Sadie's Nightmare

Chapter Thirty-Two: Courage

Paralysed. Eyes wide. Unable to look away. Sadie could do nothing.

The behemoth slumped down onto its four limbs before slowly outstretching an arm to Sadie.

"Come..." It said to her in that bone-chilling voice.

Its long, thin fingers unfurled. It held an open palm to Sadie and waited.

Every single bone in her tiny body was screaming at her to run.

Then a sharp, 'Mrraoow!' startled the monster. The sound was followed by hissing.

The behemoth curled its hand into a fist as it spun around. It could see Luns at the end of the entryway and her constant hissing seemed to anger it.

Not giving it a second thought, the behemoth rushed at Luna and in one smooth motion it brought its hand down onto the poor cat, slamming her through the carpet and floorboards.

The behemoth was done with patience and it ran towards Sadie.

But, it was halted by a spear to its chest. Unfortunately, an undamaged spot and thus the spear does not penetrate its flesh.

Steven had leapt in front of Sadie, just in the nick of time.

"Run, Sadie!" He shouted.

But she didn't run, she could only manage to take a single step to the side and planted her back against the wall by the door.

Then the behemoth quickly jumped backward and smacked the spear, snapping it in half.

Steven saw a vulnerable spot on the behemoth's ribs and so he went to plunge what he had left of his spear into it.

The behemoth was too fast though. It caught him with another backhand, whacking him into the wall.

Leaving Steven's limp, semi-conscious body half hanging out of a hole in the wall, the behemoth turned its attention back to Sadie.

Walking slowly toward her on all fours, the behemoth lifted its head high. It wanted to frighten her. It could hear her little heart racing faster and faster as it closed the gap between them.

Her breathing quickened as she stared up at its pitch-black eyes.

She could feel the cold of the wind and spray of the rain drops that splashed against the door beside her. This reminded her that the door was still not closed properly.

Sadie thought about her grandmother. About Luna. About her father. Such bravery they'd shown.

She heard Steven groan and looked to him immediately. Her heart sank as another thought crossed her mind.

They would have been safe if it weren't for her. She couldn't save them because she was too little. Too scared.

Time seemed to slow as she considered all the things racing through her mind. She didn't want to be scared anymore.

Shutting her eyes tightly and gritting her teeth, Sadie inhaled a deep breath of courage through her nostrils and let it fill her lungs.

"It's not my fault," She whispered, "I'm not afraid of you."

Placing a hand on the rim of the door, Sadie's brows lowered, and she opened her eyes.

She looked right at the behemoth and didn't falter as it reached for her.

Sadie gripped the door tightly and whispered to herself, "Monsters belong in nightmares, not in the light."

Just as the behemoth's black fingers touched her, Sadie threw open the front door, blasting the horrid creature with the blinding light of the police car's headlights.

The behemoth began to squeal and freak out. It wriggled about the floor violently. There was too much light for it to escape and it could do nothing to save itself.

In a matter of seconds, the huge monster was reduced to nothing more than a steaming black husk of bones, flesh and black goop.

Finally, Sadie's nightmare was over.

The End

For now...