An excerpt from the 1st chapter of the BFTR Novel, The Hero of Montepoli.
1
The wind rustled the leaves of the mango trees.
Rain fell from the clouds in a torrent, as lightning flashed across the darkened sky.
A little girl was rushing through a field.
She hopped over stones and splashed through a creek.
Her little shoes clattered on the gravel.
Crunch
Crunch
Crunch
She looked behind her, into an endless grove of mango trees, barely able to catch her breath.
From the darkness a pair of bright red eyes were peering at her.
“I have to tell Tito…”
Gasped the little girl looking away as she ran.
She pushed aside stalks of grass as she ran through the marshy rice field.
Her boots squished on the sticky mud and turf.
“I have to tell Tita…”
“I have to tell Sophie…”
“To run.”
A blood curdling scream resounded through the air.
The little girl gasped and dropped onto the muddy ground.
She rolled into the grass.
Over the howling wind, she heard the sound of stomping feet and monstrous breathing.
It was coming.
Barely able to look up, she raised her eyes.
Standing close by, was the monster.
As it cast its massive shadow over the field, its scales shimmered in the faint sunlight.
Saliva dripped from its massive fangs.
It`s red eyes glimmered against the gray sky.
The little girl was barely able to keep herself from squealing.
But she covered her mouth and dug into the dirt.
“Keep quiet, Kyla.”
She thought.
“Kyla has to stay alive to save them.”
Tears began to stream from the little girls’ eyes as she heard the monster moving closer.
Lying in the mud, she could hear the monster growling and breathing, as it dragged its talons across the ground.
The little girl closed her eyes.
“Please go away.” She thought to herself. “Stay away from Kyla.”
But the monster began to move even closer,
It’s massive tail sliding across the soil.
Its footsteps seemed to shake the earth.
And finally, it stopped.
Kyla looked up.
And it was standing there.
It was looking at her.
The little girl then froze.
She tried to gasp, but no sound came from her mouth.
The monster bared its fangs and readied its claws to strike.
Kyla then closed her eyes, and for a moment the only sound was the rain pouring through the leaves.
She readied herself to take the hit,
And die.
BLAM
But then, all of a sudden, the field lit up with a brilliant light.
The monster screeched, as a bullet dug into its arm,
and green fluid gushed from its wound.
“Kyla!” Screamed a voice.
“Get up and run!”
Quickly Kyla dashed out of the grass,
and began to run again through the rice field.
“Tito!” She cried.
“Just go!” Screamed the old man, placing another round into his shotgun.
“Leave and tell Tita and Sophie to run!”
Kyla then looked away, and began to run.
In the pouring rain, tears flowed from her eyes.
She could see a reflection of her Tito in the water.
He shot another round.
And another.
The monster screamed- but it wasn’t giving up.
“You can do it Tito.”
She cried.
But as she made it to the end of the rice field,
She heard a scream and looked back.
Her Tito’s gun was knocked out of his hand.
It fell into the mud.
Kyla watched as her Tito drew out his bolo.
He shouted, brandishing the sword, as he rushed at the beast.
But the monster struck him,
It`s claws buried deep into his flesh.
Kyla gasped in horror as she looked back at her Tito.
Seeing the pain in his eyes, and the blood splattered on his shirt, Kyla felt like screaming.
She wanted to do something,
to help him.
“Tito!” screamed Kyla, taking a stone.
“Kyla is coming to save you.”
“No!” Screamed her Tito.
“Leave me! Tell Tita…
tell Sophie…
to run!”
Little Kyla moved her mouth to speak,
but before she could say anything,
the monster struck her Tito again.
Kyla looked away in horror as the monster dropped the lifeless body of her Tito onto the ground.
A chill crept up her spine.
Her feet began to patter across the gravel as she rushed down the slippery field.
“Kyla will tell Tita.”
She wept, tears streaming from her eyes, as the wind howled around her.
“Kyla will tell Sophie…
To run.”
Kyla rushed to the farmhouse.
But she could hear the monster coming, following her across the marshy rice field.
It was getting faster and faster.
Kyla cried.
The weeds were tangling onto her clothes.
Her feet were sinking into the soil.
But she cried and pulled free.
She ran faster, leaping and bounding with all her might across the slippery ground.
“Tita!”
Kyla screamed, as she made it to the edge of the farm.
“Sophie!
There is a monster.
Get up and run!”
But just then, Kyla glimpsed the face of a little girl trapped inside the house.
The girl looked at her and smiled.
“S-Sophie.” Muttered Kyla.
But suddenly, Kyla looked to her side in horror.
The monster had walked around,
And was right behind the house.
It was scraping its claws against the walls.
It was going to come inside.
For a moment Kyla froze in fear.
But as she saw the monster coming for Sophie,
Instead of being scared…
Kyla became angry.
She took a little knife,
And held it out in front of her.
“Step away from Kyla`s best friend!”
The little girl screamed, brandishing her weapon.
The monster looked at her and growled.
“I`m not afraid of you.”
She continued.
“When Kyla grows up, she will be a hero. A hero that Montepoli will look to.”
“So, Kyla will protect Sophie. You will not even touch a hair on her head.
Because today, Kyla will die you!”
Kyla then rushed to a nearby carabao and cut it loose.
She hopped onto its back.
“Kyah!” She shouted.
The carabao then snorted.
And in a burst of power, it rushed forward, slamming its horns into the monster.
The beast tumbled backwards for a moment, pushing up against the wall of the house.
Kyla then plunged her knife into its belly, as the monster screamed in pain.
Kyah!
The little girl shouted again and the carabao took flight.
Kyla and her carabao galloped down the muddy road.
They whizzed past rows of houses,
past groves of acacia trees.
And the monster followed, writhing and snarling.
It crawled through the rain, rushing after them, faster than ever.
“Faster Baka.” Cried Kyla. “Faster.”
But suddenly Kyla heard the monster roar.
Before she knew what happened she saw the beast leap,
and land right in front of her.
RAAAA
In a rage it struck her with its hand, sending little Kyla tumbling into the mud.
In shock, Kyla couldn’t move.
She couldn’t even breathe as her vision grew blurry.
So shocked was the little girl, that she did not even say a word as she saw her left arm missing, her blood splattered all over the soil.
As she began to faint, she barely noticed the monster`s shadow moving over her.
The beast raised its arm to finish her off.
She closed her eyes.
She prepared to take the hit.
She prepared to take the hit and die.
But over the sound of the rain gently dripping from the rooftops, she heard a voice call out her name.
“Kyla, don’t close your eyes.”
She saw a flash.
A spear glinted in the light of the setting sun and plunged into the monster.
And just then, Kyla blacked out, and fainted.