The Boogeyman's First Romantic Victim

The Boogeyman, or also called the Monster Under the Bed.

Whatever you call him, he is a fable that scares little kids. Or is he real? Depends who you ask, or what you see.

A little hand tugged at my covers. I groaned in protest as my brother woke me from my sleep. "Holly! Holly, the Boogeyman was there, I swear it! Please, can I please sleep with you tonight?" My younger sibling, Timothy, cried.

I opened my eyes. The light from the hallway reflected off of the tears rolling down his chubby cheeks. I would have wiped them away if my body didn't feel heavy with sleep.

In one hand, he held my covers, in the other, he gripped his ever present bear named Doug. Timothy nervously looked at my floor.

"Ugh... Tim, I was sleeping. The Boogeyman is not real." His face scrunched up in frustration. "He is! I saw him! You're the scariest one in the family, let me sleep with you! The Boogeyman wouldn't dare come in here." He begged sincerely. I was too exhausted to roll my eyes.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but why don't you sleep with someone else? Like KJ? You know, your twin." I yawned.

Doug the bear ended up in a choke hold so that Timothy's little fists could be tightly balled against my comforter. He pushed against the mattress in desperation. "KJ has a small bed and he kicks in his sleep." He whined.

"Mom and Dad?" I tried again.

He laid his chin on the edge of my bed to look extra cute. "I don't want to bother Mommy because she seemed extra tired today." He sniffed. He was always the kind and sensitive twin that made my heart melt.

A breath escaped from my lips. I sat up and stretched. "I have to get up real early for school, so how about I just check your bed for you? Make sure the Boogeyman is gone?" I offered.

He paused to mull over my compromise. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. That might work." He agreed. His soft little eyelashes blinked away his alligator tears.

"Alright. Let's go." I walked to his and KJ's room. His bare little feet padded against the tile floor.

I patted his bed. "Hop in your bed, Tim. I'll check it out down here." I whispered, careful not to wake the other twin snoring softly across the room. 

He placed Doug the bear into the bed first before he climbed in. His angelic little face leaned over the edge of the bed to watch me. I kneeled on the ground. "Let's see..." I muttered as I looked under his bed.

A bunch of junk, which I assumed to be toys, was scattered under there. I squinted my eyes so they could adjust to the absence of light. They were toys, but he had a huge black frisbee in the middle of the clutter. I blinked a few times. "Wait, what?" I muttered before heading deeper under the bed.

"Holly!" Timothy called. I army-crawled until I reached the 'frisbee'. I placed my hand on it. The cold surface allowed my hand to pass through. It was a hole. Soon, I felt a yank. I gasped as I was pulled into the hole.

"Holly!" Timothy cried again, but I had already fallen. It was pure darkness, until my body thudded against a flat surface. Right when my body hit the ground, a dim light switched on.

With a moan, I sat up to assess my situation. It was a place I've never seen before. Huge stuffed animals with sharpened teeth and no eyes acted as walls. Shadows from the low light were thrown across the animals, making them look even more terrifying.

The floor and ceiling was a ginormous, taunt patchwork quilt with stains, tears, and loose stitching. I got up, rubbed my sore butt, and started walking on the patchwork road. It looked like a huge, never ending corridor.