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“I have to ask,” I blurt out, “what and who are you all? I’ve always wondered where you came from and what really happened.” I don’t believe the human lies, especially after meeting the monsters. They might be brutal, and sometimes rude and feral, but they are not the human-eating, world-destroying creatures they described.
They seem almost human, apart from the skin colour, horns, and tail.
So what really happened? How did this really begin?
“It’s a long story,” he admits.
“I have time.” I shrug. “Please, I need to know. I’ve wondered since I was child.”
“It will not be as your people told you,” he warns, but I just nod, so he settles back to tell me. “Please do not fear me after I tell you. It was many, many human years ago. We have adapted, and we have overcome. We were mere children then, new and angry.”
I stiffen, but he gives me no chance to back out now. He answers brutally, and I soon become enthralled in the story, leaning forward and hanging on every word.
“We did not come from the sky. We aren’t pollutants or monsters in the sense of what your government tries to sell people. They said that to cover the truth, because the truth, little human, is that they created us.” He launches deeper into the tale, unwinding every monstrous lie I was told by our people.
“We were created in a lab, the very same lab I found you near. They played god, as you call it. They merged DNA and created…well, us. We were experiments born in test tubes, then watched and used as lab rats, left to grow angry and restless in tiny little glass cages as we were poked and prodded. I was merely a child when it happened—we call it the Great Reckoning. Our people had enough, and their anger had grown so big, they couldn’t control the red haze. In it, there is nothing but our basic instinct’s need for blood and death, cultivated by the humans. We unleashed it upon them, killing all who hurt us and freeing our people. We exploded from the earth and out into the city. The death toll was high, as they killed and destroyed everything, knowing nothing other than pain and hatred. I was hidden down here by an elder and protected as the war waged on above. Humans fled, their weapons and people failing against us. Eventually, some of our people managed to pull back the haze and realised what they were doing was wrong. We were becoming nothing but the monsters they created us to be. It changed the tide, and we retreated, but it wasn’t enough for them. All we ever wanted was our freedom, to find a life after they gave us humanity. They wouldn’t allow it and attacked us, so we fought back. Many died, and they claimed we tried to kill the world. They started to build the wall when they realised they were losing and we would out them. They painted us as the villains, and once the wall was up, we left them alone, learning what it meant to be free. We grew, learned, and formed families, tribes, like you see down here. They left us, and we left them. We know what they said about us, but this? We never wanted this, we just wanted…”
“To be free,” I whisper, and he nods in pain.
“To be given the same rights as humans. After all, we never asked to be created. We banded together for protection. I always knew they would come back, and they have over the years, so we kill them to keep our lives safe. They have stolen a few of ours, and the thought of what they are doing to them haunts us all.”
I gasp, and he nods.
“What they did was unforgivable and horrendous, but we were no better. We indiscriminately took life and stole innocence. We can never atone for our sins. What we did, even if it was nothing more than a naïve lack of understanding, was not acceptable. We know better now, yet they still attack us, still lie. One day, they will be back, I know that, and I will be ready to protect my people.”
“You said most pulled back the haze? Are there some that gave into it?” I ask softly.
He nods. “Just like there are bad humans, there are bad monsters—the ones who like bloodshed, death, and to cause pain. They hang on the very edges of our people, banished for giving into the hatred the humans love. We are not all like them, human.”
“My name is Aria,” I correct.
“Aria.” He drags it out in an adorable way. “We are not all like them, we just want to be left alone.”
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur, reaching out and laying a hand on him. “I truly am. For what it’s worth, there are those out there who question what happened here, who don’t believe it.”
“But not enough,” he replies, and I nod.
“No.”
“It’s okay, it’s the way of life. We survive day by day, still finding ourselves.”
He becomes quiet then, and I’m unsure what to say before a thought pops into my head.
“When I was a kid, I was told you would eat me.” I grin.
“I just might.” He smirks and leans in. “But I promise you would like it.”
I gulp, unable to look away from his bright, abnormal eyes, and he chuckles as he leans back. “I love the look of shock and curiosity on your face. You fear nothing, do you?”
“Fear is useless, but I fear enough.”
“Tell me, what do you fear?” he inquires curiously, tilting his head at me, his horns twinkling in the fire, drawing my eyes again.
I answer as I stare at them, wondering what they feel like. “I fear starving to death. I fear that one day, I won’t be fast enough, strong enough. That my usefulness will run out, and I’ll end up like every other girl—on her back, too scarred and drugged to do anything. I fear being alone forever, wandering through this empty city day after day alone, never feeling safe, never laughing or smiling.” I move my gaze to his. “I fear being human.”
“Very honest,” he admits and leans closer. “Touch one.”
“What?” I ask.
