Human Child

It was an old, worn cottage, about two stories and made of a dark oak wood. The cottage was far into the woods, about twenty or so miles from even the glimpse of civilization. There was no car in their driveway and no one had used the road in days. It was almost completely secluded from the rest of humanity.

Perfect.

Stalking slowly, I began towards the residence, my meter-long legs and tendril-like arms silently moving along my pale, sickly torso. My jaw unhinged, extending farther than what these humans were comfortable with. If it weren't for these characteristics, I may have been able to pass as one of them. I blinked with all 6 of my eyes as I saw the home come into focus.

I circled the perimeter of the house. 2:41 AM, the time when I stalk my victim, the time most humans used to sleep. But not this child- he was what they called a "gamer," a human so dull he had nothing to do but consume his days away with temporary pleasure.

It was sickening. They were sickening. Humanity was a disease which I needed to eradicate, one disgusting member at a time.

The radiance from his computer glowed as I approached his window. Motionless, as anticipated, his eyes glued to the screen. I pressed my face against the glass silently, watching him with my half-dozen eyes, unblinking. My favorite part of the killing was watching the terror in the victim's eyes, the life drain from their expression- but he had not noticed me. I smiled widely as I rapped the window with the apex of my appendage. Yet, there wasn't a movement from the child.

A soft growl escaped my throat as I desperately attempted to grab the boy's attention. Finally, after a good minute, I received it. His face gradually shifted from the monitor before he locked eye-contact. No reaction. I tilted my head, not in confusion, but in an attempt to frighten the child- to no avail.

Slowly starting to the front of the residence, I hung my limbs in front of myself in a limp manner. Yet, I had not heard a single sound from the interior as I slowly twisted the doorknob of the front entrance. As I entered, sterile air hit my face, smelling putrid, like a rotting corpse. Looking down, I saw the floor was littered with the gruesome, almost half-eaten remains of expired rats and birds. I clicked my razor-sharp teeth in annoyance as I advanced down the hall, towards the child's bedroom.

I turned the knob, entering slowly, as the door let out the loudest creak I had ever heard. No one had oiled it in what seemed like forever. As I had expected, the child was no longer in his bed. Glancing both ways, I swiped the piece of furniture into the air with one fluid motion- nothing. Lowering it, I began to search the room- under the desk, in the closet, nothing. Each place I looked I turned up empty handed.

There was no way the human had left the room, I would have heard the door creaking. Was there a secret escape? Was the child hiding in plain sight? Was he expecting me? My thoughts were interrupted by a growl, followed by a deep, ominous voice, echoing across the room.

"Thank you. I've been hungry for so long."

A few drips of acid hit my back as I realized there was one place I had not cared to look.

The ceiling.