Chapter 9: "Side Quest" - FULL SCALE (Monster Hunter Mitchell, Book 1)
Marcellis and Angie set out to locate and retrieve the rogue campers before Dave discovers their absence. They find more than they bargained for...
Marcellis wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. It was too damn early for it to be this damn hot, but at least he was better dressed this time: the denim jacket stayed back in the truck and a short sleeve black V-neck allowed his sizable arms a chance to breathe.
The problem was the sun wasn’t the only source of heat plaguing him. Even with his back to her, Marcellis could feel Angie’s stare. He thought he might say something—anything—to break the awkward silence, but he left well enough alone. He could imagine the thoughts that must have been running through her mind. He couldn’t blame her, though. It was entirely expected...
Lucille had that effect on people.
Marcellis clutched the axe as he led the way, opting to be up front in case something came their way that needed whacking. Angie, the area expert, hadn’t uttered much outside of the occasional direction or warning about the terrain, her infrequent words falling between stretches of dried flora crunching beneath their feet. They had been on their impromptu mission for the last twenty minutes, and though finding the kids and getting them back to camp safely was of the utmost concern, it annoyed Marcellis to no end to have to pull time away from his hunt to corral a bunch of thrill-seeking preteens. Why couldn’t kids just stay where they were supposed to? He thought back to himself as a child. Had he given his folks this much trouble?
Yes. Yes, he had. And then some. Let Mama tell it, he was a great kid, but he’d been a kid nonetheless—and they had a way of finding trouble before trouble could find them. Some, it seemed, couldn’t find enough.
Speaking of enough… “You got questions. Just ask them.”
“No, I’m good,” Angie spat. That situation lasted for only a few seconds before, “It’s just…when you said you were gonna get backup, I was assuming you were talking about a gun or something. I didn’t think you were gonna roll with something so…medieval.”
“Lucille’s been in my family for generations. She’s better than a gun any day.”
“Lucille? It has a name?”
“Yeah. You don’t give names to things that are special to you?”
“Well, yeah. My dog or my cat. Maybe my car. But an axe?”
“She’s much more than an axe.” Marcellis rapped his knuckles against her blade. “Trust me, this baby can do more than just cut.”
BZZZZZZZ! Angie pulled her phone from her back pocket. “Really? Like what?”
He glanced back. “Let’s hope you don’t find out—‘cause if you do, that means it’s life or death.”
“Tease.” She looked at her screen. “It’s Jason. He sent me the names of the kids who went AWOL.” She scanned. Froze. “Shit.”
Marcellis turned.
“Tyler’s one of them. He was friends with Barry.”
“The one your boss man sent home because he didn’t want his talk of monsters spreading through the camp.” He huffed. “They’re looking for the naga, too.”
“Marc, we gotta find them before—”
“AAAAAAAH!” The shriek—distinctly feminine—blasted from ahead. Angie shot past Marcellis. He gave chase.
Aided by their continued screams, they located the campers about a minute away—two girls and two boys, huddled at the edge of a cliff. Angie ran to them. “Hey! What happened?” She looked over the edge. “Holy shit!” Marcellis joined her—the kids scattering at the sight of Lucille.
A husky lad with shaggy chestnut hair clung to a jagged ledge…
A twelve-story fall threatened to grant him intimate knowledge of the afterlife.
Angie dropped to her chest and reached. “Jeremy! Grab my hand!” She stretched…
His grip was just beyond her reach.
“Help me!” the boy cried. “I don’t wanna die!”
Marcellis moved toward Angie—
A dull heat swelled within Lucille. He shot a glance at the trees behind them.
Nothing was out of place.
Marcellis didn’t buy it. The naga was there somewhere. The bastard was hiding.
Stalking.
He tightened his grip on the axe’s haft. Mama didn’t raise no fool, and Lucille never told no lies. He crept toward the tree line…
“Marc!”
The call snapped him back. He rushed to Angie.
The boy’s grip faltered. “Help!”
The axe was still warm, but he didn’t have a choice. “Here. Let me.” Marcellis gripped the underside of Lucille’s blade and kneeled as Angie moved aside. He had to work fast. The naga was still out there, and if Jeremy was holding on while the creature rushed them, Lucille would heat up exponentially…
He pushed the thought aside and extended the handle. “Grab on, little man, and whatever you do, hold tight.”
The boy shook his head. “I-I don’t know if I can.”
“Sure you can, man. You got this. Just take it with one hand, squeeze as hard as you can, then bring the other over. I’ll do the rest.”
Jeremy hesitated. Sweat spotted his brow. He drew a sharp breath and shot his hand out—
Seized the leather-bound handle. He abandoned his failing grip on the rock and, in a flash, both hands were latched on.
“Alright then,” Marcellis said, “hold on.” He stood and curled his arm as if lifting a weight; Lucille rose to the sky. He stepped back…
Jeremy dangled over solid ground. Eyes glued shut.
“You can let go now.”
Jeremy’s eyes popped open. “Oh.” He dropped four inches to safety. His friends smothered him.
Marcellis rolled his shoulder to stretch it out. Angie wandered over, mouth open.
“How…did you do that?”
He smirked. “Let’s just say I’m stronger than I look.”
She narrowed her eyes, then clocked him up and down. This wasn’t over, but there were more pressing concerns…
Like interrogating a bunch of children. “Alright,” she said, marching over to the chirping brood. “Someone wanna tell me what the hell happened? What were you guys doing running off from camp like that?”
The campers fell silent. They exchanged nervous glances.
Angie crossed her arms and threw her weight to one hip. “Tyler? You got something you wanna say?”
One of the kids, a sturdy boy with spiky brown hair, stepped forward. “I-it was my idea. We wanted the monster to leave us alone, so we came out here to…” He met the counselor’s eyes and quickly dropped his gaze. “But we got too close, and Jeremy—”
“Could have gotten seriously hurt, or worse. If we hadn’t been out here and heard your screams…” She took a moment to compose herself, then turned on the girls. “And you two. I know you know better than to wander off without saying anything to me. Because of this, I’m out here with y’all instead of being back at the camp with everybody.”
“I know, Eggs, and I’m sorry!” one of them, a small brunette, said. “We all are!”
The campers bobbled their heads on cue.
“You’re not gonna tell Turbo, are you?” Tyler’s eyes were so wide with concern, Marcellis detected the intricate mix of blue and green that made up his irises from several feet away. The other two boys wore the same expression. The third…wait a minute…
“Roger?” The boy snapped his head in Marcellis’s direction. “Is that you? Again? Boy, if you don’t sit your ass down somewhere…”
The camper he saved on the lake buried his eyes in the rock. One thing for sure, the kid had guts. They all did. Dumb as hell, but they had guts.
“Sorry, Tyler, you’re out of luck,” Angie said. “Turbo’s the one who clued me in. He’s running interference with Bossman now, trying to make sure he doesn’t find out, ‘cause if he does…”
“He’ll send us home like he did Barry.” Tyler turned to the others. “Sorry, guys.”
“Look, we’ll worry about that if it happens,” Angie said, herding the campers. “But for right now, the main thing is to get you kids back to—“
“Hold up.” All eyes turned to Marcellis. He pointed at Tyler with Lucille. “What did you come out here to do?”
The boy fidgeted. “Sir?”
“Look, my man, I don’t have time for games. This is serious.” Lucille had never cooled. Something was still afoot in the woods. “You said you wanted to stop the monster from attacking, so you came out here to do something. What was it? And where were you going?”
“Marc,” Angie said, “We found them. Let’s just get—“
“I got this—Eggs.”
Angie glared at him. She didn’t like it, but she held her tongue.
“So what’s up?” Marcellis closed the gap between himself and the kids; Tyler fixated on Lucille’s blade. “You gonna tell me what I need to know? Or are you gonna keep trying to play me like I’m stupid?”
The children huddled together. Angie tensed, going into protector mode.
“Go on, Tyler! Just tell him!” the brunette said.
“Shut up, Mandy!”
“That’s no way to talk to your sister, Tyler,” Angie said, keeping an eye on Marcellis.
He crept closer…
The kids once again traded looks. They bunched together.
Someone actually whimpered.
“Okay! Okay!” Tyler huffed and removed the green backpack he’d been wearing. He set it on the ground, unzipped it, then reached in. He came out with an object—off-white, oval-shaped—with a surface that resembled firm, yet pliable leather. He handled it with the greatest of care…
Marcellis’s face fell. “Tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“Me and Barry found it a couple of weeks ago when we were out exploring,” Tyler said. “I was cool just leaving it, but he wanted to take one as a souvenir. Right before Bossman sent him home, he said I could have it.”
“Wait…” Angie leaned in. “Is that—“
“An egg.” Marcellis raised Lucille to within an inch. She grew warmer, but never reached boiling. Of course not. The thing existed, but hadn’t hatched.
It wasn’t a threat—yet.
“Now we know why the naga is attacking.” He lowered the axe. “Makes sense. According to everything I could find on them, these things aren’t the type to seek out human interaction. Quite the opposite.” He surveyed their verdant surroundings. It was the perfect place to live and be left alone—if there wasn’t a summer camp full of noisy, nosy, rambunctious children around. “Who knows how long it’s been out here, doing its thing, minding its business…” He turned to Tyler. “…’til Indiana Jones and his buddy here came along and stole its property.”
Another round of bounced stares…
Jeremy raised his hand as if he were in class. “Indiana who?”
“Just give me the damn egg.”
Tyler glanced at his friends. He pulled away. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I can’t. I have to put it back. Me and Barry…we were the ones who messed up, but he’s not here anymore, so…I’m the one who has to fix it. If I don’t… I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
“I know, and that means you, too.” Marcellis held out his hand. “That’s why I’m going to take it back.”
Tyler brightened, the weight of the world rolling off like water from a duck. “Y-you will?”
Marcellis smiled.
Tyler returned the gesture, then handed over the egg. It had been seventeen years—and it was the wrong hand—but Marcellis tucked it like the footballs he used to carry to the end zone on Thursday nights before his high school career was cut short. It helped that the egg was comparable in size and texture, if not firmness.
“Marc, are you sure about this?”
“Yeah. I got this.” He hefted Lucille. “And I got this, too. Don’t worry, Ang—er, Eggs. I’ll be good.”
The counselor stared at him. Thinking. She finally nodded.
He turned to Tyler. “Now. Where am I going with this?” The boy pointed at the edge of the cliff. Marcellis looked over the expanse.
A cave—flanked by sagging, exasperated spruces—carved into the foot of a hill across the way. A pair of vultures circled for dramatic effect.
Marcellis glowered.
Of course.
What are your thoughts on this chapter—or the story as a whole? Leave your comments and feedback below!
K.J.’S KORNER (Notes and Commentary)
Chapter 10 drops January 26, 2026.
So… Go into the woods after some wannabe explorers and come up with the reason why the giant snake monster is attacking the camp. I’d say that’s a win. But now that Marcellis has the naga’s egg, what are the chances he can actually put it back without incident. I mean, it would be nice if he could—but where would the fun be in that?
Marcellis’s personality is becoming more and more refined as this rewrite goes on, and it’s making me love the character more. That means when I’m done, I should probably do another pass to make sure it shines through when opportunities arise. This whole process is giving me a better sense of where Marcellis stands and how he might match up against other heroes in the Darquelight Universe because, you know, there might be some crossover action coming in the future. Oh, why play coy—there absolutely will be crossovers coming! It’s a universe, after all!
THANK YOU FOR READING!
If you enjoy this story, please tell your friends, and feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, and questions below. You’re pretty much my unofficial beta readers as well, so if you spot something that needs fixing, or something just isn’t working for you, let me know. I don’t plan on posting chapters until I’m 100% satisfied with them, but that doesn’t mean I’ll catch everything.
Let’s see how big we can grow this thing. There’s so much more planned for the Darquelight Universe, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
- K.J. Knight
JOIN THE HUNT!
Keep up-to-date on the latest projects and happenings in the Darquelight Universe!
