Horror 100 Volume 2

There Is No Such Thing As Monsters

A panicked scream echoed through the restfully silent house.

"Daddy!"

Eric's eyes popped open immediately; the night terrors had begun for Dillon. He was only five, and it was the first night Dillon had been in his room alone. He was certain that the funeral and the stress of the tragic events of the previous week had triggered the disturbing dreams. Eric had dealt with them before with his oldest son Daniel and, deep inside, he was already praying that Dillon would get through them a lot better than his late brother.

"Daddy come quick!"

The shrill of Dillon's desperate plea jerked Eric from his thoughts. He staggered from his bedroom into the hallway as the cobwebs of slumber were pulling on his equilibrium like tangled strings on a marionette. Eric flailed his tingling arm towards the light switch; the needles and pins sensation in his hand resulting from being trapped under his head-anchored pillow courtesy of his valium assisted sleep.

Light exploded into the room as Eric's circulation starved appendage found its mark. His eyes squinted in self defense from the flood of glowing tungsten as he miraculously made it through the minefield of Legos, action figures, and cars to the safety of Dillon's bed. He could see Dillon peering out from underneath his covers; his eyes wide and pupils dilated with horror.

Before Eric could ask, Dillon began his terrified interrogation of his father.

"Did you see it Daddy? Did you see it run under the bed?"

He honestly wasn't paying too much attention, but considering what Daniel went through, Eric thought it was better to open up a dialogue rather than dismiss Dillon it what could possibly seem very real to the boy.

"Not this time Dillon. I'm sorry buddy. You sure you weren't dreaming?"

Frustrated, Dillon pulled the covers away from his face completely. He was fighting back tears and staring at his father in disbelief. After all that had happened, how could his father not believe him?

"It was him again Daddy," Dillon said in a whisper, "the monster that sent Daniel to heaven to be with Mommy."

Eric reeled back as if being caught by haymaker in a prize fight. Every miserable memory he had tried to bury came rushing back on him like a storm surge in a hurricane. The laundry list of emotionally scarring, soul wrenching milestones over the last 15 years began ripping away at the still gaping wounds. He had to swallow it back. He didn't have the time to deal with his own demons now. His son needed him. Eric gathered himself quickly and decided to let Dillon vent a little bit even if it seemed like he was emulating his brother's nightmares. Maybe this was his way of keeping Daniel's memory alive. Maybe it was his way of dealing with his brother's death. Either way, Eric played along.

"Remember, we talked about being a big boy. We talked about monsters. We talked about what happened to Daniel---", Eric was cut short by Dillon.

"Daniel protected me from the monster, Daddy. He tried to tell you and hundred times. You made him see doctors---"

"Dillon! Enough!" Eric snapped. Dillon wasn't fazed.

"---and they gave him the pills that made him not see the monster anymore. He couldn't see it and it got him, Daddy."

Eric was on the brink. He really didn't know what to say or if there was anything he could say. Dillon's summary, while lacking detail, was completely accurate, with the minor exclusion of the monster. That part was easily dismissible as child's personification of death and wild imagination.

Nonetheless, déjà vu began to smother Eric. He sat on the very same bed; on the very same spot the night Dillon was born. The night he tried to explain to 10 year old Daniel that his mother had died giving birth to his baby brother; it too spiraled into a debate about monsters.