I Am The Monster

• Kate Jackson, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

I’ve been fascinated by perplexing creatures for as long as I can remember. Pictures of many animals cover my bedroom walls. I have even come up with my own unique oddities.

I yawn, but I already knew I was tired. I lay down on my huge bed. I get a chill but shrug it off, closing my eyes, hoping sleep will take me over. The chill returns. I feel goosebumps popping up on my skin and a sharp prick, almost like a needle. I bet my brother’s pranking me. “Alright Aaron you got me, turn the air con off and stop poking me.” No one replies.
“Give it up Aaron!” I shout.
“Huh?” Aaron walks into the room, confused.
“Come on, you know what you did.”
“What? I didn’t do anything!”
“Of course you didn’t do anything.” I say to my little brother sarcastically. He walks out of the room, genuinely confused.
I try to go to sleep again.

The hairs on my arms and neck prick up, it almost feels like they’re growing.
I pull up my sleeves and find that my arm hairs have actually grown! This is weird, I think. I notice more tufts of hair are forming on my arms. Like a vine the hair creeps all over, onto my hands, legs, and feet, around my body, and up my neck. My fingernails stretch straight out and turn black, the tips like sharp knives. In less than a minute the new growth of hair has spread around my whole body.

My vision suddenly goes blurry! On instinct I bring my hands to my eyes and start rubbing them. As I do this I realise that my hands have grown in size too. All of a sudden my vision is as sharp and clear as a falcon's. My bedroom looks smaller than before. I compare the size of my strange hands to a book. The difference in size is immense. “Oh my God!” I shriek.

I feel a pain forming in my head, just a small headache. The pain gets worse, it feels like something is piercing through my forehead skin. I scream. No one comes to my aid. Maybe I can only hear myself, maybe this is a nightmare? I wonder, still in agonsing pain. Bone-like things pierce through my hairy forehead, and I feel like everything’s over.
The pain ceases and I pant like a dog, trying to inhale lots of air. I reach for my compact mirror and discover that large brownish horns have grown out of my head.

Tears form in my eyes. I stare at the monstrosity I’ve become. I faint and fall to the floor.

I wake up the next day and discover that I look like my normal self, no horns or black fingernails.
I end up in an argument with Aaron later on, ironically about monsters.
“Monsters are slimy and gooey.”
“No, I’m sure they are covered in fur.”
“Pfft. What would you know sister?”
“More than you think. . . .”