Chapter 6: I'm Stuck Part 2

Should I go with my parents?  Or just deal with it and stay home like any other normal teenager.  Thinking about it, I realize that it isn't really all that bad.  After all, I am 13 and it isn't a big deal. I look down and see Bubba pushing my door open slowly with his big head.  He bounces over to me and licks my foot.  The whole time I keep picturing one of those cartoon dogs bouncing along, going "Boingy, boingy, boingy." When he is done, he curls up on my bed and falls asleep.  Looking at him sleeping sweetly, I just know that having him around won't be much good.  If someone decides to break into the house, he will just lick them and demand attention. Working up the courage to do this, I go in and tell my mom, 'Becky just called, and she can't come over.  Unfortunately, she didn't get her homework all done and her mom won't let her." Mom looks at me while she is getting dressed and says, 'I see.  You have a decision to make.  Either stay here alone or come with us, but don't call me an hour after we leave and expect us to come home." 'But what if there is an emergency?" 'You will be fine.  I know you can handle this." She brushes her hair and applies her makeup.  After putting on the final touches, she stands up and hugs me. 'You have a good night."  She says as she rubs my back. Dad comes out of the bathroom, changed and all ready.  He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.  'Don't have too much fun."  He smiles and the two of them walk out the door together. When they shut the door, I lock it.  Turning around, I look around the living room and wonder what I should do.  I sit down on the couch and turn the T.V. on. Not finding a movie that looks interesting, I go to movie flicks and click on that.  When it opens, right away I see a movie that I want to watch.  Clicking on it, I try to sit back and relax.  Curling up, I grab the throw from the seat next to me and pull it over my legs. Opening my eyes, I realize that I have fallen asleep, so I glance around.  Noticing that the movie is over and it's after midnight, I mumble 'Oh, dang."  Standing up, I try to wake myself up. Not wanting my parents to find me still awake when they get home, I rush to my room.  Turning my light on, I take off my clothes quickly and put on my purple pajamas.  Yawning, I take a drink of water from the nightstand, before getting in bed and pulling up the covers. Just as I close my eyes, I hear a familiar scratching noise from the closet.  Opening them, I bolt up in bed.  Bubba, my fearless monster slayer is laying on the floor comatose, but he hears it too and jumps up.  I notice that his ears are perked up and he cocks his head as he tries to hear something over by the closet. Making him sit, I crawl out of bed to find out what is making that noise. The closer I come to it, the faster the scratching gets.  Scared that it's an animal in the wall, I hesitate because the last thing I need is a rat bite or a bat flying out from somewhere in the dark. Bubba barks louder and runs to my side.  'Bubba sit!" I command, because if it is a rodent, he might get bit.  I don't want him getting rabies and there is no way of knowing what is exactly causing it. Seeing something out of the corner of my eye, I turn sharply but can't see anything.  I could have sworn that something dashed under the bed.  So instead of waiting for my parents to come home, I cautiously walk over to the bed and kneel to look underneath.  When I raise the covers, I peer under my bed and don't see anything except for a few dust bunnies. As I stand back up, I start to hear the scratching noise again. "Scrrrrratch.  Scrrrrrrrrratch." This time louder and more drawn out.  I begin to wonder.  'What is going on?"  I say out loud and rub my neck subconsciously.  Turning all the lights on, I open the closet, push my clothes aside and then the noise stops. I scratch my head and lean forward to listen, then suddenly, I hear something tearing and I watch as the wall opens up in front of me.  All I see is complete and utter darkness, until a pair of animalistic hands with giant claws reach out and grab me so quickly, I can't fight.  The next thing I know, I open my eyes and I'm blind. Starting to cry, I hear something.  From behind me a deep growling noise echoes in the darkness.  I struggle to keep my sanity, but then I see a faint sliver of light in the distance.  I walk towards it, and I can see my parents searching my room. I hear Bubba barking and scratching in front of me, but there seems to be a barrier between us.  It's like looking through a one-way mirror, where I can see them, but they can't see me. Reaching out to Bubba, I try to touch him.  No such luck. 'Sorry Fella, I guess I'm Stuck."  I begin to pound on the barrier.  Nothing.  I realize that there is no way out and a sense of hopelessness surrounds me. Watching quietly, I notice things aren't the way they looked when I disappeared for some reason.  I study the appearance of my parents going through my things and for some reason they look older.  There is dust on everything and even Bubba doesn't look the same. I hear a familiar voice coming closer and realize that it's Becky.  'Can I have her sticker collection?  It reminds me of when we were kids.  We used to both collect them."  At first, I didn't recognize the woman standing by my parents, but then I look closer, and I can still see the teenager I once knew. Hoping someone will hear me, I pound hard on whatever barrier is between us.  Nothing again.  Why?  Suddenly from behind me I feel claws digging into my sides and I scream. Noticing hot breath on my ear, I scream louder.  I sense nothing, then the pain sears through my shoulder blades.  Feeling blood trickling down my arms and hands, the pain hits me so hard that I think I'm going to lose my mind. I turn around to face my attacker and this time in the light shining from my bedroom, I see the blood-soaked claws shimmering in the faint light.  Those claws don't belong to anything I have ever seen in my life.  They must surely be connected to a monster. Feeling them slash my face, my blood-soaked tears hinder my site as I watch the light disappear and everything turns to complete darkness again.  The next time I open my eyes, the agonizing pain has stopped, and I see another sliver of light coming from my bedroom again.  I creep closer and notice something odd.  The couple I see in the room are not my parents.  Instead, it's a young man and woman. They seem to be expecting and have a little toddler that is running around the room.  The room has been remodeled into a dinosaur theme, that decorates the walls and ceiling.  I listen closely when I hear barking, but it's not Bubba.  A Labrador Retriever stares into the closet at me, trying to reach me. I knew then wherever I was, it wasn't in my room, and I would never leave it again.  From behind me I start to hear the same deep growling and scratching from so many times before, come towards me.  The last thing I think of before I escape this place, is when I was a kid and how happy I was.