Hidden Fear

They Lurk In The Shadows

As a young child, I was always told never to go outside once the sun went down. No matter how much I begged and thrown myself on the floor in a fit of rage, my parents didn't budge. As the years passed by, not a single person was seen out while the night sky shadowed over the neighborhood. There's never any after school activities, midnight store runs, or graveyard work shifts. It was declared by the town mayor, that no one and nothing was allowed to step out of their home after sundown.

I slumped in the porch bench, staring out into the empty neighborhood street. One more hour to go and the moon would rise. I stayed there basking in the dim rays of the falling sun. This was it, after all these years I was finally going to be the first to enjoy the freedom of roaming the dark streets and gaze upon the stars. I just had to be patient and wait. Sadly, my plan was ruined. Again. " Laura, get your butt in this house right now!" My mother held the door open; she narrowed her eyes and pointed the spatula at me. "I'm not a child anymore, mother." My head lolled to left, I stared my mother down just as she did me. I swore I could see fumes coming from her ears. "Honey, leave her alone. It's not dark yet, just let her sit outside for a bit and enjoy the fresh air." My father patted her shoulder and gave me a gentle smile.

He checked his wristwatch, his nose twitched. His gentle smile turned into a frown. "Laura, please don't stay out too late. You are only a have a few minutes of light left." I could see in his deep hazel eyes the concern and unease. No one ever knew why we weren't allowed out when the darkness came. It was a town decree that no one dared to question. Many of the townspeople believed it to be a way to keep troubled teens off the streets. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," I snickered. My father lowered his eyes and motioned for mom to leave me be. The screen door slammed behind them.

I sat up straight and zipped my bomber jacket. Just a few more minutes and I would have something exciting to brag to my friend's bout at school tomorrow. The sun vanished, leaving the moon and all its beautiful glory basking in the darkness of the sky. This is it! Finally! "Yes!" I screamed for joy at the top of lungs . I was the first person to stay out at night. The sounds of house doors locking and window shutters closing startled me. It was if the entire neighborhood was going on lockdown. Making sure nothing came in from the outside. "No flipping way! Laura! ," I squinted my eyes to see one of my friends across the street under the dim street light waving. "Tanya!" I shrieked and skipped down the front steps .

"Can you believe this? We are outside after curfew!" She screeched with joy and clasped my hands in hers as we jumped up and down like bunnies . "Jeez, woman. Blow out my eardrums, will you!" I turned to see two others from our friend group making they're down the sidewalk to us. "Trevor! Daniel! ," I shouted. They both waved and smiled. "And here I was hoping to be the one to brag about my nightly adventures with you all tomorrow," I giggled. Daniel grunted, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, "So we just going to stand here chit chatting or explore the many wonders of the night?"

The sounds of frogs and owls was like music to my ears. It was so peaceful at night. "Isn't that Mr. Kerr's dog?" Trevor asked . The big bulky bulldog strutted his way down the street with his tongue lolling out the corner of his mouth. "Seems we aren't the only ones eager to explore the unknown," Daniel chuckled.

The dogs' ears perked, he abruptly turned his head side to side then vanished into the bushes. We started our adventure down the street, basking in the wonders of the nighttime world. From the moths flocking around the streetlights to the owls perched up high within the trees. "I don't get why this was banned? Like it's so peaceful and relaxing. Look at that!" Tanya shrilled . We watched as a family of possums crossed the street in front of us. "Aw look at the babies on its back, how cute."

The more we walked, the further into the dark we went. Trevor scanned the surroundings; he looked a little lost. "Everything alright? " I ask. With a puzzled look, he scratched his neck. "Yo. Trev. You good?" Daniel questioned his friend . "Have y'all noticed there's not many streetlights or houses this way," he looked around, his eyes narrowing to slits. Tanya spoke up, "now that you mention it, I don't hardly see anything. Have we walked too far from the neighborhood?" Daniel scratched his bearded chin, "Nah we couldn't have, the neighborhood is pretty huge. I don't think we've walked that far, have we?" He sounded unsure of his own answer. I turned around in circles, scanning each area near and far. "There's no street signs," I whispered.

The sound of an animal yelping startled us. "What was that?" Tanya shrieked . She clung to Daniel's arm. Trevor stepped forward a few steps, he cupped his hands around his eyes like binoculars. "I think.... I think that's Mr. Kerr's dog. "he murmured aloud . The bulky little dog ran as fast his legs would let him; blood matted his fur. "He's hurt!" Tanya exclaimed, "We need to help him." Before any of us could take a step towards him, a large skeletal head with a mouth filled with two sets of razor-sharp teeth descended from the darkness and swallowed the dog whole. The head twisted round and round, the dogs' yelps of agony blared loudly in our ears as blood splattered within the air. Tanya shakily lifted her hand to her face and pulled back to see it stained with dark red liquid," Ahhhhhh!!!"

We all scurried backwards, putting as much distance between us and the mysterious creature. "Holy fuck!" Daniel yanked Tanya back as another head popped out of nowhere beside them. It opened its massive mouth wide. Wider and wider it became, till it was almost touching the pavement. "Get back!" I screamed ,"the damn thing is going to try to swallow you too!" Daniel pulled Tanya along with him as they turned and ran back the way we came. I grabbed Trevor's hand and pulled him along as we ran. "What the hell are those things!?," Daniel panted. The more we ran the more the shadows seemed to close in around us. Even with the moons guiding light, it felt as if the shadows were engulfing everything in sight.

"Just keep running," Trevor exhaled, his breathing becoming ragged. It felt like miles and miles, it didn't seem we were getting any closer to the neighborhood. "This is bullshit! It can't be that far away, I know we couldn't have wandered off that far," Daniel choked out. Tanya struggled to keep going, she skidded to a halt. She crouched over with her hands on her legs and took deep breaths, "I can't. I can't do this!" We stopped and looked at her. "Come on, Tanya! We must keep going. No telling if those things are still following us," Trevor breathed out. He took deep breaths and steadied his heartbeat. "He's right, Tany. We're sitting ducks if we stay here. We need to keep moving."

She looked defeated. Her long strawberry blonde hair clung to her face with sweat. "Fine! " she shouted ," Let's fucking get—-" it happened so fast , I couldn't believe it what I saw. Tanya was standing there one minute then the next half her body dangled from the creature's mouth. The bottom half fell to the ground with a hard sickening gut-wrenching thud. "Move!" "Laura, we got to go!" "Laura!" I stood there immobilized by fear. I could hear the boy's worried voices in my ears, but I couldn't move. The skeletal head's mouth grinned so wide; the ends went up into its empty eye sockets. "Move, Laura!" Trevor yanked hard on my arm and tugged me away from the monstrosity. "It ...it ate her! " I whimpered , tears swelled in my eyes.

"I see some lights up ahead!?," Daniel shouted. He pointed to a small lit area; the street sign read Popper Lane. "It's my street!" I yelled . We had finally made it back. We had finally made it back to safety of the lights! "Hurry! We almost ther—-" Crunch! Daniel's limbs flung about as it was being devoured in midair. "Fuck!" Trevor cursed , he grabbed my hand tightly and we ran . We ran and ran, our legs burned and ached. We ran down the street towards my home. Running up the steps, I banged on the screen door repeatedly, "Mom! Dad" Trevor stood close to me, his eyes scanning the shadowed areas around us. I banged harder, "Mom! Dad! Unlock the door!" I heard the storm door unlock. Dad opened the door. "Dad!" I shrieked , " Daddy , unlock the screen door ." Something didn't feel right. My dad just stared at us. His hazel eyes shifted to the side, " We warned you, Laura." I tilted my head, " I know that, Daddy. I should have listened. Please, unlock the door." His eyes shifted again to the other side then slowly stepped back, his hand slowly pushing the door close, "Goodbye, Laura." What? I watched helplessly as my father closed and locked the door. "Oh, fuck. Laura, watch out—"Crunch! I slowly turned around and gulped. Dozens of those creatures flocked about in my yard. I jolted as Trevor's mangled body was thrown to the ground with a thud. The largest head with the wide smile lowered till it was eye level with me. Goodnight, Laura. Crunch!