Beast in a Closet

Beast in a Closet

“I heard tale of a beast within a closet. A jagged, gray face with ice, blue eyes. He cackles when you feed him and the only thing he eats is people.”

“Daria!” Yelled the teacher. “You story was supposed to be about things that scare you in real life, not make-believe.”

“But it is real,” protested Daria. The anorexic girl was an avid story teller and gifted in the art of convincing the non-believers. For Christmas, she had convinced a boy of an evil Santa named “Krampus.” For Easter a little girl was convinced that if she did not find all her Easter eggs, she would be transformed into an egg herself and live out a new life as a chicken. Both children became dehydrated with the amount of tears that flowed. Now, Daria was trying out her new material on a fresh bunch of children. It was the third school she had been to that year. She moved a lot with her dad and grandmother. The stories became more apparent with the passing of her mother two years ago.

“Daria.” The teacher said with a sigh.

“If you close a closet door, he will get you. You’ll never know where he will show up because he lives in a realm within the closets.” Daria desperately pleaded with her class.

“DARIA!” Screamed the teacher.

Just then, the school’s intercom crackled with life. “Mrs. Daniels, there is a call for you in the front office.” The voice over the intercom stated.

Mrs. Daniels took hold of the Daria’s arm and led her out of the class. After the door closed, the cackle of children started with a roar.

As they walked down the hallway, Mrs. Daniels’ head began to droop.

“Daria, can you promise me something?” She asked.

Daria pouted and refused to look her teacher in the face. The older woman knelt next to her student and held her by the shoulders.

“Daria, please, please, please, don’t make up any more stories.” Mrs. Daniels begged with the young girl.

“But Mrs. Daniels, they’re not made up.” Daria whined.

“No buts, Daria. Please promise me that if you want to tell a story that you will write it down first.” Mrs. Daniels said. “If I think the story is ok for everyone, then I will let you read it out loud. How’s that?”

The young girl pondered the thought for a long time before speaking, “Ok, fine.”

Mrs. Daniels smiled and patted the girl on the shoulder. “Run back to class, I’ll be there in a minute.” She said as she prodded the girl in the direction they had just walked from.

Daria walked back to class in a somber mood. She stared at the ground as she walked and only occasionally looked up to make sure she wasn’t running into a wall or going in the wrong direction. She reached the hallway where her class was and caught a glimpse of a boy peeking out of the door. She opened the door and walked inside only to have dozens of small hands hold her in place. She struggled and was starting to scream until a hand was placed over her mouth.

“You’re annoying Daria,” Spoke the hand’s owner. Daria recognized the voice as being Jimmy, the class’ resident bully. He was a year older than everyone and was feared by all of Mrs. Daniels’ class. “You’re stories are lame. If you like them so much than prove that they are real.” Jimmy opened the door to the class’ supply closet. The hands pushed Daria into closet and Jimmy slammed it shut. He braced his back against the door as Daria started to pound on it.

“PLEASE! NO! I DON”T WANT TO BE IN HERE! HE’S GOING TO KILL ME! NO!” pleaded Daria. Her screams echoed around the room. The children that had helped Jimmy had all backed away from the door. Jimmy laughed as Daria’s screams grew louder and more frantic. Some of the class started to plead with Jimmy.

“Jimmy let her out,” cried one girl. “She’s had enough,” said another. Jimmy laughed and nodded in agreement with the others.

“Ok loser. You can come out.” Jimmy said as he backed away from the door. As he did, the movement and screaming had stopped. The class had fallen in a deafening silence. The waited for a second for the door to open, but it didn’t. One boy moved forward.

“Daria?” He asked. All of a sudden, the closet door expanded like a breaking pencil. In unison, the children screamed with horror. It snapped back together with a loud splintering sound and huge gust of musky break exited the bottom of the door. Jimmy reached for the door with a trembling hand. He didn’t have time to reach the handle before the door swung open. The children all crowded behind Jimmy as they took careful steps toward the closet. Daria was no longer in the closet. The only thing left was a remnant of her. Proof that she had been in there once, but not now. Her shoe which stood in the middle of a pool of blood. It took a second for realization to set in for all the children. Their shrieks of horror started slowly, but built up. They all ran for the room’s exit door. One girl fainted, another soiled herself. Jimmy did not move though. He walked into the closet and picked up her shoe. He knelt in the blood and sat there before. The stench was most horrific. Iron and death filled the nose of Jimmy. His breathing became more sporadic as he passed out.

Jimmy woke later in a hospital bed surrounded by his mom, dad, and a few men in suits.

“Dad?” Jimmy asked weakly. Jimmy’s dad looked at him, but did not answer him. He left the room after a few seconds. Jimmy’s mom leaned next to jimmy and placed a hand on his head. The men in suits closed their distance from the bed and took out notepads.

“Jimmy, my boy, what happened to Daria?” The taller man asked. The day’s events flooded back into Jimmy: Daria, the crying, the blood, and the stench.

“It was a beast inside the closet.” Jimmy spoke. The men looked at each other, closed their notebooks, and exited the room. Jimmy was the last to be interviewed, but his story was the same as all the other children in the class. Hours of investigation, counseling for all the class, and massive chaos that erupted from the school; all for what, “it was a beast in a closet.”

Later that night, Jimmy sat in his bed trembling. His mother ran her finger through his head while humming lullabies.

“I’ll be right back, Jimmy. I’m going to run to the bathroom.” His mother said. Jimmy lay in his bed as the door closed. The silence started to creep around Jimmy and frightened him. He quickly jumped out of bed and huffed. He clapped his hand and his trembling increased. Just then, Jimmy heard a familiar noise. The splintering of wood. Jimmy frantically looked around the room in search of the sound. The bulging of the room’s closet door caught his attention. The door convulsed and contracted as if it was a living lung. Jimmy inched his way towards the door and reached out for handle, but like before, the door swung open. Instead of a missing girl, there stood a creature, shrouded in black. It had a gray face with icy, blue eyes.

“JIMMY.” It spoke. Tears started at the corner of Jimmy’s eyes.

“YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THE WRONG SOUL.” Its breath reeked of iron and death.

“W-what do..you..want?” Jimmy shivered as he spoke.

“YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A WRONG SOUL. I NEED FILTHY DIRTY SOULS, NOT POOR DARIA’S SOUL.” The creature’s mouth started moving. He grinned and shown his mangled teeth. Between the teeth was the head of Daria. It was bloody and lifeless. The eyes were dark and the light had been gone for a while.

Jimmy whimpered and peed his gown. His tears streamed down his face and his chest began to heave. The sight was enough to kill him, but the beast had other plans. It swallowed the head and sighed.

“IN 30 YEARS I WILL COME FOR YOUR DIRTY SOUL. DON’T PLAN ON DYING BEFORE THEN. THAT’S NO FUN.” The creature laughed and coughed as he retreated into the shadows. The door closed shut. That is the tale of the beast in the closet. No one will see it again, not for thirty years.