They’re after human flesh.
They want to destroy every last settlement they possibly can. They want to hurt us: all of us.
But they can’t, right?
They can’t come destroy us if we don’t let them...
Can they?
That’s why we’ve been hidden away for so long. That’s why, despite everything else I’ve ever wanted, I’ve kept myself tucked away. I’ve kept myself safe.
Or at least, I’ve tried.
I’m not sure if I’ve been that successful.
A third man appears. Together, they make up this incredible trio of handsomeness and mystique. I hate how they seem to be staring right at me. They aren’t moving, though, and I’m scared to pull my eyes away. I don’t even lower my binoculars because I’m worried that if I do, they’ll somehow disappear.
I’m caught off guard by how handsome they are. Edna, the woman who raised me, always warned me that the monsters are horrible. She said they’re ugly and that they smell bad. The stories she spun made me think that these creatures were designed to be repulsive, but I’m suddenly realizing that there must be more to the story.
There must be something she left out.
The three men I’m staring at are not human. That’s obvious. Mr. One is tall, dark, and deadly. Mr. Two looks like a magical elf prince. Mr. Three is the kind of guy who looks like he’d offer a hug just as soon as he’d offer a spanking.
I don’t know which one of these men makes me feel more excited.
“Shit,” I mutter, whispering to myself. Everything I say is a whisper. I’ve been whispering for years. So has the rest of Eagleton. In my opinion, this means that everyone here has above-average hearing. I pause, worried that someone else may have heard my slip, but no one comes scurrying up the ladder to my tower, so I know I’m safe.
The men are still watching me, though, and I can’t help but wonder what it is they’re here for.
Only, I think that I know.
Somehow, in the core of my being, I feel like they’ve come for me.
I hope that they have.
I hope they’ve come to take me away because I want to be with the monsters.
It’s a sickness, this craving. It’s a horrific feeling to know that I’ve spent the last few years of my life growing more and more excited about the idea of being kidnapped and swept away by the beasts, but I have.
And now they’re here, and they look nothing the way I thought they would.
I want to be one of them. I’m lonely, which is the biggest problem I have. I miss being part of a family. Living in Eagleton has been hard. Yes, I’ve had food and water and clothes, but I’ve never been included. At all. Eagleton has secrets and outsiders aren’t welcome, no matter how long they’ve been a part of the community.
I lower my binoculars, finally, and blink. Maybe there aren’t any creatures here at all. Perhaps I’m just hallucinating. Am I? Could I be? None of the other three guard towers have sounded an alarm. Is it possible that I’m just dreaming? Am I making the mistake of trying some sort of wishful thinking?
I shake my head, pinch myself, and raise my binoculars again. Then I lower them back down.
They’re gone.
Where I thought I saw the three men, there’s nothing. There aren’t any deer or any animals or anything at all.
There’s just silence.
Maybe I am going crazy.
Maybe there was never anything there.
With I sigh, I grab my jug of water and have a sip. Dehydration can make you do funny things. It can make you see things. It can make you crazy. I drink, chugging down the fresh water, and then I set my jug down. Eagleton has a little well in the center of town, so we don’t even have to walk anywhere to get our water. It’s kind of nice, actually. It’s wonderful. Yeah, our villagers have to do hunting and gathering, but that’s it. Water isn’t something we have to haul, and it’s a good thing, too. Walking through the forests, even along the well-worn paths, isn’t something I’d consider to be very fun.