Schooling of a Monster
an excerpt

Fog rolled over the modest sized family home, all the lights burned bright on the lower floor. It all seemed so safe and normal. But in the darkness something moved and watched and waited. Inside a very average looking nuclear family sat down for dinner. Mother and father at the ends of the table, two older girls sat text messaging each other under the tablecloth, and a very young boy of about seven years sat on the edge of his seat quietly. Father asked mother about her day and they chatted back and forth about gas prices, and that horrible neighbor of theirs that had appeared with yet another cat the other day.

After supper the boy was put to bed, mom and dad sitting next to him and reading him a story. Right now they were reading Charlotte’s Web, it was the little boy’s favorite. But tonight he couldn’t enjoy it, he was uneasy and he didn’t know why. His mother seemed to notice that something was wrong, and rumpled his hair a little, “Micah sweetie, what’s the matter?”

Young Micah shrugged, “I don’t know mom. But something doesn’t feel right. I feel like something is outside, in the dark.”

His father grinned and leaned down to his level, kissing his forehead, “Honey, there’s nothing in the dark. Except maybe some of crazy old Ms. Brooks cats. Try not to worry and get some sleep.”

Micah shook his head in exasperation, “No dad, I’m telling you the truth. There is something out there in the bushes, it’s been there all night.”

Sighing, his mother took his hand, “Sweetie, did you see something outside in the bushes?”

“Well, no, but I can just feel it.”

His father patted him on the head, “Stop worrying so much. You’re perfectly safe here with us.”

Micah laid down in his bed, but couldn’t seem to sleep. He would doze for a few moments, then his gaze would be pulled back to the window. He was so sure that something was out there in the dark, but maybe mom and dad were right and it was his imagination. He closed his eyes and tried to forget his worries. As the time passed he dozed to that state just between waking and sleep, when the whole world seems fuzzy and unreal. In this haze he heard his mother scream.

Bolting from his bed, he ran from his room and down the hallway to his parents room. He only got halfway through the door before someone grabbed him around the waist and lifted him off the ground. He caught a glimpse of his father slumped on the floor, and someone standing over his mother, blood seeping into view on the white bed sheets. The person holding him grunted, “This one too?”

Another strange voice answered, “Yes, the boy too. We don’t need any witnesses.” Micah was frozen in fear as the man holding him grabbed his hair and yanked his head to the side. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, he screamed, then as the pain intensified, his world slid to black.