Monster

Chapter 1
Returning Home

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Chapter Description: Daniel knew he was forgetting something important. His parents had spent many years and a small fortune to make him forget. They were successful but he was now left with a looming dread and an empty space in his brain.

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The Aftermath…

The sun was setting. Ever so slowly it was creeping down past the trees; relinquishing its hold on the day and letting night take its place. The trees were nearly barren from the bitterness of fall, stripped of their livelihood and joy. Just like Daniel Kane.

Daniel Kane was just like any other man you might meet. He was single, not overtly good looking but handsome in a respect and like all other men his age he had his share of problems. Mostly, he was the problem. At least, that’s what most people had told him. Today was no exception.

He was stumbling up the driveway of a modest colonial home, with rye in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in his other. The house had long since been abandoned but that didn’t keep Daniel from yelling into the night at any invisible persons who might secretly reside there. Many of the windows were broken, dirty and the paint had started to peel from the house’s exterior. These maladies were only accompanied by the slightly sunken roof and the missing shingles.

He made his way past the cracked paved drive way and up the doorstep to a previously immaculately white door, which was now stained by years of age and graffiti. Daniel slowly turned the knob of the door pushing it forward causing it to let out a long hollow screech.

He cringed at the sound and kicked the door in a drunken stupor; causing him to fall forward only to catch himself on a wall. He waivered on whether to fall down drunk or to carry on and complete what he had started; this thought was only interrupted by a glimpse of something moving slowly. His head shot up and he realised he was staring into a mirror, which was also, like him, broken.

He looked dismissingly at his reflection. His hair was unkempt and fell in front of his eyes. It was a mousy; tangled mess on his head. His stubble, which was not yet a beard, was long, and dark as if he had not shaved for a few days.

Daniels gaze fell upon his wrinkled suit; it was old and frayed but did not smell as bad as his booze ridden breath. He was a mess of a man, surely, but every year, nearing the final days before Halloween, he always was.

The twenty-two year old slammed his fist into the mirror sending it crashing to the floor. Sure he was in terrible shape now but it hadn’t always been that way, once upon a time he was happy, but that had been such a long time ago. Once, he had been a bright eyed boy, a scholarly type, very much an asset to his schooling but that was before “she” disappeared. She had always been so important to him, his best friend. She had always encouraged him when he was stuck in a rut and picked him up whenever he would fall.

The oddity of it all was that he could hardly remember her face and he hated himself even more for it. Everything had been slipping from him; he hoped something would come back as he made his way up the stairs to the place where she had disappeared.

Daniel brushed the hair from in front his distressed brown eyes and held tight to the railing not wanting to fall. He took a swig of rye before finally making his way upstairs.

“God I hate this place,” he mumbled to himself. It was run down now but everything in it reminded him of his childhood. He looked down the hallway, towards the door of his sister’s room. It was a black hole of despair to him and with every step towards it the more memories flooded back to him and with that, he was reminded of his crushing despondency.

He slowly stumbled towards the room but stopped, “Where did you go?” he rested his head against the door. “You left me,” tears came to his eyes as he dropped the flowers by her door, “I was all alone Ally,”

He still remembered the night when she had disappeared. He was seven years old and his sister was babysitting him. There was a storm; the thunder woke him up. He remembered being scared so he went to get Ally but the last thing he remembered was her bringing him back to his room. She checked something and then she disappeared.

Daniel knew he was forgetting something important. His parents had spent many years and a small fortune to make him forget. They were successful but he was now left with a looming dread and an empty space in his brain.

He waited a bit at his sister’s door, as if he expected to hear an answer. He contemplated opening the door; instead he turned, wiped the tears from his eyes and made his way towards the room at the end of the hall. There were letters on the door. They were faded but you could still see the outline that read: Danny’s Room. The closer he got the more he relented entering the room. The dread seemed to grow violent, urging him to turn away but finally after taking another mouthful of “liquid courage,” he decided that he would enter.

He hadn’t been there since he was a child but he could have told you where everything used to be placed if you asked him.

“Home sweet home,” he said venomously as he grabbed hold of the doorknob. He tried to turn it but it was rusted shut. In a drunken rage he banged and kicked the door trying to make it open.

“Damn it,” he yelled in tearful frustration. Daniel turned and walked away mumbling angrily. He got halfway down the hall before he heard a high pitched creak. He was surprised when he found the door halfway open. Smirking he stumbled down the hallway to the room. It was barren except for an old bed frame in the corner. The walls had faded from their pale blue to a dull gray and the ceiling seemed to have fallen in.

“Man, what a dump” he ran his fingers through his hair.

He made his way to the window situated above the bed. He set down his rye; rubbed the dirt away from the glass and looked out into the street. “At least the view is the same,” he thought to himself, allowing his mind to wander as he gazed out the window.

SLAM!

Daniel turned around with his fists up, ready for a fight. The door was closed. He sighed deeply.

“Must have been the wind,” he made his way to the door only to realise that when he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge. “What the hell?”

He pulled with all his might, trying to get the door to budge. No such luck. An unknown panic began to creep up from his stomach so he began to kick and slam his body against the door. Still it didn’t budge.

Suddenly it all came back to him.

“Welcome home Daniel,”

* * *

The Before Time…

“Ally,”

The tiny voice of Daniel Kane could hardly be heard over the rain pounding against the windows. The small boy shuffled across his older sister’s room, jumping at every flash of lightning.

“Ally, wake up,” the seven year old called to her before hopping from the floor onto her bed in fear something underneath might reach out and grab him. Ally rolled over only to meet with a pathetic looking sight. Daniel’s pale cheeks were stained with tear and his soft brown hair was a mess. He was clad in only his soft blue footed pajamas and was clutching his small stuffed T-Rex.

“What is it squirt?” she groaned with a bit of tired irritation in her voice.

“C-can I sleep with you tonight?”

Ally sat up and sighed rubbing her head and taking a second look at her younger brother. Daniel’s teary green eyes stared back at her.

“Scared?”

Daniel nodded.

“Of the storm?” she asked.

He shook his head no.

“Then what?”

Daniel was hesitant at first but then meekly spit out, “There’s a monster in my room”. Ally nearly laughed but in a patronising manner nodded her head seriously.

“Alright buddy,” she pulled him close, “I have to be up early tomorrow and I can’t have you kicking me in your sleep, so I think we should go tell this monster who’s boss.”

“But mommy lets me-

“She isn’t here,” she reminds him before he could finish, “beside I want to actually sleep tonight,”

The sixteen year old flicked on her bedside lamp and slipped her feet onto the floor. Daniel watched his sister as she got up. She looked a lot like their mother and that comforted the boy. She had their mother’s auburn hair, brown eyes and fare skin. She was slender and held herself with great confidence. She was Daniel’s best friend, even if she didn’t know it.

He watched as she stretched before standing up and brushing the hair away from her eyes. Daniel followed close behind her, nearly falling off the bed but he kept a good pace as they made their way to his room. Ally pushed open the door to room noting that her brother’s lamp was on.

“So much for a nightlight helping,” she thought to herself as she watched the rotating lamp cast the shapes of dinosaurs along Daniel’s wall. It was a small space and her brother was obsessed with dinosaurs, which his room mirrored. From the prehistoric border lining his green walls; all the way to the dinosaurs painted on his bed, dresser and nightstand. Not to forget Munchy, his stuffed T-Rex.

“So, you say there is a monster in here?” she looks down and smiled as Daniel clung to her leg. He nodded slowly. Daniel watched from the doorway as she made her way over to the closet; throwing open the door. She feigned some karate moves making all the noises that go with them.

“Hmmm, no monsters in there,” she wiped her forehead as if she were relieved. Daniel nearly smiled at how silly his sister was acting but remained at the doorway. The next thing Ally checked was behind his small book case and under his claw-foot dresser. She shrugged and scratched her chin.

“I guess there are no monsters in here,” she went to leave but her brother wouldn’t let her.

“Under my bed,” the small boy nearly shouts.

Of course Ally knew to check under his bed but she thought she would tease the little bugger for waking her up so late. “Ohhh,” she emphasised her “mistake” and headed over to the bed. She got down on her knees and pulled away the covers. Slowly she looked underneath the bed, building tension.

“Oh my God…”

Daniel squeaked in terror and stepped away from the doorway.

“It’s…” she slowly turned to look at Daniel, “It’s…a…child eating…Cat!” she pulled out their pet cat, Mr. Bojangles or Bo for short. “See, there are no monsters under your bed buddy,”

“Are you sure?”

CRACK!

The lights went out. Daniel screamed, Ally jumped and Bo ran out of the room. If it hadn’t been for the soft glow from the streetlight the room would be completely black.

“Geeze Daniel,” she clutched her chest, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? There is nothing to be afraid of.”

That’s when Ally went quiet. Daniel swallowed hard and clutched Munchy to his chest.

“Ally, don’t, don’t try to scare me,” he gave her an upset look.

“Daniel…”

The boy held his breath.

Ally’s body crashed to the floor. She looked up at her little brother and gasped out a single word:

“Run.”

“ALLY!” Daniel screamed but by the time he could move the door had slammed shut. He kicked and banged on the door, pulling on the door handle but it wouldn’t move. He hoped this was some sort of cruel trick or even a nightmare. Daniel screamed her name for what felt like hours. Eventually he stopped; he was too exhausted to continue.

* * *

Early morning came quickly, breaking the storm and letting light pour in. Daniel awoke to the sound of creaking. He looked up to find the door to his room once more ajar. “Ally…” He pushed open his door but there was no one there, “Ally please…” he cried as he made his way into his room. Keeping his distance he slowly he bent down to look under the bed but there was still no sign of his sister. It’s wasn’t until he looked down at the floor that he noticed them. They were a set of bloody scratches in the floorboards. Daniel gasped and fell back sliding himself against the wall. He clutched his legs to his chest and began to cry.

He had gotten her.

* * *

The Aftermath…

Daniel turned only to see a pair of red glowing eyes staring at him from the darkness beneath the bedframe. He backed up against the wall, unable to take his eyes away from the horrific sight. Slowly the shadows seemed to creep up the walls, past the windows and across the floorboards. All the while, the eyes remained in the same place.

Frantically Daniel turned and began throwing himself against the door. He cursed himself, God and the demonic apparition with each attempt to break through the door. He looked back to see the eyes shift as a figure began to rise from the shadows. He realised the shadows were almost upon him so he backed up into the far corner and watched. It was the only thing he could do.

“Oh Daniel…” the voice was low pitched and raspy, “How you’ve grown,”

Daniel was speechless as the figure came face to face with him. It was a black mass of horrors, with only two glowing red orbs that gave away its face.

“Y-you’re not real,”

It laughed condescendingly.

“I’m as real as you are,” it starts to move in leaving Daniel with barely enough room to breathe. He could smell the rot on its breath and feel the clamminess of its pitch black flesh.

“We are real Danny,” it spoke in Ally’s voice.

Daniel reached out to push away the corporeal monster but then felt himself fall into the blackness. He screamed as he fell but no sound came out. The darkness was all around him and after a while he was unsure whether her was falling or floating.

“Poor little Daniel,” the raspy voice echoed from the obscurity, “all alone in this world,”

Daniel was overwhelmed. His fear, his rage and his sadness wanted to burst out all at the same time. “SHUT UP!” he screamed, which elicited another chuckle from the monster.

“Poor little Danny,” he spoke once more in Ally’s voice.

He flailed hoping to hit something but the blackness around him seemed unmoving, “Give me back my sister!”

“What was that Daniel, what do you want?”

“I said, Give Back Ally!”

Then there was silence. The only sound was of Daniel’s heartbeat.

“An eye for an eye Daniel,”

Daniel let out an inhuman scream. It felt as if his innards were being pulled from his stomach. That’s when his feet touched solid ground and he collapsed. His bones ached and his muscles began to spasm as he writhed on the ground in agony. His hair fell out in large clumps while his skin started to burn and he spit out blood, followed by a few teeth.

“Please,” Daniel pleaded, “stop this,”

The beast only laughed once more. Daniel let out a wail his skin began to fall away from his body leaving raw excruciating bloody patches in their place. As this happened he grew smaller and smaller. His teeth were soon being replaced by a smaller set; his skin started to grow anew, along with his hair.

“Doesn’t that feel better?” the monster asked smugly.

Daniel found himself bawling as the pain subsided. He felt small and weak. Years of mental and emotional blocks were shattered. He was a child again.

“Please leave me alone…” he cried as he felt the monsters breath on the nape of his neck.

“Leave you alone?” Daniel watched as gnarled; decaying hands dug through the blackness and grabbed at him. They grabbed his limbs and splayed him out on his back. Daniel cried as he came face to face with the monster once more. “You’re in the belly of the beast child…and I’ve only just begun…”

 

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