Hidden Monster

As I walk around the park, I see a little boy looking lost. I scan the area for his parents, but the area is completely secluded. I walk over to the little boy and crouch down, looking him in the eyes. "Hey there," I say. "How are you?"

The boy tilts his head and responds, "I'm fine. But," he adds, "Mommy is not."

A question makes itself apparent on my face. "What's wrong with your mommy? Have you lost her?" The boy shakes his head, and his deep brown eyes seem to glint. "I haven't lost her. She's right over there." He points off towards a heavily bushed copse of trees. His lip wobbles. "I think she's hurt."

My pulse quickens. "All right, dear, I'll go help your mommy, okay?" He bobbles his head. "And stay here; don't go anywhere. If anyone comes, yell for me, okay?" He bobbles his head again. I stand up and smile at him despite the ominous feeling pounding in my veins. "Oh, and what is your name?" I ask, just in case I will need it. "Rhyan," he supplies.

I smile again. "Okay, Rhyan. My name is Millie. If you need me, what do you do?"

"Call!" he explains. 

I nod seriously. "All right, Rhyan. I'll help your mommy now." As I start to stride into the bushes, Rhyan calls out, "Good luck, Millie!"

I smile to myself. "Thank you," I reply cheerfully, although fear and foreboding flutter my hands. Then I push past the branches that tear at me, wanting to hold me back, trying to prevent my gaze from falling on the chaos inside.

- ❋ -

When I first reach the copse's interior, I don't process what's in front of me. I can see perfectly fine--a young, pretty woman roughly ten years older than I, with light, long hair and glassy eyes. Blood splattered on her face, marring porcelain skin. Dotting her limbs. Soaking her abdomen and the ground around her. Clothes ripped, wounds gaping. Insides ripped out, half-eaten.

Whoever--whatever--killed this woman didn't do so mercifully.

And then, something shifting in the shadows, ready to make an entrance.

My brain warns me: Move, or that thing that killed Rhyan's mother will kill you, too. I respond instantly despite the shock thumping through my body, ducking into the bush. The thing in the shadows shifts again, as if looking for something or someone. Then, they slowly reveal themself, glinting green eyes blinking open. With light hair, pale skin, and a young age, the monster crouches down and sniffs at Rhyan's mother's corpse. Then it plunges its head into her abdomen and eats in large, numerous gulps, claws stuffing organs into sacks to save for later.

I feel bile rise in my throat. The shock at seeing a dead body is finally wearing off, and when I squeeze my eyes shut, the woman is still there. This can't be happening runs in my head all the while. But it is happening. I have to pull myself together before I lose control and reveal myself. But, before I can shatter into glass-sharp shards, the monster--the horrible, terrible, ineffable monster--lifts its head. Cocking it to the side, the monster hears something I can't because my breathing overtakes everything in my ears. 

Then, with a movement so swift and sudden it startles and shakes me badly, the monster runs away.

- ❋ -

I think the monster's gone for good. I step cautiously out of my hiding place, muscles groaning from the strain, and examine the woman, thinking of Rhyan and his future. But first, the woman, my brain urges me. The obvious dead body.

I kneel, careful not to get blood on me, and immediately call the police. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the phone operator asks briskly. No time to waste. I quickly describe my location and situation. "All right, Miss Wong, we'll get there as soon as we can. Just take care of the little boy and remain calm until we get there," her passive voice reassures me.

I express my gratitude as I hang up and nod to myself. Getting up when done, I call on the LORD to help the woman as her soul moves on. I remind myself of Rhyan and let my legs carry me in the direction of the little boy.