What we do in the Dark

Prologue

"Get away from me! No, stop, leave me alone!" A young child of the age of three yelled from his bed.

"Sweetheart, wake up." A caring mother attempted to wake her child. She knew he had been having a nightmare. She's been trying to wake him for some time now. Her nerves only grew with each second. The child tends to get stuck in his dreams, even though he's normally such a light sleeper.

"Ahh!..." His big green eyes popped open in fear. "Mummy?... Please don't let them hurt me." Tears well up in his eyes.

"I won't baby, I would never let anything happen to you." He hid his face in her chest. He was shaking. Since he was a newborn he's been a bad sleeper. All those sleepless nights the mother spent, sitting up in bed holding him. Cradling him in her arms. Hoping to make him fall asleep eventually, and now at 3 years old things have only gotten worse. She has to sleep in the toddler's room on most nights with him. Usually, when she's here he's fine and sleeps through the night, but even that doesn't seem to be helping anymore.

She brushed her fingers through his blond hair. She wishes he didn't have to suffer like this.

"But mum he's scary, he hurt me. He says they're going to hurt you. I don't want them to hurt you mummy." He looked up at her. The innocence of a child was something precious, something to be protected, treasured.

She smiled down at him. "It was just a dream, they're not real, they can never hurt you, or me. We'll be okay, don't worry."

"Is this a dream mummy?" His tears stopped.

She didn't answer him for a second. "What do you mean sweetheart, why would you ask something like that?" She cupped his chubby cheeks and smiled softly. Kids do indeed ask the darndest questions.

He looked around. "He's behind you mummy." A chill ran through the mothers spine, hair standing on end, the child was much less scared than her, but she would hardly ever guess that.

But for the sake of her baby she told herself that she had to keep a straight face, even if she felt the unease in the pit of her stomach. "Who darling?" A fake smile plagued her soft young face. She was barely into her 20's herself.

"The man with no face." Something about what he had just said made her turn around and actually look.

There standing in the corner of the room was a black shadowy figure. Her heart dropped. "T-there's nothing there sweetheart." She believed she had to lie to the child, for the sake of him ever getting a good night's rest again. Though she may never herself.

By that point she was already picking him up in her arms. "We can sleep in my room tonight, you can watch some Rugrats till you fall asleep. How does that sound?" She walked to her room quickly keeping the shadowy figure out of my son's view. It just stood there. It had no face but she could feel it watching them.

As soon as she was out of his room she ran across the hall to her room and shut the door, locking it. She was unsure if locking the door was going to do anything, but it was worth the try. She put him down on the bed and he stayed close by, holding onto her soft arm. She had gained a few pounds after giving birth to her son. She has plans to lose it but after a nasty breakup with her lover, the father of her child she hadn't had the will. She propped up some pillows and sat down with the remote.

Rugrats was his favourite show, so the VHS was already in the player, and she hoped it was already rewound. She wasn't sure herself if what she saw had been real. It wasn't worth calling the cops over, they'd think she was crazy.

He crawled over sitting on her lap.

She pressed play and it was like he had forgotten all his fears. Children tend to be like that, and for that, both of them would be grateful.

Two episodes in, he was still wide awake. The mother was so tired all she wanted was to sleep, but that would not come tonight.

Then he did something. He looked up into her eyes with a blank face and empty eyes. "Mummy... He doesn't like you. He says he's going to hurt you really bad. The man with no face will leave for now... but he will come back to me. He will hurt me and those I love... He is the ruiner of lives. Be safe mummy."