Monsters on the Other Side

A small creature came out of the wall
Stumbling right onto the floor
The wall behind him looked all warped
I could see inside a beastly figure
Reaching out to grab this creature
So I dragged him away from the wall
And the warp had dissipated

They clung onto me and held me tight
I could feel them shaking and hear them crying
It's weird having four arms wrapped around me
I awkwardly hug them back

I can feel the eyes of colleagues peering at us
There's murmuring filling the air
People are freaking out
Every sound of clanking keyboards
Has all but stopped at the sight of this being

I could tell he was young
The high pitch of his voice
His breathing was uneasy as he's still upset
I asked him what had happened
He covers his face, still crying
And he says: "Please, sir! Don't put me back in!
There are monsters on the other side!"

People glaring from their cubicles
"What kind of hell spawn is that?!" they yell
"Get that monster out of here!" they shout
I bellow back; "Do you have anything better to do
Than belittle a child who's clearly been through
Something traumatic in a different world?!
I don't care if he's unnatural to our world!
Can you not see the bigger picture here?!
Or are you too blind in your mind to realize
That just because something is different from us
Doesn't make them evil?! Do you understand?!"

"Now, explain to me what happened, kid."
He looks up at me with his teary, orange eyes
And he starts to speak
"Please! I don't want to go back!
I just had to run away from my last friend!
Everybody has been turning into these monsters!
They keep growing limbs, tendrils, and claws
They've been attacking anyone they can
Caused by some infection, I guess
My friend got attacked and started to act strange
He kept laughing at me and threatening me
Then I saw he was changing
I saw the tendrils break through his skin
That's when he started to chase me, so I ran away."

A few colleagues stand by my side
But many have sheer disdain in their eyes
For this grieving kid who has lost everything
And it disgusts to my very core
How have we failed so hard as people
To want the worst for such a little creature
Well, I'm not like them. I'll protect you

He asked for some water
So, I agreed to get him some
But something in the back of my mind
Kept on screaming out
"Something bad's about to happen
Can you feel the air?
It's so heavy it's about to break
Can't you sense the energy?"
Devin is the closest to me
So I ask him to keep the kid safe
I turn to everyone else and declare:
"If I come back and you put him back
I'm going to tear all of you apart."

As I retrieve a cup of water
I hear a scream break through the silence
I run back to see what happened
So much noise is going on at once
Devin's on the floor; someone has attacked him
A few coworkers has grappled the kid
They are trying to throw him out a six-story window
I tackle them, and with the help of another coworker
I'm able to get the kid away from those savages' grasps
I pick up Devin and stare at the attackers, and I growl
"You're the monsters on the other side!"

Us three flee the building
Devin is hunched over, bleeding from his abdomen
As he pulls out his phone and prepares to call a paramedic
But he turns to face me first and says;
"You gotta go into hiding, Landon
You know they're going to try to find that kid
Whatever you do, don't let them get to him
And, don't worry about me, I'll make it through. I always do."

So, the kid and I fled to the woods
Where a hidden lake resides
There's a small cottage I know that was abandoned
I would sometimes go here on secret vacations
But it's really small, it's only a few rooms
"How are we going to be safe here?" he asks
"I can handle nature," I reply. "I like to go outside all the time."
"But people will try to find us," he points out
"And if they do, I'll die protecting you
I won't let them hurt you if it's the last thing I do."
He looks up at me, trying not to cry
"Thank you, sir," his voice cracks as he replies
And I respond;
"I'll keep you safe from the monsters on every side."