Monster association

Driving to the outskirts of town, the man constantly checked his phone and the road to confirm the destination. It was a clear day like any other during summer, the sun radiated a blinding light that demanded the use of air conditioning.

After a long while of driving, the driver finally pulled over his Toyota car. He reviewed his phone once more.

Here is the place. He said moving to a farmhouse.

The area was quiet with the only sound being his footsteps. He finally stopped at a nicely constructed house. He stretched his hand out to knock on the door until he noticed a boy watering plants on the farm.

This was a normal thing to see on the farm but what captivated the mans attention was the mask the boy wore on his face. The young boy had a full gas mask on which covered his entire face except for his eyes which were seen through the eyepieces. He was extremely lean, to the point that one may think his death would be near.

His gaze did not go unnoticed by the boy who in turn started back. The awkwardness was broken by the man who decided to wave but the boy just gazed at him with his black hair moving with the flow of the breeze.

”Mom! He is here! ” A young teen with brown hair opened the door inviting the man. However, before he shut the door close he glared at the boy who wore the gas mask.

”Get back to work freak! ” And as told, he continued watering the plants.

Walking through the halls, he noticed the insides were nicely furnished. Paintings of Greek gods hung on the wall.

”Mister, are you sending me to the big city? It has always been my dream to go. ”

”I do not think your mum called me for that. ” he kindly responded.

They arrived at the living room, where an overweight woman sat on a sofa watching tv. Seeing the man come in, she reaches for the remote beside her to shut off the television.

”Sir, Jonathon! It is a pleasure to meet you. ” She greeted pointing to the sofa for him to sit on.

”No? the pleasure is all mine. ” he took a seat, placing his bag on the ground.

”Marcus, call the boy! ” She ordered her son.

”Is he the one, Mrs.Kinder? ” Jonathan asked.

”Yes, he is. Onto our second matter as well. As I said on the call, I have been noticing noises in the woods. ” The woman told.

”Hmm, we can not be sure its a monster but I will check. Have any animals been missing from the farm or have food crops gone missing? ” Jonathon further inquired.

In response to his questions, the woman shook her head, ”Fortunately, no but the noises are getting louder each night. I fear the worst. ”

Jonathan sighed as he leaned back on the sofa. This was truly a complicated situation, it almost sounded as though instead of terrorizing her the monsters were watching the farm. Either that or she had an unknown protector.

The sound of footsteps drew nearer as Marcus came back along with the boy wearing the gas mask. As soon as he entered, a foul odor drenched the house.

” For Gods sake! Why do you smell like piss? ” Mrs. Kinder threw an empty juice carton at him. She could feel her stress levels rising, causing her to pant.

”See what you are doing to mom! ” Marcus slapped the back of the boys head with full force before checking on his mother.

What surprised Jonathon was going through this, the boy never uttered a sound, almost like he was used to it.

”You will be Mister Jonathons guide. So you will be with him during his night here. Hurry up and leave now. ” Miss Kinder told and afterward used her hand to signal him to leave.

”Please, let Marcus take you to your room. ”

The man followed Marcus outside to where there was a small house near the main one.

”Does that boy sleep here? ” Jonathan asked.

”No, he would just end up ruining it. He lives in the barn with the horses. ” Marcus answered.

During their walk, Marcus asked many questions about the big city whereas Jonathon answered. He described how events were at Christmas, the lively atmosphere as well as occasional events. Sadly, that was only the good aspect, the cities had a large number of monsters that attacked civilians.

Entering the small house, Marcus took his leave, allowing Jonathon to get acquainted with his new environment. He sat on the laid bed and began organizing his thoughts until he heard a knock at the door.

”Come in. ”

The black-haired boy came in, carrying packaged food, water, and a towel. His hair was wet, indicating he took a shower to wash off the foul smell.

”Ugh, I plan to resolve this issue by tonight. So this is not needed. ” He politely declined but took the food as a form of courtesy.

Once he delivered the meal, he turned to leave.

”Wait, ” Jonathon ordered, putting his movements to a halt and turning to him.

”What is your name? No need to be so silent, ” he asked.

”I-I do lack one. ”

”What? ”

”I was not gifted with a name. ” He repeated.

The long conversation filled with questions was cut short by his words. The conversation had easily begun to drift into dark territory.

”How could your family not give you a name? ” He inquired as he scratched his blonde hair.

”I am not fit to have one. Besides, they are not my family, just strangers who let me live here. ”

It was hard to tell whether there was sorrow, gloom, or even pain in his voice but one thing was for sure. He would be a cold-hearted man if he did not spend at least a little time trying to make him happy before doing what Miss Kinder wanted.

The world was filled with pain and despair but he believed everyone should at least feel happiness once. Yet, he felt no such thing from the not in front of him.

”Come, lets have some fun. ” The man pulled out a tablet from his bag. He turned it on and selected a multiplayer game.

Intrigued, the boy sat beside him. The spent the rest of the morning playing games and watching movies on his device and the afternoon helping with his farm work. He even taught the boy a few things like how to properly use fertilizer, how much water to use, and even about crop rotation.

”This is good, right. ” The boy said while trying to unroot a carrot.

”Not like that. ” Jonathon chuckled while showing him the proper way.

However, despite spending all that time with him it began to scare him how the boy had no changes in emotion. It was like he was trying to distance himself.

Even though he did not express himself, his fatigue did so. In the late afternoon, he fell asleep on the chair in the small house given to Jonathon.

”What an oddball, ” he said looking at the youngsters sleep. With a smile, he placed him into his bed and tucked him in.

”A job is a job. ” He whispered to himself as he headed out after taking a shower. The farm work had gotten him quite dirty and unfortunately, he did not bring an extra pair of pants.

Later that evening, Marcus barged into the room. He swept his gaze around the area and stopped his eyes at the bed.

”Hey! ” He shouted but the boy was lost in his slumber.

Therefore, he walked up to him, pulled off the blanket, and smacked his belly jolting him awake.

”What are you doing in his bed? ” The brown-haired kid asked, staring at the boy in disgust.

”What do you seek here? ” He asked still feeling tired.

”Hey, do not ignore me, ” Marcus said with an annoyed tone.

With his gas mask on, he looks left and right. Then answered saying he was oblivious to the situation.

Marcus heaved a sigh but then told him that he was being called to the house. He wastes no time in leaving and arrived before miss Kinder within a minute.

”Sir Jonathon is waiting for you in the woods, hurry and go to him. ” She instructed but before he left she called him once more.

”Goodbye. ” She said, leaving him to run into the night.

”Mother, ” Marcus called as his voice croaked.

”Yes, Marcus. ” She answered.

”Is he leaving for the big city? You knew that was my dream! I can not believe you would send that freak instead of me, your son. ” He ran out of the house shedding a few tears.

His mom tried to explain but her calls fell on deaf ears. She sat in the living room all alone she let out a sigh.

I can not believe she would do that! Marcus cried as he ran but he bumped into a sturdy object.

Looking up in horror, a dark silhouette loomed over his body.

”You will do! ”

————————————————————————

”You are finally here! ” Jonathan exclaimed as he looked at the stars that illuminated in the dark. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it before puffing.

The black-haired boy adjusted his gas mask since it nearly fell off as he ran. He stood beside Jonathon and glared at the sky.

”There is going to be rain soon. ” Jonathon said.

”I can already feel iy ” drizzling. ” The boy said.

”You know, my job here is to ”

”Kill me because I am a monster. ”

Hearing his answer, the cigarette dropped from Jonathons mouth. He looked the boy in the eyes through the eyepieces filled with astonishment.

”How did you know? ”

”I killed every monster that attempted to harm the farm as ordered. So the only reason she would call a monster inspector is to get rid of me. I can smell the fear she emits around me. ” He said.

”Ha, I am guessing you heard her call to the association last week. ” He formulated, pulling out another cigarette.

”You are right, she is scared shitless. I am also guessing the reason you wear that mask is because of a condition you have as a result of your power. Anyways, she made comments about you starting fires frequently that made quite the odor. ” The man told as he continued to gaze at the stars.

”Yes, the corpses of monsters must go somewhere. Can you please kill me now? ” The boy begged.

”Are you giving up on life so easily? There is still happiness you can find. ”

”Happiness? Is that why you spent so much time with me today? To make me happy? ”

The dark-haired boy switched his gaze from the stars to the man.

”Throughout my 14 years of life, I have never known happiness. I did try to make this family happy and they decided to get me murdered. Honestly, though, I have been in so much physical pain as well as emotional that I nearly feel nothing. So, to answer your question, I am not giving up on life. ” He said with seriousness in his voice very apparent.

Conscious monsters aware of what they were doing had hard lives, but Jonathan had never seen one like this.

”Life gave up on me! I know full well I am a monster and not crazed like the ones I killed. So please do me a favor… ” he paused as he tilted his head. Although the full gas mask was still on, Jonathon could finally see his eyes changing expression through the eyepieces.

” And kill me. Or else I will just attempt it again for the 27th time. ”