Monster In the Room

'I’m assigning you to a small girl' the caseworker said ever so gently.

You wouldn’t think a 9 ft furry demon with razor sharp teeth and nostrils as large as a human head could speak so eloquently.

I shook my head. 'I don’t do field work anymore. You know that'

I hadn’t scared for a long time. Mainly because I knew something in my head had gone wrong. There was only a very small handful of beasts that knew I couldn’t do it anymore. Most monsters are killed once they no longer serve a purpose so I had kept only a handful of beasts on a need to know basis. My caseworker knew very well I no longer enjoyed seeing the terrified look on a child’s face when they realised nightmares were real. That’s why for the past 300 years I’ve been training other beasts to do what I can’t do.

'I do, but you are my last hope. I’ve assigned 4 others to this girl and they all quit. The latest one lasted 2 nights.'

My eyes widened. This had never happened before. No child in the history of scaring has ever not been afraid of the monster lurking under their bed.

'What’s wrong with her?' I snorted

'They never said'

'Liar.' I paused 'OK, I’m intrigued.' I smiled 'How old?'

'5. Only child'

A child is not assigned a monster until they reach 3 years old and are old enough to be scared of one. They usually stay with them until they are around 8 or longer if they still believe we can hurt them. But no one has ever gone through 4 monsters within 2 years. I shook my head. I really didn’t want to do this but something about this case felt different and the reason I was being assigned it was even more so.

I sighed heavily. '5 years old and 4 monsters. Either she’s one herself or your tricking me into field work'

'Would I do that to you?'

'Yes' I retaliated quickly

She smirked and tilted her head to the side. 'yeah, you’re probably right, but this time no tricks'

'Fine, I’ll do it. But don’t fill my desk yet. I’m coming back for it'

'Don’t be so sure'

'Is there something you’re not telling me?' I pushed

'No' she hesitated. 'I just think this one needs to be you'

The time was 7.01pm. The little girl was being tucked up in bed. Her mother read her a story and kissed her good night and left the room. I decided to wait a while until she was starting to drift off before I would reach out and grab her. I could hear her parents arguing downstairs but it was too muffled to figure out what they were saying and I really didn’t care.

What I did hear though was the girls breathing getting heavy and then quick as anything she dived out of the bed and shuffled backwards under it. She took one look at me and instead of being scared she cuddled me. She buried her head deep into my dark tangled fur and closed her eyes. I looked at her confused. Why would she do this? Why isn’t she afraid?

Without warning the door of the bedroom comes flying open. The man stood there for a brief moment glancing round the room. The stench of alcohol hit me first, then cigarettes, then sweat.

'Where you hiding, girl?' the man snarled as he took a step into the room.

Then it dawned on me. She isn’t afraid of me, or any other monster because she already has a monster of her own.

The man bent down and without even looking under the bed, reached out a hand grabbing the girl by her hair and dragging her across the carpet. I could hear her skin scrape across the stiff fabric and knew she was going to have carpet burns. But she didn’t even cry. I could hear her breathing get heavier but she didn’t make a single sound.

I couldn’t do this. It was time to break the rules. I lifted my 8ft self from under the bed. Don't ask how we manage to fit under there we just do. My black fur only visible from the hallway light. my sharp white teeth being bared as I scowled at the man showing as much of my gums as possible. My green specked eyes squinted and I arched my back before letting out a low growl.

I picked the girl out of the man’s hands by her feet. 'Don’t ever put your hands on her again. This child is mine, do you understand?'

The man nodded and headed out of the door backwards without a sound. I dropped the girl on the bed and once she had stopped bouncing, gripped me in the tightest embrace. 'Thank you' she whispered then fell asleep against me. I lay her down in bed and went back underneath.

The following night was the same routine. Her mother tucked her up and kissed her goodnight and left. The arguing started before the woman was even at the bottom of the stairs. Then the footsteps. The girls breathing quickened and I reached a hand out of the bed and placed it on top of her. She instantly calmed and the man seemed to change his mind halfway up the stairs.

I left my arm there until she fell asleep. Knowing my caseworker assigned me not to scare this girl but protect her, because we're supposed to be their monsters not you.