Short Stories

Knew Too Much

It was so, so dark. I was alone in my room, in the inky blackness, illuminated only by the weak light of my nightlight. I gripped the sheets in my undone bed so tightly that my knuckles turned white. A lone year streaked down my cheek, leaving a wet mark.

Fear coursed through my veins, but I also felt a deep tiredness. It had been happening for years now, every night. They came for me. But something deep inside me told me tonight would be my last.

The faint light of the nightlight slowly sputtered off, and I steeled myself for the very worst.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed, but I had a feeling that nobody had heard. Breathing heavily, I took it in. I was all but a few feet away, crawling up the side of my bed, clawing at my sheets.  It was severely disfigured, with holes where eyes should have been, slime sliding of its skin, if you could call it skin. I sneezed my eyes shut. Every time, they sent something new and more terrifying , but this, this was horrible.

I opened my eyes a fraction, heart beating wildly. Again was another one in front of me, this time a disembodied doll, it's mannequin-like jaw hanging only by a hinge. It's limbs were twisted in odd directions, a grotesque face painted on.

I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. I closed my eyes once more, and screamed, a shrill sound vibrating in the room.

"Come."

In my craze, I hadn't heard any footsteps going up to my room. I opened my eyes, immediately regretting it. But instead of another monster, I saw a man.

He had a timeless feel about him, though he looked about twenty. But his eyes, they'd seen too much.

"Come. You have to run. Run now. Come with me." His voice was kind.

I slowly creeped off my bed, taking his outstretched hand.

"It's not okay. I won't lie to you. Monsters are real. It's easier to be oblivious, eh? But not necessarily better."

It's easier to be oblivious. But not better, never better.

So we ran, a timeless man and a little girl.