Through the Eyes of a Monster

Through the Eyes of a Monster

There it is again. That ringing. That shrill, piercing laughter. It splits through the air, slams against the rocks of my home, smashing against my mind like a thousand boats against the cliffs in a stormy sea. A crescendo of sound too loud, too painful to ignore. It must be silenced – for once and for always.

Slowly, slower than a tadpole grows its legs, I force myself to my feet. My limbs tremble as my vision refuses to focuses, threatening to collapse but strengthening with rage all at once. My muscles find their strength after another eternity of laughter – finally there is a blissful silence.

What seems like an eternity has only been hours, two maybe three, that they have gone on. The more time went on the louder the laughter had become, as always. As the drink fills their bodies their minds slip and forget the danger they are in with that sound - that awful, gut wrenching sound. I do not forget so easily, though. I remember when the kingdom was respectful of those who were here before it, those that were here before men dared to brave the treacherous oceans and jagged cliffs. I was here before they were, but the respect has gone from the men.

My journey is not one of speed as I force myself, at no more than a crawl, to leave the comfort of my lakeside cave. The webbing on my feet was not built to travel over the rock as their boots are, it sends jolts of pain up through my feet, to my shins, past my knees, all the way up my legs. I must continue, though. I can take no more of their selfish sound; my head will lose its grip of reality if I try.

The hall from which my pain is created stands silent when at last I make it down from the mountains. There is no light from the windows save for the glow of a lone torch. The universe knows that tonight is important, though. It has sent me protection in the form of darkness. Clouds so thick the block out the moon and all of its light hang in the sky. The air itself is filled with energy, lighting ready to strike and release the frigid drops of water from the clouds. It cannot control this flow completely, though, and already drops have begun their descent to this barren wasteland.

Even though it has only been months since I have last visited this dismal location, there are many changes the cause me to rethink the location. Surely so much damage cannot have happened in such a short amount of time? There are entire buildings that have collapsed from disrepair; damages to even the castle itself have befallen this kingdom - damages I did not cause.

All of these changes are meaningless. I must silence this place once and for always. The flickering of that lone torch burning inside the Mead Hall causes my claws to shine in the otherwise dark night. Its flickering mirrors the flickering hatred deep within my breast. Lightning strikes the flagpoles high on the castle’s peaks and the flag bearing the kingdom’s emblem is torn from its pole. I watch as it flutters down, tangling amongst itself, falling ungracefully to the pitted, parched ground below.

The moment it hits the ground I move. My body operates like it has never felt the pain of the people’s unrelenting sound, like my feet have not suffered a thousand steps on jagged rocks and ruthless briars. The doors that once stood so strong rip from their hinges with a piercing shriek of metal being torn from stone. I fling them across the grounds like play toys from a child’s toy box. The instant they hit the ground the thunder sounds and the rains, long forced to wait in their sky bound prisons, are released amongst the earth. The lone torch flickers out.

It isn’t long before the first scream sounds out. I stumble towards the sound, growling in pain, eyes narrowed and unfocused. The scream grows louder and I lash out blindly, grabbing hold of the source of the noise and flinging it far from me. It falls silent. I take another step into the building, my left foot collides with a still form and I inhale deeply. It is a filthy man reeking of mead and sweat. I snatch him up and snap of his head, swallowing it without pause, tilting his body upright and gulping his blood like sweet wine from the God’s own stores.

Now chaos has truly found its home. Screams of terrified women ring out from all around, cries from angered warrior echo amidst the screams, and there is one solitary voice carrying over it all. The building begins to quake as the voice grows in volume, the stones on the very ground itself rattle. My head is spinning; my mind is pounding as it speaks; yet I cannot bear to block it out.

The voice is calling “I am Beowulf!” It will not relent, it only grows louder, forces me farther from lucidness, attacking me without a single touch. The first blow catches me off guard. The voice is still crying out, its story still continuing. I hear snatches amongst they chaos, he is a warrior from a line of well know warriors, he has defeated countless enemies – he plans to kill me.

I fling him from my back, I don’t know where he goes, I do not care. I cannot allow him to slay me, I am to young and the must learn to accept the punishment for their treacherous deeds. He is not the king I have sworn to never harm; this man’s fate is mine to decide.

The hall falls into a stunned silence, it does not last long, but it allows my head to clear, my thoughts to gather. The moment does not last as he streaks towards me from across the room. Even in the utter blackness of the night, through the thunder and the pounding rain, the room seems to brighten. With no weapons, no shield, lacking even simple clothing this man attacks me. “I am Beowulf,” sounds across the room, echoing, making itself repeat more times than he speaks. The building roars it is shaking so hard. I feel blows raining down upon me. I try to fend them off, try to retaliate, but the noise is too much, his blows are too strong.

There is a blinding pain in my right shoulder, I cannot make sense of what is happening any longer, I can only scream in agony as I feel the bones begin to separate and crack. The muscles are stretching, slowly they are ripping apart. My arm makes a sickening sound as it is pulled from the socket, and an even more sickening sound as it begins to tear away from my body.

I can do nothing now; I can do nothing but scream and writhe on the floor in agony as my arm tears free with a gut wrenching sound. I scream the only word I can speak in a human tongue, I scream for my mother. She will come to rescue me, she will not let me perish from the hands of these vile beings, but if I wish to survive until her arrival I must flee. Punishment on these beings will have to wait.

I don’t know how I get to my feet; all around me there is cheering and shouting in joy. My shoulder is bleeding so heavily it is like a river of blood is sliding down my body. If they see me fleeing, stumbling, running as best as I can into the night, they do not stop me. They must think me dead by the morning.

I cannot pause to contemplate why they do not follow, I must find my way back to my home. I must be there when my mother arrives. It is all I can do to survive in hopes of having peace, once and for always.