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The monster stood not a tongue’s length away, eyes fixed on his throats, shriveled brain crowded with fantasies of murder. Eight year old Cody Burns gulped, slowly backing away. His foot snapped a twig in half, the sound echoing across the dark forest. The monster roared, and Cody found himself screaming and running away. He dodged fallen tree trunks and puddles and saw the firehouse from a distance.
His home.
Cody almost cried in relief, and picked up his speed. He could hear the monster ripping out roots and crawling quickly over to him, its six black legs climbing on everything. Then, he finally reached the firehouse. It was an arm’s length away.
He was so close.
Then he started to fall.
Cody screamed, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss. Then, he finally landed on something. Something hard. Looking up, he saw the monster above. It climbed down the walls, creeping closer and closer. It was a few feet above him. Then it pounced on him.
Cody screamed as he jumped off the bed. He could feel sweat dripping down his hair and face, falling onto his light green pajama shirt. He heard footsteps rushing over to his room and saw Kade, his older brother, standing there with an ax.
“Code? What’s wrong? Is there something here?” Kade asked, dropping the ax and running over to his brother. Cody stared at Kade, before breaking down into his arms.
“It was so scary! There was a monster and it tried to kill me!” Cody sobbed.
Kade shushed him, picking Cody up and placing him on his lap. He stroked the younger’s bright blonde hair.
“It’s okay. It’s gonna be alright.” Kade comforted, “You can sleep with me, m’kay? I promise to protect you. No one can hurt you. Not while I’m around.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s presence. When Kade heard soft snoring coming from Cody, he picked him up and brought him over to his own room.
Kade placed him gently onto his bed, wrapping him up with his blanket and laying down next to him. He put a protective arm around his little brother, eventually falling asleep.