What Lies Beneath | SHORT STORY | COMPLETED
The monster that lies beneath Lila's bed slowly creeps out every night. The monster whom she calls Louie. Every single night she screams bloody murder in fear that Louie is going to get her. And each night her parents come to comfort their poor, helpless child.
A scream leaked through little Lila's mouth, a scream so deafening you'd swear someone's life was being taken. Louies' enormous, ebony hand crept up the side of her bed, his forehead coming into her view. His big, soulless eyes stare back at the petrified girl. She clutches her blanket so tight that her knuckles turn white.
Lila's watery eyes enlarge at the sight of Louie. The hairs on her body stand up, goose bumps coat her pale skin, her eyes turn every shade of grey that dominate the sky during an eerie storm.
The big wooden door swings open, making a loud thud against the wall. Louie quickly goes back into hiding before the parents have a chance to catch a glimpse of him. Her farther hugs her tight and tells her everything will be alright. He kneels down along side the bed with his big heavy duty flash light, searching for the creature that lurks at night. The fathers eyes scan every inch beneath the bed and find nothing, like every other night, nothing. The father shakes his head on the way out of the room, he quickly clicks the starry-night nightlight on, it's just part of the routine. As the door closes shut Louie makes his return, a little more briskly than usual.
Louie's hand lingers at the head of the sleepy child. The closet door steadily creaks open, catching tired Lila's attention. A pair of red beady eyes poke there way outside of Lila's closet, then a second pair follows, and soon a third. A few more pair of candy cherry eyes slink out from the darkness.
Lila covers her head with her blanket, trembling in true terror. Mulberry colored hands tap at the window, slowly sliding the glass open. The white curtains whip violently at the gusts of wind. The hands saunter in through the window, reaching for Lila.
Louie grows five times the size at the sight of these beasts. His white eyes light up in the darkness of the night, his hands grow claws half the size of Lila, claws as sharp as blades. He waves his arms around like a mad man, slashing the many beasts before him.
Lila is quick to cover her ears as the great creatures of the night howl in agonizing pain. She squeezes her eyes shut and prays for it all to be over.
Silence engulfs the room, not even the sound of wind-chimes dancing in the wind. Little Lila wept beneath her blanket, moving the palms of her hands away from her ears. She slowly rises from underneath her blanket, her hickory brown eyes sweep across the room, not a single monster in sight. As she turns her head to the side she sees the one monster that's always been there.
Louie steps closer to the girl and converts back into the form she's always known. He lifts his hand and lays it upon her head, stroking her curly blonde hair, nodding, knowing that he saved the girl another night.
That was the night that Lila realized the monster beneath her bed wasn't a monster at all.
