Since a car was what the muse helped him draw as a baby, then a car was what it would create. The muse touched down in a clearing and took a wide stance. Holding its arms out, it pulled them up from the ground. The fog swelled, and the muse gave it a boxy shape, adding fenders and then large tires for doing flips and cool tricks. Naturally, it needed a half dozen long, large exhaust pipes and flames on the side. Other muses stopped crafting and flew over. They gathered alongside the animals of the forest to watch as color painted the car. It was a sign the muse had the human’s attention.
The muse proudly crafted a row of spikes along the center of the car. A cloud rolled in and covered up the joyful sun. The human could have had a recent tragedy in his life. The muse had just arrived. It didn’t have a chance to get to know the human’s history. It looked up to see the cloud. Its youthful reflexes helped it dash away before it knew what was going on.
A massive black creature slammed into the car, turning it into a puff of smoke. The beast resembled a panther with a lizard’s head and the wings of a hawk. Its head was as large as the muse. Long, prickly hair standing on end, the creature snarled.
That was when the muse realized it was alone. The other animals and muses had scattered into the brush. Perhaps it did not know the human’s life, but it had gotten the lay of the land. There was no larger muse there to deal with the threat.
The hungry beast snarled and licked its lips. It had already grown large and fat with a taste for muses, which meant it was creative. If it wasn’t stopped, it would eat up the whole forest until the human was driven by its appetite.
Dangerous ideas prey on a human’s connection to their past as much as they can. When a human remembers who they are, they can see through the lies of a dangerous idea. After the forest had come to life, the monster had been attracted to the muse. Now, the muse found itself lying on the ground, staring down this hungry beast without a weapon or a shield.
The muse was quick to its feet and circled the clearing opposite the beast. It held an arm out toward the idea to see what it was. In its mind, the muse saw one of the human’s memories of its uncle from a few years before.
Kneeling to meet the young human’s eyes, his uncle said, “You can do whatever you want in life as long as you don’t get caught.”
No! That was so wrong.
The human had been living with this monster rampaging through its mind for years. The damage it caused led to moments like this. Instead of being inspired, the human was tempted to steal something. Dangerous ideas start small but snowball as they feed. This one was at a tipping point. If it was to be stopped, it needed to be soon.
Fists clenched in resolve, a gust of wind rushed from the muse and swept through the forest. The plants swayed with the wind, then some glowed. Specks of light broke away and drifted from them, calling the muse to use them in its fight.