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Monster Mayhem
By N. P. Dobbin ©
Copyright 19th April 2005
Thomas couldn’t
believe his luck. He had received his allowance today and decided to go
shopping with his mother. He was heading to the video game shop to see
what he could get, when he saw a dingy old shop tucked away in the
corner. All the times he had come shopping with his mother, he had never
seen it. It was dark and foreboding, but seemed to draw him towards the
front door.
Opening the door, he
was startled by a sound. Looking up he saw a small bell hanging near the
door frame. What kind of shop
has bells anymore he thought.
Looking into the shop was like stepping back in time. The man standing
behind the counter was tall and grey haired, and he was dressed like a
shopkeeper from the eighteen hundreds. His eyes followed Thomas as he
made his way down one of the aisles.
There was so much
stuff here. Most of it looked like old junk to Thomas, the sort of stuff
you would find in someone’s garage or junk sale. He saw an old superman
comic that was so tattered, it would be worthless as a collector's item.
His hand moved out to pick it up anyway when a deep voice came from behind
him.
“I help you boy?” a
thickly accented voice boomed.
Thomas spun around
and faced the old man. The man’s eyes bore deep into Thomas and he began
to feel uncomfortable.
“Uh I am just
looking sir.” He whispered. The man’s lips widened into a creepy smile
and he put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder.
“I know what you
looking for. Come.”
He pushed Thomas
towards the far corner of the shop, where there was a small cardboard
box. The man picked up the box and placed it into Thomas' arms.
“I think you like.”
His voice caused the hairs on Thomas’ neck to rise. Trying to hide his
uneasiness of the old mans presence he opened the box.
Inside was a heap of
video games. Some were ones Thomas had seen or played before, and some he
had never heard of.
“Wow?” he said, not
being able to keep the awe out of his voice.
“You like?” the old
man grumbled. Thomas could only nod his head.
“You buy.” The man
commanded.
Thomas looked up at
him with a disappointed look.
“I only have ten
dollars.” He grumbled. The man smiled.
“Lucky day for you
boy. Whole box ten dollars.”
“Really?” the
excitement in Thomas’ voice was easy to detect.
“What I said didn’t
I?”
Thomas quickly
grabbed his wallet and handed the man the money. Wanting to get away from
the man and go home, he mumbled a quick thank you and goodbye before
running out of the shop.
I have just
tripled my video game collection
Thomas thought happily. That old man must be stupid. There are games
in here worth fifty bucks. He looked over his shoulder back to the
shop and saw the old man standing at the window. His smile was so evil
Thomas shuddered. Quickly finding his Mum, who had finished her
shopping, he showed her his purchase. Wishing he had bought something
educational, she just shook her head and headed for the car.
Once home, Thomas
rushed up to his room and madly began sorting through the box. There were
so many games in there, many of them he remembered begging unsuccessfully
for to his parents for birthday and Christmas presents. Choosing one he stuck
it into his machine and began playing. It seemed like only minutes before
his Mum knocked on his door to tell him that dinner was ready.
During dinner his
mother and father lectured him on the importance of doing his homework and
not spending hours playing silly video games. Thomas just smiled and
nodded, knowing that his parents were going out that night to the movies.
Back up in his room,
Thomas pretended to do his homework, but he couldn’t keep his mind on it.
He kept thinking of all the cool games he now had. Boy wouldn’t his
friends be jealous now!”
“We are leaving now
Tom. Keep an eye on your sister please. We will be back around
nine-thirty.” His father said, standing at the doorway.
“Ok Dad.” He
mumbled, staring at his book like he was trying to understand something.
Just go. He thought.
As soon as he heard
the front door close, he jumped up from his seat and went out to check on
his sister May. She was snuggled up on the couch watching the beginning
of a cartoon movie.
Excellent.
He thought that gives me
about two hours of peace.
Rushing back up the
stairs, he half closed his door, so he could hear what his sister was
doing. Turning off the light and settling back down in front of the TV
he looked at the games strewn about the floor. He worked his way through
the games one by one, just playing a little to see what they were about.
He was a General in the Second World War, a famous car driver, a captain
of a ship, a warlock out to defeat a corrupt King, plus much more. His
eyes started to droop and he decided he would check out one more before he
went to bed. By the light of the TV one caught his eye.
MONSTER MAYHEM
“I wonder what this
one's about.” He said to himself. Putting it in the controller, he waited
for the picture to come on the screen. Big green letters appeared on the
screen.
PICK MONSTER
He started
scrolling through the monsters. Each monster that appeared on screen had a
small box of details stating what their name was, what they could do and
how to kill them. Thomas stared in fascination at the gruesome figures
that were on his screen. The further down he scrolled the more ugly and
dangerous they became. There was one that sucked the skin off children
and could only be killed by cutting off its head. Its fangs hung down
near its knees and were dripping with blood. The next one looked like a
huge blob of ice cream with hair and spikes poking out all over its body.
“Gross.” Thomas
whispered turning up his nose. The tenth and final monster, was like no
monster Thomas had ever seen in a movie before. It had one huge red eye,
four mouths of razor sharp teeth and was covered in thick black matted
hair. It had the body of a man, but its feet were like dogs and its hands
were long sharp claws.
“Cool.” Thomas
said. He read the description out loud.
“Amoco, the most
dangerous monster known to man. It uses the skin of its victims for
clothes and enjoys devouring them while they are still alive. Prefers
small children, but will attack anything it can get it’s claws on. While
he is slow to move and react in the light, there is no known way of
killing it.”
Thomas’ thumb
hovered over the select button for a few seconds.
“It’s just a game.”
He chided himself for feeling like a scared kid. Pushing the button, he
sat back and waited for what happened next.
The screen behind
the monster began rolling and it emitted a loud buzzing noise.
Thomas watched as
the monster began moving towards him.
What kind of
stupid game is this? He
thought looking at the game's case. A terrible stench filled his nostrils
and the sound of heavy breathing filled his ears. Looking back to the
screen, Thomas' eyes widened in terror.
The monster was
crawling out of the TV. It squeezed through the small screen and fell
to the floor. Thomas jumped up and backed away. Amoco rubbed its eyes and
began sniffing the air. Picking up Thomas’ scent it turned in his
direction growling.
It took two steps
towards Thomas and howled. The noise turned Thomas’ spine to stone. He
couldn’t move in any direction. Amoco’s one eye blinked and he took
another step towards Thomas. A noise vibrated from its throat with each
step. Thomas thought he was going to die. No known way to kill it
flashed through his mind.
Thomas quickly
stepped back and felt for the light switch. With luck his hand landed
right on it and flicked it on. The monster reacted like a car had just hit
it. It recoiled with a scream and sat back on its haunches. This gave
Thomas enough time to get out the door and close it behind him. Bolting
down the stairs, he saw his sister was no longer on the couch.
“May! Where are
you?” He screamed.
“Here stupid.” May
stood in the doorway with a glass of milk. “You don’t need to yell at me.”
“There is a monster
in my bedroom, it’s trying to kill me.” He told her.
“Oh really.” She
replied not impressed. “Could it be the same monster that you used to tell
me lived under my bed when I was eight? Or is this a new one you have made
up to scare me?”
“No this time I am
telling the truth.”
Before May had a
chance to reply, there was a large thud followed by some scathing sounds
that came from upstairs. Wide-eyed, May looked at Thomas.
“That’s not the TV?”
she asked quietly.
“No I promise you. I
am not lying this time. I put this game in my machine, and the monster
that I thought I would be playing came out of the screen.” He explained.
“Well if it is from
one of your stupid computer games, then you should know how to kill it,”
she said sounding hopeful.
“That’s the problem. I
thought it would be a kids game so I chose the hardest monster. I don’t
know how to kill it.” May looked at Thomas with disdain.
“Well I guess you
don’t think it’s a kids game anymore do you?” and before he could answer
she continued. “We should call Mum and Dad or the police.”
“Yeah right. I’m
sure that they will believe us too.” He replied.
“They will when they
see it.
“If it doesn’t kill
them yeah sure.” Thomas sat down on the couch with his head in his hands.
“I just don’t know what to do.” May sat down beside him.
“We have to think of
something.” The noises became louder from upstairs. They could hear the
growling and scratching as if it was right next to them.
“The way it’s going
for the door, I don’t think we are going to have much time.” Thomas said.
“I am surprised it
hasn’t got out already, you would think it would be able to open the
door.” May said.
“It’s got really
long claws, so it probably can’t grab the handle properly.” He said. “But
I don’t know how long the door will hold with it banging on it so hard.”
In answer to his question, they hear another bang, and the sounds of wood
breaking. Thomas and May jumped off the couch and ran to the foot of the
stairs. They could see a hole in Thomas’ door, and a long hairy arm
reaching out. Backing away, they returned to the lounge room and sat on
the couch.
Thomas looked at
his sister and could tell she was scared.
“Did the game say
anything about how to defeat the monster?” she asked hopefully.
“No. Just that light
makes it slower.” He answered.
“We could shine
lights into its eyes and stun it.”
Thomas looked at his
sister and rolled his eyes.
“Then what smarty
pants? Don’t know how to kill it remember.”
They sat there,
jumping in fright every time Amoco rammed the door. Both Thomas and May’s
minds working fast to try and think what to do.
A gut-wrenching
crack snapped them from their thoughts. Amoco’s efforts had paid off and
the door was now off its hinges. His heavy breathing resounded down the
stairs and straight into the children’s spines.
Staring at each
other they waited for him to advance down the stairs. The breathing
continued but Amoco was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is he?” May
asked timidly.
“I don’t know.”
Thomas crept to the base of the stairs. He could just see the opening of
his bedroom window and noticed that his light was now off. He turned to
his sister.
“I am going up to
have a look. You stay here.”
“Like I was about to
follow you stupid.” She shot back.
Shaking his head he
stood on the first step. He paused for a moment to gather his courage,
then slowly made his way up the stairs.
“Be careful Thomas.”
May whispered, her voice giving way to concern for her big brother.
Step by step he
climbed the stairs. His knees were shaking and his breathing became short
and sharp. Holding the rail for support he made it to the landing.
Just three more steps towards the door, he thought. One, two…
A huge claw slashed
at him from the darkness. The long sharp nails slashed his shirt and pain
surged through his body. Reeling back Thomas grabbed his chest and cried
out. Looking down he saw three deep cuts oozing blood.
“Thomas!” screamed
May running up the stairs. She went to Thomas and helped him to his
feet. Staring into the TV lit room they could see one hideous red eye
glaring back at them, moving towards the doorway. Thomas, with May’s
help, ran back down the stairs and towards the front door. As she fumbled
with the lock, Thomas looked back.
“Wait.” He called
softly.
“What do you mean
wait?” she cried at him.
“Look.” He told her,
pain thick in his voice. Amoco was still in Thomas’ room.
“Why isn’t he
following us?” She asked him puzzled.
“The light in the
hall is on.” He said.
“So?” she snapped at
him more in fear than anger.
“He doesn’t like the
light. He won’t come out in it.”
“Are you sure?” she
was still fumbling with the lock. The desire to get outside was still
strong.
“Well don’t you
think that he would have come out and grabbed us by now? I mean we aren’t
much of a match for him. It’s not like he is scared of us.”
“You and your stupid
games!” she yelled at him, the fear of the situation had become too much
for her. “I wish you had never turned it on!” May started crying.
Thomas hugged his
sister, keeping his eye on the bedroom door. The answer just slipped into
his mind.
“May you’re a
genius!” He cried, the pain across his chest forgotten. She looked up at
him through her tears.
“Huh?”
“I turned the game
on! If I can turn the game off, he should go away.” Excited, Thomas headed
for the kitchen. May followed in time to see him rummaging through the
storage cupboard.
“Where does Dad keep
his big torch? You know, the one he takes on his fishing trips?”
“I don’t know,
somewhere in there I think.” She watched as her brother triumphantly pulled the torch out of a box and held it in the air.
“Got it,” he said
quickly testing it, to make sure the batteries worked. They did.
“I hope whatever
you have in your mind works, but what if it doesn’t?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t know, but
we have to try.” He opened up a drawer and pulled out two long, sharp
knives. Handing one to May he looked at her seriously.
“Someone is going to
have to distract him, so the other can get to the power point.”
He placed his hand
on her shoulder. “Do you know where the power point is?”
May looked at him,
sensing his fear and pain.
“Yes, but I should
distract him. You won’t be able to move quick enough.”
“No this is my
fault. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You can be a big
pain, but I don’t want you to get dead. I am smaller and can run faster
then you.” May told him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
Thomas looked at his
sister in a new light. He smiled at her, and then headed for the stairs.
Crouched at the
bottom, Thomas went through his plan.
“I just need enough
time to get past him and get to the TV. We will go up the stairs
together, and on the count of three, switch on the torch and shine it into
his eye.”
“Okay.”
They crept up the
stairs, making sure to keep as much distance between them and the darkened
doorway as possible. Once they reached the landing, May got ready to turn
on the torch. Amoco must have smashed the TV, as his red eye was vibrant
against the complete darkness.
“Ready?” Thomas
asked.
“No, but count.”
“One.”
May held up the
torch level with Amoco’s eye.
“Two.” Thomas
crouched like a sprinter lining up for the race of his life. It was.
“THREE!” May
switched on the torch as Thomas leapt forward.
Amoco growled and
threw his head back, opening and closing his eye as if something was in
it. Each time he opened it, May had the torch trained on it, sending
penetrating light deep into his retina. Thomas dived between Amoco’s legs
and scrambled towards the TV, dropping his knife by accident. Though he
was disoriented by the light Amoco could hear Thomas and tried to follow
the sounds. In the darkness Thomas crawled on hands and knees along the
wall, trying to find the power point. He could hear Amoco crashing
around, but he could see the light on his game console that indicated it
was still on. Getting up he ran towards it. Just as he reached it, he
felt something slash him across the back.
May watched in
horror as the monster closed in on her brother. Dropping the torch she
raced towards the monster with the other knife in her hand. Leaping onto
his back, she plunged it deep into the base of his neck. A long arm swung
round and batted May across the room.
Amoco growled and
tried to grab the knife out of his neck in vain. It had wounded him, but
not fatally.
With Amoco’s
attention on May’s knife, Thomas saw his opportunity. He grabbed the
power cord and pulled it from the wall.
A huge scream
erupted from Amoco, and then he was gone. The hallway light filtered
through the darkness and Thomas could see his sister lying on the floor.
Moving as fast as he could with the pain of his injuries, he crawled
towards her. With great effort, he sat himself beside her and
reached out to check if she was OK.
Out of the darkness
a heavy hand grabbed his shoulder, causing him to scream in terror.
“Thomas. Wake up.”
Thomas looked up to
see his father staring down at him.
“Why aren’t you in
bed?” His father asked.
Thomas sat up.
“May!” he called
out.
“She is in bed
asleep, where you should be young man.” His father said sternly. “Your in
trouble Mister. We told you we didn’t want you playing video games all
night. Now pack up and off to bed, and we will talk about this in the
morning”
Thomas stood up and
looked around. His TV was still on with ENTER TO CONTINUE flashing across
the screen.
It was all a
nightmare. He thought happily
as he began packing up the games.
“By the way,” his
father called from the door. “What did you do to your shirt?”
Thomas looked down
and saw three slash marks in the material. The hair on the back of his
neck rose and he shuddered. Evil laughter came from the TV and echoed in
his ears.
Or was it?
The End
more stories by Nicole
The
Lift , The
Couch ,
The
Haunted O.R.
Copyright © 2005 |
