next to me. I am going to tell you what I am going to do, then stuff this paper into the bottle and toss the bottle into the water. I really hope someone finds this and that it isn’t too late. I’m going to assume by the time you found this that most of the leaders of the free world are dead or insane. So find someone who will listen and tell them to find someway to bomb the islands coming off the frozen continent. Tell them to find a way to freeze it back up and set guards. Or prepare to fight. They can be killed, no matter how frightening they look.
I can see the islands floating in the distance, thousands of them. Full of demons and monsters ready to destroy the world. I know I can’t stop them. But, you can use this letter as a blueprint to fight back.
There is one thing I can do, however.
I am turning this boat around. I am going to do my best to make it back to the island. When I get to the island, I’m going to set the boat and dock on fire. Then I am going to be the monster they don’t expect. I am going to be the thing that hides under their beds. The thing that makes the closet door creak while they try to sleep. The monster that takes their kids, the one that takes the person walking to their car late at night. I am going to give them something to fear. And maybe, just maybe, they will be too afraid of us humans.
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