There's No Such Thing As Monsters
Aimery knew the monsters only came out at midnight but his friend Jonathan didn't believe him. Jonathan always told Aimery the monsters came out when it was dark. Specific times didn't matter. Jonathan swore he had seen a monster under his bed in the middle of the day, calling to him when he came home from school and no one else was in the house. He had tried a variety of solutions to getting the monster to go away, including posting all of his action figures and the stuffed animals his mother had bought for him up as guards around his bed. The parents didn't seem to care, blaming it on Jonathan being a child and just going through a phase he would grow out of over time.
Aimery and Jonathan had tried talking to the other kids at school about what was going on, but they came to realize a lot of the students were closed off about their own experiences. It wasn't normal at their age to talk about the monsters under your bed. It was something only babies talked about, but Aimery was sure the other kids were trying to hide the truth. They had been through the same experiences as everyone else but were too afraid to talk about it. It was something he just knew.
Talking to his father about the monsters was something Aimery had forced himself to do. There was a monster hiding in his closet who would scratch at the back of the door, wisps of shadows coming out from the darkness. No body or face ever came into view. How would he react if it ever did? At first, Aimery's father had left him with a baseball bat, turned the lights on and kept the door to his son's room wide open just in case Aimery needed him. As Aimery grew older, his father became less tolerant of his son's fears and brushed it off as just another kid's game. Aimery wondered if it was because his father had heard him talking about the monsters with Jonathan so often.
Things seemed to get worse as time passed and eventually Aimery couldn't stand the thought of
sleeping in his room. The creature in his closet had started making more noise and knocking things around. When the morning came, no monster was inside his closet but it was clear things had been moved. As much as Aimery tried to convince himself it was just his imagination, his gut feeling told him otherwise. Instead of staying in his room, he grabbed his pillow and blankets, curling up in the large armchair in the living room. The lights in the room were always on, so it seemed the perfect place to stay.
For nearly two weeks, Aimery didn't return to his room despite his father insisting he had thoroughly examined every corner and found no proof there was anything inside. When Aimery didn't believe him, the father eventually gave in. What was the harm in having his son sleep in the living room? It was just another childhood phase.
Jonathan was the only person Aimery felt he could turn to. The other kids at school, as well as their parents, no longer seemed to believe anything they said. The two spent a great deal of time together, which the parents didn't mind considering they felt as though their children needed to spend more time socializing. The pair also helped each other with their homework and their grades seemed to be improving despite everything else.
One day, Aimery convinced his father to let Jonathan stay at their home while Jonathan's parents were out of town for the week. However, Aimery's father had been called to stay in late at his own job to finish a project he was working on. The babysitter he usually relied on had gone out to a concert that night with her boyfriend, and it felt wrong to pull her away from her plans when he already had her watching the boys most of the nights during the week.
Figuring he would be able to finish his work quickly enough, Aimery's father relented to the circumstances, informing the boys they were responsible for their own bedtimes. Aimery accepted it because he knew there was nothing he could change, but he didn't want to be in the house without his father or the babysitter present. However, he had Jonathan with him and having Jonathan nearby was certainly better than nothing. The thought of being completely alone in his home was something he didn't want to consider.
Jonathan made everything better by being there. He was like an older brother to Aimery even though they were the same age. They arranged their blankets and sleeping bags on the floor in the living room, managing to distract themselves for a few hours with movies and snacks. Aimery's father had yet to return from work, and though Aimery was worried, Jonathan assured his friend everything would be fine. Both of the boys knew they should have gone to bed much earlier, but the creaking of the house and the rain pattering on the windows kept them from feeling tired. Aimery knew his father would be upset with them for staying up so late, but even with Jonathan there, it wasn't the same as having an adult present. Adults always seemed to scare the monsters away.
Listening to the rain, Aimery wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and leaned against Jonathan's side. Jonathan was more brave than he was, even though his friend was always saying how he wasn't brave, just better at hiding how scared he was. It was already eleven, and Aimery knew his father had to be coming home soon. Jonathan promised Aimery to stand guard while the other slept, and though Aimery was nervous he accepted his friend's offer. He curled up in the blankets, lying down with his back against the other's leg so he could be sure the other wasn't going anywhere.
Aimery wasn't sure how he had managed to fall asleep or exactly how long he had been sleeping, when he was awoken by someone shaking his shoulders. Quickly sitting up, Aimery barely missed hitting his head against Jonathan's. It took Aimery a few moments to realize the room was pitch black, and it wasn't just his vision acting up.
Almost as soon as he had sat up, he felt Jonathan pushing him back down. Jonathan moved away from him, grabbing the sleeping bags and zipping them together. Aimery kept his head down, wanting to help but not wanting to get in his friend's way. Had the electricity gone out? Where was his father? Why was Jonathan acting like that? He bit his tongue to keep from speaking, waiting until his friend was close to him again. Jonathan was able to stand up to bullies on the playground and had been Aimery's first real friend... Any time his friend showed signs of being scared terrified him.
“I hear something,” Jonathan whispered. As soon as he had spoken, Jonathan turned and laid down next to his friend, pulling the blankets over there head and leaning over Aimery to finish zipping up the sleeping bag around them. Aimery kept his head down, tilting it enough to try and watch Jonathan even though he couldn't see him. He listened to the room, but heard nothing but the rain against the side of the house and Jonathan's breathing.
Aimery whined softly but otherwise kept silent, unsure of what was going on. With a final noise from the zipper, Jonathan moved back to his previous spot, laying down next to Aimery. He pulled the front of the sleeping bag down to tuck it under their arms, weighing it down. Again, there was nothing but the sound of rain and breathing, before Aimery finally turned his head towards Jonathan, giving in to the temptation to ask him what he had heard. The moment he started to speak, a high-pitched screech like nails on a chalkboard interrupted him. Aimery quickly moved his hands to cover his ears, pressing himself close to Jonathan's side once more.
Where was the noise coming from? Aimery did his best to keep his body from shaking, reaching his hands out to grasp onto Jonathan's arm. He didn't like this at all. Where was his father? He had to be coming home soon...
When he heard another noise, Aimery instinctively lifted his head to hear it better. At first it just sounded like a tapping, but then the taps became scratching. The scratching increased in volume, and Aimery tightened his hold on his friend's arm. It was the same sound the monster in his closet made, scratching at the back of the door. How was it possible the creature was downstairs with them? The scratching continued, the noise coming in the direction of the front door, but it wasn't muffled enough to be coming from the other side.
Aimery had been so intent on listening, he had to stop himself from yelling from shock when Jonathan grabbed him. Aimery felt the other boy pull him closer and then lean over his body, shielding him. At first, Aimery was confused as to why his friend was doing it until the change in position helped him to hear something he hadn't noticed before. On the outside of the sleeping bag, only a foot or so away from where Jonathan's back was, Aimery could hear someone breathing. There were no words being spoken.
"I won't let them hurt you... I won't let them hurt you...," Jonathan chanted next to Aimery's ear.
Aimery would have moved closer to his friend if he could have, but there was no more space between them. What were they going to do? What could they do? Aimery gripped Jonathan's arm, fighting down the tears. He didn't want to start crying at a time like this.
The scratching stopped momentarily, but then began again, each time sounding a little different and a little louder than before, the monster moving closer to them. All Aimery could hear was his breathing mixed with Jonathan's, until he not only heard, but felt one of the sharp claws drag down the length of the sleeping bag. Another hand pulled at the fabric, strong enough that it nearly sent the boys tumbling on top of each other. Jonathan leaned over Aimery, doing his best to keep them in place. The claws and hands kept scratching and grabbing at the bag. Aimery yelled at the monsters to leave them alone.
Aimery wasn't sure how long they sat there, with Jonathan holding onto him and forcing himself to stay in the same place. The noises and pulling seemed to go on forever. How much longer would it take before they would get through? What would happen to them once they did? Aimery knew Jonathan would fight to protect him, but he had never heard stories about what the monsters actually did to people. Would the monsters try to eat them, or just hurt them? They...
Aimery didn't notice everything around them had stopped until Jonathan sat up. He had been too focused on trying to block out the noises. Was it really over, or were they just pausing to throw them off guard? The boys stayed still for awhile, straining to listen to their surroundings. There was only rain against the side of the house and nothing else. Cautiously, Jonathan released his hold on Aimery and lifted up the edge of the sleeping bag he had been sitting on top of. Once the fabric was lifted, it was clear to see light peeking through the opening. The electricity had come back on.
“... it's okay,” Jonathan said, reaching over and squeezing Aimery's shoulder. Aimery wiped at his eyes, finally giving in to the urge to cry. Was it really safe?
Aimery's father arrived home much later than he had planned. The group he worked with was always disorganized, and it had taken awhile to get everything in order. In addition, the sudden storm had caused the other motorists to drive slower than usual and it was too dangerous to pass anyone with how low the visibility is. He was amazed he hadn't been detoured more than he already had been that night. Once he was inside the door, he removed his jacket and placed it over the back of one of the dining room chairs, along with his umbrella. He leaned his bag against the table leg, looking in the direction of the living room as he stood back up.
He couldn't see either of the boys, but there were visible lumps under the pile of fabric. It was tempting to wake them up and see how they had made it through the night, but he had a feeling they had stayed up late. Watching the boys a bit longer to make sure nothing was unusual, he made his way to the stairs, walking up. Everything was fine. Why had he been so worried?