Turning the Monsters Loose - Judy Albietz

Lily and Sam sought shelter from the earthquake behind one of the outside walls of the village. When the ground around them stopped shaking, they heard a growing cracking sound behind them. Lily screamed as large hideous black four-legged creatures began to climb out of an opening in the ground. She and Sam continued to watch in shocked silence as more and more of these creatures poured out and swarmed into a group like a team huddle. They looked at least eight feet tall. They had human faces without any eyes. They had horns, tails and oversized incisors—dripping with slime. There were hundreds of them and they smelled even worse than Mort had—they smelled like vomit. They looked so much alike they could have been made with a monster cookie cutter. Then they formed a line, in rows of four and started a chant—in human voices—ancient battle cries—cries for blood—probably her blood. The monsters started moving faster and faster towards Sam as if to cut them off from the road to the Temple Portal.

“No risk in flying now,” Sam said and without another word, Lily was clinging to Sam’s back. Lily felt a warm protective shield folding around her as Sam launched into the air. Sam had pulled his legs in and now he assumed the shape of a small warplane. Looking down, Lily saw that the lookalike creatures were sniffing the air, pointing their noses right towards Sam. The air was filled with a swooshing sound, like wings unfurling.

“Who turned these monsters loose?” Lily asked Sam, with her head buried in his fur.

Sam said, “There’s a force operating here, a force which doesn’t want you to be returned to your world. We will fly directly into the entrance to the Temple Portal. If we can get there and seal the door in time, we will be safe.”