Aurora leaned against the window as she glared at the sun, burning her eyes as it lowered beyond the mountain. She would give up both eyes if only the light of day would stay in the sky for eternity. If only she could live on the sun, then night would never come, and her nightmare would be undone.

The lane dividers on the road zip past, blurring into one continuous white line, while bustling vehicles race past her parents’ car, casting shadows across the road, and beside her, Timmy kicked his feet against his car seat. He squints his eyes, focusing on the mountains in the distance.

“Aurora, look,” Timmy pointed in the direction of the mountain.

The girl lazily pulled her gaze away from the street lines. Observing the brown mountain, her eyes widened as her heart trembled within her chest. and taking a long, deep breath, she composed herself before sighing loudly at her brother. “It’s just a mountain, stop bothering me.”

The boy puffed his cheeks up. Crossing his arms across his chest, he fixed his gaze back on a shadow on the mountain. “But,” Timmy pointed once more. “It’s kind of scar-”

“I don’t care. I want to take a nap, so stop talking to me.”

“Aurora,” a woman in the front seat said gently, “You don’t need to be so snippy with your brother.”

Aurora concentrated on the lines running alongside the car, her mind racing with them as the shadows of darkness grow longer, overtaking the road. “Sorry, I’ll be more careful with my words.”

“What did you see, Timmy?” The man driving the car asked.

“It looked like the shadow became a person.”

“That is very cool, Timmy.” The woman in the front glanced back at the boy before shifting her attention to Aurora, who had shut her eyes to avoid the conversation. “She must have been pretty sleepy; I’d bet that water park tired her out.”

“Me too,” Timmy exclaimed. “It was so much fun, and now I’m really sleepy.”

“Go ahead and take a nap then.”

Aurora cracked her eyes open. She watched as the woman grasped the man’s hand just as the car rattled and shook. The shadows are playing tricks again, she thought to herself.

_0O0_

Holding a flashlight firmly under the covers, Aurora sat quietly in her room. Darkness crept towards her bedside as the moon fell beneath a cloud. Pushing on the metal, she flashed a beam of light across the floor, causing the shadows to retreat… for now.

When she heard a click resound from the other side of her bedroom door, light flooded into her room under the crack. She switched her flashlight off, her eyes glued to the shadows dancing behind the crack.

Tap, tap, tap, the gentle knock rapped on the door.

“Who is it?” She called out to the darkness.

“Aurora,” the door opened slightly, and her foster brother Tommy’s shadow stretched across the carpet. “I’m scared.” He stood on his tiptoes to hit the light switch, and with a flick, the room illuminated.

Covering her eyes against the harsh light, she kept a strict eye on the boy’s shadow. Has one latched on? “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I-I’m sorry, it’s just, the dark, it’s scary.”

Aurora waved for Tommy to come closer. He scurried to her bed and climbed into his foster sister’s arms. “What is scaring you? Was it a nightmare?”

“I think it’s a monster. I know mom and dad said it isn’t, but… It feels real.” Tommy shifted back and forth on top of the bed.

“You can tell me.” Aurora squished the boy’s cheeks.

“Sometimes in the dark, a monster stares at me while I’m in bed.”

Aurora shifted her gaze to her closet, where darkness shrouded the floor. It swirled around, tempting her to walk over and hit the light switch, to make it whole, to acknowledge it. “Maybe we should go on a walk. It might help you feel better…” From the corner of her eye, she could see Tommy’s shadow curl towards her feet.

“Not tonight,” Tommy held her arm. “Mom and Dad are still in the living room, fighting. They’ll see us.”

Still inching closer, Tommy’s shadow grabbed at hers, but before it could latch on, she jumped off the bed. “Okay, we will tell them tomorrow at breakfast. For today, you need to go back to your room before they notice. You know they don’t like us sleeping in the same room.”

“Can’t I stay with you? I’m really scared, Aurora.” Tommy held Aurora’s hand.

“No, you have to go back.” The boy’s lower lip trembled, and Aurora sighed, saying, “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

Smiling big, the boy leaped out of bed and down the hallway in a flash, right into his room. Dinosaur toys were scattered across the floor, illuminated by an extra-bright nightlight, with glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the walls on all sides, making this an ideal room for a little kid. Normally.

It was the exact room she lived in when she first moved here, the exact room that tormented her for weeks before she convinced their foster parents to let her move. The same room that lured ‘that’ into her closet.

Aurora tucked Tommy into his bed and began stroking his hair; it always helped her fall asleep when her bio-mom stroked her hair. Tommy’s bed was soft and warm as she lay her head down beside his, and she began to pray, Keep Tommy safe, please. I can’t lose another one.

The next morning, the two kids joined their parents at the dining table. The two foster parents sipped coffee as dark bags collected under their eyes. Aurora trudged to the table and poured herself a bowl of cereal.

“I had a nightmare last night,” Tommy whined, and the two adults perked up.

“What was it about?” The woman asked.

“It was a shadow… It crawled into bed with me and was choking me, then a bright light scared it away, but it’s okay. Aurora patted my head until I could fall asleep again.”

The woman patted Tommy on his head. “That sounds like a scary nightmare.”

The man turned to Aurora, “Thank you for taking care of Tommy, and remember, if either of you ever has a nightmare, you can always come to us.”

“Yes, I’m sorry we were fighting last night. It must have been hard to talk to us like that.”

“If I ever have a nightmare, I will come talk with you.” Aurora felt a flutter of hope rise in her chest. The two adults were fine when she first started living in their home, but as time dragged on, they’ve been fighting more often, making it hard to talk about her closet.

“Now, go get ready for school.”

_0O0_

Aurora worked on her homework as the sun was still in the sky, but tonight, tonight was the night of the new moon. It would be the first new moon since Tommy first started living with them. She scribbled out answers one after another, rushing to finish before dark. The dark blue sky spilled into an inky black, and Aurora clicked off her lamp, shoved her books and papers back into her bag, and pulled her flashlight from her desk drawer. Clicking it on and off to check it still worked.

The creaking door sent shivers down her back, and she slowly turned, her heart racing as cold sweat pooled on her forehead. Light seeped through the cracked door, and her eyes darted to the floor, watching the two shadows on the other side come alive in the darkness, coalescing into one distorted figure. The creaking continued as the door flung open the rest of the way, revealing Tommy. He was hugging a stuffed dinosaur, and streaks of red ran down his cheeks as if he’d been crying.

“What are you doing?” Aurora whispered.

“I’m too scared to sleep.” The boy clutched a blanket and pillow in his hands. “And Mom and Dad are watching a scary movie.”

“Do you want me to pat your head until you fall asleep again?”

“No,” Tommy sniffled, “I want to sleep in here with you.”

“I won’t leave the light on. You know that, right?”

“I’ll sleep by the window. I won’t be scared if there’s a little light from the streetlights.”

“Fine,” Aurora gave in. She laid her comfiest blanket on the ground, and Tommy immediately curled up on top of it.

“Thank you, Aurora.”

“Don’t make this a habit.” Aurora jumped into her bed and pulled the covers over her, watching as her little brother fell into a deep sleep. Her eyes wandered to her closet, which was pitch black. She closed her eyes, thinking, This is the longest any of them has survived. Maybe he’ll be okay.

_0O0_

The night grew darker, so dark that not even the streetlights could subdue it. It was like an alien was suppressing the light from entering her room; it was the same every new moon. Clenching tightly to her blanket, Aurora prayed, please keep me safe. Rustling could be heard from outside her window, and she peered over to see a dark hand phasing through the glass, followed by its head. Tommy lay on the floor, and the shadow reached for him with its inky black fingers, long and sharp, tapped the boy’s face, drawing blood, the creature lifted its hand, tilting its head back and licking the blood from its finger. Aurora’s breath caught in her throat, and she froze in place as it fully entered her room.

The creature’s long limbs touched the ground, and it sizzled and screeched as though it were touching holy ground. Instantly, it exited the room, peering at the boy through the window. The creature turned its head in Aurora’s direction, and it opened its mouth in a mock smile. Its teeth sharp and jagged as if whoever made the thing didn’t know what they should look like. Slowly pulled her blanket over her head.

The shadowy monster placed its hand on the streetlit area where Tommy was sleeping. Arching its spine, like a cat, bone protruding from the inky black creature blending into the dark, the monster hovered over the boy. Tommy’s chest rose and fell gently as the monster moved its face closer.

Fumbling about, Aurora moved slowly beneath her covers, searching for her flashlight when she heard a sickening crunch!

Pulling her blanket down, she watched as the creature sluroped something down like spaghetti. A raspy gasp along with spurts of blood escaped Tommy’s lips as his eyes widened in horror locking onto Aurora.

“Aurora,” The boy cried, gagging on his own blood. “Help.”

Tears spilled from the girl’s eyes and she pulled the blanket over her head once more. Her hands fumbling around for the flashlight as another crunch sounded, her hands trembled violently and secretly she wished to never find that flashlight.

“Auror’,’elp!” the boy cried louder and she clasped onto the cold metal of the flashlight right when she heard a snap!

Tommy’s voice went quiet, and wet slurping sounds echoed through the room as the monster feasted on the boy. Aurora stifled her sobs by covering her mouth tightly with her hands causing the creature to perk its head. The floor creaked as it moved in slowly, sniffing at the air as it approached her bed. She watched it through a slit in her blanket as its arms hovered around her, getting close but unable to touch. It was as if an invisible barrier was preventing it from moving closer.

Angry, the creature shrieked, pacing back and forth. Its head darted to the window and back, and as golden streams of light began to enter the room, it slithered off into Aurora’s closet, nestling into the darkness.

Tommy’s blanket slowly dyed itself red as his blood pooled all around. Aurora gasped for air as she trembled under her blanket. She was too scared to pull her covers away from her face.

The foster parents opened the door with a loud creak. “Why is he in Aurora’s room?” The woman asked.

“Shush,” The man’s footsteps walked over to Aurora’s bed. She fought to get her breathing under control. She closed her eyes right as the blanket was gently lifted away from her face. “She’s asleep.” The man told the woman.

“Do you think she saw?” The woman asked.

The man hovered over Aurora, “She seems to be asleep, so we will only know by her reaction tomorrow. For now, help me with the boy. We must preserve the rest so our child can feast again.”

The woman glanced at Aurora, “Do you think there is something wrong with the girl? It’s been three years since she joined us, and our child hasn’t been able to feast on her even once.”

“I fear she is being protected. We might need another child soon, and it might be wise to let the girl go. She will be no use to us.”

The two exited the room with Tommy’s body, and Aurora sobbed quietly behind her hands as sunlight filled the room. There was no longer a pool of blood soaking through her floor, as if nothing ever happened.

Within a week, the family of four drove on the highway, and a little boy pointed at a moving shadow on the dark mountain road. Aurora watched the lines on the road fly by, and from under the car a shadowed hand reached through the darkness.