Date Written: 21 February 2020
My Age: 16
Monster
The alarm blared a screeching cry, but below you could still hear the roar of footsteps stomping against the metal deck, the muffling of orders given by the ship’s captain and the silent panic of everyone on board. My heart longed to see the innocent smile of my daughter, her silky black hair and her forest-filled hazel eyes now down on earth, but I knew I must stay on the ship because that meant I would protect her, and that gave me hope. As I ran to the command deck of our ship I shoved my emotions where they could not be seen, hiding my weakness, protecting my family.
“Pilot!” The general commanded, as I gave him a firm salute. “We are in grave danger. The enemy has attacked. Go to your post and follow all directions, there is no time for questions.”
There never seems to be any time for questions. We’d been told our foes were monsters, a fact we absorbed without a doubt. In my mind we were fighting for our freedom from these skyscraper tall beasts. With their sharp knife-like claws, they were trying to wrench our liberty away, their manipulative minds plotting to infringe upon our rights. They reeked of death, and sought only that. These alien beings were covered in rancid and decaying skin, left soulless from bountiful killings, their tentacles gushing with gooey fluids. Their piercing eyes could drive a person mad. They had come from the depths of hell and we were sending them right back. And although none of us knew what these hairy, sharp-toothed, horrid beast truly looked like, we could not ask. All our recruiters had told us was that our families were in jeopardy, and so we never asked. I would not dare question the reason behind which I must save my family because I did not need to.
And so I followed my commander's order and took my place in the Space-Raptor. This was a one person ship especially designed to be both swift and deadly. Faster than a speeding bullet, this ship could fly at one third the speed of light, soaring through the void of space. It carried plasma blasting rays, a more than worthy death for our enemy.
Through the intercom we heard our general’s voice. We were told to start our engines and so we did. We were told to exit the haul of the ship and we did that too. We were told to fly to our enemy’s ship and so we followed orders. Like dogs following their master, we were mindless robots obeying our leader’s commands.
“Fire!” he yelled and so we pressed the large red X on our console. There was no time to question what we had done, nor was there the need to. I was saving my daughter and humanity from whatever foul creature may lay on our enemy’s ship. We had no choice, we did not know.
Outside lay the vastness of space. A void filled with stars like a black drape punctured with holes. Soon this space would be empty no longer, for it would be tainted by the blood of the monsters. Not a sound was heard, not a single scream until our blasters hit. Like a volcano the enemy ship erupted into chaos. Its pieces flew through space and with them, the last remnants of our threat.
And that is when I saw our enemy. It was not the monster I had assumed it would be. Their lifeless arms hung from their bodies, now useless limbs. Their skin as pale as fresh snow for no blood was present. Rather, this ruby red fluid lay in the heavens above. Their mouth lay open and eyes gunshot, as if giving a final order to run. But run to where? There was no escaping death. Outside rested a body with 4 limbs, a face with a nose, two eyes, two ears, and a mouth. Their hair was violently dispersed across their head in a halo of chaos, like a lion's mane. It was not the ugly gruesome monster I had hoped for, the monster that had given me a reason to fight. On the contrary, it was just like me, not a monster at all. Floating in space lay another human. And that is when I realized that the monster was never on the other ship.
I had willingly taken another human’s life as a result of a war. I had betrayed humanity for a war in which I did not know who or what we were fighting for. I joined the war to defend my family, no questions asked. I never knew I was recruited to kill my own kind. I was told I was protecting my daughter, but I had become the monsters in her fairy tales.
I had stolen another person's freedom and liberty. I had denied them a chance to go back home, to see their daughters again. I had robbed them of their life and for this I could not forgive myself. By “saving” my daughter I had given my soul to the beast inside me.
Now when I look in the mirror I see a monster staring back.