Two Tales of Terror

The Monster of All Monsters

Jesse's closet opened with a creak, and a large hairy hand with pointy nails curled its fingers around the door. The monster had been inside Jesse's room before—not that Jesse had noticed. He slept through everything.

The Closet Monster peered out through the darkness, his yellow eyes falling on Jesse— the one human no monster could scare. If only he wasn't such a deep sleeper. But the Closet Monster wasn't about to give up. He hadn't gotten his reputation of being the scariest bedroom haunt by giving up. No. He'd find a way to make Jesse tremble in fear.

The monster took one step out of the closet, his toenails scratching the wood floor. He saw his reflection in the mirror behind Jesse's door and growled happily. He looked hideous. Hairy with big teeth that protruded from his mouth. He let his green saliva drip down his sharp fangs and puddle on the floor. Tonight would be his night. He reached his arms out toward Jesse.

"Just a second," hissed a voice from under the bed. The Closet Monster stopped and gave a warning snarl.

"Easy there, big guy," the creature said as it emerged from its hiding place. "This is my human. I've had dibs on him. So go find someone else to terrify."

The Closet Monster roared loudly, his saliva spraying green across the bed and walls. Still Jesse slept.

"Oh, come on! I just had my slime cleaned!" the Monster Under the Bed said, picking up

a dirty sock and wiping his slime-covered body. He looked like he'd rolled around in tar.

"Who are you?" the Closet Monster asked in his deep growling voice.

"Don't pretend you don't know," the slimy tar creature answered. "I'm the Monster Under the Bed. You had to have heard of me. I'm the scariest monster around. Ask anyone."

"The Monster Under the Bed, huh? Last I heard you were scaring the Murphy's up the street," the Closer Monster said.

"Too easy. I scared them senseless the very first night I was there. I came here because rumor has it this human can't be scared."

The Closet Monster puffed out his hairy chest. "Well, you're too late. I got here first."

"Oh, is that so?" The Monster Under the Bed flicked black slime at his new rival.

"Yes. I'm going to be the first monster to scare this guy. The ghost up and left last week after trying to scare Jesse for fifteen years. And the Boogieman? Please, he didn't stand a chance." The Closet Monster licked his teeth. "But I've heard this guy talk in his sleep. He has a thing for pointy teeth. Reading too many vampire novels probably, but whatever. It works to my advantage."

"You know, I think I'll let you have a go at him," the Monster Under the Bed said. "Might be fun to watch. When you fail, I'll show you how this scaring thing is really done." He slid across the floor, leaving a slimy black trail all the way to the corner where he hid in the shadows.

The Closet Monster skulked his way to Jesse's bed, salivating at the thought of tasting Jesse's salty skin. The more he scared a human the more the human sweat, and the Closet Monster loved the sweaty taste of fear.

He climbed onto the bed, crawling on all fours over Jesse's sleeping figure. His toenails pierced the blankets, slicing half moons every few inches. He felt the heat from the human's body and listened to his rhythmic breathing. This was almost too easy. He'd be in perfect position, hovering over Jesse with his teeth centimeters from his face, and the human would wake to green saliva dripping onto his cheeks, burning his skin like acid.

"Want to move this show along?" the Monster Under the Bed asked from his seat in the corner. "I'm getting a little bored over here." He picked up Jesse's gym bag, searching for something to eat—preferably old smelly socks or gym shorts.

"Don't rush me!" the Closet Monster growled. "And keep quiet over there. I don't need you waking the human before I'm in position. I want my teeth to be the first things he sees when he opens his eyes."

"Hey, is this your bag?" the Monster Under the Bed asked. "Did you get into it with the Boogieman again?"

"Would you please be quiet already?" the Closet Monster said, but then he stopped. "What do you mean did I get into it with the Boogieman?"

"You've got him in about a million pieces in this bag," the Monster Under the Bed said. "Man, you give us a bad name when you go killing our own kind. Stick to humans, would you?"

The Closet Monster froze, hovering over Jesse, who was still sleeping soundly. "The Boogieman is in that bag?"

"Don't play dumb," the Monster Under the Bed answered.

"But I didn't... It's not my bag." The Closet Monster looked back at Jesse. He knew the Boogieman was the last monster to try to scare Jesse, but he'd given up days ago. That's why the Closet Monster had shown up. It was his turn.

"Okay, so you stuffed him in the human's bag. Was that how you planned to scare him? By shoving the Boogieman's hacked-up body in the guy's gym bag?"

"No," the Closet Monster said. "I didn't do it. I would've loved the chance to rip that guy to shreds, but it wasn't me."

"Come on! Then who was it?"

The Closet Monster felt Jesse shift underneath him.

Jesse's eyes snapped open. "It was me!" Jesse said, reaching out to grab the Closet Monster by his huge hairy arms. Jesse squeezed, snapping the monster's arms like twigs, and the Closet Monster shrieked in pain. "Nice teeth," Jesse said. "But mine are better."

The Closet Monster stared in horror as Jesse's teeth grew before his eyes. "You're no human," he said. "What are you?"

"I'm the thing that monsters fear," Jesse said.

The last thing the Closet Monster heard was the sound of Jesse's teeth ripping into his neck as the Monster Under the Bed shrieked in terror.