Chapter 4: Solo Mission

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I didn't tell anyone about my encounter with the boy. A...human. Felt weird to say it that way. Was I still human? Or was I now separated from the human race? Was I my own being? Was I going to get in trouble?

It felt like something you would read in a book. Two worlds meeting for the first time. A monster girl, and a human boy. I sat on the edge of my bed in my bare room. My wings were tired and my face had scratches from the pine needles. I got sunburned badly and had to apply special ointments. I forgot to put on sunblock for my paper white skin before we left.

We just got back from the National Forest. The alien wasn't hostile. It got hurt and needed help. In the beginning it was scared and was attacking us, but then we noticed that it was hurt. We helped it as much as we could. It was speaking a different language and was very scared. He was red with four glossy black eyes and yellow spots. His antennae were weird looking. I can't describe what they looked like. I have to admit, it is still weird to meet different aliens from outer space.

I shifted on my bed and laid there on my side. I mean Monger said we were free, but we seemed to have been nervous about showing ourselves to the public, and the government keeps evacuating everyone to stay safe. When we were given our freedom, it didn't really go well trying to get back into society.

Maybe the government tried covering up their mistake and pretend that us monsters were just a figment of everyone's imaginations. Unlike my parents who permanently lost their memories of me. I was a complete stranger to them.

I shifted uncomfortably on my bed when I thought about my family. I missed them so much. I didn't like that my last memory of seeing them was them screaming in terror at me. Tears of frustration came down my face.

If I had a time machine I would go back and stop John before he erased my family's memories. If I had a time machine I'd go further back and stop John from turning me into a...

I paused for a moment. I haven't thought of that in a long while. I mean, I enjoyed being a monster, and having monster friends...but sometimes...I longed to be normal again.

I thought about it for a second before going back to worrying about when Monger or the government found out about the boy. They found out about everything. I'm sure they already read my last entry in my journal and are hunting the boy down as I was writing this.

Maybe it wasn't a regular human boy. Maybe it was another alien. I rolled over, careful not to crush my wings and blinked up at the ceiling. It could've been October. The alien that I shared DNA with. I considered it for a moment before shaking my head.

No, it couldn't have been him. His eyes weren't yellow and cat like. Like mine. The one thing October couldn't get right in shape shifting were the human eyes. I knew that for a fact.

Suddenly, I heard the familiar sound of a jet-pack. I stiffened. It was Monger. He was coming. I sat up and hesitated as the sound got louder and louder. It stopped a few feet from my door. My hands started to sweat. I heard the sounds of his footsteps and then him stopping in front of my door. Three quick knocks.

"Bat? It's Monger."

I looked up, just as the door opened. Of course Monger had access to our rooms. I didn't have to get up and push the button. Monger walked over to my bed and stood before me in one of his press ironed suits, straight and stiff. He seemed a bit concerned.

He held one of those faded yellow rectangular envelopes you see in movies about spies. A spy handing a secret envelope with a big black question mark or the words TOP SECRET to other spies about secret information. Instead of a question mark, I saw my full, real name on the side of the envelope. I looked up at Monger with a confused look on my face.

"What?" I asked.

Monger hesitated before handing the envelope to me. "I felt that you needed to see these," he said. My heart skipped a beat. Oh no. They found out about me and the boy. He's going to ask why I didn't say anything about him. They are going to...what would they do to me? Ground me? I mean, I guess Monger was now my temporary guardian until my family got their memories back. I bet it was very important for them to know this stuff and to keep us monsters under wraps for now. Maybe show us to the public gradually.

I took the folder nervously from him. With trembling hands, I opened the folder. Instead of seeing me and the boy, I saw the last person I wanted to see. John. There were photographs of John. Still wearing those stupid sunglasses. The scar on his face peeked out from behind the sunglasses. They were all candid shots. He didn't know he was being photographed, but in every shot he had his head turned, like he was paranoid that someone was watching him.

"He was seen near a high school not far from here," Monger said, causing me to look up. "What was he doing there?" I asked. Monger shrugged. "No one knows. We assume that he might be looking for more kids to experiment on. Might have another lab somewhere and is going back to making more..." he gestured to me, but didn't know the words to say what I was. An abomination I could see him thinking of the word, but not wanting to say out loud.

...you," he finally went with.

"When were these taken?"

"Today, when you guys were gone, around fifteen hundred hours."

Took me a while to realize that was three o' clock. I stared down at the photographs again. Monger cleared his throat and continued. "I also wanted to add that if this is a repeating thing he's doing, I was wondering if you are ok with this as your solo mission."

I snapped my head back up at him. A solo mission? I was going to go alone on a secret mission. I suddenly felt very important, and nervous. "What kind of solo mission?" I asked.

Monger went on to describe the solo mission, which was kind of vague if you ask me. Just figure out what John was up to. Why he was there at the school and see if there have been any absent kids.

"We've got it all taken care of, just depends on if you are going to cooperate and if you are willing to do this mission solo," said Monger, eyeing me. I nodded my head. Besides wanting to be normal again, I wanted to feel important on the team. A solo mission. And a way to put John behind bars. It felt so scary but exciting.

Monger nodded back. "Good, your mission starts tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" I gasped. I wasn't mentally ready to start tomorrow! And I was too beaten up from the last physical fight we had a couple days ago. Monger noticed the shocked look on my face and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It's ok. There's nothing to be worried about. Everything is all sorted out. You already have your classes, your school supplies...everything you need to fit right in."

I went quiet for a moment. How was me going to school a solo mission in figuring out what John was doing? I turned to Monger. "Wait...I'm not actually going to school am I?" I asked. Monger was silent for a moment. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I didn't want you to get upset at me for telling you this...but...the government told me that you are too young to be doing this whole alien fighting thing. As your guardian, and because of the rules placed in the U.S., you need to be eighteen or older, and you need to graduate high school. We cant have your record say that you are a dropout from high school. I am working on getting you monsters back in society, and if you are ever going to live close to a normal life again, your wings and bat ears aren't going to get you a decent job."

I didn't respond to his answer.

"...You are going to school," he finally said.

I still didn't respond.

"It's still a solo mission. What I said about John and the photos are true, but while the others are fighting aliens, I need you to figure out what John is up to...and finish school..."

I averted my eyes from him. School? It almost sounded like a foreign word. I thought because I became a monster, I was going to be fighting aliens for the rest of my life. Hidden away from society. School. Sounded like punishment... At the same time, it felt like another chance at being normal again.

"Could you do that for me, Bat? Please?" He asked.

I stared at my bare walls and nearly empty dressers in my room. The room was quiet for a long time. Monger sighed, I heard him rub the back of his head. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I'm sorry for not being forward in the beginning about the school thing, but this is very important, Bat. I want to stop John as much as you do. I know you had a horrible experience with him, and I want to put an end to his plans before he goes and does something worse..."

His words hung there in the air for a moment. I remained quiet, letting everything sink in. I sighed, my shoulders drooping, as well as my wings, limp like two blankets on my shoulders. So many emotions ran through me. Excitement, anger, nervousness, fear. I finally glanced up at the general.

"...I don't think I have much choice in the matter," I said. Monger was quiet, but I didn't have to turn my head to know that he was nodding. I turned sideways, but kept my eyes down on the ground before answering him.

"Allright. I'll cooperate," I said.

...

I sat outside on the top of the secret base that was an old hanger that held airplanes. I watched the sunset as best I could. My eyes were very sensitive to light. I always wore my sunglasses, except for when the lighting was dim, I could take them off; but sometimes I felt insecure about them and kept the sunglasses on.

The sun gave off its last blinding rays before disappearing behind the clouds and the mountains in the far distance. The stars came out as the sunset went dark in color. From reds, to purples, then finally to deep midnight blues. In no time, the sky erupted in millions of silver stars. One of the things I liked seeing out here in the middle of nowhere. Where I lived, I only saw about a small handful. Here, it was like the sky was alive and able to show off its wonderful cloak of glittering jewels. I wish I could enjoy it more tonight, but my heart felt like a weight in my chest.

Tomorrow I started school.

I'm not allowed to say the school's name. So I'm just gonna call it The High-school. The High-school where John was last seen at. He was alive, and he was up to something...and I'm going to be the one to stop him.

I was truthfully very nervous. It felt like a lot to give to a teenager. Having to be in disguise, while also figuring out where John was hiding. So many things could go wrong. What if I wasn't ready for this kind of mission? What if I wasn't ready to go back to a normal life. Deep down I wanted it. I wanted my normal life back, but it wasn't going to be the same. I was a monster. There was no way I was ever going to live the same way ever again.

I watched as the bats came out and began their night routine of catching bugs. I stood up from the top of the hanger, spread open my wings, and took a straight dive down. When I got closer to the ground, I quickly pulled up, making a U shape and soared upward into the sky, flying among the bats. Might be the last time I'll be able to use my wings since I'll be too busy with homework and projects.

I angled myself and flapped my wings, soaring above the dark desert landscape. Around me, bats fluttered around like sharp shadows. My wings fanned out, gliding along. The cold wind in my face, my sunglasses off, my cat like alien eyes all sharp and able to finally open and see the dark world as if it were daylight. My bat ears alert and hearing every heartbeat within a certain distance.

I felt alive.

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