The Monster’s Caress

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

The Isle of the Monsters:

Present day

Asahi roused suddenly from unconsciousness. He frowned when he saw a canopy of unfamiliar trees above him, not the expected Oregon sky. He curled his fingers, noting that instead of beach sand, he touched soft moss. Bright, alien colors filled his vision.

He slowly examined the surrounding area, then forced his body to move. Asahi quickly discovered that sitting up wasn’t easy when the world was spinning around him. He rested his forehead on his knees as black dots swam through his vision.

He took several deep breaths until he was confident that he wouldn’t pass out. Once he lifted his head and looked around the area, it didn’t take long to confirm his suspicion that he was no longer on the beach in Yachats State Park—or on Earth.

“Ruth,” he softly called.

He pushed up off the ground, staggering when another wave of dizziness hit him. He bent forward, resting his hands on his thighs, and waited for it to subside. It took several minutes of deep breathing before he was steady enough to stand upright.

The spell had worked. He stood in a strange forest now. Tall trees, many the size of Redwoods and Sequoias back on Earth, were towering over him. Unlike the trees back home, these had long spiraling branches with dark blood-red leaves that grew upward and branched out in huge sections. Their darker red trunks looked like dozens of smaller trees had twined around each other as they grew. The overall effect was breathtaking—and definitely alien.

He had made it to the world of the Seven Kingdoms. However, it seemed that Ruth was not with him. Magna, a former Seven Kingdoms’ resident, had given the spell to Ruth, and she had been the one to invoke it, but it was undeniable that Asahi stood here alone.

Blue, green, and yellow vines clung to the tree trunks and some had hanging fruit. He stumbled backward when he saw a small, hairy, bluish-purple mammal dart out from a hole in the trunk and grab a piece of the yellow fruit with two of its six appendages. The hairy creature turned and warily looked at him. It blinked its six eyes at alternate times before it brought the fruit closer to its chest. The animal swished its long, slender tail, which was covered in a series of fluffy purple tufts of hair, and then returned to its nest. Asahi smiled when he remembered the name of the mammal.

“A Purple-Tailed Tree Mouse,” he murmured.

He reached into the side pocket of his black cargo pants and touched his journal. It contained the information his grandfather had shared over the years. Looking down at the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the black duffle bag that he had been carrying on his shoulder before he appeared here. He hadn’t been sure it would make the journey.

He knelt on one knee and unzipped the bag. A quick inventory showed that everything he had packed was still there. The first thing he retrieved was his 9mm handgun and shoulder holster. He secured the holster over his shoulder, then double-checked that the clip was full and the safety was on before he placed the g*n in the holster and snapped the strap over the grip.

Next, he reached in and pulled out a white plastic trash bag. Inside the bag was a dirty dish towel wrapped around the dagger he had hidden twenty-six years ago. He unwound the dish towel and stared down at the dagger. It looked as pristine as it did the day he had hidden it.

The sound of chittering drew his attention back to the tree. Nearly a dozen of the Purple-Tailed Tree Mice were now gorging themselves on the yellow fruit.

He scanned the area again, looking for any sign of Ruth. There was no trace of footprints. Even from the brief time he had known Ruth, he was positive that she would have stayed nearby if she were here.

He kept the dagger out, stuffed the towel and the plastic bag back into the duffle bag, zipped it closed, and stood up again.

First things first—he needed to find shelter, take stock of where he was, and decide on his next move. If he was correct and the creatures in the tree were Purple-Tailed Tree Mice, then he was on the Isle of the Monsters. There was a rough map of the Isle in the journal. His grandfather had visited the kingdom once, but he had never ventured farther afield than the capitol city.

Asahi bent down, picked up the duffle bag, and pulled the strap over his head so it crossed his body. Based on the angle of the sunlight streaming through the upper canopy, he suspected that it was just after midday. He would have a few hours to secure a safe place for the night. The temperature was moderate now, but he suspected it would drop when the sun set.

“I think the trees may be out for camping tonight—at least that one,” he mused with a shake of his head at the colony of tiny purple creatures.

He closed his eyes and carefully listened to the surrounding sounds. The chirps of birds mixed with the buzzing of insects and the chatter of the Purple-Tailed Tree Mice. Another sound coming from his right filtered through the noise—the sound of rushing water.

Asahi opened his eyes and turned in that direction. Water meant a river or lake that could lead him to either a village or the coast. He unfastened his belt and slid the end through the loop in the dagger’s sheath. He refastened the buckle and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension in them before he set off toward the sound of flowing water. If Ruth was anywhere nearby, he hoped she would do the same.