Tale No. 3: The Monster Within

Meet Dynamo. Patriarch of a family of 5. Over three-billion-years old. An Observian who is given the task to resurrect his entire species, if not continue the legacy of his ancestors. He is the last of them, alongside his brother (Byrd) and his sister (Setuh). Disappointingly enough, he always had trouble with fulfilling what he was told to do by his previous incarnation, and as a matter of fact, reviving one's species is clearly impossible. What must he do to help? Is there a hint? Should he just ignore the task and just continue rambling on with his life?

These are the types of questions that Dynamo has been thinking about after his only meeting with Knila, a spirit of his previous incarnation. Ever since that day, he began to worry. The worries became slightly worse over the decades. He didn't bother to go to therapy; he didn't even think that the doctors would understand him.

However, the concerns are easy enough to shove to the side. Every morning, he usually goes to the bathroom to shower himself. After that, he goes downstairs to prepare breakfast for his family. Today's lousy regular: Cereal. He would do a wake-up call to his relatives for them to come down and eat. Refusal to do so would result in an annoying 10-minute-scowl session by him.

Byrd: "Okay! Okay! We're waking up! Sheesh! Can an old guy get some extra rest?!"

Dynamo: "I wouldn't recommend doing that! Now, come downstairs and have some breakfast!

Setuh: "UGH!"

Reluctantly, Byrd, Setuh, Rico, and Brickina did as he said. Together, they ate their morning meals. Byrd told his usual strange, wacky story to his nephew and niece, while Dynamo stared into space. Setuh noticed this, and nudged him by the shoulder.

Setuh: "Hey. Mo. Are you okay?"

Dynamo: "O-Oh? Yes. Yes. I'm uh... doing fine."

Setuh: "You're having one of those problems again, right?"

Dynamo didn't speak a word. Of course, the problems came back. It turns out they weren't easy to get rid of.

Setuh: "Dynamo!"

Dynamo: "Setuh! I'm fine! I'm fine..."

Setuh: "Mo... We've been over this... for like... I don't know. Millions of years? You just need to stop worrying. That's it".

Again, Dynamo didn't speak a word. He went back to eating his cereal. Time went by as they finished their breakfast. Setuh went with Rico and Brickina to meet up with Shams, and Byrd went out to check up on Amber and her son, Ethan. Dynamo stayed at home and called Fantome to see if she's up for another date.

Fantome: "Oh uh... I don't think so. I've got a shift in an hour's time. Maybe, we can meet tomorrow?"

Dynamo: "Uh... I'm not sure about tomorrow. See, I have to go on a trip to a scrapyard to help my sister with grabbing some parts for some of her inventions."

Fantome: "Inventions? What kind of inventions?".

Dynamo: "The kind that may be deemed useless after their creation."

They both burst out laughing loudly.

Fantomé: "Okay. So if not tomorrow, then how about... the weekends? Like... Saturday?".

Dynamo: "Saturday? Give me a minute.".

He tried to remember what will happen on Saturday. For real though. What will happen on Saturday? Nothing? Perhaps. Dynamo went back to the call.

Dynamo: "Nothing at all, dear. Yes. I think we can go on Saturday."

Fantomé: "That's great! What's the place?"

Dynamo: "Meet me at... Seinfeld Park!."

Fantomé: "Seinfeld Park? Okay! I gotcha! So, I'll see you around?".

Dynamo: "Oh, of course! We'll see each other next time. Goodbye, Fanny!".

Fantomé: "Byeee!".

A soft smile lit up on his face after he hung the call up. He put his phone back into his pocket, and gleamed with a bit of joy. He reminisced the times he spent with his girlfriend on their previous dates. The graveyard with the moss-cursed tombs, the gargantuan skyscraper, that one restaurant they went to but then didn't come back to a few days later. They were good times. Let's not forget that time when he proposed to her, which she accepted.

Definitely good times...

What wrong could happen in the future?

Suddenly, a voice whispered from somewhere.

???: "Dynamo... Dynamo... Hear me, Dynamo..."

His smile falters. It was replaced by a serious, depressed look. He lightly gulped. The voice came from upstairs, somewhere in his bathroom. It continued to speak his name.

???: "Dynamo... Are you there? Answer me!".

Reluctant as ever, he climbed upstairs to encounter the voice once again. After all, this isn't the first time he's heard of it. There, the voice sounded much louder than before, still calling out for the red man's name. Still, the voice is out there, hiding somewhere behind or inside an object, or maybe...

???: "Over here..."

The mirror!

Dynamo turned around to see something staring back at him in his own reflection. It looked like him, but it took the form of a more ghastly figure. Black skin, crimson dots branded on its body, and red eyes that were also widened to intimidate the creature's victims. This must be it...

Dynamo: "You..."

Dynamo?: "We meet again... Face to face this time..."

Dynamo?: "How is life without me?"

Dynamo: "Calm, but... slow once again. What do you want from me?".

Dynamo?: "Do you remember the time when I was born?"

Dynamo: "The battle against Corbin?"

Dynamo?: "No! I emerged at that time! I was born much earlier... What was the year? Oh yes! 4152. The Great Battle of Verdona."

Dynamo knew what the creature was talking about. As he heard the words "4152" and "Verdona". he looked away. The Great Battle of Verdona. The Great Battle of Verdona. The battle when he lost... her. He closed his eyes, wanting to forget. His breath became a bit shaky, as he tried to hold back his sadness.

Dynamo: "Y-yes... I-I remember that time."

Dynamo?: "A sad time... You couldn't save her in time... She was out there, blinded, until-".

Dynamo: "They got to her... The Balkians... They killed her... right in front of me."

Dynamo?: "And what did you do while they took her from you?".

Dynamo: "I... I was trapped. I couldn't move..."

The red man walked to a window, and laid his hands down on the sill. Outside were two mice and a bald eagle. One mouse entered a hole that he dug out, while the other followed him. The first one went in, but the second was caught by the eagle. The eagle shifted a stern look at Dynamo, before flying away with the mouse caught in its talons.

Dynamo?: "And what happened after that? Hmm?".

The creature slammed its hands on the surface. It turned its heads a little to its right. Its eyes softly contracted.

Dynamo?: "Tell me what happened!".

Dynamo: "I went into a fit of rage. I killed them. The anger within me grew stronger. It's almost as if it... came to life...".

He turned back to the figure lurking in the mirror with a look of realisation.

Dynamo?: "And that's how I was bred to the world. I stayed inside you for a long time, until the first time you died. Your sub-conscience knew about me the entire time. He came to you, warning you that I have risen! And here I am! In the flesh!".

A fearful Dynamo punched the mirror, somehow causing the creature to disappear. Believing what he will become, he hurried out of the bathroom, stumbled downstairs, picked up his house keys, and opened the door. Then, he remembered Byrd already took the family's only car to visit Amber.

Suddenly, a hand clutched onto Dynamo's shoulder.

Dynamo?: "You do understand the fact that you cannot escape from yourself...".

Dynamo?: "Why are you even runni-".

Dynamo: "Leave me alone!".

Dynamo turned around to punch the entity again, and pummelled him to the ground. Growing even more insane and more frightened, he decided to leg his way to a forest. Snapping down every twig and branch, he ran like crazy. He began to see bodies of the creature fixating their hollow, bloody eyes on him from everywhere. He ran faster as his heart began to race and beat quickly like footballer sprinting his way to his goal.

For every step he took, he swore. For every time he blinked, he tripped on the filthy ground. I need to get out of here. I need to stay away from him. He had more crazy thoughts like these. He gets up. He falls down. He gets up again. He falls down. He blinks. He swears. He madly breathes oxygen. What more could the fool do?

Eventually, he arrived at a lake, an area as wide as you average town. He gulped. There were ways out of here, but he ran out of his stamina. He dropped to his knees, closing his eyes for the billionth time, thinking about his past. The task he was given. The woman which he loved but lost. All mixed up in one big ball. His reactions joining together, making another version of him.

Even if the creature did nothing, the man went crazy, thinking that he may lead to his own death. Hyperventilating and opening his eyes, his hands dropped. His arms shook in shock. His sweat fell down like heavy rain.

He looked at what's ahead of him. The lake.

Looking like grass, the river shone with circles forming, growing, and spreading on the surface. Ducks looked and quacked at him. They slowly swam away, having no beef or business with Dynamo.

Looking back at the ducks, he started twitching his head. As he does that, his face quickly "glitches" or transitions to the entity. He smacked himself to snap out of whatever the condition he's in. In a little while, his vision blurred, and he started coughing.

Dynamo: "What... is wrong with me?!".

Dynamo?: "That's the question I'm asking you..."

Dynamo froze in horror as he heard the deep, mysterious voice. The demonic figure gradually appeared out of the lake's mouth headfirst with its signature stare. It only rose up to its knees. Dynamo looked up to see his dark side. His eyes stuttered as they tried to find words for their mouth to blurt out. The creator and his creation both tipped their heads to the same side.

Dynamo?: "Why would you run from me? You seemed so confident in the first place. What had you change your mind?".

The monster walked out of the water. Its eyes contracted. Dynamo's vision began to blur once again. He started to feel sick. His eyes spilled out sour tears. His eyes became bloodshot, and his head twitched once again. This seems... familiar?

Dynamo?: "I see... After all of those experiences, you created me... At our first glance, we were... slightly sceptical of each other. You kept on failing to understand that your dark times can return to you in any situation, until now. You want to hide from what you have hidden... what you saw... what you did... I wanted to do the same... but that would cause problems. You saw me as an actual tormentor... the man who held those dark times. Due to this, you have developed some sort of crisis. Right now, you are asking yourself a question..."

"Am I truly a good man?"

Dynamo puked. The creature stood there as still as a statue. More tears escaped, as he continued to vomit what he had in himself.

Dynamo: "I... I could see everything... th-through you..."

Dynamo?: "Yes... The End of Pompeii... The Martian Catastrophe... The Great Disaster of Bistrada... We both made such awfully compelling events."

The red man looked at his hands. The creature walked past him. They had their backs turned on each other.

Dynamo?: "There are two choices that you must choose for yourself... Hide away your secrets, and live long enough to become a true villain... or... Become a saviour through a way that has been undiscovered..."

Dynamo: "Undiscovered?".

Dynamo?: "We will find out soon..."

The creature disappeared into thin air, finally leaving Dynamo all alone. The red man lied on the ground, sobbing his eyes out.

It can be told that he went through a lot of pain.

It can be told that he wasn't always a gentleman.

He did things that were speakable... but wrong.

He knew that he was the monster within...

THE END