A Hidden Evil

Jane was coming home after a party one night. It was just down the road, so she didn’t drive over, the cost of gas was terrible. So, she was walking home from the party, a little drunk, even if she was 16. Everyone was doing it these days, and she wasn’t driving, so why couldn’t she have a few drinks?

As she was walking, one of the street lights went out. Drunk as she was, Jane ignored it and kept walking, her main thought to make sure she remained upright. She stumbled a little, and fell to her knees.

“Ugh…I really shouldn’t have drank so much of that punch. Man, it was good though.” Jane mumbled as she slowly got to her feet. She continued to mutter about how much she drank, stumbling along the sidewalk. Jane didn’t notice the soft shuffling of feet behind her, or the shadow behind hers. The shadow behind her kept to the darkness, creeping along quietly, so as not to alert his prey. As Jane neared her home, it struck. One hand grabbed her around the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, the other hand around her mouth so that she wouldn’t make any noise.

He dragged her away, kicking mildly, the alcohol finally knocking her unconscious, never to be heard from again.

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Alexa had heard the stories, all the stories surrounding the neighborhood of some sort of beast or creature, and of the poor girl, Jane, who was supposedly eaten by a monster of the night. Alexa didn’t believe it for a second. She never believed those supernatural stories. She didn’t believe in ghosts, or monsters, or vampires. The only thing Alexa was afraid of was missing her curfew. She had been on a nice date with a boy down the street, and Alexa had to hurry home or she would be in a lot of trouble.

Soon, a street light went out. Alexa paused for a minute, thinking about how old this neighborhood was. Oh well, she thought, just ignore it Alexa. You need to get home! And so she hurried along.

She arrived home, so completely unaware of how close she was to being snatched away just like Jane.

A few days passed, nothing out of the ordinary occurred to Alexa. Tests were given; homework was assigned as were household chores, and everything was as it should be.

Alexa was walking home from volleyball practice one afternoon, it was nearly 5. The chilly October breeze blew, and leaves were whipped into small tornadoes on the sidewalk and in the road.

Her mother had told her to go visit the neighbors, see if they needed anything. It had been a few weeks since her family moved in, and her mother figured that Alexa should introduce herself to everyone, since Alexa had been at volleyball tryouts when her family went around and introduced themselves.

She went door to door, introducing herself as her parents’ daughter, and each person or family acted politely, and then Alexa was on her way again. Soon, she came to an older house. It looked like the years had not been kind to the house, the shutters were barely hanging on, the house needed a good wash from the look of green on its sides, and the screen door was merely a frame. She rang the doorbell gingerly, and an older looking man answered it.

“Good afternoon sir, my name is Alexa, and my family and I moved in a few weeks ago.” Alexa said.

“Ah, nice to meet you. Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” The man commented, “I’m Arthur. Arthur Smith. You can call me Mr. Smith if you like, or Artie as some of the neighbors do.”

“Okay Mr. Smith,” Alexa replied, “Well, I live right down the street. If you have any spare chores you need done, I do need money and—“ Mr. Smith cut her off.

“Oh, actually I do need something done. My pet hasn’t been fed in a long while, and it’s hard for me to feed him. Would you mind coming inside?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Well, sir, I just met you, and my mother needs me home…” Alexa insisted.

“Nonsense! It won’t take but five minutes dear, I promise you that.”

Alexa reluctantly followed him in. He led her down many halls filled with old pictures of young girls. She figured they were his daughters or granddaughters, though Mr. Smith showed no signs of being married.

Mr. Smith was silent as they traveled through the empty and dusty halls. Eventually, they reached an old wooden door. It had a large lock on it, for whatever reason.

“He’s right down here sweetie. Here, watch your step.” Mr. Smith unlocked and opened the door.

Alexa crept down the old stairs that creaked at every step her and Mr. Smith made. Her gut told her she shouldn’t be here, that she should be at home, getting ready for dinner. Don’t worry Alexa; he’s a frail old man. What harm could he do to you? She thought to herself. This seemed to calm herself down, since she took karate when she was younger.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and waited for Mr. Smith to come down.

“Curse these old frail bones. Getting harder and harder these days to get down here.” Mr. Smith muttered as he stepped off the final step. “Wait right here dear, I’ll go get my pet for you. I’ll be right back.”

Mr. Smith walked off and turned around a corner into the darkness. Alexa wondered what kind of pet Mr. Smith housed. Maybe a lizard? Or a guinea pig? No, he probably has a bigger pet, she thought.

As soon as that thought entered and left her mind, she heard a high pitched hiss, and the sound of something sliding. She took a step to run up the stairs but it was too late for Alexa to escape the trap that Mr. Smith had set up for her. The large, man-eating snake slithered around the corner and opened its mouth wide to show off some gleaming white fangs. As the snake took hold of Alexa and its fangs sliced through her back to emit a scream from her, Mr. Smith came slowly around the corner. Alexa soon turned limp in the snake’s grip, and Alexa’s now lifeless body slid down the snake’s throat, the snake making a gulping sound, and the dead girl lay in the snakes limber and smooth body just waiting to be digested.

The large red and black snake turned to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith patted its head and said, “I know dear. That girl was awfully thin, you must be hungry still. Don’t you worry now, I’ll find you a worthy snack.” And with that comment, Mr. Smith retreated up the stairs to find another victim to unwillingly fall into his trap.