Monster Of Monsters #1 Part One: Mortem's Opening

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  "Can you come?" Kein repeated.

  "You want me to go out there to some party?"

  "No, silly," Kein replied. "We can have the party here. I can bring us a cupcake a piece, and we can sing songs, and maybe play a game."

  "Why would I want to go to some stupid party? I am not a child."

  "Oh..." Kein said as her joyous expression left her face to be replaced by deep disappointment. "I thought you might want to celebrate as I turn six."

  "No thank you. Celebrate with your friends."

  The lady noticed there was also a drawing on the invitation. It was of herself and Kein smiling as they wore birthday hats.

  The lady let out one of her long sighs, and then she mumbled, "I guess it is true what they say. Starve a child, and they will eat anywhere."

  "What does that mean?" Kein asked.

  "Maybe one day I will tell you," the lady replied. "Will there be grapes at this party?"

  "Lots of grapes," Kein replied.

  "I guess I can come," the lady stated as if agreeing to be tortured.

  A week later, Kein's birthday...

  "I made you something special," Kein spoke as she spread out her blanket.

  She had made each of them a birthday hat, and the lady reluctantly wore hers. Kein even made a hat for the large brown spider, and he wore it by spraying his webbing all over it and putting it on his head.

  "Are you not the one who is supposed to receive gifts?" the lady questioned.

  "I am, but I wanted to make you something special, so I made the cupcakes, and I made them with lots of raisins."

  "What are raisins?"

  "Dried grapes, so I think you'll really like your cupcake," Kein replied. "Before we eat, I just need to light my candle. I'm supposed to have one for each year that I am, but I was only able to get one." She removed a candy cane striped candle and placed it in one of the cupcakes, and then she removed a box of matches with a leaping tiger on it with the name Tiger Strike. Kein handed the matchbook to her and asked, "Could you light the candle? I'm not supposed to play with matches."

  The lady took the matchbook, struck a match, and lit the candy cane striped candle. Kein closed her eyes, then she opened them a few seconds later, and blew out the candle.

  "Why did you do that?" the lady questioned her as she handed back the match box.

  "I made a wish," Kein told her as she took the Tiger Strike and placed it back in her school bag. "One I hope comes true very soon."

  The two of them started to eat their cupcakes and drink the juice boxes Kein brought with her.

  The lady saw what little morsel referred to as raisins and wasn't sure she wanted to try them, but she went ahead and did try the cupcake and said, "This is good."

  "I thought you'd like it," Kein told her as a giant smile beamed from her face. "Raisins are just cute wrinkly grapes."

  The lady smiled at her remark, and then she asked, "Would you like to have the gift I made you?"

  "Yes, please," Kein replied.

  "Turn around."

  Kein did, and the lady placed a necklace over her head.

  "You made this?" Kein asked as she looked down at the necklace and turned back around.

  The lady nodded.

  Kein touched the silk-like necklace of braided material, and then she said, "I thought it would be sticky, but it's very smooth. Thank you. It's very pretty. Does it have any meaning with it?"

  "I do not think I understand your question," the lady spoke.

  "Your people's cultural holds value and meaning with many of the things that you do or say. Does this necklace have any meaning?"

  "You want some sort of meaning with the necklace? It is made with threads of white, so it means I am very excited about devouring you," the lady explained.

  "Threads of white are spider webs."

  "They are," the lady told her. "Someday I will tell you a little more about the threads of white, but for now we should enjoy your celebration."

  "I'll show my friend what you gave me," Kein told the lady, then ran over to where the large brown spider hung on the web, and showed him her precious gift.

  "To think she would believe something that one such as I so easily made up," the lady whispered to the spiders around her. "And she does seem to enjoy the gift I made her. Look how happy my little morsel is. I only made the gift a few hours ago and did not put much thought into it, but it is like she sees it as bottled sunshine because I made it for her. I guess it is true about what they say. When those around you turn their hearts from you, even the darkness is inviting." The lady watched Kein as she considered something, and then she questioned, "But if I made it up, why did I mention the threads of white?"

  Kein returned, holding the large brown spider as she said, "We should celebrate your birthday when it comes."

  "My people do not celebrate our birth. Our way of life is different than yours. We believe everyday should be a celebration."

  "If that is the case, we will celebrate your birthday today. Happy birthday!" Kein then shouted with a child-like glee, "Happy everyday should be a celebration day!"

  Several months later...

  Kein leaned against one of the lady's uninjured legs as she read to the lady from a book.

  "That is enough reading for today," the lady told her. "There is something special I would like for you to get me."

  "What is that?" Kein asked.

  "Tea," the lady replied. "I have not had green tea in ages, but I would settle for black if you cannot find green."

  "It might be hard for me to get," Kein replied. "They don't serve it in the cafeteria, and I'm not permitted to go to town."

  "See what you can do," the lady said. "I know you will try your best."

  Three weeks later...

  "Can you teach me some of your language and about the tea ceremony you spoke of last week?" Kein asked as she leaned her head against the lady.

  "I guess I can," the lady replied. "Today, I will teach you about the tea ceremony. It would have been better if you were able to acquire some tea for me, but I guess we will have to pretend." The lady drew pictures in the sand with her finger as she spoke, "This particular tea ceremony is to bring about peace and understanding between two individuals. It is done by each participant sharing a written secret with the other."

  "A secret? Why a secret?" Kein asked.

  "If done properly, the secret will create a bond between the two which is intended to bring a deeper understanding," the lady explained.

  "Oh..." Kein said. "Tell me some more..."

  A few months later...

  "Can you tell me your name?" Kein asked.

  "Do you think we are friends now?" the lady inquired.

  She nodded her head.

  "We are not yet," the lady spoke. "We are far from being friends yet, little morsel."

  "Should we perform the tea ceremony?" Kein questioned. "We can tell each other a secret."

  "I do not think you have a secret strong enough to bring to such an occasion," the lady told her.

  "When will we be friends?" Kein questioned her. "I thought we would have been friends a long time ago or I thought you would have devoured me by now."

  "I cannot get around how peculiar a child you are," the lady stated, and then she replied, "And I cannot give you an answer to those two questions yet."

  "I need to call you something," Kein said. "You call me little morsel, so can I pick out a name for you?"

  "I do not see why you cannot," the lady replied with a smile. "Do you have one in mind?"

  "Not yet," Kein answered. "I want to pick something from your language. I want it to be special, so I'll take my time and pick out something."

  "My people select names that have great meaning," the lady spoke.

  "Tell me more," Kein said.

  "When we name our children, we select a name that tells of the relationship they will have with us, or others of our kind, or with the world around them."

  "I think I understand," K
ein said. "I will pick a name that talks about the relationship you have with me."

  "I look forward to hearing just what that name will be," the lady told her.

  A week later...

  Kein spread her blanket over a raised section of the platform so that the lady could peer down and see what she was looking at.

  "I think I know what name I want to call you," Kein said with excitement.

  "What would that be?"

  "I need to go translate it first," Kein said. "I want it to be in your language, and I want it to be a surprise, so I will find the translation on my own. I'll tell you tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a special day."

  After their time was over for the day, Kein ran out, and the lady watched as she left.

  "Tomorrow will be a special day," the lady told all the spiders around her. "I am strong enough now that I can leave this dreadful place. We can go, and I can finally have my revenge on the ones who put me here. All I need is a little morsel to give me the energy I need to journey home."

  The large brown spider whimpered at hearing what his mistress had in mind.

  The next day...

  Kein came running in, yelling, "I've found the name! I've found the perfect name!"

  The large brown spider ran out to her, and Kein picked him up as she asked him, "What's a matter? You seem upset."

  "Do not worry about him," the lady told her. "He is just very excited about today. You would not believe how long I have been waiting for this day," the lady told her with a devious grin.

  "So you're also excited about the name I picked out for you. I hope you like it. I hope you really like it. It's perfect."

  "What name did you pick out for me?"

  "Before I tell you," Kein began. "It wasn't that easy figuring it out. I translated it wrong the first time, but I believe I have it correct now."

  "I'm so proud of you, my little morsel," the lady said as she moved up behind Kein who had turned her back to her.

  Kein put the large brown spider down on a rock, and then she set down her school bag beside him.

  The lady had plenty of time to plan how she would kill the child, and she even picked out the perfect way to do so, the perfect instrument. She readied the instrument of her death as she asked, "What name did you select for me?"

  "Okasan," Kein answered as she turned around with this big beaming smile on her face and asked, "Do you like it?"

  A wave of emotions flooded over the lady, and the ones that were the strongest were outrage and anger.

  "What name did you call me?" the lady questioned her as she forgot about the instrument of her death.

  "Okasan," Kein answered again as she asked, "Isn't it pretty? I really like it, and I think it suits you."

  "Do not call me that," the lady spoke angrily. "Do not ever call me that."

  "You don't like it?" Kein inquired as her joy fled. "I thought it was pretty, and it suits who you are to me."

  "Do not call me that!" the lady screamed.

  "I... I didn't mean to upset you," Kein spoke, and for the first time, she was a little afraid of the lady. "I thought..."

  "Do not ever call me that!" the lady yelled as she grabbed her shoulders and shook Kein. "Do you understand?"

  The girl nodded near tears.

  "Now leave!" the lady ordered her as she pointed to the exit.

  "You're mad. I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm sorry. I'll..."

  The lady screamed all the more, "Leave now! I do not want to see you! Leave and never come back!" The lady started to pace the room as she ranted, "This was a mistake. This was all a mistake." She turned to Kein as rage saturated her face, and she screamed all the more at her, "Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are to me? You are a little morsel. You are something to devour. I do not care about you. Leave! Leave and never come back! You are a curse! You are a curse to anyone you come across!"

  "I'm a curse..." Kein repeated as the world around her collapsed like a spiderweb that a rock had been thrown through. Tears streamed down her face as she questioned, "You see me as a curse? I thought you wanted to devour me. I thought you..."

  The lady screamed with all her might as if she was this great monster, and Kein jumped back out of fright, then turned, and ran out as fear found a place in her heart.

  The next day...

  "I'm back," Kein called out before she could be seen. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry... Please don't be mad with me anymore."

  She hadn't seen one spider the whole way through the tunnel.

  "I'm sorry," Kein spoke as she slowly walked in, carrying a tray that rattled with china and seemed a little too heavy for her. "I didn't mean to upset you. I promise I won't ever call you by that name again." She paused before the great platform and asked, "Are you there? Please come out. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad with me."

  The lady didn't answer her as if she had already left the cave and Kein behind.

  "I found you some tea," Kein spoke hopeful it would coax the lady out. "The headmistress had some in her office along with this tea set. I looked up how to make it, and it tastes good." She paused, waiting on a voice who usually greeted her by then, and when the quiet was the only thing that replied, Kein pleaded, "Please come out. Please come out and tell me you're not mad at me anymore."

  She walked up to the platform and saw that there were no signs of the lady or any of the spiders, not even a fresh web.

  "Please come out. I'm sorry. I don't understand why you're mad at me, but I'm sorry."

  The cavern seemed to fill with silence like a giant beast breathing in sorrow. Kein set the tray down on a boulder and looked all around for the one who had packed brightness into her darkness. She searched for the lady who had brought joy to her hurting. Kein peered into the blackness of the cavern, and for the first time since entering the lair over seven months ago, she felt alone, and it frightened her, not with fear but with despair. Alone was a very familiar term to her, and it was the kind of alone she had been used to, but she never realized the loneliness of it until she had something to compare it to. Companionship... Friendship... Love... She thought she had all of these with the lady, and Kein had ruined it with one simple word.

  The cavern seemed to enlarge as if she was inside a giant beast who had taken another deep breath, filling itself with more sorrow. The silence had given Kein her answer, and her little heart ached over something she had lost. The lady had given her something beyond the terms she understood, something Kein didn't have a name for. The lady had brought her something she had been lacking in her life, and now with the lady and that something gone, her soul trembled as devastation laid waste to her happiness. Her mind couldn't understand what sort of crime she committed to drive the one person who had been there every day to nurture and care for her. Kein had no way to express the sheer solitude and loneliness brought on by the vacuum created in the wake of the lady's absence, so the only recourse she had was to lift her hands to her face and weep. Kein had always forced herself not to cry; it did her no good and it still did her no good, but there was nothing else she could do. She had lost so much with one simple word, a word she thought would bring a joyous smile to the lady's face, but instead, it only brought her the lady's anger and rage. Kein understood she had done something wrong, she just didn't understand what that something was. Something lost and something wrong, that was what she was left with.

  "Please don't leave me," she sobbed as she lifted her voice and cried out. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Don't leave me alone. I want you to devour me. I want you to devour me so much that... it hurts..." She motioned to her chest and said, "It hurts right here. I don't want it to hurt right here. Please come back. Please... don't leave me."

  Kein cried for a while, and then she finished and said, "Please come out. I don't want you to be mad with me. Tell me what I should do, so that you're not mad with me."

  No one answered her pleas.

  "I went back and picked out a different name for you.
Please come out. Please don't leave me," she started crying again. "I picked out sensei. Is that better? Do you like that name better?"

  She listened again, but no one answered her. Kein waited a few hours, then poured the now warm tea into one of the teacups, set it on the platform, and then left. She walked out of the cavern and through the tunnel, bawling the whole way. The lady appeared from the shadows a few minutes later, walked over to the teacup, and picked it up.

  "You should not have called me that," the lady told the image of the child in her mind. "Things would have been a lot simpler if you had not of called me that." The lady lifted her voice and spoke to the horde of spiders who crawled out of their hiding spots, "We are leaving. We are all leaving. I am through with this dreadful place. Let us return."

  The large brown spider crawled up her leg, and the lady picked it up and said, "You though... You cannot come. You have been infected by that child. She does carry a curse with her, and she does curse anyone she comes across."

  She set the large brown spider down, and it crawled after the child. The lady peered down at the teacup she held, and then she took a sip of the green tea.

  "This is good. I should have told her this is good," the lady said, and then she screamed out in anger. "What am I doing?" the lady questioned herself. "I was supposed to kill the little morsel and devour her, but instead I let her go. She should not have called me that. She should have never called me okasan... What a terrible name to call me? Okasan..." The lady yelled as if screaming at the child, "I am not your mother! I never wanted to be your mother!" She held the teacup tenderly in her hands as if embracing the child, "I never intended to be your mother."

  Chapter Two

  Let's Play The Metrom

  Twenty-eight years later...

  In one of the busy cities of the U.S....

  "Welcome to the Knecht Ruprecht Corporation. If everyone will follow me," a woman dressed in a business suit, called out to a large group of people ranging from ages twenty-one to thirty-six who stood outside on a sidewalk. "My name is Mrs. Peacock, and I and the others inside will be guiding you through the steps you need to complete to join our contest the Metrom. Everyone, please move into the building. We need to make room for all the contestants and backup contestants who are standing out on the street."