The Dark

Lucy wasn't afraid of the dark. Not really. But she was afraid. She knew there was something more than ordinary darkness lurking in her room. She could sense it.

She'd seen the eyes. Green. Bright, horrible green. The pupils were small, dark and dangerous.

No one else had seen the creature. No one else believed it was there. But every night was the same. The creature taunted her, "I'll come for you..." It always said. "Not tonight, no, not tonight, but soooooooon!"

Only now, it was very soon. And last night, the creature had been closer than ever. She'd felt its breath, warm on her face. And the words had changed again. It had said, "Not tonight, no, but, tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll come for you!"

All day Lucy tried to ignore her fear of the creature, but its eyes were imprinted so vividly into her memory, that she saw them every time she closed her eyes.

The night came. "Dad? Can you leave the light on? Please?" Lucy begged.

"Lucy, honey, there's nothing in the dark that can hurt you. You have to stop being silly and learn to sleep in the dark." His voice was gentle, but strict.

Lucy's eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't protest anymore. It was useless. Her father shut the door as he left, and Lucy was once again alone in the darkness.

She watched the time tick by, as she got more and more tired, but she couldn't let herself fall asleep. If the creature did come, she wanted to be able to fight it off.

The creature had never been so late before, and Lucy, who was only ten, wasn't used to staying up so late. Her eyelids felt heavy. She could just close them, just for a minute... or two. Soon Lucy had fallen asleep.

When she woke the next morning, Lucy found herself still in her own room, safe. She sighed with relief and smiled.

For a moment she thought, maybe it was all in her head. Maybe she was crazy, maybe everything was alright. She was still smiling when she opened her bedroom door.

The hallway was no longer there. Instead there was only darkness. Darkness and the horrible green eyes. At least a dozen pairs of them, all staring into hers. Her breath caught in her throat, and she froze.

Behind her the bedroom dissolved into nothingness, her reality blurring and disappearing completely into the darkness.

"You're in our world now..." one of the creatures hissed, reaching towards her.

Lucy screamed, but there was no one to help, and nowhere to run. The darkness had finally taken her.