"Goodnight," the mother says. "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"
"Ew, mom. There's bugs in my bed?" The boy giggles.
She taps his small nose with her finger, tucks the the blanket under his chin. She flicks off the light and shuts the door.
The boy churns in his bed, onto his left side then his right. It's difficult to sleep when you feel like nobody has left the room.
"Mom? Are you still here?" The boy whispers into the dark air.
"No." A whisper back. "Don't call your mom again, please."
"Who are you?" The boy thinks he's fallen asleep and is already dreaming.
"Promise to stay quiet," a whisper again.
"I promise."
A hand grips the edge of the bed, another hand reaches over and rests over the boy's mouth. Someone's body drags along the wood floor as they come out from under the bed.
The person stands over the boy.
The room is complete darkness, there is no face on the shadow of a body.
"If you are very quiet, I'll let go of your face," the shadow whispers.
"Okay," the boy whispers back, he knows he's in an nightmare.
The shadow removes his large hand from the boy's face.
"I want you to come with me," the shadow whispers. He leans down very close to the boy's ear. The shadow's breath is hot against his temple.
"Why?"
"Because I'm losing some of myself, I need you," the shadow whispers. He holds out his hand to the boy.
The boy believes he's in a nightmare, because he doesn't want it to be real.
He takes the shadow's hand, because this is most defiantly a nightmare.
The shadow takes the sleepy boy through the window next to the bed.
It's a chilly night, the wind blows against their faces, the street light shines down on the shadow.
The shadow is a man with dark hair and light skin. He smiles at the boy. There are unnatural stains on his teeth.
"Where are we going?" The boy asks.
"I want you to be like me, boy. I want you to go where I am going in my head. I don't want to be the only one."
"I don't understand," the boy says, he looks back at his house.
They are standing on the sidewalk. Maybe someone will walk past and help the boy.
The boy is starting to realize that this isn't a nightmare.
"Give me your arm," the man whispers. He smiles in a friendly way, the boy almost smiles back.
"No, I want to go back to bed now." The boy pulls away from the man, but the man grips his hand. A wave of fear flows through the boy.
"I don't want to be alone!" The man yells.
Maybe someone on the block has heard his yell, the boy hopes. Maybe his parents will burst through the door to come save him.
"Let go of me! Let me go!" The boy yells, the man's finger nails are long, they pinch into the boy's wrist.
The man gets on his knees and looks into the boy's eyes. The man's eyes are red where they should be white. The man's teeth are stained with blood, the boy can see that now.
He can see that this man is about to hurt him.
The man holds up the boy's arm, he bites onto him, breaking his flesh. Blood drips onto the man's knees and onto the sidewalk.
The boy stands very still, he's in shock, he watches as his own blood covers the man's lips, chin, and teeth.
And then the boy screams. The pain worsens with every second.
Then the man stops biting the boy's arm, but he still grips the boy's wrist. He won't let him go. Because the man doesn't want to be alone as they loose themselves.
The boy stops screaming. He looks up at the man. He forgot that he's hurt, he forgot that he's sleepy, and he doesn't look towards his parents who run out of their house.
"Boy, you are not human anymore. You forgot how. And I forgot," the man says this loudly. The neighbors are watching from their doorways. Everyone heard the boy's scream.
The man and boy run down the road together; the parents chase. The parents of the boy yell for him. They scream at the blood on the sidewalk. They cry into each other's shoulders.
They won't see their boy as a human again.
