The monster: They say I am powerful. They say I am the darkness. They say I instill fear in the minds and hearts of many. They’re right. I am powerful. I am the darkness. I should be feared. Then I heard his cries and everything changed. Power can be tempered. There’s safety in the darkness. And the monster isn’t always the one under the bed. Now only the heart and mind of one human interests me. He is mine. I wait, watching over him until the time is right to claim what belongs to me. Austin: Do you believe there are monsters under the bed? I do. I don’t just believe; I know for a fact they exist. I’ve met one. Sort of. Okay, I haven’t actually seen the monster, I’ve only spoken to it. Kind of hard to see much of anything when you’re hiding under the covers while waiting on your father to beat your ass. The monster saved me. Literally. He says I’m his, and he’s waiting for the right time to claim me. Someone tell him to hurry the hell up.