A cold wind was blowing, rattling the dead leaves that still clung to their trees. A heavy mist shrouded the forest, sucking out all warmth. Animals hid away in their homes, knowing it wasn't safe to wander. Two children, aged of about fifteen, sat, shivering, under a large bush. The branches kept stabbing into their skin, making them bleed. One of them huffed, annoyed with their slibing. "I can't believe you got us into this mess!" they said, glaring at their brother. "I knew we shouldn't have gone exploring this late at night, especially on Halloween." The boy rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you think that dumb story is real, Quinby. Its just a scary story made to scare little kids into being good." Quinby looked at their brother, disbelieving. "Its not a dumb story! Somebody actually saw the monster." Seeing their brother start to roll his eyes again, they continued. "Besides, Aspen, even if the tale is fake, we're still lost in a creepy forest late at night." Aspen shrugged, seeing his sibling's point. "I guess. But its not like we can do anything about it." Before anyone could say anything more, a soft rumbling came from their right. They both froze. The rumbling came again, this time a little bit closer. Aspen grabbed Quinby's forearm. "What... is that?" he whispered. "The monster," they whispered in reply, shivering. The rumbling sounded again, even closer than before. Suddenly, a white thing came out into the clearing. It had soft fur covering it's entire body. Its eyes were a bright violet, and were filled with an indescribable expression. The thing was about 5 feet tall, and had dull claws at the end of its paws. It walked on two feet. Quinby gasped softly. "What..." The monster snapped its head towards them, sensing their presence. It rumbled again. But now that it was closer to them, Quinby could hear words in the rumbling. "Ba...by..?" And they knew what the monster was looking for. "Aspen! The monster is looking for its baby!" they whispered. He looked at them in astonishment. "Okay... you're officially insane." he replied, looking worried. Quinby covered his mouth. "Listen!" they whisper-yelled. "Ba...by..?" His eyes widened. "I hear it!" A tiny voice from behind them answered its mother's call. "Mo..mm..a..?? Quinby gasped and turned around to see a minature version of the monster heading towards them. "Oh my gosh.." "Uh, Quinby? Momma's comin'." The bigger monster crashed through the bush, coming to a stumbling stop. "Ba...by..?" Quinby stepped away from the baby, dragging Aspen with them. "Yes! Here's your baby! We took good care of him while you were gone!" The two monsters sniffed each other. The the mother looked at the two kids. "Tha...nk... y..o..u.." Quinby grinned. "No problem, ma'am. Could you help us get back to the village, we're kinda lost." The monster nodded and picked up her son. "Fo...llow" And so the children made it back to their mothers, and the two monsters made it back to their family. And Aspen learned his lesson, to never go into spooky forests late at night, and to always listen to Quinby. -- Story by Me --
