Chapter 1
“Do you want to hear a story?”
The words woke her with a start.
She stared, wide eyed, into the darkness around her, her mind racing as the sound of blood rushing through her ears drowned out everything else for a few moments.
A whisper of movement to her side caused her to freeze, muscles bunching in terror, before a voice spoke again.
“I can tell you a story.”
The voice was whisper soft, and not quite… right. Her hair ruffled as putrid smelling breath washed over her ear, and she scrunched her eyes closed again.
A low, giggling laugh followed her actions and she jerked slightly as she felt a tongue run over the side of her face leaving globs of too cold spittle behind.
“Once there was a girl who thought she was safe. Thought nothing could ever hurt her. So she played with things she should have left alone.”
A nail scrapped over her arm, leaving a burning wound in its wake. She couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her, and the thing laughed again.
“So she played and I was called out, and do you know what I’m going to do to her?”
It shifted above her, and she could feel the oily slide of hair over her shoulders as it moved.
“I’m going to eat her up.”
“Please.” The word stuttered out of her, high pitched and barely recognizable. She hunched further into the bed and would have pulled her blankets over herself if she wasn’t afraid of brushing against the thing above her.
“Please?” It laughed again and leaned down for another lick, this time on her other cheek. “Open your eyes, girl. Look at me if you want to beg for your life.”
She was choking on the stench, and every muscle in her body screamed for her to stay perfectly still, to not open her eyes. But another part… Another part wondered if it might listen to begging, might let her go…
She opened her eyes.
