Monster Island
By P.T. Dilloway
The brochures made it all sound so nice. Quiet little islands full of native wildlife, mostly tiny brown insects. They wouldn’t be much of a problem, at least not as much of a problem as Spydo with his webs everywhere or Torton plopping down wherever he felt like it or Krung throwing his shit all over. Compared to Monster Island, Japan sounded like a paradise.
He came ashore the next day. He didn’t bother with any luggage; he could get everything he needed on the island. As he popped out of the water, he saw a couple of tiny water bugs bobbing on the surface. His tail accidentally flipped one over. Even tinier creatures fell out of it and began to wave around; some of those insects the brochure had told him about.
He made it onto the shore and looked around. The island looked like the brochure had depicted with rolling hills against a pleasant blue sky. In the distance he saw rectangular walls made of a shiny material. Probably a nest of those insects. He’d have to check it out later.
First he needed a snack. Where did they keep the lava pits around here? He should have looked that up in the brochure before he came. Too bad he’d left the brochure back home with the rest of his stuff.
He crashed through some flimsy vines. The vines sparked; the ends of them tickled his scales. That took some of the edge off his hunger. This must be some of the local cuisine.
He stomped through as many of the vines as he could as he followed a stone path through the island. Then he saw silver trees with some thicker vines. Those should taste even better. He plunged into the trees. As he did, a bunch of insects scurried around him.
The thicker vines sparked a lot more than the other ones. Energy coursed through his body and lit up the plates on his back. Then something bit him just below the plates. He ignored it until it happened again and again. Stupid insects, he thought. He swatted at them with his tail.
Still they continued to bite him. He had no choice then but to turn around. He saw dozens of green bugs, most of them boxy with long pincers sticking out while others had a bunch of green tubes on them. He realized they were spitting at him from those pincers and tubes. Two can play this game.
He opened his mouth to let out a stream of blue flame. The bugs disappeared. Finally, he could have some peace. He turned back to the silver trees; all that effort had made him hungry.
***
With his stomach full, he decided to go check out that big insect nest. By the time he got to the nest, he realized it was a lot bigger than he’d imagined. Now that it was night, it had lit up too. For puny insects they were amazing creatures. He should take a few back to the island to keep as pets.
He soon realized his mistake in coming here. The nest was so tightly packed, he couldn’t walk through it without his tail smashing into a wall. Apparently this was one of those things better appreciated from afar. He opened his mouth and roared an apology
More of the green insects showed up to bite him. I’m going, he thought. He kicked the obnoxious insects out of his way. All around him more of the insects scurried out of the way. He would have to hurry to get out of this place before he brought the whole thing down.
He had almost made it out when the flying insects showed up. Their noses lit up and seconds later he felt bites all over his body. He swatted at them, but his arms were much too short to reach. His arms were too short to do much of anything, something Krung always teased him about.
But he didn’t need arms to swat these insects. He opened his mouth to let out a stream of flame. Half of the flying insects disappeared in an instant. The others climbed into the sky to disappear. That ought to teach them a lesson.
All that exertion had left him tired again. He found some more of the vines. This time he decided to lean down and chomp on them. His plates began to glow as the energy fed through him. No matter what else, the insects knew how to make some nice food. If only he could get the recipe to take back to the island. ...
To read the whole of Monster Island buy the e-book "We Are Now" for Kindle, Kobo, iBooks or through Google Play
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This species-centredness shift is very engaging, very moreish. Looking for more.
Wednesday 21st November 2012