Monster Hunters ch.10
By Quinn Ireland
The first rays of sunlight painted the tops of the trees. These trees overlooked the group of tree-homes that housed the students. They also provided the western border that divided the forest from the Monster school grounds. As the tips of the ancient giants touched the golden sunlight, it made a unique, magical bled of colors.
“Green meets Gold” Ben thought as he opened his eyes to the golden morning glow; “Nature meets warmth.”
Both were extending
The trees from their roots.
The sunlight from the sun.
From the sun to the earth.
Green meets Gold.
After an early breakfast of oatmeal and raisins, it was off to Special Power Practice. As the trio made their way down the bridge, Ben got his first glimpse at something that he had not noticed before. Peeking through the trees were several Mountains. They each towered above the forest that bordered the Monster school grounds. The size of the Mountains compared to the thousands of trees that covered the rocky giants, made the trees look like leaves. As if the two monstrous mountains were the forest floor and the trees were the leaves that coated the ground. As the morning wind began to pick up, the trees that hung on the edge of the mountains rustled. It looked as if they were waving.
Waving to Ben…
Greeting him…
S.P.P was the easiest class to get to by a landslide. It took ten minutes to walk from the tree-homes to the rather plain, underground classroom of Special Power Practice. Although, five of those minutes were taken up by nothing else than a drink of water. As they had been walking, Kepler pointed out something to Johnny. They steered Ben off to an off leading path that stretched into the forest. The forest itself looked magical. Roots jangled out of the edges of cliffs and snaked along the mountains of rocks. The rocks seemed almost as tall as the trees towering above the forest floor. Moss coated the monstrous boulders creating a wall of bright green. Budding out from the moss, were new, young baby trees. Leaves and pinecones covered the entire ground and crunched with every step. Huckleberries and Salmonberries grew abundant, lining the bushes with nature’s sweet, tasty candy. A thin, skinny river ran between the two walls of rocks that created the riverbank. Plants clung to the rich, dark soil, as if they were hanging on with their very lives, which they were in fact. Ben adored the wonderful scenery; it looked like spring. “C’mon,” said Johnny skipping down to the river, as though he was a happy little kid again. He had then produced from his pocket three small bottles. They each had the Monster school logo on them. He then dipped the bottles into the wonderful, blue water and gave Ben and Kepler a bottle each. “Bottoms up!” He said with a smile. As the water passed by Ben’s mouth, it trickled down his throat and he immediately decided it was the best water he had ever tasted. It was cool and refreshing, clean and delicious. “Keep that in your pocket.” suggested Kepler, “It stays cold all the time, no matter what weather, the Heaven River provides for the students and staff of Monster school. “It is called the heaven lake because the water tastes like its name, heaven. After tucking away the bottles, they proceeded to S.P.P. The three entered through the massive fancy iron doors that loomed above them. Ben followed Johnny and Kepler to the basement of Monster school. It was not your typical basement. It was very spacious and well-lit, with cavernous walls. The three entered through the fancy massive iron doors that loomed above them. Ben noticed that there were lots of students there. It was identified as a classroom if you could call it that. This was, according to Johnny, the second most popular class behind workout hour. Besides being a most enjoyed class along with workout hour, S.P.P was filled with similar equipment to the number one ranked school activity. It was identified as a classroom if you could call it that. The walls were dank and bear with only a few pieces of equipment. There were big comfortable mats and all sorts of pillars that were being thrown against the wall by a few kids. They look like they’re asking for an office visit, Ben thought to himself. There were also contraptions that resembled a punching bag, twenty feet tall and ten feet wide. Suddenly, all attention was directed to a tall, lanky man. He sported a long, white coat with matching pants and black shoes that looked to be shined quite often. His handlebar mustache ended at his neck and was the same as his hair color white, blonde. His piercing blue eyes seemed to have a life of their own as they danced around his pupils. He stared at Ben with a serious look on his face. “That’s Mr. Zephaunie, the meanest Teacher in the whole school,” whispered Johnny. He then cracked a joke; “The walk to Mr. Zephaunie’s classroom is almost as short as his patience.” Ben snickered. Johnny had always been one for making him laugh. Ben thanked Johnny for giving him the heads up. Right on cue, Mr. Zephaunie walked over to Ben and whispered; “If you think you can just storm into our world and join our school like it’s no problem at all, then you are way out of line, buddy boy.” He then turned to the rest of the class and spoke; “There will be no talking or disrupting in my classroom, this also includes whispering or any other kind of nonsense,” Mr. Zephaunie finished his list of rules with gusto. “Now, get into groups of two or three.” It had recently become automatic that when there were groups required in classes, Ben, Johnny, and Kepler were together. “Oh, no you don’t!” said Mr. Zephaunie beckoning Ben to follow him. Ben looked at Johnny and Kepler, confused. “Sorry, Ben. I forgot.” Said Johnny; “You have to find out your special power first.” “You are quite right Mr. Maken,” said Mr. Zephaunie with a look that wished that Johnny was wrong. “Now, follow me to my office, Vinkenhut.” Ben reluctantly followed in his wake. Mr. Zephaunie’s office was nothing but a bare, grey room, not counting the dozens of pictures of Mr. Zephaunie plastering the walls. It completely resembled the look of the classroom, boring. So, Vinkenhut.” Mr. Zephaunie began sitting down in his cushiony chair situated behind a swanky oak wood desk, “What is your special power?” Ben shook his head, “I don’t know, Sir.” Mr. Zephaunie smiled for the first time, perhaps because Ben had called him “Sir”. Although the smile only remained for a split second, Ben somehow felt better, not as worried about his time in the office. “I do not know what my power is, but according to my friends… I do have one.” “And you need me to help you find it,” said Mr. Zephaunie finishing Ben’s thoughts. He then made an odd face. A kind of sneer. “I cannot help you whatsoever to find your inner power, Vinkenhut. But it will come to you. Only when you need it most.” He then sat up, crossed the room, opened the door, and motioned for Ben to get out of his office with a sharp head gesture. Ben wanted to ask for more advice. When would he know the time to use his power? And how would he know how to use it? What if his power didn’t work?
When…
How…
What if…
These questions thundered through Ben’s brain. But he found himself walking out the door, intimidated by Mr. Zephaunie with his dancing eyes boring into his own. He walked into the main classroom spotting Kepler and Johnny warming up by stretching. “Well?” Kepler spoke, “How’d it go?” “Just amazing,” said Ben sarcastically. “But what’s your… you know…” Ben finished Johnny’s sentence; “My power, well… I have no idea. All that Mr. Zephaunie said was that my power will come to me… when I need it most.” The next five hours were nothing but pain and misery. Because Ben did not know his special power yet, he was snickered every time he failed to accomplish a backflip or run across the room in ten seconds. Not only were the other students in more shape than Ben, but they could also persevere more work and longer classes of the same thing over and over again. When his head hit the soft pillow that night, he wanted a power. Needed a power. Needed one to thrive in this world. To thrive. To feel safe. But as Ben Vinkenhut’s eyes closed that night, little did he know that a horrific nightmare would leave him feeling far from safe.
