Thump.
Shuffle shuffle.
Jack lay in his bed with his eyes squeezed shut. He was afraid of the dark. Even more he was afraid of the dark under his bed. Things lurked under his bed. Scary things….creepy things. In the dark his room became a den full of unimaginable creatures. They swarmed and swirled in front of his eyes. Looming over him while he lay there petrified under his covers.
Thump – there it went again and it was coming from under the bed.
Most of the time Jack was a brave boy, nothing scared him. He could always climb to the highest branch of the tree, higher even than his older brother Max. On weekends he and his friends caught bugs and spiders. He would hold them squirming in his fingers without so much as a flinch, while the other boys looked on grimacing in disgust. But when it came to the dark and what lurked under his bed he was terrified.
“You have a wild imagination Jack” his mum told him whenever he complained about the creature under his bed at night.
He knew it wasn’t just his imagination. He listened carefully now and faintly heard
the scraping of claws on the polished floorboards. He was sure of it. scriiiiiitch…scriiiitch and then a gnashing sound. The gnashing of teeth, rows and rows of sharp gleaming teeth. Teeth that were as sharp as needles and had bits of left over rotted meat clinging to them.
Jack rolled over in his bed careful to keep the covers on him. He needed to go to the bathroom but he was scared to get out of bed. It would give the monster the chance it needed to catch him and eat him for supper.
Jack lay there, his heart pounding, feeling his palms sweat. Another slight thump made the hairs on his arms and legs stand on end.
Jack pulled the covers over his head and held them there. He needed to go to the bathroom really badly now.
He pulled the covers back and opened his eyes. Immediately, in the darkness he could see shapes forming themselves into scary creatures. He squeezed his eyes shut again.
“Ok I can do this” he whispered to himself. He was a brave boy after all.
Slowly he pushed the covers off himself and hung one leg over the side of his bed. For a second Jack was sure he felt a furry hand clamp itself around his ankle.
Jack yelped and pulled his knees up to his belly. It was now or never. He jumped off the bed and landed in the middle of his room. At the same time he saw a dark shape coming towards him. Jack screamed and threw his hands in front of him. He ran for the door and flicked on the light switch trembling as he did so. Jack squinted his eyes at the bright light and looked down at the creature by his leg. Staring back at him was Fluffy his black cat.