Closed Doors

What is behind the door? I do not know. Let us go find out...

The door creaks as I open it slowly and step over the threshold. I reach for a light, but there is not a switch. I call out, almost whispering, "Is anyone there?"

I do not hear anything at first, but then as if a windswept it in, the sound came to me. It was like a low growling but not from any animal. Not from a human throat, but as if by something far more alien… It was not alien, though. It was vaguely familiar. Like a dream almost. I saw images flashing before my eyes in my mind like an old movie. Then I saw it.

There it was. In the far corner of my mind. I was a young girl. I was sleeping in my bed. Back then, I did not have a door to my closet. It was supposed to eliminate the "monsters" I kept claiming I was seeing. The counselor said it was because of some trauma I had experienced when I was even younger. I doubted it. But she kept insisting it was never there.

It was a gnarly beastie. Small with short arms and legs. Small fat head. Sharp-as-glass teeth, and it carried a long stick with it everywhere. It had glowing ruby red eyes. I used to call this creature a gremlin.

It would haunt the end of my bed and jump on it when it wanted something. Once, it woke me up so I could see it. It never harmed me. It would growl, jump around, and escape back into the closet whenever I awoke.

This time it was back and growling at me and waiting.

It was waiting for something to happen. I immediately opened the door wider to see it full force. When I did, the thing jumped at me, knocking me down in the process, and came up to my face. When I was down, it stared right into my eyes and spoke.

"You follow now!!!"

It had never spoken before. Its raspy little voice told me that much. It was a horrifying sound anyway. It shook me to my bones. Its voice, though raspy, had something behind it even more familiar to me than I wanted to admit.

I stared at it in awe as it backed up and tugged at my shirt rather forcefully.

Why had it decided to speak now? Of all the times it should have spoken to me, it decides now is a better time!?

I shook my head after the beast stabbed me with something excruciatingly painful and sharp. What was stabbing me was its long-forgotten fingernail. No doubt used for other means. As I stared at its nail in my skin, it quickly pulled it out of me and motioned for me to come. I finally decided to roll over and pick myself up from the floor it had pushed me down on and started walking with it.

It motioned to the forest behind my house when we got outside and gave me the end of its stick to grab to keep up. It was running by now. I ran along with it as fast as I could to keep up. Then I heard another two pairs of feet catching up with us. And then another. And another. Then soon, it seemed there was a whole pack. I looked around, trying to keep up still, and saw tufts of white and black fur between the tree limbs. A red-eye flashing here. One there. Shiny white sharp teeth...

I paused for too long and smashed right into a tree, and when I fell over, I silently landed on something soft, slightly damp, and smelling of green plants and earth. Pain spread over the whole left side of my face. When I reached up to touch it lightly, it had already started swelling. The gremlin stopped and ran back and stared at me angrily.

"You no stop! We go!! Now!!!"

It grabbed my hand to put it on the stick again in preparation to run again. My hand fell off as soon as I tried to stand. Then I fell back down on the soft stuff again. This time I looked at it as my vision was beginning to get blurry.

"What big teeth you have... And nose…" I mumbled to myself, mostly thinking that whatever I was seeing couldn't respond.

"Yes, dear. All the better to pick you up with."

Then black.