Alright, now this was a hard chapter to write. I researched the place where Kyle is, but I've never been there, so if something's wrong or out-dated, I blame Google Maps, which gave me the directions. Please correct me, if it bothers you…
The design for the modern version of the monster involved came from the painting by James Draper. Please don't hound me about the mythology. I liked this form and description the best. Correct the mistakes, by all means, but simply point it out, and it will be fixed to the best of my ability.
I was lost. The map I had only had big roads, and no specific places except New York's cities. I headed to New York City, because some very nice people told me that was where the empire state building was. The kindly old lady had even driven me across the state line, taking me from a place called Williamsport all the way to Edison, New Jersey. She had given me strange looks at the sight of my bow and quiver and pack, but when I told her that I was looking for my father, her eyes had softened and she'd let me tell my story. At first she hadn't believed me, but when I told her my mom was sick and that she needed my dad's help, she hadn't laughed, and had taken me out to her car. When she told me what that was, she seemed really convinced, and had driven me as far as she could. It was dark when we stopped, and she had to go home, so she'd let me out on the side of the Road, but not before she'd told me the significance of the green paper I'd brought with me, and had told me I had brought 200 dollars. She'd given me fifty more, and had told me to find a hotel before she drove off. But I didn't know what a hotel was, so I'd just thanked her a lot and waved as she left, before I started walking.
The moon was full that night, and provided plenty of light, and I meekly thanked God for it, apologizing to Him profusely and begging for forgiveness, which I knew I didn't deserve. As I walked, I started feeling sleepy, which didn't surprise me. So, I strolled off the Road, and found a tree not too far away that I could sleep under. I laid down on my pack, and said my prayers one more time, and went to sleep with the strange new sounds of the town around me.
When I woke the next morning, I was stiff and sore, but I stretched a bit, and that made it better. I changed my clothes, and folded the dirty ones, putting them above the towel that separated my food and clothes. Then I helped myself to some of the venison for my breakfast, thanking God for my living through the night and thanking him for my food while I ate. Then I shouldered the pack, and went into town, where I asked a man how to get from here to New York. He looked at me strangely, just as the old lady had, but he told me to go to Edison Station and take the nine-thirty train to Newark. Then, he wrote down that I should take the WTC train, and said I could walk from there.
I was surprised that there were so many nice people in the world, but now that I think about it, a girl wearing gardening gloves with a pack and a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder is not something you want to see in your town, so he was probably glad I was just passing through.
I followed his directions to the station, and bought a ticket with the green paper - money. He gave me back more dollars that I hadn't seen yet, and some coins, and what I assumed to be a ticket. I took it, and sat down on a bench with a bunch of serious-looking people all around me. I didn't want to seem out of place, so I crossed my legs and studied the coins inconspicuously before putting them carefully back into my pack and watching people. My shirt wasn't too noticeable, since it was dark green, but my shorts were denim and above the knee, whereas everyone else seemed to be wearing pants of a material I'd never seen before.
Then, I heard the name of my train being called, and I picked up my things, along with a lot of the adults, and I followed them to the train. It was interesting, riding on the train. Everything seemed to move by so quickly, and yet I could still see everything. It was a nice, thirty-minute ride.
When I made the transfer, I almost didn't make it. Everyone was bigger than me and seemed to be caught up in themselves so much that I didn't exist to them. Thankfully, though, one of the passengers saw me reaching for the train and held the doors for me. When I scrambled on, panting, I thanked her profusely, and her strange gray eyes twinkled in welcome as she invited me to sit next to her. It was fantastic, our conversation, even though she had to correct me on some of the things I'd heard around me. God was watching over me, I think, because she gave me more extensive directions on how to get to the empire state building, and she told me about this summer camp, where she said I could stay if I didn't find my father on the first day. She said it was a safe place for young people, and I was very grateful for the direction. I thanked her again and again, but she only smiled and wrote down directions to the camp.
When I got off the train, I lost the woman in the crowd of people. But I didn't mind. I had the directions, and I could walk for a long time without being tired, so even if I got lost, all would be well.
I stepped outside of the train station, ready to find the Empire State Building, and stopped. I had never seen anything so big in my life. The buildings were bigger than the Cyclops, seeming to stretch up to heaven and impale the bottom of it. There were huge teeming masses of people everywhere, and no one seemed to see me. Not like the other towns. It was very frightening, and I prayed God wouldn't let me get lost in such a big town - no - city.
I walked down the steps of the station, being bustled along by various adults who seemed to be in a very big hurry for some reason. I thought I should hurry, too, because my mom did need my help. She was very sick and possibly dying, after all.
I took a left and started looking for street signs. I was looking for Fitfh Avenue. At least, that's what I read on the paper. What an odd name for a street.
"Fitfh Avenue, Fitfh Avenue…" I chanted to myself, looking around for it in random directions. I had found Fifth Avenue, but that wasn't what I'd read on my paper, so I thought it was wrong and went right past it.
I wandered around for a long time, eventually finishing my venison as I walked. I almost didn't notice the person following me because I was so caught up in my search. Then, I did notice, and I saw that she was not human. No, she was a monster. She wore fake snakeskin boots, a snakeskin suit, and a brown hat with a snake around it. At first, I thought she was a man, but then she smiled, and it was dazzling, despite the jagged teeth. I got nervous really quickly, but maybe I was just imagining things. None of the monsters that came to my house were ever this human-looking. I stopped, and waited. If she were a monster, she'd attack me. Instead, she walked up to me and took hold of my arm at the elbow, gently, as if she were my mom.
"Hey, there, hun. How ya doin' on this faahn day?" she greeted, sounding very strange. Was she from somewhere else?
"I'm doing good, thank you," I replied, trying to be polite despite the fact that I was unsure of this lady. Something was screaming at me to run, but I didn't. She laughed at my confused and unsure face.
"Oh, hun, I'm from Texas. Ain't ya ever heard of it?" she laughed. I blushed. Wasn't that really far south?
"Oh," was all I could think to say.
"Aw, hun, don't you mind. I'm here now, and I'll take care o' ya." she comforted, smiling and leading me down the sidewalk. Something was wrong.
"Uh, no thank you. I'll find my own way." I said, tugging on my arm, which I found was in a vice-grip. She only smiled, and I gradually began to panic.
"Aw, hun, it's faahn. You're lost, raaht? I'll show ya the way to where yer goin'." she soothed, walking a little faster. I dug my heels into the ground. This was not safe. Something was wrong here.
"No. I've got a map. I'll be fine. Please let go." I said, trying to be nice and praying to God that I could escape from this woman. Her head whipped around to look at me, and from under the brim of her hat, I could see that her eyes were yellow and slitted. She smiled at me, all sharp teeth and yellow eyes, and her face distorted into something ugly and evil. She was from my father, I realized.
I was about to scream when she yanked my arm hard, hurting it really bad and throwing me to the ground. She started dragging me, then, and I was shocked that no one seemed to notice. The wind had been knocked out of me, and I gasped, trying for air. Oh, God, please help me escape from this monster. I prayed.
Just then, a rock came flying out of an alley we passed. The snake woman hissed, her head whipping around to look for the assailant. Her tongue flicked out of her mouth, and I saw that it was forked. My jaw dropped, and I forgot to breathe. She really was a monster! A monster in human form! Was this what the Bible meant when it said that evil has many faces?
The woman's face began to morph at that moment, becoming hideous and twisting into something gruesome and disgusting. Her cheeks changes angles to point inwards, and I heard the popping and cracking as she changed. Her clothes were morphing, too, and then I realized that she was a python from the waist down. I screamed. She was by far the strongest monster I'd met.
She smiled down at me, almost kindly, but it was hideously distorted by the strange new angles of her face, and I noticed that her jaw had broken and widened, giving her a distorted look, like a snake in a bent mirror. I clamped my mouth shut in fear, and another rock hit the woman in the head. She hissed at the person, who stumbled out of the ally way, and I gasped.
It was a girl. A girl no older than me. She was rubbing her eyes sleepily, and even from where I sat on the ground, I could see the circles under her eyes.
"And alas, I've another task to perform before my monthly visit." she mumbled, picking up a garbage can lid and holding it like the shield of small Daniel. "Well, then, come on, Lamia. You'll have to fight for this one."
She snake woman hissed again, and threw me into the wall. Stars blackened my vision, and the sight of the moving-yet-congested traffic made my head spin. But something forced me to stay awake and not fall into unconsciousness. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the blackness, and saw that the girl was easily flipped onto her back by the great snake-woman. The woman laughed, a sound that reminded me of my mom's skillet when she made breakfast.
"I feast today!" the snake woman cried. I felt my eyes welling up with frustration. I was dizzy, and the girl who was trying to help me was in trouble. What was I going to do? Then I felt a bulge in my pocket.
"An' nothin's gonna stop me now! Not even Miss Haah-And-Mighteh on her peacock-lovin', brown-nosin', yella-bellied, cow-lahk--" I stabbed her with my pocket knife, cutting off her rant by piercing her back right between the shoulder blades. She hissed and roared, a strange, unnerving combination that sent chills down my spine.
"Wretch!" she yelled, whirling on me. "Why, yer no better 'n that prissy, haah-horse ridin'--" And again she was cut off, and then her head was gone. The girl had sliced it clean off with two very strange weapons. They were handles with small scythe blades sticking out of them! She pulled my knife out of the snake woman's back, and the body exploded into yellow powder, leaving only a long snakeskin behind. The girl handed me the knife, and the skin.
"'S yours. I don' wan' it." she slurred before her eyes rolled back in her head, and she was in my arms, asleep.
I liked her. Her hair was long and black, and her skin was tanned, brown like the light earth tones of dirt, and she was smaller than me, if only by a few inches. Her weapons clattered to the ground, but I laid her down and picked them up, putting them in what appeared to be their holsters. Then, I hefted her up, and put her on my back the way my mom used to carry me when I couldn't walk anymore. I owed her my life, after all, and I wasn't going to let her go just like that. No, I would hold onto her as tightly as Jacob held onto God. No matter how she fought, I wasn't going anywhere.
I picked up my bag, picked a direction, and started walking. "Fitfh Avenue…"