Nick heard a thump. The thing was opening his window! Did he lock the windows before he went to bed? He could not remember! He wanted to look, make sure he had, but if he looked the thing would be right there and he would see its face for sure. He heard the thing slam against the window. Not hard enough for it to shatter but hard enough to wake the house.
“What are you doing in there?!” his mother shouted.
“The thing is out there!” Nick shouted back. He heard his mother groan with pure annoyance. “Come look!” He heard his mother climb from her bed. He heard her slide down the hall in her slippers. He heard her open his door. He heard her sigh. “Is it still there?”
“Keep this up and see what happens, Nicholas” his mother said as she closed the door. Nick listened as she climbed back into her bed. Nick stood and walked to his window. It was locked. He made a mental note to always check before going to bed. Where did it go? he wondered.
“Stones!” it shouted as it slammed its hand against the window. Nick felt his underwear get suddenly wet. He sunk into his bed and threw the blankets over his head. “Can not hide from me you may try it amuses me your game the games you play one day my stones will be mine and so will your skin!”
“Nicholas!” his mother shouted. “Get into your bed and leave that damned window alone!”
Nick began to say something but stopped himself. She cant see him he thought. The thing slapped the window a few more times and hissed. Nick heard his mother jump from her bed and rush towards his room. He pulled the blankets tight over his head but they were no match for a mother set on mad.
“What did I tell you?!” she screamed as she tore the blankets from the bed. She grabbed Nick and shoved him to the floor and closer to the window. Nick had three choices now.
One. He could take a beating from his mother and think of new ways to cover up his bruises.
Two. He could run outside and deal with the thing that wanted his stones.
Three. He could fight back.
Nick found a forth option he was unaware existed when his mother grabbed him in a headlock and slammed his face to the window bringing him face to face with the thing.
“There is nothing out there!” she shouted as he was less than half an inch and face to face with pure evil.
Nick has watched lots of horror movies. Every time someone was being chased or a killer was coming at them he always wondered why they didn’t scream. Why didn’t they run? Why didn’t they fight back? Why not do something? Now he understood why.
The thing looked Nick directly in the eyes. Nick had imagined what it looked like. He imagined it had long hair or fur. Big, yellow eyes. Rows of teeth and a long snake tongue. He had drew a few sketches. He was so off.
First, there was no fur on its face. It looked as if someone took an alligator’s face and turned it inside out and then painted it black. It had teeth. Lots of teeth. But not rows. Its smallest teeth looked to be four inches high. The biggest, its fangs, were maybe nine inches long and curved near the top. Perfect for grabbing Nick thought. Its tongue looked like a tube of packaged meat flattened near the tip. Its eyes were not yellow but bright green with a purple center. Nick went limp. Spots formed before his eyes. He remembered this feeling.
When he was 4 his parents had taken him to a local swimming pool. While his mother left for the restroom and his father spoke with the lifeguard he had jumped into the deep end. He had dropped his favorite toy. The toy his mother told him not to bring but his father allowed. He made it to the bottom, happy he had not lost his toy. But he could not reach the top. He could see the bright noon time sun shining above the surface. He could feel the ice cold bottom of the pool. He panicked. He woke up laying on his back, wet, and eyes burning. His mother was shouting and his father was rubbing his cheek. Two months later his father moved out. He always wondered if that day caused the split.
The thing licked the window but left no slime or saliva. A light scrapping sound, like sandpaper being rubbed across a mirror, made Nick shudder before everything went black. Before he fainted he heard the thing speak.
“Now you know my face and I already knew yours will soon be mine will wear it like mask will then have my stones your mother does not believe you she can not see me mind closed yours open will see you later will get my stones.”
Nick woke up laying underneath his window. She could’ve at least put me back in bed Nick thought to himself. He got to his feet, using the window frame to steady himself. His underwear dried but he knew they were a mess. He walked to the bathroom, his stomach rumbling with hunger, and turned on the shower. He tried not to close his eyes. Not even to blink. Every time he did the things’ face would appear. Most people think about a monsters teeth and eyes. Its tongue was what kept Nick’s mind occupied.
“How long are you going to be in there?!” his mother shouted from the hallway. Nick had not realized that he had been in a trance. He turned the water off and stood, letting the steam wash over him. “Now get dressed. Your father is coming to pick you up.
That’s weird Nick thought. It was Thursday. His father only came on weekends. He dried himself quickly and ran to his room to get dressed. He made a conscious effort to keep his eyes off of the window. He knew the thing was not out there. But still…
He was dressed and sat in the living room waiting for his dad to arrive. He had to ask his dad about the stones. He had to ask him about the thing. He had to ask if he could stay with him from now on. Anything would be better than staying with his mother.
Anything.
“Sounds rough” his dad said as he drove down the highway. “Has it touched you yet?”
Nick sat buckled in the passenger seat. His mother never let him sit in the front seat. He had told his dad everything that had happened. How since he was given the stones less than two weeks ago the thing has been chasing him during the night. His dad drove and listened.
“Can you beat it for me?” Nick asked.
“No” his father said sadly. Nick hated seeing his father sad.
“Why not?” Nick asked. He knew he couldn’t beat the thing. He was too small. His dad was huge. He had to be at least six feet tall! Nick hoped that one day he would be that big.
“I’m sorry, Nick” his dad said. “But this is a fight for you to have. And if not you then maybe your son.” His father reached a red light and sighed. He turned to look at Nick, who had his head hanging to the point his chin touched his chest. His father placed his hand on Nick’s head. His hand so huge (or Nick so small) that it covered from the top of his scalp to the back of his neck. “Let me tell you a story.”
Hundreds of yours ago a creature was born. No one knows where it came from and no one asked. It just came at the right time. The village was overrun with attackers. Men arrived on boats. Some say from the skies. They killed and fought with the villagers. There was no hope. Until one day a beast came. The beast killed the attackers leaving just a few to survive. Those who survived told the tale of the beast.
The villagers asked the beast what they could do to repay it. The beast told them nothing. It stood at the gates to the village for generations. Never moving. Never eating. Never speaking. Until the stones arrived.
A villager found three beautifully smooth stones. All small and shiny but unknown in origin. The villager showed them to everyone. Suddenly they gasped. The beast stood at the doorway. The villager placed the stones into his pocket.
“Stones…” the beast hissed. “Give them to me.”
The villager refused. He knew that the stones or whatever they were would feed the village for at least a year. The beast stepped into the room, seeming to absorb all light. It held his hand out, waiting to have the stones placed in his hands.
“These are not yours” the man told the beast. It would not leave. “We thank you for protecting us but you are no longer welcome. Leave.” The beast arched its back, enormous spikes growing from its back, claws extending, and howled.
“Cursed” it said. “Cursed until my stones are mine in my hands inside of me my stones forever cursed you will give me stones.”
Nick sat shaking. His father had pulled into the driveway but had yet to leave the vehicle. For years he had kept that story inside. He thought he would feel better getting it out. Letting his son know the truth. His father could not beat the beast. He could not beat the beast. Maybe his son could. He felt worse that horrible for giving this burden to his only child. But there was no other way. The longer you held the stones the stronger the beast got. He figured that his son would have at least 20 years and then one day beat the beast.
“What now?” Nick asked his father.
“You tell me” he replied.
Nick spent the day with his father. They barely spoke. They just waited for the sun to disappear for the night. They hoped that it would not be the last sunset they saw. Nick fell asleep on the couch with his father. The TV blaring a commercial for a new product that promised to literally fizz away fat. Nick heard tapping at the window. It was here.
“Dad…” Nick whispered. He had not noticed that his father was already looking.
“I see it, Nick” his father said. Nick had never seen his fathers face like this before. His father was furious.
“Cowards young and old have not seen you in while time flies older coward pass burden to child bad father wonder what father will do when son has no face I will rip off both faces give me stones!” Nick opened his hand and held the stones out for the thing to see. The thing slammed against the window but did not break it.
“Why cant it get in?” Nick asked his father.
“Your grandpa said that it has to be let in” his father said. “He thinks a villager invited the creature, or prayed for it, allowing it to come into the village and protect them.”
“I’m not letting it in” Nick said.
The thing left. Nick sighed. The door slammed. Hard. Father jumped up and stood still. Nick did the same. The door slammed again, harder than the first time. A small crack appeared in the center. It cant come in Nick thought to himself. The door banged once more before splitting completely. Claws reached inside pulling the door in two. The thing pulled its top half through before bringing its legs through. Its tail followed. It stood up and its spiked back scratched the ceiling.
“Thank mother prayed that I real made me welcome hates son hates older coward more sent me here now stones!” it shouted.
“Bitch…” Nick’s father whispered. He took a step towards the thing and with one motion, as if it were clearing the table, he was thrown across the room landing on the dinner table. The thing turned to Nick and hissed. It let its tongue hang out. Again, no saliva. It was at least three feet long.
“You next” the thing said as it snapped back quickly, its neck cracking loudly. Nick did not move. He did not flinch.
Nick was tired of running.
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