Mr. Snuggles

[MauEvig]

I originally wrote this as a contest piece for work, where the object was to write a scary story. The winner would receive a $50 gift card. My piece actually won. So I thought I'd share this with everyone. Let me know if it's too gory though, and I can tone it down.

It was a mid September morning in the small town of Dansville, New York, as a new family moved into the little house on William's street next to the Bryant Housing establishment. This particular house looked as though it were run down, albeit a few paint jobs to cover up the exterior and candy coat in a sense, the fact that this house probably should be condemned. The back yard had a creek that ran down along the yard and out into the rest of the neighborhood, just big enough for small children to play in, and an old rusted out shed just big enough to hold a garden lawn tractor. There was also a drive way made of tar and rocks slowly crumbling apart with erosion. It was a rather small, quant little house that had some minor repair work done, but one could argue that the interior may well fall apart from the inside out. Nevertheless it seems, this small little house seems to stand strong in the eyes of Dansville's housing authorities, and the poor Richardson family found it a nice quiet little community to settle into and raise their only child, a daughter of 5 years old. The beautiful view of the Castle on the Hill was far too much to resist, and the town itself had a very warm and friendly neighborhood.
An imaginative little child, little Rae Richardson loved to gaze upon the castle and quickly made friends in the small neighborhood. Her parents worked hard to provide a happy childhood for little Rae, who was oblivious to the fact that her parents scraped by in the poor economy that they lived in. Her father worked in a factory, always saying how he was worried about lay offs and took on overtime as much as he possibly could so they could get an edge on catching up on their finances. Mr. Richardson did his best however to put food on the table. Her mother worked part-time at the local Supermarket. Part-time jobs it seems were all she could find in that small town, but at least it allowed her enough time to pick Rae up from school, even though she often had to work weekends. Nevertheless Rae was content to find scrap clothes and pretend to be a pretty princess that lived in the glamorous Castle on the Hill over looking a vast and beautiful Kingdom.
One night in October, approximately a month after the Richardson family had started to settle in, as Rae's mother put her to bed, giving her a soft pat on the head before turning out the lights, Rae gazed up at the ceiling before slowly drifting off to sleep. The hours passed before suddenly Rae's mother and father heard screaming coming from the smaller of the two bed rooms. Her mother, dressed in a floral nightgown quickly ran to attend to her screaming.
"Rae my dear what's wrong?"
"Mommy! A monster was trying to get me!" The horrified Rae exclaimed, a little white in the face with sweat pouring down her head, her brown eyes were wide with terror.
Her mother sighed. She knew what a vivid imagination her little girl had, and simply smiled to try and comfort her.
"Hush now my little one." She said. "It was only a dream."
"But Mommy, I saw something terrible happen!" The child was clearly frightened, and tears starting going down her soft cheeks.
"Rae my dear, nothing terrible has happened. I assure you it was only a dream. Would you like me to wait here while you go back to sleep?"
"Yes mommy..." The little girl sobbed quietly burying her face in her mother's bosom.
Her mother sat there, stroking her long brunet hair. "It's alright my dear. Mommy's here. How about I sing your favorite lullaby? Would you like that...?"
"O-ok..." The child shivered. But as the mother starting singing her sweet lullaby, she found the child starting to calm down and slowly drifting back to sleep. She laid her child back in her bed pulling over the covers before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.
The rest of the night was fairly quiet, and by the time morning came everything seemed fine. It was what some called an "Indian summer," which basically referred to the colorful orange leaves and the fact that it felt warm like a summer day. The warmth also made the smell of crisp fall leaves enter the nostrils the very moment one would walk outside. It was warm enough at least, to go without a jacket. It seemed as though Rae had forgotten all about the night terror, though her mother was still a bit concerned as she watched Rae leave on the school bus that morning. She couldn't wait to get home and play in the leaves.
That night as her mother and father got dinner ready, they encouraged Rae to talk about the dreams she had that night. Rae however, didn't appear to want to talk about the dreams.
"You should talk about them." Said her father. "After all, you won't stop having the dreams until you talk about them."
"But...they weren't dreams." The girl finally said as she made twirling motions with her fork and mashed potatoes. "I really did see a monster."
" Come on." Her father said getting up.
"But wait, I don't want to go back in there."
"Dear, don't be harsh with her now." Her mother chimed in.
"Rae has to learn that there's no such thing as monsters." Her father said. "Now, where did you see the monster?"
"It was...on the ceiling."
Normally children describe monsters as being in closets or under the bed. But the ceiling? Her father shrugged.
"Well, I don't see a monster up there." Her father said.
"But it was there. And I saw a lot of red water pouring down the walls." She said. "And then...I saw..." She paused for a moment looking horrified.
Her mother joined in after them and put a hand on Rae's shoulder. "We have the little guest cot, maybe we can let Rae sleep on that tonight in our bedroom."
"Alright." Said her father. "But just for tonight. She has to learn that these monsters aren't real."
That night she slept in the cot, and nothing happened. But after that night she went back to sleeping in her bedroom. Despite what her father had said about telling her parents about her fears, the dreams came back, becoming more graphic and terrifying with each night. Rae found herself sleeping on that cot more often than not.
"We have to do something about this honey." Her father said.
"I agree, but what are we going to do? She's just a five year old little girl who's having night terrors. Do you think maybe she should talk to the school psychologist?"
"That psycho mumbo jumbo? Please. That stuff never works!" Her father gruffed.
"Well we have to do something..." Her mother said firmly. "And I don't want that our daughter is scared of her own bedroom."
"Well I don't know. Maybe your mother would think of something." Mr. Richardson rolled his eyes as he made that sarcastic tone. Mrs. Richardson's mother was a kind hearted sort, but Mr. Richardson felt as though his wife's mother was just a little too eager to give out advice. "After all, she knows everything doesn't she?"
"Oh come off now dear. You know that my mother is only trying to help out."
"Your meddling mother also thought we shouldn't get married." Mr. Richardson snorted.
Mrs. Richardson scoffed. "She doesn't feel that way now! You should really quit living in the past. Besides, ever since Rae was born she has been nicer to you seeing how you've been such a good father."
"I suppose..." He sighed.
Of course, it didn't take much more than a phone call to convince Grandma Roberts to make a visit.
"Oh the poor dear." She said. "I know just the thing!"
"What is it grandma?" Rae asked as she gave her grandmother a big hug. "Do you know what can make the monsters go away?"
"Yes my child." She smiled sticking out her false teeth. Rae laughed at her grandmother's antics, and her grandmother presented her with a small plush black cat with big round green eyes.
"A kitty!?" She said excitedly and immediately put on her biggest smile. Little Rae had always wanted a cat, and enjoyed seeing the ones her grandmother had in her warm little cabin out in the woods. But because her father was allergic, a real cat was out of the question.
"Yes my dear. A very special little kitty. I had Mr. Snuggles since I was a little girl just your age. Now you can have a kitty of your own. But you must take good care of him, and he'll protect you from the monsters."
"Really! Thanks grandma! I promise I'll take good care of Mr. Snuggles!"
"That's a girl." Her grandmother smiled patting little Rae on the head.
That night, Rae went back to sleeping in her own bedroom, hugging the little cat plushy tightly in her arms. Miraculously it seemed, the night terrors went away. Since then Rae kept Mr. Snuggles close to her every night when she went to sleep. When Halloween came, she even dressed him up in his own little costume.
"There." she said. Now Mr. Snuggles gets his own costume!"
"Are you ready to go?" Her mother smiled. She was glad that the plushy seemed to be bringing some confidence and courage back to her daughter. She took Rae by the hand, and Rae took Mr. Snuggles with her trick or treating that year.
For the next few years Rae slept with the plushy, and since then she didn't have a single nightmare. As Rae got older and started to enter her early teen years, the plushy looked like it was starting to get worn out.
Her parents thought perhaps it was time to break Rae of her plushy. After all, older kids didn't even have their teddy bears and security blankets anymore. Pretty soon Rae would start getting interested in boys and make up.
"You really should get rid of that old thing." Her mother said.
"But I just can't get rid of Mr. Snuggles!" her daughter said hugging the plushy. "He's my best friend!"
"You're thirteen now Rae. Honestly, you need to start acting like a big girl now!" Her mother pursed her lips. "Besides that thing is so old and dirty now. Why would you want to hang onto that old rag?"
"Well..." She sighed. "Because grandma gave him to me...I promised her I'd take care of him." Her grandma had died a couple years ago, but Rae despite being a young girl, showed that she was quite honorable in her promises. But her parents thought it was just a little ridiculous. It was cute when she was five, but now that she was thirteen it was time to start thinking more like a grown up. However, Rae wouldn't give up the old plush cat easily, so her parents waited until she had gone to school, and her father took Mr. Snuggles disposing of him in the trash can outside.
"Where is he? I know I left him here." Her daughter said looking all over after she came back home from school.
"I disposed of that old thing. Grown up girls don't need old rags like that."
"He wasn't an old rag!" Rae yelled. "He was special! Now where is Mr. Snuggles!?"
Her parents sighed. "We threw him away." Her father said firmly. "Now eat your dinner and get your homework done, and make sure you get to bed in time for school in the morning."
"It's not fair!" Rae ran to her bedroom sobbing under her pillow.
"She'll get over it." Her father said stopping his wife from going into her bedroom. "Just let her be. We can't coddle her forever."
"You really think we did the right thing?" Her mother asked worriedly.
"Of course we did. She has to grow up sometime."
That night, Rae starred up at the wall. She sighed. It was her first night since childhood without Mr. Snuggles. Maybe her mom and dad were right, and it was just silly to five, and as she stared at the ceiling it felt so quiet and disturbing. She felt around her bed and hugged her knees. It felt so lonely without that plushy. She sighed, trying to go to sleep.
Suddenly she felt something wet dripping on her head. It startled her at first and she blinked opening her eyes. She turned on her light and could barely contain her screams. The walls and ceiling appeared to be dripping with blood.
"Oh no...it's come back..." She curled up, eyes wide gazing up at the ceiling.
"That's right my dear." The familiar chilling voice told her. Suddenly the lamp on her room flicked back off. "I've waited so long for this moment, when your foolish mom and dad would finally get rid of that annoying little pest."
"What...what do you mean...?"
"Ohhh so you don't know! How very clever of your little feline friend to remain as still as a statue each night until you went to sleep. Your friend was no mere toy Rae...and now that you have forsaken him...he will forsake you...and I shall devour your innocent little soul at last...for it is the souls of young children that give me the strength to come out each night of the year...and not just during the grand month of All Hallows Eve, when the barriers between the living and the dead are split apart..."
"Help!" Rae ran out of her bedroom screaming after her mother and father, only to find that their lifeless bodies were ripped apart, blood slowly oozing from their corpses. "Mom! Dad!"
She then saw a monstrous red clawed hand crawl out of a hole in the wall that opened up looking much like static on old television sets, reaching into the dead bodies, collecting a glowing orb from each body. Suddenly the orbs seemed to burn up and disappear, the orbs being the souls of her now dead parents.
"It's too late." A pair of glowing blood shot yellow eyes, with blood red irises now gazed upon her. "Your foolish parents forfeited their souls by giving up the one thing that could've saved you. Too bad adult souls are too corrupt to give me much power, but every little bit helps you know, and I can't give up a tasty meal. But your soul is still fresh and innocent my dear. You see, this old house is built upon one of the gateways to hell itself. It only opens up during the month of October, and as we get closer to Halloween the more I can come out. But if I absorb your little soul my dear, I will be able to roam the earth, devouring souls at my leisure! My appetite is insatiable, but each soul I devour will only make me stronger and stronger, until I will have the power to overthrow the devil himself!"
The girl screamed trying to run, but the doorway simply disappeared creating four walls with no where to run. Rae then grabbed the bed side lamp, attempting to smash it into the walls in hopes it would let her go, but it seemed every object in the room was possessed by the power of this demon. She may have smashed the lamp, but the cord was still in tact, wrapped her around her legs to trip her down, then the sheets from the bed got up and wrapped around her body attempting to suffocate her.
Then suddenly a beam of light could be seen and the sheets fell lifeless.
"NO! You were supposed to be gone!"
Flashes of light could be seen as the small black cat plush floated there, with glowing aura-like wings. It simply floated there silently, seeming to have no apparent emotion but coldly starring at the demon, who started to take form as a shadowed creature who resembled a small rodent like creature, before disappearing into a small rat hole. The plush floated down taking the child by the hand. The child was a little frightened at first, but was glad to see that Mr. Snuggles was still there.
"Oh Mr. Snuggles. I never meant to throw you away. I hope you can forgive me."
The plush toy patted the girl on the head. She couldn't quite tell what the plushy's expression was, but it simply remained silent. "What are we going to do...that thing killed mom and dad..."
The plush toy then reached out its paw, and revealed that it had extracted the two souls from the demon creature, along with many others, perhaps of the people who had lived in the house previously, though there was no mention of anyone dying who had lived in the house before. Perhaps there was a reason for that. No one may ever know. Suddenly there was another flash of light, and the girl and the cat plush were outside of the house. It seemed the house had finally collapsed.
"Is everything alright?" One of the neighbors came by, and she noticed that fire trucks were parked next to the house with smoke coming out. "We saw the fire and took action immediately!"
The girl didn't know what to say. She knew what had really happened, but she also knew that no one would believe her. "My mom and dad died..." She said, tears running down her face, not sure if she had any time to mourn after that devastating experience. If it was really a fire that everyone had seen, and not the presence of an evil being trying to come out of one of the gates from hell, she knew no one would believe her story. But she knew that she knew the truth. She and Mr. Snuggles that is.
It was after the funeral held for her mom and dad that she was taken into foster care. Rae refused to say much more than that, although many saw her talking only to the plush cat, carrying on normal conversations with the plushy, and barely saying a peep to any other human being. But this time, she wouldn't allow anyone to get rid of him, even if it meant hiding him.
To this day, she always keeps Mr. Snuggles at her side. Now in her late twenties as she stares at the four padded walls hugging the plushy in her arms.
"They all think I'm crazy. But you saved me Mr. Snuggles. I'm not going to forget what happened. In fact, you saved the world too, and all those souls. Grandma always said I should be honest, no matter what. I'm not going to lie just because they can't accept the truth of what really happened."
As the Doctor walked in to check in on her, she sat there.
"Time for your medicine my dear." The doctor grinned with a crooked smile holding out a syringe and starring at her with bright blood shot yellow eyes...