John
 
Beady Eyes

    It was a normal day in our normal neighborhood where nothing ever happens. When my mom yelled, "Eric, time for bed," into the living room.
    "OK," I yelled back.
    I jogged into my room and jumped into my bed with my jeans still on. Tonight I was going to meet with some friends.

It felt like the night stretched on forever. Finally my dad finished the dishes and went to bed.

    "Wake up!" my brother said. I must have dosed off I thought. I looked at the clock and was already one in the morning. "Don’t just sit there," he said, " we’re going to be late."

    Still drowsy I tiptoed down the stairs to the basement. Although I had to weave between dusty books, magazines, and newspapers to get to where the skates were, I didn’t trip. I grabbed the roller blades from the back wall and started my back up the stairs. I heard something fall and guessed I knocked over a box. But for an odd reason my breathing got heavy and I turned around. It might have been that the basement had gotten colder and danker, but still I had turned around. Quickly something scurried behind a stack of boxes. I tiptoed up the stairs backwards, opened the door and left the house.

    I met my brother outside and told him what had happened. Joe only said, "Either you’re delirious or insane."

    "Whatever," I said. I saw something, I know I did.

    With no further talking we skated down the dark street. At the end we turned left down a hill to a dead end. The crickets chirping as we entered the woods, and hid our skates in a bush.

    Just inside the woods was where we were supposed to meet our friends. But no one was there. While we waited, I tied my shoes. Wham! Something hit me from behind. I turned around and saw it was only Fred, another one of my friends. "You idiot," I said, punching him jokingly in the shoulder. "So," I asked, "were are the Larson brothers?"
    "O, they’re coming, they said they might be a little late." Said Fred    
    These Saturday adventures happened for the next couple of weeks at random locations. But this time would be our mistake. Now I no longer worried about noise level. So I jumped the stairs, ran my way through the books and things to the other side of the basement. I grabbed the skates and started up the stairs. This time I heard a pitter-patter sound. I whipped my head around. Half hoping it was the thing from before but still in fear it would be. There was nothing there. I looked through a book at the boxes. I could just see through to make out a door and a knob. I swear the knob had turned, at least for a second. Then something popped out. It was the thing, it stared back, about half as high as me (Which was about two and a half feet.) with small beady yellow eyes. It had matted, dirty fur the same color brown as my hair. It gave a snarl and used its claws to push the boxes aside in a desperate dash back into the door. I felt cold and clammy as I ran outside breathing heavy. I told Joe and convinced him to check it out with me tomorrow.
    The next day we waited until our parents went to the grocery store to check it out. My brother went and got an ax. By brother swung at the door with the ax and chopped it down. I told him that this is the door the creature had gone into. But there was now only dirt behind it. Then we started to dig. I wasn’t going to stop until I found it. In a matter of minutes we broke through into a dark tunnel, all slimy with drips echoing in the distance. We crawled without knowing what was at the end. We rounded a corner and it was a short while longer before got to the end.
    "I don’t think this is a good idea." said Joe, for at the end of the tunnel was a huge cavern. There were rows upon rows of the creatures I saw. In front was one the size of an adult on top of a beetle the size of a bed. Stationed around the place were the same rodent looking things on top of massive worms
    "Me neither." I said.
    "I’m leaving." Joe replied.
    We scrambled through the tunnel around the corner and out of the tunnel.
    "You- you weren’t supposed to find out." said a voice. But when I got out I realized to my horror it was my dad. He grabbed the ax from the floor and came over to us. His eyes blazed directly into ours. He lifted the ax and swung.

    "Wake up!" My brother said. I must have dosed off I thought. I looked at the clock and was already one in the morning. "Don’t just sit there," he said, "we’re going to be late."
    Was the dream real I thought? Either way I said, "tonight is not a good night."
    Twelve weeks later I woke up to scream. My brother was screaming from the basement. I raced into the garage, realizing that my dream might be happening I grabbed the ax and went into the basement. I tripped on a book on the stairs. I fell all the way down and when I looked up I saw a yellow-eyed rodent about waist high in front of me. It picked me up and through me in the air. I landed in its mouth. I heard a crunch just before everything went black.