The Monster in the Woods

More and more snouts were piling up in the pens. People continued to cheer as they watched their kids bring them back. They would shout to bring more and to keep going, watching someone who was four even manage to snag one.

"Where is your son, Lelina? Hector's already got three." A woman with bright yellow hair stated, snickering a little bit.

"He'll be here any minute. You know the first one is always special, Mia."

"I'm just kidding, no need to pout. We all know he has a hearing problem. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Thank you. I just hope he doesn't feel sad again. He wouldn't stop crying last year."

"He told everyone in town it was just the rain, remember that."

"I do. He said it so much he believed it himself-" Just then her face started to burn, then red markings started to appear on her face. "You'll have to excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."
"Okay, don't take too long. You might miss him coming back."

* * *

It felt unreal. A moment ago the two were just chatting and suddenly the tree tipped over and she was holding on to a branch for her life. The tree tumbled over a big crack in the ground filled with sand. Though it didn't look too deep in hindsight, if someone fell on one of the rocks protruding at the bottom, it could do damage.

"Hey, it's okay. I got you, just don't look down." Alex said softly as he held out the spear for his friend struggling to hold herself up. It was like something came over him-his face started to burn up and the blue markings grew brighter. Whether it be instinct or pure reaction, he let it go, sending her falling into the crack.

"AHHHHAAHHHHHH!" Her scream drowned out the sound of another object hitting the tree he was balancing on.

As the log split, tumbling into the crack, he also fell down and hit the ground, but being relatively uninjured. Realizing it wasn't too hard of a fall, he got up to dust the dirt off his friend.
It was only then he saw her leg bent beyond repair, crushed under the weight of the tree that had fallen with them. She had passed out from the pain and was unresponsive. But before he could approach, an ear-piercing scream hit the forest. It wasn't from the girl. It was something above the crack.

It almost looked like a kid from afar. It was walking on two feet, but its hands were way too big. It was covered in fur and had eyes almost like a cat. It climbed on the log, completely ignoring the girl below. It had its eyes set on the boy that was still standing, not blinking at all, just staring.
"Stay back! Don't come near me!" He yelled, flailing the stick around with both of his hands.
It was over in an instant. His face started to glow, but there was no time to react. Before he realized it, his wooden spear was chopped into pieces. And he had thought the same thing had happened to him. But when he opened his eyes, his mother was in front of him and the beast was slammed into the wall. It was confusing-he didn't realize she was here, or how she even found him in a hole in a dense forest.

"Are you okay? Did it hurt you?" she says, staring at the crying boy. He was rubbing his cheek to hide the tears flowing down his face. It had all happened so fast, and just like it came, the creature was gone.

"I'm okay. It... it just started raining, so I couldn't see too well."

"Hey, it's fine. You didn't leave your friend-that's all that matters."

She begins to lift the broken tree, freeing the girl trapped under. Alex, seeing what's become of her, began to vomit at the sight of her legs.

"I need you to take her back, okay?"

He looks down, averting his eyes from his mother holding the girl. "But it's my fault this happened to her."

"You didn't do anything wrong. That animal attacked and she wasn't allowed near the stadium. She tried to sneak in last year too, but I didn't think- Just take her and tell them what happened." She hands the girl over to the boy before jumping out of the crack.

The wide side of the crack not blocked by the broken tree was connected to the beach. So it was only a matter of time before he was able to make it back.
* * *
The sun was setting on the colosseum as the bell began to ring. The event was over and everyone was greeting their kids as they exited. There was a weird figure in the distance. A boy holding another child in his hands, slumped over, came walking to the entrance. As they got closer, everyone could tell who it was. All eyes shifted away from the boy holding her to the girl in his hands.

"What the hell did you do to her?" a man said as he grabbed the girl, pushing the boy to the ground.
Before he could even speak, his face was in the dirt. Already exhausted and struggling to get up and speak, Alex gets lifted up by more of the people around him.
"What the hell did you do, you little brat?"
"I just... I brought her here-" Before he could even finish explaining, he's hit to the ground. Tears filling his eyes, he yells, "I didn't do anything, don't hit me!"
"Then who the hell did?"
The girl had the richest family on the island. No one wanted to be on their bad side, because it was bad for business. And having their precious daughter hurt was a nightmare scenario. Everyone there knew it, and everyone there only had one person to blame.
"How dare you! How the hell could you hit a child?" A bright-haired woman started screaming.
"Look at her, look at her legs."
"And you think a five-year-old could do this? Are you mad?"
"But I just-"
"Use your damn brain before you hit a child. Are you okay? Are you crying?" she whispers as she helps the crying boy up from the ground.
"I'm fine. It just... it just rained again and I got it on my face."
It was that line that made them realize that their anger was misplaced. Someone like this couldn't possibly do that to the girl he brought here.
"Oh my, it was raining pretty hard earlier. Now tell me what happened."
* * *

"And then I went blow for blow with the creature. It caught me off guard when I fell in the hole. And then to get the upper hand, it threw sand in my face. And then you showed up."

"I thought you said it was raining, haha." She looks at the boy with a huge laugh as they kept walking.

"I mean it was, Mom. The sand and the water didn't help either."

"That was an amazing story. So what do you want to eat tonight, hero? Cassava leaf?"

"I want pumpkin soup."

His mother smiled, but Alex hands couldnt stop shaking as they walked hope. She kept glancing at him like she was making sure he was still there.

It was just like last year for them, minus Cellia staying over this year. She was carried to the hospital-thankfully they were told that her life wasn't in danger. Just like the year before, they prayed for another good harvest as they made some soup and rice. He was so excited to tell his friends tomorrow about how he saved his friend, and how he fought a monster thirty feet tall.As he dozed off telling his story over again, his mom carried him up to bed. Just like the year before, the event had drained him, sending him out like a light. He woke up like any other day. The toy chest was a random place to wake up. But he had assumed he had just walked across the room half awake again. The room had felt a little more breezy and he had assumed he opened the window too.

Half asleep, he made his way downstairs, forgetting to even put on a shirt. It was only after he tripped on a rubber hand he realized how windy it was.

It was only after he opened his eyes he realized the hand wasn't rubber.

It was only when he looked away that he realized half the house was missing.

It was like a perfect square of the house was ripped off, and that square was his mother's room. As he got up trying to process the situation, it started raining.

The only issue was the rain was only pouring on the inside of the house. Falling on the severed hand and the floor and anything in range as he tried to wipe it away. Unable to fully process the situation, Alex fell to the ground, passing out with tears in his eyes.

As he faded away, a light knocking was heard on the door.

"Hello, is anyone home?"