“Okay Mark we’re heading out!” my dad called out. I raced down the stairs.

    “Where are you going?” I cried.

    “We’re going out for dinner, so make sure to head to bed by eight, okay?”

    “B-but I don’t wanna be alone!” I sobbed.

    “You’ll be fine you’re a big boy now” Dad said as he ruffled my hair.

    “Okay…” I said reluctantly. “We’ll be back when you aren’t awake, so we’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!”

    “Bye…..” I said fearfully. I hated being alone. It was scary. I stood still at the door and listened to the sound of the clock. Tick tick tick. Realizing I zoned out, I walked to the fridge, grabbed a milk carton and poured myself a cup of milk. I chugged it down and threw the clear, glass cup in the sink with the other dishes, which were overdue to be cleaned. I darted up the stairs listening to the sound of my footsteps stomping on each stair as I headed upwards. I hopped onto my bed and concealed myself under the blankets. Maybe I will be able to sleep this time. I drifted off to sleep as I clasped my teddy bear. 

    “Hello? Is anyone there?” I was surrounded by the pitch black darkness. As I trudged on further I saw a tall, dark figure in the distance. “Hello?” I asked fearfully. “Please help me. I don’t know where I am. I’m scared.”

As I approached the figure fear trickled in. However, I pushed on further, getting closer and closer to the figure.  I finally reached the figure and tapped it’s back. “Hello?” I said.

The figure whipped around revealing pitch black, soulless eyes and teeth as sharp as a shark’s. The figure swallowed me and immediately I was trapped in darkness.

    “NO!” I sat up sweating, panting. Just a nightmare, I thought. No matter how much I tried convincing myself that what I felt was just a dream, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of how real it felt. I couldn’t go back to bed, not after that. I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs. I looked at the time, it was 12:00 am. I turned on the t.v. in an attempt to distract myself and immediately I was flashed with the colors blue, red, and white. Ugh, the news channel. As I was about to switch the channels an alarm blared from the t.v. and played a message “Attention! A mysterious creature is on the loose! Lock all your doors and all your windows and no matter the circumstances do not open the door.” Before I could even fathom what I had heard the t.v. shut off. All the lights began to flicker, which was then followed by an intense shaking of the entire room. I hurriedly got off the couch and looked around in distraught and horror. In my fear, I had backed myself against the door and then everything stopped moving. It was completely silent, completely still. Then there was a loud knock on the door which caused me to jump away from the door.

    “Hello?” a voice came from the door. “Mark? It’s me, your dad.” I trembled as I reached for the handle, and as I was about to turn the knob I remembered what the news had said. I backed away from the door, rushed towards my room and hid under the covers. Some time passed in complete silence and before I knew it, I was asleep.

Creakkk creakk. I jolted awake and sat up straight. I reached for the light switch and flicked it, but the lights didn’t come on. I crawled out of bed and walked out of my bedroom. Creak creak. There it was again, a loud creaking on the cold, hard, wood tiled floors. I headed down stairs for a cup of water and as I was pouring the water I saw something dart behind me from the corner of my eye. I whipped around and stared down at the dark hallway which led to the basement. I hated the basement. It was always dark and extremely scary. Something was down there. After blankly staring at the space, I worked up the courage and decided I was going to head down there. I gradually made my way to the basement door and trembled as I turned the knob. I stared down into the darkness and it felt like it was staring back at me. I steadily walked down the long staircase, and with each step a creak echoed through the darkness below. I finally reached the big brown door. I reached for the handle and then I jumped when the door flew open on its own. I opened my eyes which I had closed because I had expected anything to jump at me. However, there was nothing there. It was just boxes, just boxes. Was I going crazy? What if this is all in my head? I mean a monster? Monsters do not exist. This is all in my head. I fell to my knees with a thud and laughed hysterically. I laughed so hard I started shedding tears. After I was done laughing, I wiped my tears and ran back up the stairs. I was done with this! I glanced at the digital clock, which said 3.00 AM. I wasn’t going to wake up any more. I was going to stay in bed and get through this night. I swung open the door to my room, jumped onto bed and aggressively through the covers over myself. I was going to stay asleep no matter what happened.

Creaaak. Creaaaaak. I kept my eyes shut. Creaaaak. Creaaaak. I got up and turned on the light. “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!” I fell to the floor in tears while clasping my hands to my ears. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I have barely slept in 5 days. Every night it was the same thing. My parents would leave. Shadows. Creaking. Nightmares. Every night it was the same. Every. Single. Night. Enough is enough. In a fit of rage I unplugged the lamp from the wall and hurled it out the window, glass flying everywhere.

I raced down the stairs and ran outside onto the street. I stood outside in the rain and then began running. I ran, and ran, and ran, my feet splashed water with each step. I kept on running till I hit an intersection. I knew this place. If I headed right then I would be on the highway, and if I went left I would head deep into a lush, green forest. Subconsciously, I knew which direction I had to go and I began heading towards the forest. I continued to run till I slowed to a walk. I paused and fell to my knees panting. There is no way they could find me here. They cannot find me here.

Rustle Rustle. I quickly pulled myself off the ground and looked around frantically. No. There was no way they followed me. I started backing up and bumped into a tree and fell to the ground. Then I noticed there were shiny black shoes next to both of my legs. I quickly crawled away and turned around then I saw it. A tall man. As tall as the trees. He was in a black suit with a red tie and a black hat, he had clothes covered in fresh blood. I looked up at its face. It had black, soulless eyes, teeth as sharp as shark’s, and its skin was light gray. Before I even had a chance to move it lunged at me and swallowed me whole. I was surrounded in darkness and was in excruciating pain. It felt like being stabbed by hot, metal knives over, and over again. After a couple seconds of agonizing pain. It stopped. Then, I felt nothing at all.

                                                                                                                             * * *

I watched as Mark’s body started violently shaking in his hospital bed. The doctors rushed to aid him as his heart beats started going haywire. Then they stopped. There was a loud droning sound. One of the doctors approached me. “I’m sorry for your loss, sir.” I was at a loss for words. I stared at the ground and watched as the tears that rolled off my face hit the cold hard floor. I am sorry Mark. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were kidnapped. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were being tortured. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you in time. I’m sorry.