Last week, rather than waste my time writing blog entries, I edited a short story that I wrote in my Creative Writing class in high school. I have since submitted it to a young adult short story contest, so once again, hopefully I win. This particular story is titled The Creature in the Dark, which actually makes a brief appearance in the newer version of my manuscript Phantasma. In Chapter 2, Gia is working on her Life List (which is a list of everything that she wants to do during the course of her life) but is having some trouble coming up with ideas. She then turns to her bookshelf to find some inspiration. Among these books are the usual fairy tale classics: Cinderella, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast (which is mine and Gia's favorite fairy tale), and a few others. But there is one fairy tale story on Gia's bookshelf that no one would ever be able to recognize: The Creature in the Dark. That's because it's a short fairy tale that I wrote myself (it was titled The Queen and the Flute in the older version of my manuscript, which was yet another short story that I wrote, but I like this one better). As I was rattling off fairy tale stories, I thought it'd be kind of cool if I tossed in one of my own. Anyway. with that background knowledge in mind, I decided to go ahead and post this story on my blog. It's 13 pages long, which is an absurdly long blog post, so I think I'll post every 4 pages on here a week. Or something like that. And now without further ado. here are the first 4 pages of The Creature in the Dark.
The Creature in the Dark
by Matt Perrino
Before there was Leonidas and Hercules, before Achilles and Beowulf, there was Sanz, the greatest warrior to ever live. The people of his town often said, “Sanz was gifted by both the moon and sun”. In other words, he was a very lucky man. He was so handsome that women vied for his affection. He was so skilled and deadly as a warrior that he could defeat an entire army of goblins by himself. He was so fast that his body became a blur whenever he ran. He had the strength of twenty men and could lift a boulder into the air with one hand. But Sanz also had the greed of a hundred thieves, coupled with one icy heart.
Whenever danger visited his town, the people would call upon Sanz to save them. But the brave warrior would only do so under one condition: every man in town, even the beggars and the homeless, had to pay him five pieces of gold and not one piece less. The people found this demand selfish and wretched, but they had no other choice. It was either pay Sanz his gold or be killed by whatever threatened their lives.
Again and again, Sanz rescued his people from the clutches of destruction. He fought dragons and three-headed monsters, warrior kings and entire armies. None of them could outmatch the almighty Sanz, and with each victory, he gained more wealth. But as his riches grew, so did his pride. He declared himself an invincible warrior and felt like a god among the people. Every man, woman, and child became unworthy of his greatness and trust. The only thing in the world that he trusted and cared for was the sword on his belt, which he carried with him at all times.
This story truly begins, though, on a summer afternoon that started off just as normally as any other. A bright sun hung in the sky and showered its warmth upon the town below. The people carried out their business as usual, concerned with only their own everyday problems. But this peaceful atmosphere was suddenly disrupted when an old man came running into town, screaming at the top of his lungs.
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and gawked at the old man. “What is it?” asked the baker in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a creature!” exclaimed the old man. “Hiding in a cave!”
Fear gripped the people’s hearts and immediately pushed them into a state of panic. “A cave?” cried the fish merchant. “What cave?”
“One in the forest!” shouted the old man. “By the old, winding brook!”
“Did you see it?” asked the carpenter.
“Was it huge?” questioned a child.
“No, no, I did not see it,” replied the old man. “But it spoke to me!”
“Well, what did the beast say?” demanded a gypsy.
“It said that it plans to attack our town! Tonight!”
The townspeople gasped and screamed at the old man’s words.
“We must fetch Sanz immediately!” cried out the town doctor.
“Yes!” agreed the blacksmith. “Sanz will rid us of this beast!”
“That greedy, prideful fool?” protested a beggar. “But he will ask for five pieces of gold from every man in town! And I do not have that much to give him!”
“Then someone else will pay your share like always!” proclaimed the farmer. “Now come! Let’s go tell Sanz of the situation!”
And so they did. A large group of them traveled to Sanz’s home, which was large enough to suit a king. There, they found the mighty warrior in his front yard, practicing his swordplay. They all watched him in awe, astonished by his swift movements and fierce swings. These actions quickly relieved the townspeople of any worry they had regarding the monster. Right then and there, they knew that the poor beast didn’t have a chance against the mighty Sanz.
The people waited for Sanz to acknowledge their presence, but he just continued with his exercise, as though none of them were standing right behind him. Finally, the town doctor let out a small cough to grab the warrior’s attention.
Sanz froze in place and turned to the coughing culprit. He gave the town doctor the same look that so many of Sanz’s victims had seen before their last breaths. He stood to his full height, towering over the trembling doctor. “How dare you interrupt me!” scolded Sanz. “Do you not see I am busy?”
“Please forgive me, Sanz!” pleaded the doctor. “But there is something we must tell you!”
“And what might that be?” snarled the mighty warrior.
The crowd parted to reveal the little old man who had warned the town of the monster. “There is an unknown creature in the forest!” he declared. “It hides in a cave beside the old, winding brook! It plans to attack us tonight! It told me so!”
Sanz sheathed his sword back into his belt and stroked the hairs on his chin. “I see,” he said, much more intrigued by the people than before. “Well, if my services are required, then you know the price. Five pieces of gold from every man in town!”
The people didn’t argue. After all, how could they oppose the mighty warrior who had saved their lives so many times? But as they stared at Sanz and at his giant house, they couldn’t help but detest him. He had everything that a person could ask for, and yet he stilled demanded more.
Every man in the group walked in front of Sanz and begrudgingly placed five pieces of gold at his feet, one-by-one. Sanz beamed down at his growing pile of gold. “Excellent!” he declared. “Now return to town and tell the other men to bring the gold that they owe me! Once every man has paid my fee, I will find this beast and slay it with ease!”
With heavy sighs and long faces, the people returned to town to spread the news of both the monster’s warning and Sanz’s instructions.
Sanz waited patiently at his doorstep. He watched the men line up in front of his house and drop their gold into a large basket that rested by his feet. Every now and then, one of them would tell Sanz of his poverty and beg to keep the gold. But Sanz was just as ruthless off the battlefield. He made every man drop their gold into his basket and forced the wealthy merchants to compensate for the beggars and the homeless who couldn’t afford the fee. Finally, once every piece of gold was collected and every man in town had paid the price, Sanz was ready for battle.
He trekked through the forest, until he found the winding brook that the old man had described. And sitting beside it was a giant stone cave, filled with a darkness so black that it looked unnatural. Sanz grabbed the hilt of his sword and withdrew it from his belt. He squinted into the blackness, trying to see the monster that resided within it, but the cave was too dark. “Creature!” Sanz bellowed into the cave. “I am Sanz, the mightiest warrior to ever live! Come out here and battle me!”
Sanz waited for a response. And then finally, it came. The beast spoke in a calm, booming voice that sounded very much a man’s. Its words bounced off of the cave’s walls and made their way into the warrior’s ears.
“If you wish to fight me,” began the beast, “then step into the cave.”
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