20. The monster is back in town.

When the fear is gone and smiles spread over the faces- it's when the monster arrives back in town. When they run scared, when they cry and beg for mercy, he is there to watch upon the chaos as danger roams around the porches. Watch, enjoy, and smile at the miserable souls crossing his path.

"Check the locks, shut the windows down!" An elder male yelled out, standing in the middle of the town; the last alive descendant of the infamous King Magnus- a hundred and eight years old shifter. He was considered as another breed, feeling it within his chest whenever the monster lurked upon them.

"Look, the old Leroy is going insane again. Zip it, old man, we don't have time for your nonsense!" A young male yelled from the park. He sat on the bench with a couple of females, absolutely unfazed by the panic in the elder male's eyes.

"You're right where he wants you to be, boy. Let's see how insane or crazy I will be when your head is delivered to your doorstep. Bravery is a good thing, my boy, as long as you understand when you need it. This town is cursed, it's never over- when he was gone, we could breathe and live as we wanted to. I've lived in this town for a hundred years, and he's been here five times. I've seen more heads rolling than you've seen living people. Watch out; you'll be running soon. May the Moon Goddess have mercy upon you, my boy." The older man bowed his head and rushed away. His steps were slow and looked extremely painful, but he kept pushing forward. Leroy wasn't the same young and robust shifter he used to be, but even after such a long life, the male wouldn't forgive himself if he had to fall from the claw of the Devil's curse.

The young girds and male laughed, pointing fingers at the older man trying to walk faster. Leroy grabbed onto his chest, feeling how it tightens. It was close.
"Mathilda!" He yelled out, dropping on his knees. Even the younger shifters' eyes widened, seeing that something was happening to the crazy Leroy. Before anyone else could approach him, a young woman ran to the male's side. She knelt next to him and let her eyes roam over his form. The woman noticed how Leroy kept clawing on his chest, and her eyes widened. Her head perked up, she closed her eyes and sniffed the air. Almost instantly, her eyes opened again, this time the concern on her face was swiped away in seconds, replaced by fear and look of terror.

"Is... Is it?" Mathilda stuttered, unable to talk or think anymore. She had been next to Leroy once when the said monster paid a visit to their town. It was the most terrifying night of her lifetime; the woman kept praying gods to keep the creature away from their home.

"Mathilda, run! Lock the doors, hide in the damn basement and don't come out till the sunset! It's close, run!" Leroy urged her away; some of the younger shifters cautiously walked closer to them. The woman glared at them and raised an eyebrow. She couldn't understand why they were still out during the blood moon. They should have known about the curse and the consequences that come upon anyone who had ever faced the Devil's monster.

"What are you staring at, idiots? Come here and help me get him back home, you can hide with us, just hurry!" Mathilda yelled, trying her best to help the older man get back on his feet. The younger shifters rushed to them and helped Leroy up. The same young man, who laughed just minuted ago, threw Leroy over his shoulder and ran towards his house.

The crowd of people ran inside the old house, and Mathilda rushed to lock the doors and windows. She breathed heavily, whispering incomprehensible words under her breath. Her frantic behavior just sent everyone else over the edge. The young women sat next to Leroy while their friend paced back and forth, grabbing onto sides of his house. Everyone in the tiny house was scared enough, making the situation worse when loud explosions sounded from afar. Everyone, even Leroy, got on their feet, looking around in terror.

"What the fuck was that? Who is there, and why is it doing this? Old man, you said that there's a fucking monster out there, but all I can hear is someone blowing up some shit!" Aaron, the young male yelled, stomping towards Leroy. He looked as if he was ready to kill the older male until the sound of a low, deep growl sounded from afar. It was powerful enough to shake the ground and make the young male lose balance. He fell on the wooden floor; his jaw dropped in shock.

"Zip it, I'm trying to build a damn barrier here, but it isn't working. He's too close. Damn it, beg for the mercy of gods because we are the ones whose heads will roll! Haven't you heard anything about the curse? No, let me guess- back in the school, you were too busy being the popular fuckboy. You didn't have time to pay attention when the teachers spoke about that creature lurking in the shadows. Leroy, show them the hidden door and get downstairs. I'll grab essentials and try to build a barrier for long enough for us to lock ourselves in there. Hurry, we don't have time. You, and you," Mathilda pointed at Aaron and one of the girls before speaking up again. "Help him; the closer monster gets, the more pain Leroy feels. He won't get down there on his own, and if he's going down- I'll kill you before that bastard does! Got it?" She glared at everyone, a slight smirk appearing on his lips as the young shifters nodded their heads.

She watched how they took Leroy to the further room and ran to the kitchen. Leroy was a wise man; he made sure to keep essential things around the house, in case if he's still alive by the next visit. Mathilda grabbed the box from the kitchen counter and threw in a couple of water bottles. She took whatever food items she could get and ran towards Leroy's bedroom. He had two separate doors leading to the hideout, both unlocked until the day when dangers reach them. She opened the door, dropped the box on the carpeted area, and slowly got inside. Mathilda locked the door and checked twice for it to stay closed. The woman moved fast, whispering spells, hoping that they will work. She hadn't used them for decades, saving her strength for the day of disaster- for today.
She left the food items behind and ran towards the second entrance, hoping to reach the door on time. She passed Leroy and younger shifters, which had smiles all over their faces. The young male high fived women for managing to hide. Mathilda locked the other door and slowly went back to the others. She placed a finger over her mouth, pointing one to the upstairs. He was there, walking around, checking if any living soul roamed around the house.
Since the monster was so close, Leroy was in too much pain to cope anymore, the older male fell asleep, too tired from fighting the pain.
Younger ones slowly sat down, placing palms over their mouths.
They sat there for almost an hour when Mathilda finally sighed in relief.

"This is not the first, and not the last time it will come here. The monster is on the lookout now; it will return. It was here before we reached the house, all rooms rekt of him, I couldn't say anything to avoid scaring old Leroy even more." Mathilda whispered, gaining the attention of young shifters. She moved closer to them and eyed everyone. "Now, let's be serious for a bit- have you heard anything about the curse? Do they still talk about it in school, or did they forgot to mention it again? Not to be a complete bitch, but if they aren't- you, guys, would be dead until now."

"I'm a straight-A student with a perfect attendance record. I haven't missed even a minute from my school years, and I haven't heard of it. We did have some lessons on the history of this town, but it always ended with conversations about architecture. Would you tell us what exactly it is, why is it doing whatever is it doing, and about the curse? Why is our town, cursed? And why is Leroy in so much pain whenever this monster gets closer? Please, tell us." The girl, which didn't speak until now, finally questioned Mathilda. She was young and visually innocent, but Mathilda knew that there was something off with the girl. She might be the so-called "Seeder."
Seeders were the personas, chosen by the cursed monster, carrying whatever information he needed to receive. Those people were usually more intelligent, bringing a lot of knowledge about the area and secret hideouts.

"How can I know if you're not a seeder? You might, as well, question me for it! The more you get to know, the more does it. The more we speak, the better he knows where exactly to look!" Mathilda, whisper yelled. She had to find a way to intimidate the girl if she wouldn't react to the word she had been called by right now.
The girl didn't react; all she did was avered her eyes and nodded her head. Mathilda took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and asked the girl to look at her. As soon as she felt the movement, Mathilda opened eyes to look at the girl, seeing purple. "Are you playing with a necromancer, girl? You stupid, little shit! She's the seeder, for fucks sake!" The woman snarled, standing back up on her feet. Her breathing became heavier, Aaron and the girl crawled away from the enraged woman. As much as they cared for their friend, both understood that being a seeder wasn't a good thing, especially if Mathilda was so angry. They watched how the woman raised her hand, and something lightning alike flew at the girl's head. She dropped on the ground as paralyzed.

"Don't worry, she's not dead, nor injured. I had to neutralize her until the creature leaves this town. She's hidden here with us, which is both good and bad. Your friend got some information, so did the beast. She's not able to go around the houses and ask to get in for protection, which is fantastic. I guess I have to explain how seeders work first but don't make any sounds. Your friend here has an extraordinary amount of knowledge. The beast chooses as much as he can and technically seeds a part of himself in their minds. From there, those people become marionettes in his claws. They are breathing, walking, and acting to fulfill his purpose just to end up being eaten by the monster. If she stays here, she will survive, but if we let her leave- she will follow the beast until her purpose will end. From here, you two decide what we should do with this seeder. We keep her or let her go." Mathilda kept scanning both young shifters as she spoke. If one from them became a seeder without any signs- so could these two. The woman couldn't understand why and how the monster got the girl so fast. Was she willingly accepting, maybe even inviting him in? There wasn't any other explanation as to why her case was so simple. Taking over minds came with consequences, for most of them instant death.

"Tell us what is happening! You mentioned that someone was supposed to tell us about the curse and this monster, but we end up locked in a fucking basement with a dying man, and our friend knocked out cold by some weird voodoo thing! What the fuck is going on?" Aaron gritted his teeth, barely holding the inner rage together. The male was both scared and shocked, way too confused to put two and two together.

"The town was cursed centuries ago. In the olden days, this tow area was part of the castle. There was a cruel and heartless King who created a new species by kidnapping youngsters from different places. If his lover wouldn't betray his doings and lead the wrong people to him- nobody would ever know. The Devil himself cursed the King, his property, and his bloodline. Leroy, here, is the last descendant of his. The last thread who is carrying his bloodline. That's why he was in so much pain- Leroy can feel when the beast gets near. Pretty sure you can understand why the old man never got married or had kids. Every once in a while, the monster gets back to see if the people here lead their lives happily- if they do, he reminds everyone of his presence. It's a blood bath whenever it appears. We are supposed to have underground hideouts for our own protection because the monster will roam around the town until sunrise. If anyone is stupid enough to be outside now, well- they're not going to be happy to meet their death. We have to sit and wait. And hope, let's keep in mind that we have to hope to survive." Mathilda replied, keeping an eye on both. She didn't want to miss the moment if any of those became seeders for some odd reasons. There was a possibility since their closest friend was one. The woman couldn't gain enough courage to speak the whole truth- their friend had to die. The young woman would follow the beast if she survives till sunrise and serves him. That would be even worse than dying from its claw. Mathilda had to kill the innocent girl, who was stupid enough to let the beast it.

Aaron opened his mouth, but a loud bang on the nearest door startled him. A growl erupted from upstairs, shaking the whole house. Everyone held their breaths until the beast spoke: "Come out, come out wherever you are."