The Monster under the bed

[Isolde]

Becky

I jumped. I think that I almost reached the ceiling I was so startled. Quickly I reached over and slammed the sketch book shut and moved closer to Jen-all in one move. I could hear her breathing as rapid as my own and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was,"Where had this man come from?"

I wondered for a minute if the wine was making me hallucinate. I almost felt like one of those cartoon characters that sees something and then gets their hidden bottle of booze and pours it out. But Jen's reaction to the voice and figure in front of us let me know that was not the explanation.

He was handsome. Hell, he made the guy I had been lusting after at work look like an ugly duckling and, if what he said was true, I couldnt blame Jen's grandmother for what was in the book. Actually right now I kind of envyed her.

My hand grabbed Jen's arm and I pulled on it. Someone had to ask the question and I couldnt find my voice to talk right now.

 

[Passionnee]

Jen

I giggled to Becky’s last word, and flipped to the next page, the forms of her partner were more distinctive this time, more definition, it seemed to be a very tall man. Concentrated on the drawing I suddenly felt a urge to look up, something, someone was telling me to do so. There it was, or he was, standing proud at the end of the bed, tall, dark hair, a hunk of a man. I couldn’t speak, I suddenly paralyzed from fear, my heart was pounding like it was going to come out of my chest.

Becky almost jumped on my lap and slammed the sketchbook shut, that’s when I knew I wasn’t day dreaming, the man appearing in front of us was not an illusion, he was real. His strong voice sent shivers up and down my spine. I was happy to feel Becky’s hand on mine, almost pinching me back to reality. I gulped and asked the tall strong figure in a scared voice “Her partner? You seem pretty young to be my grandma’s partner!! How did you get in here?” pausing to catch my breath “Please leave or or..I’ll call the police.” Knowing very well, that was a lie, the phone was out of reach, and both of us, even if we wanted couldn’t take him down. My mind was racing but I could barely move, the look in his eyes was transfixing me, I felt like he could see through me, see my thoughts, smell my fear.

I looked again at the stranger and asked him in a pleading voice “Please leave.”

 

[Kepic]

"How did I get in here?" I said, "I cannot tell you how I got in, because here I have always been. I was here long before either of you. And, Jen, I was here long before your grandmother lived within these walls."

I paused, sitting down at the edge of the bed, glancing at the two humans. "I cannot leave, even if I wished to. I am tied to this place, I cannot explain how or why, simply that I must remain. You have already mentioned me a few times tonight, between the pair of you. So, you should know what - if not exactly who - I am."

 

[Isolde]

Becky

I shuddered. Oh great-Jen and I were in a house without any power or phone and now a mad man sat at the foot of the bed. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt a chill come over me. I was scared.

I cursed the fact that Jen and I had been so secretive about coming up here. Jen was so distraught about her recent break up that we thought getting away without anyone knowing where we were would help her forget about her heartache.

Boy were we wrong! Right now I would have given anything to be back in my small apartment, having Jen cry on my shoulder. At least we would be safe.

I found my voice at last. "Your wrong, Sir," I said and I could hear the trembling in my voice,"We havent mentioned you at all. We dont even know you."

I said the words but something told me that they werent exactly true. Something in the back of my mind tried to push itself forward-a memory about being here in the house with Jen when we were girls. But I couldnt latch on it and bring it forward to examine it-it remained illusive.

 

[Kepic]

"You, Becky, have doubted my existence for a long time now, but there was a time when you both believed in me. You are even now fighting to keep that belief at the back of your mind" I said, leaning forwards and smiling at her.

"Jen, however, for whatever reason, has clung to that belief from her childhood, and, though it has weakened over the years, it is strong still nonetheless" I added. I could feel their fear, it was probably almost palpable for them too.

 

[Passionnee]

OOC : Will try to post later tonite or tomorrow latest, if headache can leave.

 

[Passionnee]

Jen

His voice echoed in the bedroom as he explained his presence, and deep down I knew he was not lying, I was just not ready to admit it. He sure didn’t look like a monster. He had very nice features, almost looked the men in the magazines, dark hair and dark eyes, like I love them, a man you fantasize of sweeping you away. I just remained quiet, studying his every move and gesture, while Becky protested.

His answer sent shivers up and down my spine, he could really see what I was thinking or feeling, how did he do that? Weren’t monsters suppose to scare you? Try to hurt you? But read your mind. Oh God, I thought to myself, this is a dream, please someone wake me up, this stranger is not really sitting at the edge of my bed, it’s all a fruit of my imagination. I shook my head, voice trembling “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He smiled, he knew I was lying. I looked at Becky, worried. What is he going to do to us, will he let us be, will he hurt us. I don’t know what got into me but I slightly moved my hand forward to touch his, gently brush my fingers on his, to make sure he was not just a vision, but real. Becky suddenly pulled my arm and yelled “What in God’s earth are you doing Jen? Are you crazy?”

I shook my head and replied in a disturbed voice “I just wanted to check.” He was all flesh, it was not our imagination. I sat back, not saying a word, still afraid of the unknown, waiting to see what he would do next.

 

[Kepic]

"I am more of your imagination than you know" I said, looking at Jenny as she sat back once more besides her friend, "But who can say really what is real? Perhaps I need to show you something more..."

I glanced to the window, waiting for the next clap of thunder. As it sounded, I let my form change again, becoming a mass of thick, black writhing tentacles, with no discernible centre.

As the thunder died away, I returned to the shape I had shown myself to them in. I was only revealed to them for a few moments, yet the fear displayed on their faces was more visible than ever now.

"Yes, I am the Monster under the bed. I feed on fear, and other strong emotions, feelings. Your grandmother discovered what fed me, and she" I said, pointing at the sketchbook, "taught me to enjoy feasting on things besides fear. I may be what you might call a monster - a term you humans use for many things in the world that you do not fully comprehend - yet I seek no harm against either of you. Quite the contrary, in fact."

 

[Isolde]

As he changed forms, I opened my mouth to scream. I wanted to scream-I wanted my voice to be heard all the way to the next county so that someone would come in here and wake me up from this nightmare.

But I couldnt. My throat constricted so hard that I was afraid I was going to pass out from lack of air and all I could manage was a strangled squeek.

All my fears from childhood came flooding back to me in that instant. Every time I had come in here with or without Jen and had felt 'something' in here besides me. Everytime I had slept over and I had heard a creak or groan from the old house and my childish mind KNEW that it wasnt just the wind. All of those time in my childhood when I believed in the monster that existed under the bed came rushing over me and I found I was frozen in fear.

Finally I swallowed hard and managed to say,"If..if you dont want to hurt us...what do you want from us? What is it you need?"

 

[Kepic]

I smiled. "So, now you remember me, Becky" I said, "but neither of you are children any more, and feeding on old childhood fears is not what I seek."

I pointed again to the book clasped tightly in Jen's hands. "I wish to experience again those feelings Jen's grandmother fed me - passion, desire, lust. I am a creature of imagination - I can become whatever either of you desire."