I came to lying in my dorm at the school. I looked over at the clock, which read 9:27 am. I had no clue how long it had been since I’d banished the monster, and also no idea how I got here. My door cracked open, and I saw a pair of brown eyes look through the crack - Naomi’s. Her face broke into a smile and she opened the door the rest of the way. She’d been opening the door and peeking in for a while, clearly, and wasn’t expecting me to be awake. “I honestly thought you were going to miss school with how long you were sleeping,” she said breathlessly. She stood next to my bed. I sat up. “How long was I out?” She shifted slightly, not wanting to answer my question. I persisted. “How long, Naomi?” “Three days,” she whispered. I swallowed, finally realizing how thirsty I was. That could wait. “Okay. What did I say to you guys?” She tilted her head. “What do you mean?” “Before Harlow shot me with shadows. What did I say?” “M-maybe we should talk about this later,” she said, clearly not wanting to talk about it ever. My gaze was as hard as steel. “Naomi, tell me. What did I say?” “You don’t remember?” “None of it. Tell me, /what did I say?/” She blinked rapidly for a few seconds. “You- you said we were all failures and there was no way you’d be separating the monster from its new host. You also said that Wolf - you - how should I say this?” “Refer to what I said as what the monster said.” “Yes. Okay. The monster said that Wolf had never needed his friends and that he only used us, and that all that he’d made it seem like he felt was a lie.” Her voice got steadily quieter as she spoke. I was horrified. “Naomi, everything he said was wrong. None of you are failures - you guys are the only reason the monster isn’t here right now.” “But he was right, we didn’t manage to separate the monster.” “Yeah, but /I/ did. Only the host can do that. He was playing with his words, trying to make you feel that way. It was the same with Ren, /he/ was the one to actually banish his monster, Shadow and I were just there to trigger it. I’d only had the monster for a few months, so I didn’t know who or what would trigger it. And all he said about me using you guys - all lies. I care about all of you, and don’t let anyone or anything make you forget it.” She let out a shaky breath. “I should go tell the others you’re awake. Especially Ren.” “Why?” “He’s been beating himself up ever since you passed out. He thinks it’s his fault you had the monster in the first place.” “Not true.” “I know, but it’s what he thinks. He thinks he led it to you. Probably would have killed himself if you didn’t wake up.” On that pleasant note, she turned to leave. She stopped with the door halfway closed. “You did good there, Wolf. It takes courage to face your inner demons.” I smiled. “Thanks.” She closed the door and ran down the hall, and only then did I realize that was the first time we’d spoken in a month.
Notes/Credits: If you're reading this, you probably know I wrote The Wolf Boy. Well, here's the sequel: The Monster's Curse. This is Chapter 15. Previous Chapter(s): Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652476202/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652950608/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177024/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177565/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655621072/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/656955201/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657580423/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657583863/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657586191/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657668860/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658404211/ Chapter 12: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659115920/ Chapter 13: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659116659/ Chapter 14: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659117186/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTC: What is you least favorite plot twist? (From TWB or The Monster's Curse)
