The blue light engulfed me and pulled me down. Down. Down. Down to the spirit realm where only the spirits of the past Monster Protectors were allowed, and I would be joining them. I was both overwhelmed with excitement and a bit scared.

Would the Monster Protectors like me? Also, would I be dead and just a soul while I was in the realm? How would I return to the living?

Darkness soon surrounded me, and I examined my hands and feet. My clothes remained on me, and I was still in flesh. I guess that I was not a spirit, which was a relief for me.

Now what? Where were the spirits of the Monster Protectors? Did Spirita forget to tell me how to make them appear in front of me?

All of a sudden, the blackness was driven away by blue light, and souls popped up. Their skins were blue, and their hairs and clothes were dark blue. Some were talking with one another. Others were just walking. To where? There was nowhere to go.

"Um...hi?" I greeted questionably, desiring to get their attentions.

What they were doing came to a halt, and they turned their heads in my direction and were in shock. Was it because I was in flesh? Or did they know me?

A chill shot down my spine when I heard the voice. The same voice that had called for me, but instead of saying my first name, he asked with a serious tone who I was.

I slowly turned my body around and saw him. Saw the soul that wanted me. I uttered a squeal and managed to contain my excitement.

"You...are the first Monster Protector."

"Yes." He crossed his arms and stared hard at me as if his spiritual eyes were burning my soul. "A being of the living would never know that I am the first of the Monster Protectors unless..." He slowly uncrossed his arms and lowered his face to mine. "It is you. You are Margie Morgan."

"And you would be correct. I am the current Monster Protector."

"Huh." He straightened back up, and I became concerned.

"You do not believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you. It is just that I did not imagine you to be...you."

The first Monster Protector had short hair and a short beard and wore a coat, slacks, and shoes. As soon as he said what he said, I knew right away that I was dealing with a serious Monster Protector. My heart ached.

"What do you mean by that?" I challenged him. "What features do you think that I should have?"

He motioned for me to calm down and said, "I did not say that I do not like what you look like."

"You implied it."

"Margie, just because I said that I imagined you differently does not mean that I do not like you the way that you truly are. When you knew of me, did you imagine me?"

"Well, yeah. I did not know what you really...oh. I see what you are saying."

A welcoming smile spread across his face. "I imagined you to be taller, but you are perfect the way that you were made."

"Thank you, sir. May I know your name?"

"I am McKinley McCall. I am the Monster Protector who started this Monster Protector gig."

We shook hands. His hand was as cold as ice, but I did not care.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. McCall."

"Please. Call me McKinley. You are a Monster Protector."

"Okay, McKinley. I have so much to ask you."

"Good. I do hope that you have a lot. It honestly is boring in the spirit realm despite eternity."

McKinley and I walked around and talked about each other's lives. I asked him how he died, and he sadly confessed that he was killed by an evil monster. A bad monster was attacking the good ones, and he managed to save them, but at the cost of his life.

"I hope that you do not think less of me."

"Not at all, sir. What you did was brave."

McKinley introduced me to the other Monster Protectors, and they were happy to see who was representing their title. Most of them were males, and a few were females.

I asked McKinley and the rest of the Monster Protectors how they were chosen to be the Monster Protector, and they all stated the same thing. They preferred monsters over humans. Like me. And to put the icing on the cake, they added that their families and so-called "friends" did not like them because they were different.

Talk about discrimination on opinions.

"McKinley? Do you or the others regret being the Monster Protector?"

"Are you kidding, Margie? Absolutely not. We had an excuse to escape our toxic friends and families and received the chance to be close to good monsters. We would rather do those things than be people that we are not."

"I hear ya."

My stomach growled, and McKinley chuckled.

"Your body must be needing fuel. You should go back to your world because there is no food here."

I immediately shut down his suggestion. "I can stay a little longer. Besides, you have not yet explained exactly why you were saying my name."

"Ah, yes. The reason for that is because...we need your help."

"I knew it! You Monster Protectors need my assistance."

"Precisely. You see, we figured out a way to leave the spirit realm once and for all and return to your world in our bodies that are buried."

"Really?! Awesome! It would be cool to have a team of Monster Protectors."

"This is where you come in, Margie. Before our bodies were buried, our eyeballs were taken out."

I stuck out my tongue. "Ew."

"We need you to find our eyes and put them back where they belong."

"With your bodies?"

"Exactly. And I know where our eyes are hidden."