Creatures

“For this one, I need to request that you don’t write anything down.
There’s a reason you haven’t heard this until your age.”

The observer says, a look in his pale green eyes that I can’t quite decipher.
Me and James don’t whisper to each other for this one.
We can feel something about this is different. James nervously
tapping his feet on the ground stands out amongst the silence of the others.

“Allow me to begin about the Creatures.” He says before
taking a deep breath then continuing:

“Creatures are remnants of the past that refuse to leave.
They are responsible for massacres all around the world,
and take their own names. This is just a way for them to
appear human, like us. They deserve the name Creatures,
so that we do not confuse them with us."

He takes another deep breath.

"So. What are Creatures? Creatures are living entities
that are remnants of people who lived terrible lives
or died horrible, gruesome deaths.
Something that makes them interesting is that their personalities
are not influenced by their past lives. It is as though they are
reborn. From what you are all hearing, it may sound like
they are poor souls. That they need our help. And you’d be
correct. They are poor souls, and the way we help them is by
killing them. Putting them out of their misery."

"I presume you are
all mature young individuals. If so, you understand. Not only that, 
but they have an instinct to kill us humans. This means that there
is no negotiation or reasoning with them. We kill them on sight.
If we can’t, we run. Remember that everyone. That advice can mean the
difference between life and death. An issue we have with Creatures is
that there are no definitive tiers. Each Creature’s strength varies Creature
to Creature. This is what makes each interaction possibly less or more
dangerous than the previous one. However, Creatures are usually
stronger physically than humans. Creatures have their own powers
as well, varying from Creature to Creature."

"This is why we as humans, naturally, have powers as well to combat
the Creatures. Powers are different for some humans. However,
many humans share the same moves and powers. The same goes
 for Creatures. While some have unique powers, some share the
same moves. The way we get them is the challenging part.."

"You will all need to embark on a dangerous mission to
the Forbidden Forest. In that Forest, will be one
inexperienced Creature. I will accompany you all but not take
any action. The reason for this is because one awakens their
innate powers by being on the… brink of death.”

After he finishes speaking, the entire room is filled with silence.
We’re only 16.. Brink of death? The Forbidden Forest that we
weren’t able to go within 30 meters of? We’ve been protected
so heavily all our lives and we’re sent so quickly? I need to talk
with James after observation.. This is too much to handle.

“I care about you all very much. I wish we had time to
develop a new way to achieve your powers, but unfortunately
this is what we have.. Oh yeah, and one more thing, most
creatures have a mark on their back. It’s a big, glowing red X.
Use that to identify Creatures you come across..” The observer says,
then goes silent.

The silence is almost deafening.

“So you are sending us to near death to fight the Creatures?” I ask, standing up.

James gives me a stare that screams What are you doing??

The observer thinks for a moment, then responds:

“Precisely.. We embark on the mission tomorrow.”

I sit down, and the observer finishes up observation with the concluding statement:
“Observation is over.”

We all get up at the same time, and leave the room.
James comes over to me, eyes wide.

“What were you thinking?!” He says in a panicked tone.

“Relax, I was just clarifying it. No sugarcoating.” I respond, before adding:
“Besides, that’s far from important. What the hell are we going to do tomorrow?”

James goes silent, tapping his feet on the ground.

“I don’t know.”

“We may very well die. Huh?” I say, laughing.

“Don’t laugh about this. I’m too young to die.” James says.

I don't feel like laughing either.