I have made a terrible mistake. Around two am, I noticed I did not have any snacks in my cupboards. A corner store was open all night, and I debated on if I wanted to go out for something. Insomnia kicked my ass most days, so I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. Going to the store would at least give me something to do. Grabbing my phone, I headed out unaware of what this short trip was about to turn into.
The store was three blocks away. Outside it was a bit chilly but as I walked, I felt warm enough to keep my coat open. The streets were completely empty due to how late it was, and the night was silent aside from my footsteps. I walked about a block, checking my phone to clear any useless notifications when out of the corner of my eyes something small caught my attention. At first, I thought it was a doll between two trash bags on the curb. When the doll darted to a closed storefront to look inside the dark window, I realized what I was looking at. A small girl was out in the middle of the night alone. She was wearing a dark red dress and her hair was dark and so long it went past her waist. I didn’t hesitate to rush over to her. She appeared to be around five, but I was bad at guessing children’s ages.
“Hey, sweetheart what are you doing out here? Are you cold?”
Her faced was pressed against the glass so I didn’t see what she looked like until she took my offered hand. When she looked up, I felt a rush of fear overtake my body. I didn’t understand what I was looking at. A child out alone was odd enough but her face just stopped all the gears in my brain.
Her eyes were black. A solid black. No pupils, just a void of color. A small part of me tried to tell myself that they were colored contacts but the smarter part was screaming that no company made contact lenses for kids that young. I wanted to think that because of the lack of light I was seeing things. For a half a second, I was able to believe that until she smiled, her mouth opening literally from ear to ear. Crooked sharp teeth that could disembowel an adult in seconds were gleaming in the very faint light. And she was holding my hand. If I wanted to make it out of this unharmed, I needed to think fast. She was already drooling over a nice tasty meal walking right up to her.
“Are you hungry? I can uh… buy you some snacks…” My voice trembled and my palms started to sweat.
She stared up, dark eyes not blinking and mouth still spread in the wide grin. More drool started to pool at the corner of her mouth and I really thought she was going to take a chunk out of my hand. Finally, she took a small step forward and with the strength of someone three times her size, dragged me forwards. Stumbling, I followed her still holding hands and with my heart rattling in my chest. Her small feet and polished doll shoes clicking on the sidewalk as we walked down one block. From her grip strength, it was clear I couldn’t just toss her aside. Running didn’t seem to be a good option either. Playing along to see how it went was the best idea.
We stopped in front of the store I had already planned on going to. The fluorescent lights buzzed in the night as we both stared at the building, waiting for the other to make the first move. She let go of my hand and I rubbed it. Her small hands gripped me so tight I felt bruised. Could I call for help once I was inside? Or just hide, hoping she went away? Glancing down, drool was dripping off her chin and that was motivation enough to go inside to buy some snacks. If I was lucky, those snacks would save my life.
I got a little bit of everything. Some chocolate bars, some chips and jerky. Aside from people, what did monster girls eat? Sugar? People? I could only hope I picked out something to distract her long enough for me to make a run for it.
The clerk noticed how stressed I was, but our exchange was mostly silent. I wasn’t going to put a second person in danger. A short pause at the door to gather my courage was needed. I Just needed to feed a little monster and then go home. That was the plan, but that did not happen.
When I walked out of the store, the girl slammed into my legs so hard, I was knocked over. The bags spilled out, chip bags and chocolate bars skidding onto the street. She wasted no time snatching them up to shove them in her mouth, wrappers and all. My wrist hit the sidewalk hard, causing pain to throb up my arm. I sat in fear and awe, unable to get up and make the planned run for it. The child scurried around like a feral animal eating through my pitiful monthly snack budget in just a few minutes. When nothing remained, she looked over her shoulder on all fours. My life flashed before my eyes as she came closer. A small hand reached out and grabbed my good wrist. With some force, she dragged me back to my feet and nearly took my arm out of my joint in the processes.
I was sweating from fear. She was fed and I no longer had any bargaining chips. At least, I didn’t think I did. She started to pull on my arm to make me take a few steps away from the store. Both arms felt hot from pain. Her free hand pointing off into the darkness and what she wanted finally came to mind.
“Do you want to play in the park?” I asked the little creature.
She let out a screech that could have been of pure joy, or a threat, it was hard to tell. A park was a short walk away from the store. I’d never gone myself because I didn’t have any kids or younger siblings but I cut through it sometimes on my way home from work. She wasn’t going to eat me yet so I followed her to the park.
Once we arrived, she let out another shriek and ran off to the slides. She kicked off her shoes and left them behind. I could have left then, but judging by how fast this little monster ran she could catch up and rip my legs off if she wanted. Even though she hadn’t really shown any signs of aggression yet, I didn’t want to risk it.
She grew bored of the slide quickly. The first few trips were going down it normally then the last three she was kicking off from the top just to see how fast she could launch herself down the plastic tube. I flinched each time her body slammed into the wood chips. Without any sign of an injury, she got back up to dust off her now torn dress. Getting back to all fours, she took off towards the swings, kicking up grass and dirt.
How did I get roped into babysitting a supernatural creature in the middle of the night? As I watched her try and figure out how swings worked, I looked around the empty park. Lately there hadn’t been too many kids playing around because small animals were found torn apart around the area of the equipment lately. Squirrels and birds murdered in large numbers freaked out the local parents. Thankfully it wasn’t any dogs or cats. I really can’t deal with seeing dead pets. Two days ago, a homeless man that lingered in the area went missing. All that was left behind was some blood and torn clothing. It really convinced parents to not use this park.
My head snapped back towards the girl putting all those facts together. It wasn’t a coincidence that dead animals and a missing person showed up shortly before I ran into her. Getting ready to run, I checked to see if she was even paying any attention to the only other person around. She’d gotten bored of the swings quickly as well. For a moment she sat gathering up the wood chips in a pile. My chest tightened when she looked up but not in my direction. Instead, she waved at something I didn’t see.
Going back to her pile, she placed a long stick she found in the middle. Again, she darted off on all fours, leaping onto the metal climbing equipment with a thud that echoed through the night. I could have left, but something kept me standing and watching.
She didn’t look as if she was really playing. At moments she would pause to interact with someone who was not there. The interactions were odd enough to keep my attention. It was as if she was addressing other children. Pausing at the top of the slide she waited before going down. My mind filled in the blanks. She was acting as if the park was full and she was playing with other children.
At first, I thought maybe she was seeing ghosts or something I couldn’t see, but that thought freaked me out and I dismissed it. Was she acting like this because she was just copying how she saw other kids act? Being so focused on my own thoughts, I didn’t even notice her coming over.
A slap of a small hand brought me back. She slapped my leg hard enough for it to sting. Then darted away looking over her shoulder watching. When I just stood there, not understanding what was going on, she ran back and slapped me again, a bit more forceful the second time. Again, she ran a few steps, tense like a wild animal.
A theory came to mind that was quickly proven as correct. She wanted to play tag. Play or get eaten? I went with the better option. But it really wasn’t a game of tag because I didn’t catch her. Not even close. Whenever I was close, she cheated by going on all fours to race through the wet grass. Her small shape a blur of motion.
I wasn’t in shape and needed to stop very soon after the game started. Was hide and seek next? If it was, I would just leave. That idea was pushed aside when the little creature spotted something in the bushes near the entrance of the park. Her eyes appeared to get larger on her small face and her mouth opened so wide it looked as if it was big enough to swallow a watermelon. Whatever animal was in the bushes didn’t stand a chance. Disappearing into the brush, horrible blood curdling screams came from something not human. It was impossible to know if it was her or the animal she had found that was making those noises.
I was frozen to the spot, again questioning what brought me here. She came out, face dripping with blood. Her dress was torn and stained; her bare feet were covered in mud. We made eye contact and she simply coughed up a clot of bloodied fur.
I was going to have nightmares for the rest of my life because of this. My entire body tensed and skin crawled when she came over and sat next to where I was frozen in fear. Silently she stared up at the sky, her toes wiggling. Snapping from her trance she looked at my face with a smile. This time, it didn’t look as creepy as before. Raising a small hand, she gave a few waves and looked back at the sky.
Did that wave mean she was done hanging out with me? Could I leave? Testing it out, I took one step away. Then another. The distance between us grew and I nearly made it out without any injuries. Instead of doing the smart thing and just leaving, I opened my dumb mouth.
“If you’re uh.. In the area… you can come and see me anytime.”
I mentally kicked myself for saying such a thing. Yes, she did look like a child, but she also looked like a nightmare. Why in the hell did I offer to hang out again? The little thing smiled away only giving me another few waves. I needed to get the hell out of there before I did something stupid again.
Getting back home only took a few minutes. Kicking off my shoes, the first thing I did was get into bed. Unable to sleep, I stared at the ceiling wondering what the hell happened. No one would believe me so I didn’t plan on telling anyone the story to friends.
If I didn’t say something before leaving that girl in the park, I may have had a chance to forget about the entire thing. Nearly a week after the strange meeting, I fell asleep a little after midnight. It was very rare I was in bed and actually passed out before dawn. When grey light came through the bedroom windows, I woke up groggy and feeling the need for the washroom. Being so tired I didn’t notice something different in my room at first. The bedroom door was open. I didn’t remember opening it. I lived alone, but closing the door was a habit I still held from growing up in a house full of noisy siblings.
Then my eyes travelled over to the foot of my bed where a lump that had not been there a few hours before made me jerk back, fully awake. There was something under my blankets. I kept telling myself a stray cat somehow got inside and curled up under the sheets even though the shape was too large for a cat. Knowing I couldn’t ignore this, I lifted the blankets off in one sweep.
That girl I’d met was curled up much like a cat would sleep. And a dead bird with a twisted neck stained my sheets. No matter how much I begged it all to be a dream, it didn’t change the fact she was there. Unable to think, I dumbly watched as she lifted her head looking dazed. Still half asleep, she nudged the corpse of the bird away from her as an offering.
“No… Thanks. You keep it.”
Hearing those words, she opened her mouth and snatched the bird up in one bite. Bones crunched and broke. Each snap made me curl up tighter and further away from the monster. Then, her head fell back down on the mattress. When I was positive she wasn’t going to wake up, I ran to the washroom and locked the door.
I could have called the police. I could have done a lot of things. Somehow, I chose the worst thing to do. I let her stay.
Two days have passed since she showed up. Aside from birds, she eats normal foods. I’ve been going to work, trying to act as normal as possible. When I arrive home, she’s still there either hanging out on the couch staring at cartoons, or in a nest of blankets she made on my bed. Somehow, I’ve gotten her to take a bath and cleaned her dress as best as I can. But I would need to get her new clothing. Honestly, I have no idea how long she’s going to stay here for. Every time she kills a bird and chews on the brittle bones I feel a chill knowing if I upset her, I could be eaten next. This girl might stay for a while, or be gone tomorrow. Who knows what goes through the heads of monsters.
Another mistake I made that night we met was I accidentally gave her a name. This creature that was decimating the local bird population and was an ever looming threat on my life, will now only answer to Sweetheart.