No Way Out - Horror Shorts

Leather

It was a stormy morning in June. The trees were blowing in the strong gusts of window from the thunder storm, making scrapping noises against hus windows.
The thunder seemed to boom louder now than any other storm he had heard before. It frightened him to his core. The lightning struck every couple of seconds, lighting up the ominous sky.
On the tv, an old black and white cartoon played. Its characters bounced around animatedly, goofing around. On the sofa sat a small boy, no more than nine or ten. He giggled at the goofy characters.
It was no doubt past the child's bed time, as it was 3:30 am. He had feared that a monster lie under his bed early that evening, so he snuck out of his room to watch cartoons to help him relax.
But he had no clue he was being watched from afar.
In the bushes lurked a dark figure over six feet tall, but it was able to make itself look almost minuscule in tbe brush to hide from peering eyes. Its piercing black eyes strained through the branches to lock onto the young boy. It watched him through the window, waiting for any sudden movement.
The boy was unaware of the creature preying on him at this very moment. The only thing he cared about was his ice cream and the television. He watched intently until he heard the snap of a twig outside, which made him whip his head in the direction of the window. He peered out, straining to see.
The monster had made the fatal mistake of moving its foot just slightly to the left, crushing a small twig under its weight. It watched as the boy looked out the window. It thought it had been caught until the boy looked awake. A breathe of relief washed over it as it relaxed its body, moving its hand to the branch just above where it had been.
Crack!
The monster had grabbed too hard, cracking the branch right in half.
The boy now stood up, ice cream in hand. He was trembling. What on earth could make such a sound?
With a burst of courage, the thing stood up. It hung its head, glaring at the boy. It twitched its talons at its sides. Now the boy knew what had made the noise.
He tried to scream, but nothing could come out. He felt paralyzed.
The monster slowly inched its way toward the door, practically hovering over the ground. It unlocked the door with one of its talons and stepped inside the chilly room.
The boy was still paralyzed when the creature loomed above him. It stroked one of its talons along his face, creating a long, deep gash on his cheek. He could not scream from the pain.
Then the creature looked at the light switch, and the bulb of the lamps blew. Darkness shrouded them, casting an eerie blanket upon them.
The creature bent down so that it was eye to eye with boy. He could see now all the features of the thing.
Its sharp toothed grin, with black ooze glopping out. Its deep black eyes that seemed to pierced right through him. And its leathery skin that was taught against its frame. It was terrifying to look at.
"Hello, Tommy."