An Assortment of Brief Tales

Night Terrors Introduction

I hated the look he would give me from under the bed. His sharp teeth poking out off his twisted, dark grin as he prepared to daunt his victim. He knew he would succeed. 

The child lay quietly in her bed as she attempted to fall asleep. She knew too well what to expect. 

I looked back under the bed to see long, yellow claws reach out from underneath before retracting close to the floor leaving long scratches and a hair raising racket. The girl picked her head up slightly, trying to listen closer, when a shoe slid out from under the frame. Shaking with terror the girl sat up and leaned over the side of the bed where I saw a pair of glowing eyes disappear. Now it was my turn. 

I watched quietly from my position beneath the mattress. She knew the plan. I felt excited chills as the closet door cracked open. I could feel the girl shift above me, her gaze set upon the closet as her coat tipped out. 

The girl whimpered as she got out of bed and tiptoed to the closet door. She opened the door and peeked inside. I knew she would find nothing. It was part of our magic. Us. The monsters under the bed and in the closet.