With Sharp Teeth and Claws

I peer out into the darkness.

This should be my time, but I'm paralyzed with fear.

I can see across the floor to the open closet. The monster there has long tentacles and too many eyes. I catch his gaze expectantly, and he slowly shuts the closet door. There will be no help from him tonight.

Next, I stare up into the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. The ghost girl calls that space home. Her bedraggled blond hair hangs down as she clings to the ceiling. She turns her head around backwards to avoid my gaze. No help there, either.

I sigh and consider my options. Once upon a time, I'd been able to creep out from under the bed, my claws harvesting the nightmares of its occupant. The other monsters were forced to wait their turn as I ate my fill. That is, until he brought her home.

He called it a wife, but it was clear what she was: a predator. We all felt the change in the environment immediately. The creature under the dresser was the first to go - he dared to make a grab for an earring that fell off the dresser. By the next night, all that remained was a dark smear.

The other creatures quickly fled, fell in line, or were disposed of. We three were the only ones left. The situation was desperate.

As I contemplated whether to chance peeking out, a hand full of sharp nails grasped the edge of the sheet and pulled it away. Her brunette hair draped to the floor as her face appeared. She smiled, her mouth full of sharp, sharp teeth as she locked eyes with me. "Mine," she whispered hungrily before disappearing back onto the bed.

The message was clear - it was time to move on. I said a brief prayer for the man on the bed. He had far worse things to worry about than me.