by Jaron Weidner
She knew it was wrong. She knew she could get in terrible trouble, but Emily could not stop thinking about the giant bag of candy that her mother had left on the kitchen table. Her eyes glimmered from the moonlight that came through the window above the sink, but her vision was focused on the bag. Her mother was snoring upstairs. This was her chance.
Her feet in the socks were almost silent as she crept across the kitchen floor. For a moment she hesitated. She thought of the consequences of what might happen if she were found out. Her mother would certainly notice the missing bag, but Emily had a plan for that. She was going to blame it on her brother. It was an easy out, but she was already starting to feel the guilt nag at her.
A sudden sound nearly made her run in fear, until she realized it was just the cat, which had meowed at her. It glared at her with those suspicious feline eyes like it knew what she was doing.
“Quiet!” She whispered to the cat.
She reached out her shaking hand. Her fingers grasped the handles of the paper bag. She felt the weight of the candy inside as she lifted the sack and brought it close to her chest. A mischievous grin crossed her face.
She paused for a moment to listen for her mother’s snores. Yes, she was still asleep. Emily turned and quickly made her way back to her bedroom with her prize in hand.
She emptied the contents on her bed and marveled at the treats. There were chocolates, gummies, caramels, licorice, and bubble gums. She wasted no time digging into the colorful mound of candies. She wanted to try every kind there was.
Before long Emily had eaten her fill, and it was late into the night. She fell asleep amid the piles of candy and the wrappers.
***
Emily could not move. She felt the mattress under her, and there was the sound of rain on the window. But she could not move her head or limbs. Fear began to grip her as she realized her helpless state. With incredible effort she managed to open her eyes. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
It was sitting on her belly. But what was it? She tried to shake it off, but her body refused to move. Panic set in as she gazed upon the creature sitting on top of her. It had grey, leathery skin, and thin, knobby fingers. Its shadow danced on the wall of the far side of the room. Emily watched as the vile thing brought a piece of candy to its mouth. She could see the razor sharp teeth. Then there was the sickening sound of it chewing on the candy. Its lips smacked as it slurped and munched on a chewy caramel.
A peanut butter cup came soaring across the room hitting the creepy creature in the face. Both Emily and the creature strained their heads to look in the direction where the candy came from. There was a second one just as disgusting as the first! It sat on the floor with a gumball in its bony fingers.
The first one leaped off of Emily’s belly lunging towards the other one for an attack. The ensuing battle quickly escalated as the evil little things chased each other around her bedroom. They made horrible screeching sounds as they scurried around in circles. Their claws scratched the furniture as they scampered up and down recklessly.
Emily was finally able to move, but where could she go without drawing their attention? She sat up in her bed in terror as the two little devils fought viciously around her. They grabbed fistfuls of her candy and tossed them at each other. Chocolates, gummies, licorice, gumballs, and caramels flew in all directions. Poor Emily watched the candy pieces zip through the air.
“Mom!” She screamed.
A moment later her mother threw open the door and took Emily’s hand. “What’s wrong, Emily? Did you have a nightmare?” She asked
“There were two little monsters!” Emily gasped. She looked around the room, but the creatures were nowhere to be seen. They had vanished, but the candy wrappers remained strewn about. “Two monsters were chasing each other and throwing candy!”
“Is that so?” her mother asked as she stared at the wrappers. Emily knew she had been found out.
“I’m sorry, mom,” Emily sobbed. “I stole the candy and ate it. It’s all my fault!”
“Sometimes eating candy before bed can cause nightmares,” said Emily’s mother. “I hope you learned a lesson. We will talk about the candy tomorrow. Go back to sleep.”
“Yes, mom,” she answered.
Her mother kissed her forehead and left the room. Emily snuggled under her blanket and rested her head on the pillow, but something caught her eye. One of the devil creatures was clinging to the window frame just outside. It stared at her through the glass. It seemed to smile with those razor sharp teeth. The rain was dripping off its nose and hands. Suddenly it leaped out of view, leaving Emily breathless. She knew this was no ordinary nightmare.
Jaron Weidner is a songwriter turned fiction author. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he now calls Memphis Tennessee home, where he lives with his wife and son. As a new fiction author, he has self published a quirky, economic short story titled “The Utopian Garden.” He is also the executive editor for the Libertarians Who Make Art magazine with three issues published so far. He is currently submitting a variety of short stories to different publications, while also working on his first novel.
January House Literary Journal 
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