Scooby Doo 2002 Monster Novels & Stories

But then, it vanishes, making me think I'd imagined it. Suddenly, my phone vibrates again. I peer at the new message on the screen. It says, "GET UP AND WALK OUT. NOW." Struck with a sudden urgency, I rise to my feet slowly, careful not to startle Riley. He cocks his head, and suddenly his gaze turns predatory. "Leaving already? You haven't even finished your drink," he tells me. My instincts are screaming at me now. Riley is another brand of monster. I can feel it.

He looked like he was in agony. But I was staring at the fresh scar on the webbing of his right hand, my entire body turning ice cold. That scar was identical to the one on the hand holding the woman's waist in the profile picture of the anonymous poster I had just seen. If I remembered correctly, that scar appeared three months ago. I was two months pregnant then, and we were walking in the deep forest. A feral Rogue suddenly rushed out. Kael didn't think twice before shielding me, fighting the beast with his bare hands.

I hate the look of my muscles all tense and stitched tight on my back. A lifetime of blows and bouncing back collects scars. I've had a lot of scalding showers, and bruises have become stretched and angry on me, causing pitted scars. There are no tears, but the groans come in multitude. As a monster, you learn never to accept pain. Pain only affects you if you let it. Black slacks. Black socks. Charcoal shoes are polished until they look like a crisp new apple skin. The shirt is deep forest green, which brings out the natural multiple hues of green in my eyes. Intentional. Gold flecks are juxtaposed in my iris.

What a monster. ************

Though the monsters that made that sound were terrifying to behold. What I was staring at were creatures that resembled hybrid experiments gone wrong. The monsters were as tall as the trees in the forest. Their arms were so long they used them to walk along with their two legs, like the gorillaens I had once seen in the zoo back at Coven Community.

“How are you getting something to eat?” “I broke into the candy machine, and the drinking fountain has water.” “Does the monster know you’re in here?” “I dunno, it never comes here.” “Where does it go?” “Sometimes it slides on the street. Sometimes it crawls in the grass.” “What does the monster do?” “It slides and eats stuff. It ate a squirrel. The squirrel tried to get away, but the monster crawled over it, and it was gone.” “Have you been anywhere else downtown?” “I wanted to go to the grocery store, but I’m too afraid. The monster will get me.”

The enemy inside Later that night, Carlo stood alone in the surveillance room, surrounded by walls filled with monitors and flickering screens. Every angle of the compound was visible—every entrance, hallway, blind spot, and roof corner. The room was cold from the hum of the machines, but a thin layer of sweat clung to his neck. He watched in silence, his eyes bloodshot and wide open, refusing to blink for too long. He had zoomed in on the northeast perimeter three times in the last hour. No movement. No shadows. There was no sign of Marcus. But still… his gut twisted.

My fists tightened. “I called their names in our language, switching between my human and wolf form, searching. But there was nothing, no scent, no trace. Then I reached the riverbank.” His jaw clenched, teeth grinding. “There were men in dark cloaks. Their scent told me what they were, vampires. They were laughing, smoking… and roasting something.” I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. He didn’t even glance at me.

Abel thought grimly as he slipped deeper into the dark, “to stop chasing this monster.” This was no longer about history. It was time for catching monsters.

A growing acceptance that this connection between us was here to stay. I walked beside him with my head high. The chains were gone. My power stirred stronger than ever. This bond had changed us both. The monster and his prey were becoming something far more dangerous together. And the world outside these walls would soon learn what that meant.