Chapter One
Kylee
The demonic glow of the chimera's eyes etched themselves into my mind as it circles me, as if deciding how to prepare me for dinner. Broiled or barbequed? I stand, frozen with fear, armed with only a butter knife. What a better way to celebrate your 13th birthday then to find out that your stepmother is really a bloodthirsty monster, who's life goal is to kill you? Something about this women has always bothered me, ever since dad married her a couple months ago. When I told dad how I feel towards my new "mom" he replied with, "Kylee, your stepmother is perfectly fine. You need a mom. Me marrying Jenna was for the best."
Nice going dad.
He left just this morning, on a business trip. Again. It's always business, and I barely ever see him anymore.I miss him. He married Jenna (A.K.A Echidna, mother of all monsters) thinking that if he did, I might not be so lonely when he is away. Jenna was the cutesy type, with a kind of 1950's look, like the moms that you see on old tv shows like The Brady Bunch or The Partridge Family. But her personality was a different story. I remember reading Harry Potter, and Dolores Umbridge, the girly, bitter sweet evil defense against the dark arts teacher tried to take over Hogwarts. Jenna is just like her, except ten times worse. She had this way about her, like, she acts real sweet, but if you took one look in eyes you knew she could pulverize you any second. And instead of Hogwarts, she tried to take over our home. She plastered every wall with pink floral wallpaper. She placed pink cushions everywhere. Pink rugs. Pink tablecloth. Pink poufs. Pink. Pink. Pink.
Going anywhere in our small Minnesota apartment anymore gives me a headache, so I spend most of my time secluded in my room, the only place the pink-nado hadn't hit. But even locked up in there I can't get away from her. When Jenna moved in with us, she brought with her Seus, the world's most terrifying chihuahua. It never stops yapping. It seems like no matter how hard I try, I just can't block her out. Over the last month, I have became completely isolated from the rest of the world, coming out of my room as little as possible. My dad left this morning to go to Seattle on business, promising that we would celebrate my birthday as soon as he got back. He's the president of this snack bar company, and I was used to him being away a lot, but this time it was different. I was left home alone for the first time with Jenna, giving her the perfect chance to strike.
I came down to get some breakfast. As I was pouring my cereal, I heard a hissing, rattling voice behind me. "Where is she?" I whipped around so fast that I dropped my bowl of cereal, sending Cheerios and glass splattering across the floor. But I had bigger problems. Standing in front of me, was my stepmother. But from the waist down, she was a snake. I backed up, my heart racing. "W-what are you?" I stuttered.
"What am I?" the monster snarled, baring her fangs. "I am Echidna! Mother of all monsters!" My fear turned to confusion.
"Echidna? Like the anteater?"
"UUUHHHH!" Echidna growled. "You're just like that Jackson boy! Why is it that I am always confused with an anteater?" I had absolutely no idea who "that Jackson boy" was, but at the moment I really didn't care. "Now tell me girl," Echidna snarled. "Where is your sister?" Once again, I have absolutely no idea what she is talking about. I'm an only child. I don't have a sister. "Uhhh…" I wasn't sure how to reply. I found my eyes darting around the room, looking for some hidden camera. This had to be a prank. I wanted it to be a prank. But the strong scent of blood wafting from Echidna was definitely real. "I don't have a sister. You've been living with us for a month, I think you should have noticed that by now."
"LIES!" The monster screamed. "Twins of the mist will unite. That was the exact line of the prophecy! We know you are one of the twins, but where is the other?"
"Uhh.. I'm sorry. Like I said before, I don't have a sister, and I definitely am not a twin. You must have the wrong girl, so, um, bye? " I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. Something about the way she said we bothered me. There were more of these monsters? "I warned you sweetie," Echidna hissed. "But now it looks like there is only one way I can get the truth out of you." She whistled, and Seus came running into the room. "Seusy, attack!" I tried hard not to laugh as Seus barked and growled at me.
"Wow…" I said. "A chihuahua, very terri- OH MY GOD!" I ducked under the table just in time to avoid my head being bitten off. Seus had turned to a hideous monster, part, lion, goat, and dragon, all three heads snapping, radiating one clear message: kill. "That… that is not a chihuahua!" I yelped.
"Why… silly dear!" Echidna replied not-so sweetly. "Meet my son, one of the most fearsome monsters to walk the Earth. The Chimera!" The Chimera lashed out at me again. I scrambled out from under the table. I flattened out against the wall and my eyes desperately searched our tiny kitchen for a way to escape. The Chimera was blocking one door, and Echidna was blocking the other. I was cornered. My crazy instincts took over, and I yanked open one of our kitchen drawers and grabbed a butter knife. I charged the monster, slashing wildly.
The monsters were so stunned it took them a minute to realize what was going on before starting to fight back. I managed to slash Echidna's cheek, and steaming, green blood began to flow from the wound. Echidna shrieked in rage. I felt white hot pain flood my knife arm. The knife slipped from my hand and I dropped to my knees, clutching the deep bite wound the Chimera had left on my shoulder. Echidna laughed. "Seus, it looks like it's time to go, after all, no point in staying. Thanks to your poisonous bite, she's already done for. My father will be so proud of us, just another obstacle out of the way, another step closer to his return. " My ex-stepmother slashed my cheek with her long talons. Ow. She emerges towards the door, Seus following. I stood up unsteadily, my legs feeling like led, trying to keep my grip on the butter knife and the blood from my slashed up cheek from flowing into my eyes. Maybe I could attack from behind… get rid of this terrible women… monster… stepmother… thing. Hatred filled me. I don't exactly know what Echidna was trying to do, but something told me it wasn't right. Just another step closer to his return… Without warning, the shards of my shattered breakfast bowl shot into the air, supported by what seemed like a cloud of mist, and directed themselves at Echidna and the Chimera. They impaled the mother of all monsters and the Chimera in the back, and the two exploded into yellow dust.
I had absolutely no idea what had just happened. In complete terror and confusion, I remembered the wound in my arm. The pain was blinding now. My vision was blurry and my ears were ringing. I knew I was dying, I could feel my heart slowing by the second as the Chimera's poison made it's way through my circulatory system. The last thing I saw was a boy who looked about my age and a man with eyes covering every visible inch of his body body burst into the kitchen before I crumpled to the floor.