Chapter One
There was a monster under Eli's bed. He could hear it breathing at night. Slowly, it would inhale and then, moments later, let out a gust of foul breath that encompassed the boy like smog. The creature was big. He could tell by how his bed shook on stormy nights and roared at the flash of thunder. As Eli sat, cross-legged, at the very center of his bed, he knew it was only a matter of time before it got out. At night he dreamed of scaly green claws and purple tentacles breaking their way through the wall of stuffed animal warriors that protected the boundary.
Thunder shook the house as rain pelted the window and Eli felt his bed shiver. The monster roared as a bolt of lightning blinded him.
"Mommy!"
A door across the hall opened and there was a hurried pitter-patter on the floor. A little woman with blonde hair peeked into the room. "Are you okay, Eli?"
Eli glanced around furtively before whispering, "the monster is angry."
The panic fled from his mother's eyes and tired concern took it's place. She came to the side of his bed and sat at the edge.
"No," Eli admonished. "He'll drag you in by your feet!"
With a defeated sigh, the small woman brought her feet up. "Eli," she cupped his smooth, plump cheeks in her palms. "There is no monster under the bed. It's just your imagination. Do you realize that? Do you want me to check under the bed?"
Eli grabbed her hand as she went to dip down. "No! No, it's okay," he assured her in a small voice. He was afraid that if she got too close, the monster would be able to drag her down.
His mother kissed his forehead before bringing him in for a long embrace. Eli felt her short hair tickle his ears and with a giggle, his fears were dispelled. His mother, although small, was the greatest warrior in his army. Eli cringed as she stepped off the bed, her dainty feet too close to the dark shadows for his liking. She tripped. Something had grabbed her foot.
Eli gasped in fear, "mommy!"
"You need to clean your room, honey," she whispered calmly, lifting up a stuffed white horse by a furry leg. It had a mustard stain on its left flank. "The mess in this room is going to kill me one day." She left the door open behind her as she departed.
The rain suddenly stopped pounding the window and the creature ceased it's fussing. Eli could imagine it curling up to sleep, plumes of smoke rising from its giant nostrils, breathing in and out, in and out. In between an inhale and an exhale, Eli was fast asleep.
★★★★
The Monday morning sun rose meekly, hiding its face behind a veil of thin, silver clouds.
"Eli," his mother's voice floated through the hallway, "it's time to get dressed for school!"
Somehow, he managed to tear himself from the soft embrace of his bed. He gathered himself on top of his mattress, bunching up his little legs and leaping a safe distance across the room. As he dressed, the stuffed animal warriors watched him vigilantly, sitting stock-still at their posts around the bed, holding back the monsters with their bare backs. The toys were bunched up so thickly that not an inch of the darkness under the bed could be glimpsed. Without a backwards glance, Eli raced from the room. The monster under the bed heard the rumbling of a car on the driveway and the whine of the brakes. Then it was alone.
Eli's mother came back home alone. She threw down her keys and brought out a vacuum cleaner. Eli's room was first. A sigh escaped her lips as she eyed the two-dozen stuffed animals assorted around the bed. She could only imagine how much dust they were collecting. She didn't see an army, only a mess, and she set about cleaning it up.
One by one, the stuffed animals were ripped from their posts and placed on the shelves until there was only one left. She could see it's brown, cloth bear head peeking out from under the bed. She tried to pull it out with her foot, but found that when she tried to bring it back out, it was stuck. Her face contorted into a look of confusion. Gathering all of her strength, she pulled at her leg. And something pulled back.
"Aaahhhh," she shrieked and landed hard on her back. She pushed and kicked, but slowly she was pulled closer and closer to the bed until her knee had disappeared. Then, with a single quick tug, her head disappeared under the bed.
