User:ToniTurtle

''' == I sat on the couch, my five-year-old son Hunter enjoying his toys in the backyard with his mom. I heard the door creak open and turned my head to see him coming inside with his mother. I shivered slightly as the frigid air came through the door. I pulled a blanket up over my legs as Hunter stripped off his coat, hanging it on the coat rack next to him. He ran over to me, jumping on the couch and sitting behind my legs. I smiled down at him and he smiled back, offering a small wave as well. Angela was talking on the phone; probably with one of her clients. Hunter crawled under the small blanket as I stood up, making my way over to Angela. She put the phone down and sighed, running a hand through her hair. She walked over to the fridge, flinging papers at me and ignoring my open arms. I looked down at them, reading a few lines. I looked up at her, my brows creased in confusion. “Divorce?” I asked. I had never had any problems with Angela before. This does not make any sense! She nodded, grabbing some orange juice out of the fridge. I sighed and looked down at it. I slammed the papers down on the counter and walked into the living room again. “Hunter?” I called. He looked up and smiled at me. “Yes?” He answered. “Can you go up to your room? I’ll be up in a minute okay?” I said and he nodded, jumping up carrying the blanket with him. I walked back into the kitchen and lost it. “Divorce!? Are you kidding me?! What the hell Angela?” I yelled as she glared at me. “Because! You’re a fat lazy bum who doesn’t have a job and relies on everyone else around you for money!” She yelled back, grabbing the papers and flinging them at me again. “Sign the damn papers!” “No! Not unless I still get to see Hunter! You know that he means everything to me!” I screamed, feeling my face growing hot and red. “You do get to see him if you would fucking read!” I looked down because I would get to see him on Wednesdays and on the weekends. I sighed, grabbing a pen and signing them. I threw them at her. “Get out of my house!” I screeched. She went upstairs, packing up a suitcase and a backpack and hustled out to her car. I punched down on the countertop. “Where’s mommy going?” I heard Hunter’s small voice from behind me. I turned around, wrapping him tightly in a hug. He seemed confused but started crying soon after I released him. I held onto his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Hunter… Things are going to be different from now on. You won’t see me and mommy at the same time anymore. You’re going to be here with a babysitter while I try to find a job.” I said and he nodded. “But why daddy?” He asked, his voice shaky from crying. “Because mommy doesn’t love daddy anymore.” I said, looking at the floor. I felt him nod. “Let’s go get cleaned up and get ready for dinner, alright?” I said and a smile appeared on his lips. He nodded furiously and I smiled as well.

We walked to the car and I hoisted him up to the seat. I buckled him into his car seat and walked around the car. I heard my name being called and I turned around, but instead found nothing. Then I hear it again, just above a whisper. I turned in a circle, trying to find where the voice was coming from, but gave up soon. It tugged at me as I drove. I must just be hearing things from the fight this evening. I shrugged it off as we pulled through the McDonald’s drive through. I got a happy meal for Hunter and a small cheeseburger and fries for myself as well as some drinks. I started back for home when I heard them again. Just one this time though. “James.” It called. I sighed. “Hunter, did you call me?” I asked, looking at him from the rearview. He looked up from his orange drink. “No daddy.” He said in that cute, five-year-old voice of his. I nodded and took note of it.

Hunter has been having nightmares recently. He would come in, right around three AM, and climb into bed with me. Very night it was the same. He’d explain that he would have a nightmare of being chased by something. A monster. There was no other way to explain it. He described it as small, like a deformed human, while white like paper. And covered in bright red blood with teeth like razors. His fingers, instead of stopping and becoming nails, they instead curved into large claws. The thing didn’t even have nails! I felt my face pale and thought to myself ‘that must be extremely traumatizing for a five-year-old. This morning though, everything was different. He stayed in his room captured by sleep. I stared up at the ceiling, waiting for him to come screaming into my room. But it never came. It stayed silent and I finally fell asleep around four.

My eyes fluttered open and I peered around the room. Hunter was huddled under the blanket next to me. I closed the blinds and looked over at the time. One more hour of sleep couldn’t hurt right. Wrong. I slipped the blankets off of me and slowly stood up. I made my way to the kitchen and made some breakfast. Halfway through making it, Hunter stumbled down the stairs and up to the kitchen table. He sat in his booster seat and put his head in his hands rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Daddy, I have a headache..” He mumbled quietly. I nodded and walked over to the medicine cabinet, grabbing some children’s Tylenol. I gave him some and went back to the bacon before it burned. He muttered a think you and I grabbed a glass of milk for him to wash it down with. I put the food on the plates and set one in front of each of us. By now, his medicine had kicked in and he was smiling at the food in front of him. We talked as we began eating. “I made a friend a few days ago.” He said. “Yeah? What’s this friends name?” “He doesn’t have one.” He said, stuffing some egg in his mouth. “And why is that?” I asked. “Well, he doesn’t talk much. So he never told me his name. He doesn’t really play either. He just lays there.” He said with a smile. “And he never does anything bad.” He said. I smiled. “Well, that’s a good friend.” I said, glancing up at him. “What does he look like?” “He’s always wearing a light blue shirt, stained with something brown. His pants are blue too, just darker.” He started. “He has brown hair and he wears these beat up broken tennis shoes.” I smiled. “That’s cool. Where did you meet him?” I questioned. “Outside when I was playing.” He shrugged. I narrowed my eyes and watched him closely. Someone had come into our yard? I shrugged it off, figuring it was just the neighbors or something. We finished breakfast and I sent him up to his room to get ready to play outside. I sighed and cleaned the dishes as I replayed what he had said over and over in my head. “Outside when I was playing.” “Outside when I was playing.” I couldn’t get it out of my head. I put the last dish on the rack and rubbed my eyes. The thought left my mind as Hunter bounded down the stairs. “Ready?” I asked. He nodded and I opened the door, letting him out. He immediately ran over to the sandbox and began to dig in the sand. I smiled and went back inside.

Soon enough, after doing some random things, I heard a shrill scream from outside. I quickly rushed to the door, flinging it open to be met with Hunter’s sobbing face. I looked down at him before kneeling down and hugging him. “Hey.. What happened?” I asked quietly. “I-It’s my friend… H-His mouth is hurt!” He exclaimed. “Come and help!” I nodded and he held my hand tightly, quickly leading me to a small spot beside his sandbox where he had been digging. A lump formed in my throat and I felt my heartbeat quicken as I looked at the scene in front of me. I looked down, the matted brown hair and the smell reaching my nose. It was putrid. I gagged and forced myself to look away. I turned to Hunter as I heard someone calling my name again. I hadn’t heard it in weeks; that high-pitched voice. I slowly turned around as the small head seemed to stare at me. The jaw slack and mouth slightly agape; the skin peeling and rotting off; the eyes, clouded and white. Dark, black blood leaked from the nose, eyes, and forehead of the small head. I felt the bile rise in my throat and I turned away, throwing up the breakfast I had eaten earlier this morning. “H-Hunter… I-Is this your friend?” I turned around, looking at him as his face turned into that of a murderer. “Yes daddy.” He said, an evil smile curled onto his lips.ToniTurtle (talk) 00:51, January 9, 2014 (UTC)