The Red-Faced Monkey Part 1

A/N: The great Donna Fox has challenged us writers to continue her 'never-ending story' here on Vocal! I accept your challenge, Donna! Here is a branch for the story to travel down - The Red-Faced Monkey Part 1!

The first part/prompt is here:

“The monks who lived at this temple worshipped a great forest spirit named Dan Xia Da Sheng, who could take the form of a red-faced monkey.” Mr Sage’s voice drawled on at a snail’s pace.

I looked up at one of the carvings on the temple’s wall. It showed a monkey leaping from tree to tree using what looked like a hook attached to a rope.

“Oh my monkey god!” I heard a dramatic stage whisper next to me. “This is absolutely, stunningly, incomprehensibly boring!”

“Stop it, Jacob! I, unlike you, am trying to learn! Need I remind you I intend to be…”

“A deep-sea diver? No, wait! A firefighter? No, that wasn’t it… ah, what was it?”

“Very funny.” I deadpanned.

“Right, an architect extraordinaire! You know, I hear they are the new rockstars – just look at Mr Sage!”

Jacob gestured to our chaperone and guide for the day. He had a gaunt face and a long grey beard. He dressed in a strange green tunic and sandals, something that the giggling group of popular girls found great humor in.

Suddenly, Mr Sage sprung to life, fixing his eyes on Jacob and me with fury.

“JACOB! ELLIE! THIS IS IMPORTANT!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the temple hallways.

I felt my cheeks heat up, as every face in the group turned to face us. I hated being chastised.

Mr. Sage took us deeper into the temple, becoming more irate as he did so.

“Dan Xia Da Sheng had two traitorous brothers! They tried to steal the Lin Shui Palace from him. They snuck into his room and tried to strangle him with rope in the night. The red-faced monkey was ready for his brothers’ attack. He grabbed the rope they had intended to take his life with, tied it to a curved metal candle candleholder, and used it to fly from tree to tree, away from his brothers.

“You know, I have never seen him so fired up,” Jacob whispered to me.

“Shuddup and take notes,” I said nervously.

“Though, Dan Xia Da Sheng always vowed to return to his home at Lin Shui Palace, and claim it as his own. He claimed he would train for 500 years in the fires of hell to face his kin again…”

“Um, Sir?” one of the girls at the front of the group raised her hand, “Shouldn’t we be getting back to the bus now? We only have five minutes until…”

“SILENCE!” He bellowed again. “Can you not see how important this is?”

Our blank faces stared back at him. He sighed in defeat.

“Of course, you don’t. Ugh, tomorrow marks exactly 500 years since the monkey kings promise to return.” He stated plainly, looking at us in frustration. “Tomorrow, we are going to…”

There was silence.

“The Lin Shui Palace! We are going to the Lin Shui Palace, did no one read the schedule?”

“But Sir, it is just a folk tale.”

Mr. Sage looked as if he may implode. He took a deep breath before stepping through the crowd to lead the group back.

“Just a folk tale indeed. Lunchtime everyone!”

I was rapidly wolfing down my tuna sandwich in the little lunchtime we had left when I heard Jacob talking with some of the giggly popular girls.

“He is nuts!”

“Mad!”

“He was just trying to set some atmosphere, right?”

“Anything to make some boring old temple seem interesting!”

“I found it interesting,” I said defensively, crumbs flying from my mouth. I cringed and swallowed.

“Ugh yeah Ellie, you would,” one of the girls said meanly.

“Hey, back off, Casey! She’s gonna rule the world someday!” Jacob defended me playfully.

“She probably believed all that about the monkey man returning to take vengeance on his brothers’ next week!” they all laughed, high-pitched and annoying.

“Actually, he was a monkey god, named Dan Xia Da Sheng and he’s taking vengeance tomorrow.” I deadpanned, trying not to sound like too much of a know-it-all.

“What a know-it-all!”

‘Dammit’

We all traveled to a hostel to stay the night. I could not sleep. Something about the stories Mr. Sage had been telling in that temple was keeping me awake. I pulled out my phone to text Jacob.

=ELLS_BELLS= Hey you awake?

=MR_J= Always am, sleep is for the weeeeaaaak! What’s up?

=ELLS_BELLS= I can’t get that damned monkey god out of my head! Something about the story, or how agitated Mr. Sage was when telling it. He's always been so quiet and frail until now...

=MR_J= You paranoid btch

=ELLS_BELLS= I’m scared Jacob.

=MR_J= Hey, hey, it will be okay. I will be there whatever happens.

=ELSS_BELLS= Even if a primate deity tries to kill me?

=Mr_J= Even then.

=MR_J= But it won’t.

=ELLS_BELLS= I will hold you to it. Thanks, Jake, goodnight.

=MR_J= G’night, see you tomorrow!

A/N: Here is where I must challenge you to continue this branch of the story! I will list the continuations here:

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