Monsters At The Gate (CHAPTER 3) (Patreon)

Monsters At The Gate

CHAPTER 3:

"Vacation, Monsters and a Swamp...and Noruh"

No doubt the plane was quite luxurious, just as her boss had said, a first class trip might be worth it to go to any swamp. Kat was almost the only one inside the luxurious lounge, except for two millionaire businessmen discussing typical millionaire topics, and a few other eccentric people, although she kept her eyes on the huge view of the plane and occasionally on her drink which had been carefully prepared.

"This is the life, no more fiddling with cursed objects, fighting genocidal monsters and putting up with that old chattering shadow"- Kat relaxes leaning back a little more in her comfortable seat while making some comments which she is thankful that no one is listening to her, "who knows, maybe it will take me a while to locate Noruh, meanwhile, enjoy the sun and the sea!!!".

In her little celebration, Kat notices on the TVs a news which breaks her happiness, the huge chaos and destruction that Mistyk left behind after they left the agency.

On the TV, a reporter reports the events that occurred, but omitting the most important detail, Mistyk.

("Attempts to rescue some survivors have not yielded much fruit, this sudden hurricane has left several victims in its path and also enormous structural damage").

The image of destruction left by the "hurricane" is really considerable, but the fact of not naming the monster responsible for such destruction, is just a sign of how isolated KILLPOP is from the ordinary world. Or maybe it's better to keep the true face of the world's most cursed city a secret.

"well, some things are better hidden..."- Kat tries not to watch the images on TV and just tries to remain indifferent to the fact, but even so, an expression of pity for the facts invades her mind. 

(I really couldn't do anything, you must understand, I'm just an heirloom custodian!).

"THERE IS NO PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A QUIET VACATION!!!???"- Kat screams in anger as she feels that her "vacation" was ruined by the catastrophic news about Mistyk's incident.

The few passengers in the vip section and also the stewardesses look with surprise and confusion at Kat for the scream she has given.

"I'm sorry"- Kat tries to hide her face from embarrassment and goes back to her drink to disguise what happened.

The plane finally arrives at its destination, a paradisiacal place far away from the city and also from the worries of the catastrophe that happened a day ago.

"WAAAUUUUHHH!!!, THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT"- already at the airport terminal, Kat screams with excitement at the warm weather, the luxurious buildings, resorts, boulevards, clothing and accessory stores, but mainly, the huge paradisiacal beach.

"Yes, I'm not going to waste this stay"- Kat wastes no time and arrives at the luxurious and very accommodating hotel that her boss Ras arranged for her lodging. A huge room all to herself, furniture and amenities of all kinds, room service, access to the pool, a huge comfortable bed and a great view of the entire beach that is part of the city, "since I just arrived, let's go to the beach first!".

In the blink of an eye, Kat finds herself inside the beach wearing a traditional Black swimsuit with small White details, a Pareo with colored flower style matching her bikini, and finally a straw hat.

The surf was perfect and many people had had the same idea, to sunbathe and go for a swim in the crystal clear waters of the island city, MAREDEVINA.

"How wonderful, no single call, I think it will be quite calm the day, maybe I should go surfing, although I have no idea how to do it, or maybe go show off"- Kat observes some guys who have not been able to take their eyes off her, which was not surprising, Kat really is quite a beauty, even more so in her swimsuit, "yes, it will be good to go looking for a summer love".

Kat lets her mind fly, a typical retro movie image and scene of a woman running gleefully on the beach while being accompanied by her beloved. Leaving a provocatively comical smile on Kat's face.

"But first, a mango juice!"- Kat jumps up and notices nearby a large hut that also happens to be a famous restaurant on the beach, refreshments and food for everyone, not taking her eyes off the beautiful beach.

Kat stands in line to get a mango juice and then go have some fun in the water. But as she stands in that little line, a very familiar image flashes across her eyes, a figure she is quick to identify.

"here's your juice, sorry for the delay and enjoy"- a woman with messy, short black hair covering one of her turquoise green eyes. Brown skin quite thin and without any imperfection, only for a small tribal paint detail of three small white dots under one of her eyes. Finally, her clothing, a small black blouse which covers her well-shaped chest, which was more pronounced and larger than Kat's, and long and wide pants which are of military attire due to their gray spots of different shades. That woman was well known to Kat.

"NORUH!!!????"- Kat can barely stifle a cry of surprise to find so quickly her former co-worker and hunter by profession, and a beauty of an exotic goddess, regent of an island without a doubt.

"Shit, no, it's still too early!"- avoiding being seen by her former colleague, Kat moves among the bathers and thus hides her presence, but also, having no choice but to leave the beach and say goodbye to her day in paradise. "Damn it, I'll find somewhere else to go and relax!".

After they have thwarted their day at sea, Kat now seeks to have fun in a clothing store located within the tourist streets and shopping malls. Several luxurious and very high quality garments fall into Kat's hands and also happen to be displayed on her slender figure.

"Yes, this certainly fits me, maybe it will help me catch a good man!"- Kat poses suggestively in a red one-piece dress which looks like it was designed for a Hollywood gala, as well as having next to her, some bags of newly purchased clothes, even though none of it was purchased with her own money.

(just a few days before traveling to the island of MAREDEVINA, her boss Ras not only got her a front row ticket and a stay in a luxurious hotel, he also gave her one of his credit cards.

"make sure you buy everything you need for this mission, Miss Katherine.")

It may not have been the smartest move for a business tycoon like Ras, as Kat didn't seem interested in measuring her expenses.

"this job could kill me at any moment, so let's enjoy life as much as possible!"- as she starts looking for more clothes, this time in the coat area, again a shivering sensation runs through her body. Jumping up to hide in one of the counters, Kat again looks at the woman who combined the beauty of the wild and the exotic.

Noruh is trying on clothes in the pants area, a place very close to her.

"WHY THE FUCK IS HE HERE NOW?"- Kat growls while biting the fitting room curtain, "IS HE FOLLOWING ME, NO, I'm just having bad luck now, I'll have to go find another place to take advantage of the vacation, because, if Noruh finds me...".

(An image of Kat in a dirty swamp while Noruh fights some crocodiles, invades his mind along with the fear of moving away from all his comforts).

As she watches in her mind's eye the horrible image, Kat hadn't noticed an important detail inside the fitting room where she was hiding from Noruh.

"are you lost, brat"- a tall, somewhat stout woman begins to crack her knuckles with the intention of giving Kat a beating.

"uh..."- Kat just looks up in fear as she realizes someone else was in the fitting room.

After sneaking out of the store and also with a somewhat swollen face from the beating she received, Kat drags her shopping bags to go find another place to try to hide from Noruh, who to her strange luck still didn't seem to have seen her.

Her new stop is a more relaxed place. A simple coffee shop.

The waiter approaches the dejected woman with orange hair and bruised face, without saying any comment to point out the appearance of his customer, the young waiter approaches to take her order.

"uh, would you like to order, miss?"- says the waiter in a somewhat nervous voice and without paying much attention to Kat's face.

"Irish coffee, please"- Kat doesn't take her gaze away with a dejected expression. "I need to get all this down..."

The waiter walks away quickly, but a voice stops him, a soft voice of an adult woman, a voice Kat recognizes perfectly.

"could you bring me the same as her, please"- Noruh finds herself sitting right behind Kat, but both in opposite positions, their backs to each other.

Realizing this, Kat simply sighs pessimistically and gets up to go take a seat where Noruh is sitting.

"Kat!!!, but what a beautiful surprise, I didn't know you were on the island, why didn't you come looking for me earlier?"- Noruh is very happy and excited to see Kat, but, on the contrary, Kat is annoyed, as if she was a volcano about to explode.

"STOP PLAYING THE IDIOT!!!, YOU FOLLOWED ME ALL OVER THE FUCKING ISLAND!!!"- Kat scolds Noruh who doesn't take his warm and kind expression off his face, regardless of Kat's complaints.

"I can assure you I don't know what you're talking about"- Noruh smiles a comical smile, but also, a smile that betrays the opposite, "it's the first time I've seen you here, it's been a long time Katherine, just look how you've grown!!!, let me hug you!".

Noruh takes Kat by the waist and lifts her up to bring her closer to his body, in a scene which seems reminiscent of two sisters who haven't seen each other for a long time, but also a gesture even maternal. Regardless of the other patrons of the coffee shop watching, Noruh begins to shake Kat in the air, who seems to be about to vomit from the strong grip of her wild friend.

"I'm going to throw up, Noruh, please stop!"- Kat is shaken from side to side by Noruh, as if she were a child who won a teddy bear. 

(God, you're so strong, even though you have a slim figure, you're stronger than a gorilla).

"oh excuse me, it's been so long, we should celebrate!"- Noruh finally lowers Kat who could barely close her mouth so as not to show all the diners in the cafeteria, that she had eaten breakfast. "oh come on, don't hold on so tight."

Kat rests on the table trying to catch her breath, just then the order for both of them had arrived, two Irish coffees, and that alone was enough to start the conversation.

"very good, now tell me, what brings you to MAREDEVINA"- Noruh takes a sip of her coffee while Kat still shows an expression of discouragement and sadness for having her "vacation" ruined. "come on, show more cheer by seeing your dear friend!".

"I'll be honest, I don't want to hurt you, but I was planning to start looking for you in 1 or 2 days, I wanted to rest and enjoy the beach after everything that has happened, sorry Noruh"- Kat smiles shyly as she tells her original plan to Noruh, but Noruh doesn't take it badly and even understands her.

"I can't judge you, this place is beautiful to rest and disconnect from all the troubles in the world, especially the one happening now at KILLPOP, don't you think?"- Noruh plays with her hair and doesn't take her kind smile away from Kat.

"oh, so you heard about it" - Kat answers with some surprise, but the news of the cataclysm in KILLPOP must have also reached MAREDEVINA, therefore, the monster hunter too, "well, anyway, Mr. Ras sent me here to ask you to come back to the agency, he is willing to raise your salary if you help us to take down an exhibitionist monster that right now must be in "I'm going to kill them all" mode.

"so no one can, I thought the fighting and magic classes I had given you would help you deal with this kind of thing"- Noruh didn't seem to take much notice of his former boss's offer and neither did the monster that almost killed them all, only scolding Kat for not being able to take care of the matter.

"I'M NOT A HUNTER, I JUST ACCEPTED THE DARK RELIQUIZE COLLECTOR JOB!!!, I wasn't going to take on that lunatic, that should be you or Eddy's job, why ask me to do those jobs, I'm just a failed mage and besides, I've never killed anyone, let alone those monsters!"- Kat gets angry and also cries because of Noruh's comment.

At this, Noruh wraps her arms around Kat again to hug and comfort her somehow, and even with a motherly instinct, "Ya easy, easy, I'm just playing, of course you shouldn't do that kind of work, besides, Ras didn't hire you for that."

"then, will you come back?"- Kat asks the question in her barely audible voice as her face is trapped between Noruh's breasts.

"No"- Noruh responds quickly, only with a negative.

"Perfect, then before we go back we can stay just a little longer here, right, I want to surf, eat lots of cakes and try one of those fruit milkshakes you sell at your beach hut!"- Kat sings victory prematurely, but falls back to reality when her brain "rewinds" what Noruh has answered, "huh, wait, you said 'no', But why!?".

Noruh rests his arm on the table as his hand holds his thin face.

"My Children, I have left them for a long time here, 5 years to be exact, and I don't plan to leave them alone again"- Noruh smiles, but in her eyes a certain sadness is expressed, "tell Ras that I appreciate the offer, and I am also very sorry for what happened in KILLPOP, but my life is in MAREDEVINA and in the Swamp"- Noruh ends up rejecting the generous offer to return as a monster hunter.

"uh, I understand, you were always going on about them at the agency"- hearing Noruh's answer and reasons for not moving away from home, she decides not to insist and respect her friend's decision, "then I guess I just came here to waste my time and without being able to enjoy the island much, how sad".

"nothing like that!"- Noruh gives a little smack on the forehead to Kat who was already thinking about packing her bags and going back to give her boss a bad news, but the jungle woman has other plans, "since you are here, come stay at my place!!!, let's go to VILLA SWAMP!".

"What!!!, I don't want to go to a wet, stinky swamp, sorry, I'll pass!"- Kat protests with a nervous and shy expression on her face, doing her best to decline her friend's offer.

"wet? stinky? my home you mean, none of that, COME ON!"- Noruh grabs Kat from her waist and carries her away on his shoulders while the orange-haired girl protests and cries.

"no, wait Noruh, there are snakes, crocodiles, worms, and killer leeches, I want to stay in my luxury hotel!"- Kat screams for help, but in the cafeteria all the customers watch the weird scene between the two women who leave.

"wait till you meet my family and especially my children, you're going to love them!"- Noruh runs with Kat on his shoulders as he goes on and on about his home, "and just wait till you see the luminous lake at night, get ready to enter a real paradise honey!!!".

"HELPAAAA!!!!!".

Leaving all the comforts and luxuries of the island behind. Noruh and Kat enter the center of MAREDEVINA, a huge tree-covered entrance which leads to the mysterious swamp, Noruh's home. SWAMP VILLA.