The Monstrous Hunt

by Tara K. Young

of bright yellow on someone's shirt caught my eye.

  I looked up at the man passing me and realized it wasn't a shirt. It was a white tunic with the crest of York. I could not see his face because he was wearing the same helmet from the fair.

  As he walked north, I followed. He turned where the Little Shambles open up to a large street with trees and benches in the middle. More yellow caught my eye. There was another person who had just turned into the same area from a side street; the same tunic, the same helmet. Then a third person brushed passed my shoulder, looking just the same as the other two.

  At this point, I was convinced I was going mental. I stopped where I was and gave my head a shake. It didn't help.

  Then the Myyga came. Three of them from all directions. They closed in upon the three people.

  I knew what was coming. I was just about to step forward and yell out to them. No one else seemed to see them, despite what was happening.

  Before I could move or yell, two grayish hands were wrapped around me, one restraining my body and the other covering my mouth. Next to my left ear, I could feel the side of the point. In my peripheral vision, I could see the end of it just beyond my head.

  The Myyga kept me restrained so tightly, there was nothing I could do, no resistance that would have worked fighting it off. I watched as the three other Myyga surrounded the people. They faced their victims, held them by the shoulders and pushed their points into the men's chests right where their hearts would be.

  No one, not even the victim's themselves, seemed to notice. It was as if they had stopped in the street simply because they had wanted to and were completely unaware of what was happening even as their bodies collapsed upon the ground.

  No one noticed. Shoppers and tourists continued about happily, looking at the displays in shop windows and chatting.

  As the Myyga crouched over their victims and continued to suck, I saw the skin colour of the victims pale. They were being drained of blood, yet even when the blood was gone, the Myyga continued to suck and something new happened.

  The bodies began to change. At first it was just the visible skin of the hands. It became ashen like the Myyga's. Then even the tunic and helmet disappeared. Their faces were featureless. After another moment, the faces stretched into a long point. Only when the transformation was complete did the Myyga stop their sucking. Then, these three new Myyga stood with them and all six walked down the street.

  The Myyga holding me let go. I turned around, prepared to defend myself. It was not interested. It was already walking away.

  Did you understand what the Myyga were trying to show you?

  Not even slightly. Why had they left me alone? Why could I see them and why was I the only one they were uninterested in? I was more confused than ever about the earlier murders and more terrified of the Myyga with all the new questions. Somehow, I could see who they would pick to change but this gave me little comfort.

  Why?

  Because I began to see the yellow marked tunic everywhere.

  You saw them right away?

  No, but it was only a day before a small number of people became almost everyone.

  That makes sense, but you did not see any more Myyga right away did you?

  How did you know that?

  The effects intensify gradually but that is not what interests me. Please continue your account. Tell me when you began to see the crest again after the Myyga showed you the change.

  After I saw the Myyga change those three people into their own kind, I headed back to my room. Frankly, I intended to hide, which I did successfully for the night.

  Unfortunately, I needed food at some point. There was a cafeteria in the main building of the college so I went there to eat the next morning. It was quiet.

  I was so uncomfortable. I expected to see the Myyga everywhere. Though they had never once threatened me, they were alien enough that I was not convinced I was safe. It had already become clear that no one else was. Four deaths had happened already and three more people were no longer human but pointed-faced... uh... Myyga.

  Every time someone walked into the cafeteria while I was eating, I half expected to look up to see the crest while the other half expected to see a Myyga. No matter how many normal looking people walked in, I was surprised each time.

  I didn't eat very much before my stress decimated my appetite. Far from helping my mood by giving me energy, the food had now joined in the churning and roiling of the fluids in my stomach.

  No matter how many normal looking people entered the cafeteria, I felt sick. Even as my sense of immediate threat from the Myyga lessened, my mind switched to thinking of my disastrous date with Amelia. I wanted to show her she was wrong but had no idea how.

  The hinges on the door creaked noticeably and I jolted but it was just a tawny-haired man looking for food. I needed to leave. My stomach lurched again.

  I ran.

  There was a men's toilet nearby, which I almost didn't reach in time. After I had expelled the small amount of breakfast I had managed, my limbs were weak. The image of my secure little room came to me.

  As I stumbled back out into the hall, I nearly fell to my knees. I had to stop. I was bent over, breathing heavily with my hands on my knees to support me. I looked up at the security desk and froze. Graham's brother-in-law was not looking back at me. Instead, I saw the same familiar helmet. I straightened and as my perspective rose above the counter, I saw the crest.

  Looking around, I was determined to find the Myyga. There was none. There were no others around either. The large room was silent but the figure continued to face me, even as I walked slowly around the counter.

  "Can I help you?" I asked.

  He did not move and made no sound.

  "What are you?" I asked.

  Still no response.

  "Well, if you don't mind, I am just going to stay for a little while," I said before walking to one of the chairs in the corner by the window and sitting down.

  Out of all those wearing the crest, I had seen only one, the first one, who had not been attacked by a Myyga. I had decided to wait until that happened.

  But it didn't, did it?

  No. I could not figure out why but I waited for three solid hours. He never moved and no Myyga came for him. I eventually gave up and headed back to my room where I sat on my bed, considering my options.

  People in York were dying. I had no ideas. Further, I had no idea why the Myyga had changed those people or what they even were. With so little information to me but the very real danger still present, I considered my reasons to stay.

  I had none.

  Amelia hated me. Far from my usual response, I just couldn't find it in myself to hate her. In fact, I was beginning to see her point. I needed to change.

  I began to gather my pathetic collection of belongings into a small plastics bag. I would need to leave York. As I stuffed each item in the bag, I considered my future.

  How could I stop being the prat? What could I do? I needed to move from Hastings, maybe talk to my father about that job he was so excited about for me.

  Dressed and packed, I set off for the train station.

  The streets were quieter than they normally would be in the middle of a summer day. Depressions in the pavement contained puddles of water. I figured the rain must have driven the tourists inside. I passed only a handful of locals as I approached the bridge near High Ousegate.

  Then I saw the yellow again. I stopped as the figure passed me and continued to walk down the street. Looking around, I didn't see any Myyga. With what had happened earlier, I was not even sure I would.

  I crossed the river and was at the bottom of Micklegate when I saw another. The closer I got to the train station, the more I saw. My heart pounded with the strange increase in their numbers but I refused to turn back. I would get on the next train no matter where it led.

  When I walked into the ticket centre in the train station, I could go no further. No matter what I had wanted, I had been stopp
ed. Each and every person within the ticket office was the same helmeted figure and just as before, they did not respond to me.

  Pulling out my mobile, I discovered there was no signal. I swore as I stormed out to the platform, determined to get on a train whether I had a ticket or not. I'd pay on the train if I had to.

  I stood on the nearest platform, trying my best to ignore the crests walking by.

  An hour passed and no trains came. The platform did not get any more crowded and no one but me seemed agitated by the delay. It was as if there simply weren't any trains and dozens of people were waiting simply to wait.

  I needed to find a different way out of the city.

  As I left the train station, I was blocked from going further by a line of at least twenty Myyga. At that moment, I was convinced it really was my time. They had left me before but this time they would change me.

  I turned around. There were Myyga behind me. Where had they come from? They had not been in the station. With all my options closed to me, my nerve was the only thing that remained.

  "All of you for me? That's a bit much don't you think?" I said. I think I was taunting them because the anticipation was too unbearable. If I was going to die, I wanted it over with.

  But they did not approach.

  "What do you want from me?" I yelled.

  One stepped forward, separating itself from the group. It walked up to me and stopped. I winced as I anticipated the piercing of its point into my chest but it did not strike.

  It