Closets
by Timothy Carter
EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
It was on a dark Thursday evening that Robbie made two important
discoveries. He made them at the same time, after the monster
had gone. His mother had kissed him and wished him goodnight.
Five seconds after she left, a monster appeared in his room.
It came from the closet - they always came from the closet
- and it growled a hungry growl.
Robbie screamed and dove under the covers. He'd only caught
a glimpse, and his room was dark, but he had an image of the
creature that would haunt his nightmares forever. He'd seen
a beak lined with teeth. He'd seen arms, long and thin - good
for reaching and grabbing - with hands that sported jagged
claws. He saw a long body, ending in a tail that whipped in
the air behind it.
It charged. Robbie heard the pounding of its feet, felt the
vibrations through the bed. Then he felt something grab at
his leg. He screamed again, realizing the monster was biting
him. He felt the mouth snap at his leg, his thigh, his bottom;
heard it grunt in frustration. Robbie screamed and screamed.
And then, his bedroom light snapped on. The biting stopped
instantly, and Robbie heard footsteps coming toward him.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" his mother asked, peeling
back the sheets.
"Monster!" Robbie shouted. "There was a monster
in my room!"
Robbie's mother gave him a smile, a smile Robbie knew only
too well.
"I'm sure there was no monster," she said.
"It's true! I saw it! It bit me! On the leg!"
"Well, let's take a look," she said, pulling the
sheets back some more. She felt along his leg, then gave him
that smile again. "I don't see any tooth marks,"
she said. "Robert, monsters aren't real. They're make-believe."
"But it was real!" Robbie said. "It tried
to eat me."
"If a monster tried to eat you," his mother said,
"then why aren't there any tooth marks in your blankets?"
And that was when Robbie made his two discoveries. One: adults
don't believe in monsters. And two: monsters can't bite through
blankets.
Back
to Order Page
writing
writers software |
