Captured by the Monsters

by R.L. Caulder

Ever since I turned eighteen, I spent each day in fear that it would be my last. Each morning since, I woke up and crossed off the day prior, thankful that I was one day closer to becoming twenty-five.

I was, just forty-eight hours from the shackles falling off and society being unable to control me any longer. Forty-eight hours until my life was my own. Forty-eight hours until I would no longer be eligible to be offered up as a sacrifice to uphold the treaty between The Above and The Below.

We were like lambs to the slaughter, never questioning, just obeying. It was pathetically sad, the life we lived.

I jumped as a ball of white fluff launched itself into my lap. My heart rate spiked before I laughed, scratching Gizmo on his chin, realizing how ridiculously skittish I was right now. “Sorry, baby,” I cooed at my Maine coon fur-child. The only child my parents would get from me, much to their displeasure. Being a mom just wasn’t for me, I had quickly realized. I’d mom the fuck out of my cat, but human babies? No.

Perhaps the women that were within the parameters for Selection wouldn’t be so damn terrified of it if our leaders opted to tell us what actually happened to those who were offered up on a silver platter to the monsters below.

My dad was always the calm, cool, collected one of the family. The voice of reason who wasn’t quick to anger, and I could honestly say I had never seen the man cry.

I guess if there was ever a moment for him to break down, it’d be when his only child was being sacrificed. There wasn’t a silver lining in sight to this clusterfuck. His lower lip was quivering as his blue-gray eyes pooled with unshed tears. “Oh, Dad,” I said, my voice cracking as he gave in and wrapped his arms around Mom and me, holding us so hard I knew he was imagining that he could protect us from everything.

My dad stepped forward and took the carrier from me, kissing the top of my head. “Give them hell, darling.” A chuckle came from me as I recalled how I told them that if I was ever selected, I’d be such a pain in the ass to the monsters that they’d have no choice but to hand me back over.

“I refuse to be another woman added to the statistic of sacrifices that never return. My name is Serafina Adler, and I’ll be back.”

“I will be back,” I said in a soft but sure tone, the words both for them and myself. Dad slowly nodded, a spark of intensity within his words. “If anyone could return, it would be you. I love you, Sera.”

Not much further to go until my life ended and another started. The acidic bitterness of the situation left a shitty taste in my mouth.

Like cattle, we were herded into a one-way shuttle that would transport us to our deaths. Inside the white tube, only five bucket seats were available—one for each of the Selected. The shuttle was auto-piloted to The Below because no one wanted to risk getting trapped there. The thought made me snort. Although I feared the creatures of The Below, I sometimes wondered if our leaders weren’t the real monsters. I guess I’d find out soon who I was more fearful of.

Were our bodies not equipped to live in their environment? Was the air poisoning us? The fact that the air was poisonous seemed like a pretty important piece of information to omit. Then again, maybe no one knew since the women who were sent down never returned. I scratched at my throat in a panic as my eyes bulged, terrified I was suffocating. Around me, the other girls mimicked my motions, tears streaming down their faces. All this time, no one had spoken, but our expressions said it all. We realized a vital piece of information that no one ever told us. The monsters wouldn’t kill us—their land would.

“We are each a Trifecta looking for the woman who will be our match and carry our offspring.”

“You bring human women down here to breed?” “Not just to breed, but to love,” the softer voice answered. It shocked me to my core at how genuine he sounded. That wasn’t true, right? It couldn’t be.

My blood boiled, heating rushing to my face as I yelled, “You claim to want to find a woman to love and then shove us around? Learn some fucking manners.” Maybe I shouldn’t be insulting monsters that we knew nothing about, other than the fact that the women sent to them never returned and they wanted to use us as monster breeding machines, but I couldn’t keep the lid on my mouth at this point. I had been quiet my entire life, accepting the mannerisms I was forced to adopt, but no more.

“I knew she would be ours,” the soft voice said as I felt a phantom brush of lips pressed to my shoulder. “Such a beauty,” the second voice said, a reverent tone to his words like he was worshiping me. “All ours,” the deep voice agreed.

I was wrapped up in a cocoon of shadows. That wasn’t what scared me, though—what I felt inside was what truly scared me. I felt euphoric at having this set of shadows to myself. They were mine. Their voices called to me, mentally and physically, with just the few words they had uttered.

“You would slay your brethren?” Azmunch scoffed, acting like he was calling their bluff. My Trifecta responded instantly and with unwavering certainty. “Yes.” “Without a second thought.” “She is ours.”

Were they mine? Was that right to say? And what exactly was mine? They weren’t my men… I suppose they were my monsters.

Unbeknownst to her, I had already decided it was my sole mission to pry open her heart to me. I wanted to know her desires, her fears, her secrets. I needed to know every inch of her like I needed to breathe. A small scowl twisted her face, pulling a small laugh from me. With her attention fully on me, I made my intentions abundantly clear. “I don’t just want to immerse myself in your body, Sera. I want to immerse myself in your heart.”

Trifectas weren’t resentful of one another. We supported our brethren, just like we supported our mate, but that was before Paratiisi became a desolate wasteland—before we became Specters and questioned everything about our existence. Even with Sera as our mate, there was no guarantee that our Trifecta would stay together. What if she was like the other human women and just hiding it well? What if she took her life? What if she fled from us? How would we go on when Sylan and Axton were already enamored with her?

I knew I needed to do everything to convince Sera this was her true home, but I also needed to remain strong for my brothers. It was a conundrum.

We claimed she deserved to be pampered like a princess, but with our land failing, what could we really offer her? The truth was, eventually Paratiisi wouldn’t be inhabitable by anyone. If we didn’t find our True Queen and restore the crystal to its former glory, everything would crumble into dust around us.

“No, Sera, your body is rejecting our food. We’ve heard about this before, but thought it a myth,” he confessed quietly. “It’s been reported by Trifecta in the past that they’ve found their mate can’t process the food, but we’ve never seen it for ourselves and when you said you were hungry…” His tone suggested he felt bad that I was in pain now for him providing what I had asked for.

“So how do they live?” I asked fearfully with wide eyes. What happened to someone who couldn’t eat? They died. What Axton murmured in my ear nearly had me choking on my spit. “Off their mates’…

“It’s time to talk.” A ball of dread formed in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to argue, but it seemed we naturally butted heads, and I was feeling too emotionally raw right now for that type of confrontation. “About what?” I feigned ignorance—which is supposed to be bliss, but felt uncomfortable as fuck instead. “About the jealousy you were feeling earlier,” Rowen commented nonchalantly, but it felt like I was being doused with cold water.

“You don’t have to apologize for how you feel, Sera. Does it make you feel any better to know we have not touched one another—or anyone else, for that matter? We have been waiting for our mate—and we only want you.

“And what about you, Rowen? This entire time you’ve been smirking. Care to tell me what amuses you so? Or your problem with me in general with the distance you randomly put between us?” The glee fizzled out of his eyes, which became shuttered and distant once more. Shocker.

I’d answered him truthfully when he asked me a question, but he couldn’t reciprocate? I quickly raced until I was in front of him, blocking his exit. He wasn’t leaving until we talked. Whether Rowen liked it or not, we were hashing out our shit now

We all had our secrets, and I wasn’t demanding that Rowen had to tell me all of his, but a relationship was give and take. The longer we were together here, the more confused he made me. His reactions to me varied so much, ranging from treating me like I was this precious treasure to him to treating me like my presence was a nuisance. The whiplash was driving me mad, on top of my own conflicting emotions about everything going on.

I had been captured by the monsters, but now I wanted to be claimed by them.

“I don’t know about humans as a whole, but there is one in particular who’s pretty amazing. She has a smile that lights up a room and is the most beautiful creature in all the lands. Her heart far outshines any of our kind.”

Leah. Julie. Hope. Madison. Olivia. Mishka. The list of women who’d tragically lost their lives was growing, and the fault lay with both territories. The Above and Paratiisi were equally to blame for this. I would honor these women by fixing the divide between our lands. I would ensure no other woman died due to the lies and desperation of our species.

My eyes tore away from the manacles and towards what lay at the far end of the large expanse of the room—a giant peach-colored crystal backed by a stone wall. Even in the darkened space, it seemed to emit a radiance of power without energy to fuel it—I couldn’t imagine what it looked like fully intact and glowing. I was in awe of being in front of the piece of their land that single-handedly could change everything.

Gently, he placed my palm on the surprisingly warm surface. I swore I could sense a pulse—albeit very weak—deep within it. It was as if it was truly alive and thrumming.

Put your big girl panties on to prove you aren’t the Queen so we can get the hell out of here. Simple enough.

I grumbled and sighed deeply, clutching my crystal necklace in my left hand while I pressed my right into the giant stone in front of me. Once more, the three men placed their hands on my bare skin, and once more, I waited for their disappointment. Except, it never came. Because this time when I touched the crystal, a blinding light burst forth immediately, filling the room.

“Oh my god,” I croaked in horror, while my three monsters whooped in unabashed joy. “Precious, do you know what this means?” Axton rasped, voice tinged with choked emotions. I knew what it meant—I was the True Queen of Paratiisi.

Heroes to me aren’t special people who have superpowers. Heroes are the people who just choose to do the right thing, not expecting a reward in return. They make their choices because they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that there was something they could’ve done to help and hadn’t acted upon it.

“This really is a paradise,” I whispered. “And you’re its Queen,” Sylan added, smiling at me in wonder.

I always wondered what my fate would be when I was in The Above—if I had a destiny—and when I’d been Selected, I thought that I was cursed. But in truth, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.