Under My Bed

• Heath Cameron, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2014

Under My Bed
Although I always suspected that something was living under my bed, I never had proof until the night of my eighth birthday. My first bit of proof was the claws. I look down and see claws the size of a cricket bat. I had my camera that I got for my birthday with me so I took a picture. My camera made no sound and had no flash, so the creature didn’t notice. My second bit of evidence was the claw marks on my bed. Every five minutes I would hear something scratching the bed legs. My last piece of evidence was the mysterious shadows in my room. The shadows would move quite a lot. Suddenly without warning, the entire room shook. I see the creature crawl out from under the bed. It stood up staring me in the eye. This thing was as tall as my room! It had the smell of rotten meat. Its hands and feet were massive! Its hair was all over the place as if it had just experienced an electric shock. But those eyes. Its eyes were red and full of pure hatred. It had eyes that burned into my brain. The creature reached out towards me. I didn’t scream or yell. Instead, I stared into its eyes. Those eyes were the last thing I saw that night.
I wake up in a strange place. I blink a few times to clear my vision. I see light but it’s so far away. I wonder how I lived. Maybe it admired my guts. I mean, I stared it in the eyes instead of running. I stand up. I start walking towards the light. “You die now!” a voice screeched. I whirl around. “You won’t get away!” the voice screeched. I look closely at the shadows. It was the exact same shape I saw last night. I run for my life. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” the voice yelled. The voice was very squeaky, and very annoying. I take a look behind me. The creature is walking towards me and somehow gaining. “You will not live!” It squeaked. Panting I yell back “Over my dead body!” This angered the creature. It started running. “YOU DON’T SPEAK TO THE CLAW, CHILD!” It screamed. I pick up a rock and threw it at the creature. It hit the creature’s eye. The eye fell out and the creature screamed out in pain. I’LL KILL YOU!” the Claw yelled. When the Claw was close enough, I roll which tripped the creature. “You’re a smart brat aren’t you,” the Claw squeaked. I grin. “I’m not smart, it’s just that your dumb!” I say still grinning. The Claw stood up and screamed. It fell back onto its knees. “See, when you’re very tall, you have fragile legs,” I say. “So there easier to break,” I continue. “Don’t ever look at me again,” I say. That was the last time I saw that under my bed.