Gabbie laid in a heap in her usual resting spot. Tonight was just like every other night and she was still nervous about it. She thought about the creepy sounds that would emit from the darkness and her body shivered. Well, her upper body shivered. Her legs were unable to move. They have always been that way. Gabbie liked to pretend that a witch cast a magical spell to bring her to life but the witch was interrupted halfway through and captured by an evil monster. So now she can only move half her body. Whenever she was scared, she was grateful to have her doll, Sally, to comfort her. A creaking sound just above Gabbie’s small head had interrupted her thoughts. Her breath hitched and she hugged her doll closer to her chest. The monster… It was out there.
Gabbie thought about these giant monsters she’s seen with long hair that hung like frayed ropes down their sides. Their weird porous flesh stretched taut over stick shaped limbs that were wrapped in hanging rags of cloth. When the monsters sneered, pink putty peeled back to reveal rows of perfect stone walls. These walls were containers for moist slugs and eerie sounds. Like it was right on cue with her thoughts, she heard a muffled mumbling sound above her.
She held her breath until the room went quiet again. She knew it was going to be another long night with the monster above but as long as she stayed put and held Sally, she’d be okay. She was never brave enough to call out for help and It’s not like scaring them off was a viable option. She was small and fluffy in comparison to their massive existence. Trying not to attract attention to her presence, she slowly curled the top of her body closer towards Sally and stroked her fuzzy hair. She closed one eye and tried to focus on things that made her feel joy. Things like Sally and floppy hair bows and snacking on cockroaches that crossed her path and daytime. She hardly saw the monsters in the daytime. She loved day light when the room was bright and she could see the hollows in Sally’s sweet face. She also adored the red remnants that oozed from the crevices of her own face and dripped onto her arms. It felt warm and comforting. Eventually her calm thoughts helped her to drift off into a much needed sleep.
Hours later she was awakened by the familiar shrieking sound of the alarm. The monster above stirred, groaned, and its’ two huge stick stumps plummeted down the sides of the bed and planted on the carpet that Gabbie slept on. Luckily, Gabbie had the canopy of the bed’s underside to conceal herself. The springs in the bed above creaked their farewell and she watched the giant flesh stumps carry the monster’s body out of room.
Gabbie let out a relieved sigh and smiled down at Sally. They were finally alone and survived another night of the giant monster lurking above the bed.