 I suppose I grew up in much the same way most kids do, but with one major difference. We'll get to that a little later. I was an only child raised by a single mom, never really knew who my father was. Mom didn't really talk about it, and I felt weird asking too many questions. She always did the best she could for me, and for the most part I had it pretty good. She'd see me off to school every morning, before heading into work, and after school I'd spend time at my best friend's house down the street, until she came and got me. My best friend's name was Ryan, and together we went on all sorts of adventures. Our parents said we had the most overactive imaginations they'd ever seen, and often scoffed at all our crazy stories. We spent most of the time playing out in the woods, at our secret tree fort we'd built some years ago. It was our haven, our home away from home. It was a Friday after school, that Friday came up with the greatest idea I'd ever heard. He wanted to camp out at our fort overnight. We lived in a small town where nothing bad ever really happened. It was one of those places where everyone knew each other. People looked out for one another back then, and half the time no one even bothered locking their doors. We ran the idea by our parents, into our profound excitement got the green light. We spent the next hour or so grabbing everything we'd need to stay the night at our fort, which included a decent haul of snacks we pilfered from our collective kitchens. It turned out to be a beautiful night. We'd never been able to stay so late at the fort before, and it was exciting. We started it all off with the customary ghost stories told by flashlight, and once we got ourselves all good and worked up, we decided it was time to do some exploring. It was the moment we'd been most looking forward to. The woods were more alive at night somehow, as if powered by some magical force that our minds had conjured up. We left the safety of our fort and slipped into the growing darkness between the trees. Every sound had us on edge. Our flashlights dancing around us, like an epilepsy inducing light show. That didn't stop us though. And we continued until we hit some unfamiliar territory. We'd never gone this far before during the day and weren't sure what to expect. We stopped when we came across a small ramshackle of a cottage just sitting there amidst the overgrowth. We did what every curious kid would do in that situation, find a way to get inside. It was easy enough with no lock to speak of, the door creaked and moaned as we forced it open. Our flashlights swept from left to right, illuminating the meager furnishings within. It was just one giant room with a bed against a far wall and a rocking chair with a small table and an oil burning lamp in the middle. There was even an old wood burning stove in the far left corner that looked in decent working shape. The entire shack seemed eerily clean for a place that looked so abandoned from the outside. I suddenly felt very nervous and glanced over at Ryan for some support. Who do you think lives here? I asked with some trepidation. I wasn't sure I really wanted to know the answer. He cast aside glance at me and I saw the same anxiety stretch over his darkened features. He forced a reply though, trying to be brave. I can't imagine anyone could be living out here. It's probably just one of those little hunting shacks. I nodded and convinced myself he had to be right. When you're a kid, it's so easy to dismiss danger sometimes, even when you shouldn't. We decided to claim the place for ourselves after a little more conversation. We thought it would be a much better place to stay the night. And it wasn't that much further out than our fort was. It wasn't as if our parents were going to know the difference anyway. The worst thing that could happen would be some hunter showing up and shooing us away, no harm no foul. Our excitement grew by leaps and bounds as we made the round trip to get our stuff from the fort and head back to the shack. Our exploration had provided us with the ultimate find and we were starting to get a little tired. We stretched our sleeping bags out on the big bed. It seems so comfortable. We had our snacks and told a few more stories before eventually falling asleep. It had to have been the middle of the night when some strange noise woke me up. It sounded like someone was clearing their throat, so the first thing I did was look over at Ryan, finding him asleep. I turned on my flashlight and shined it around the room. I heard that throat clearing noise again, but this time it was followed by a voice much closer than I expected. Its tones were strangely soothing as it spoke. Hey kid, down here. In that moment, I did the dumbest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I looked down. Laying there on the floor, half under the bed, was the most terrifying sight I'd ever seen. From what I could see of it, the thing that spoke was about a quarter of my size. It had long, spindly fingers that idly rubbed against the edge of the bed. Its mottled gray skin sort of hung from a thin lanky frame. Enormous razor-edged teeth filled its sickeningly sweet smile. Its eyes were a strange pale yellow color, and it smelled of dirty lake water and rotten eggs. Before I could even do so much as scream, it held one of those impossibly long fingers to its mouth to shush me. And for some reason, I can't even explain, I obliged. We sat there in silence, just staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, it broke the silence. So tell me, Aaron, what brings you and your little friend to my home? It's a little rude, I must say. How would you like it if I broke into your home? Hmm? How did it know my name? I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. I just laid there, unable to look away from it. It sensed the fear that must have been radiating off me in waves. It spoke again, I can see you're not a little boy of many words, Aaron. So how about I do all the talking? With wide eyes, I forced myself to nod. We were going to die here. I knew it. I envied Ryan more than anything at that moment. He'd never have to see the thing that would end us. The creature continued as if we were having a pleasant conversation. That more than anything, I think, was what made me almost piss myself. Good, good. So here's what's going to happen, Aaron. You're going to let your little friend Ryan sleep. Don't bother waking him up, it won't make a difference. As long as you stay right where you are, you have nothing to fear from me. If you step one foot off that bed tonight, however, I'm going to drag you under here and eat you. Does that sound fair? It seems fair to me. Again, I could only nod as I stared at him. What I didn't understand was the game we were playing. It seemed to me that it could have yanked me right out of the bed and eaten me any time it wanted to. Yet here it was, offering some strange reprieve. I kept the flashlight on and scooted a little closer to Ryan. It spoke one last time before sliding itself back under the bed. Sweet dreams, Aaron. As if I was ever going to sleep again. I lay there like that, all night, staring at that spot on the floor where the monster had been. Sometime later, light began to creep its way in through the cracks in the shack and Ryan finally woke up. I really didn't feel like talking about what happened until we were at least back home. Ryan was still excited and droning out about the shack and what a great night he had. I didn't want to ruin it for him, so I just nodded and agreed at the appropriate times. Even though I knew he was my best friend and that he would surely believe me, I was having trouble believing myself. Maybe it had just been a horrible nightmare. It was more than possible and I just decided to chalk it up to that. It was a weird night in a strange place, bad dreams happened in even safe environments. Once we were back in the relative safety of Ryan's house, I quickly changed my clothes and stuffed the wet ones in a plastic bag that had held snacks the night before. I was feeling calmer now and decided to tell Ryan about the horrible nightmare I'd had. He listened carefully. When I was done, he took a deep breath before talking. That sounds scary as hell, Aaron. Good thing it was only a nightmare, huh? I quickly agreed with him and we made plans for him to spend the night at my house. Mom had the rest of the weekend off and agreed to it and I think Ryan's parents were just glad to have a little break. Ryan came and picked us up. The first thing we did was take turns having a shower to wash off the stink of the woods that still clung to our clothes and hair. Feeling clean after the night before was the best feeling in the entire world. It's not that I forgot about the dream or anything. I was just so busy having fun with Ryan that I didn't dwell on it. We sat around my Nintendo playing Contra a lot that day, all cheat coded up. I still have that cheat code memorized even after all these years. Eventually, the night started to roll back around. Ryan and I conned my mom into letting us hook up the VCR in my room so we could watch some scary movies. She turned in early and left us to our own devices which suited us just fine. We made some popcorn, grabbed some pop tarts and soda and geared up for a marathon. We planned to stay up till dawn watching movies. It was to be this great achievement. I think we both ended up passing out around two in the morning, but it was still the longest we'd ever made it. I remember being woken up by a strangely familiar sound, one I'd not expected, even though perhaps I should have. Someone or something was clearing its throat. The voice drifted up from the floor somewhere, but this time I didn't look. I didn't even so much as turn on a light or make a single noise. Instead, I just pretended to be asleep. I thought that if I just kept my eyes closed, it would go away. I should have known better. The voice drifted up to me with its far too relaxed and chilling tones. I know you're awake, Aaron. So this is what your house looks like. It's bigger than I expected. So much room under here. I bet if I tried, I could fit you both down here, you know. I shuddered and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. Gently, I laid a hand on Ryan to wake him up. I'd be damned if I was going through this alone all over again. His eyes drifted open lazily and I put a finger to my lips and pointed to the floor. His eyes got wide and he nodded ever so slightly. This, however, was not lost on the monster under my bed. It spoke once again. Ah, Ryan, welcome to the party. Let me fill you in on the rules. You leave the bed. I eat you. I shouldn't have had all those sodas, boys. It's going to be a very long night. We just laid in silence after that, neither of us able to sleep. There's no way we were both having the same dream. It had to be real. Why did we go into that shack? This is the question I still ask myself every day. The monster said good night to us eventually, but we knew he'd still be there till morning. My mom came in to wake us up and found us both shaking and pale. We tried to tell her what had happened, but of course she blamed the movies we'd watched the night before. The more we insisted that our monster was real, the angrier she got. Eventually, it led to scary things being banned in the house for a while. That was fine with me, though. I'd had my fill at that point. Since we had school the next day, and Ryan hadn't finished his homework yet, Mom and I took him home. We gave each other a knowing glance before we parted ways. That night, I laid every booby trap under and around my bed that I could think of. There were trip wires made from some fishing string attached to the bell to my old bike. There were Legos sprinkled all around the border of my bed. I even stuffed my toy chest and all sorts of things under there to make sure the monster would have no room to hide. I assumed that Ryan had done the same, or at least I hoped he did. Seeing him the next day at school was a relief. Apparently neither of us had gotten a visit, so that was something. As usual, we went to his house after school, but decided to take a break from the fort for a while. Neither of us wanted to be any closer to that shack than we needed to be. Before Mom came to pick me up, Ryan's mom got a call from her relative. Apparently her grandmother was dying, and they had to rush to Florida to be with her. That meant I'd probably have a babysitter after school till they came back. Before bed that night, I checked my traps. Deciding everything was all set, I crawled into bed, and after hours of staring at the ceiling, I finally fell asleep. That night, I woke up to the sound of that old bike bell going off, and something moving under the bed. Shortly after, I heard the voice. Is this how you treat all your guests, Aaron? What a rude child you are indeed. How about we call a truce? Perhaps you and I just got off on the wrong foot after all. I sure could use some company, you know, Aaron? It gets lonely living under people's beds. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I'd seen that movie Little Monsters, and even though I'd secretly wished for my very own Maurice, the reality of it was far too frightening. This time, however, I decided to speak to it. So why do you hide under people's beds? The creature chuckled gently. It's sort of my job. I am a monster, you must realize. Would you like to play a new game, Aaron? What sort of game? I replied. He was quick to answer. Any game you want, of course, I see you have electronic battleship under here. I stopped to really consider what was going on. Was it possible that this was a friendly monster? Up until a few days ago, I hadn't really thought monsters existed at all. Something about this seemed too good to be true. Its voice was so soothing, and if not for its appearance, I might have left that bed. Oh, so no game then. I shook my head a bit and looked into his fiendish eyes. He responded soon after. A pity, but I understand. We barely know each other. In fact, you don't even know my name, silly me. You, my boy, may call me Mr. Jones. We kept up the conversation most of the night. We talked about comics, movies, food, pretty much all the stuff that kids my age were interested in. This happened every night that Ryan was gone, which was pretty much for the rest of the week. Every night, the monster would ask to play a game and try to get me off the bed, and every night I decline, and we talk instead. On the last night, however, things got stranger if that were even possible. I'd cleared a space for it and sat patiently awaiting his return. As always, that sound of a clearing throat signaled me to its arrival. Good to see you, Aaron. It said, Evening, Mr. Jones, did you have a good day? Mr. Jones shook its head. No, Aaron, I did not. I'm very hungry, you see. I haven't eaten in a week. Don't play a game with me, why don't you? Help me get my mind off the hunger. This time, when I refused, it got angry. Enough of this bullshit, you little brat. One way or another, I'm going to eat you and your friend. I'm going to pick the flesh from your tiny little bones, then suck out the marrow. I'm going to start with your eyes, though. That's the most delicious part. There'll be nothing left of you, Aaron. Nothing left at all. The bedspread and sheet began to move as if it were tugging them. Eventually, it had slid off under the floor and disappeared underneath the bed. Then all of a sudden, everything just stopped. For a moment, I could swear I heard someone crying and screaming. It sounded so eerily familiar to me somehow. I laid there awake for hours longer with nothing to show for it before eventually falling asleep huddled in the centermost part of my bed. The light slipped in through the window in my room, but it was the crying and loud voices I heard coming from the living room that woke me up. I crept out of bed and cupped my ear against the door to try and hear what was going on. With everything I'd been dealing with, I wasn't prepared for what I heard. Ryan and his family had come back late the night before, but when they woke up in the morning, he was nowhere to be found. The only trace of him had been a streak of blood that stretched across his floor and disappeared beneath his bed. It was at that moment that I knew the voice I'd heard had been his. A lot of people were organized to search the neighborhood and surrounding woods. I knew exactly what had happened to him. I even tried to tell people, but of course no one would believe me. I told them about the shack, though, but no one wanted to listen to the hysterical child. Ryan was never found. His family moved away. A few months later, I assumed to escape the constant reminder of their son's disappearance. I myself moved on with my life as best as I could. I grew up and left town as soon as possible. I never really settled down and had kids, preferring to be alone more than anything. The older I got, the harder it was to make connections with people. I barely even have any friends, save for perhaps the people I work with. As I sit here writing this, I can't help but miss my best friend. And after all these years, the memories of it all still seem so fresh. I know that any time now, I'll hear what I've been waiting for. Tonight will be different, though. I can't keep going on like this. Tonight, it ends one way or another. I can hear Mr. Jones now moving under the bed. I hear him clearing his throat and begging me to come out. I can hear the sounds of Ryan screaming and begging to be let free. I can see those long, spindly fingers rising over the side of the bed to pull on the bedspread and sheets. I can see his yellow eyes creeping up to get one last good look at me.