Excerpt

-20-

After dinner Kevin helped his mother with the dishes as he always did. He didn't help her because he had to but rather because he wanted to. It gave him time to talk to his mom. She was always so calm, no matter what. Kevin would sometimes tell his mother that he felt different from other people. She would tell him that he was different, he was special. He could do things that other people couldn't do. His drawings were beautiful, he also had a certain way with animals. They seemed to understand that he would not hurt them. He would sometimes go out and hand feed the deer that traveled through the back woods. This all came very easily to him and he didn't understand how men could willingly hunt such a magnificent animal. Not even Kevin's mother could explain to him why they did it. She could only say that she was glad that he would never go hunting.

“Mom,” Kevin began. “Are all things that are ugly, bad?”

“Well nothing is really ugly, honey. If something looks a certain way it wasn't for us to decide that it was ugly. It's just the way it looks,” she answered in her usual pleasant voice.

“Well how come the monsters in the movies are always so. . .different?” Kevin was careful not to use the word ugly.

“That's make believe, Kevin. The people who make those movies try to scare people by making up these stories and wearing costumes.”

Kevin nodded his head indicating that he understood as he dried the last dish in the rack. He was already thinking of his drawing upstairs in his drawer.

Kevin returned to his room and stood looking at the drawer, rubbing his chin slowly. He retrieved the picture and sat down at his desk. For a moment he stared at the figure. The hideous face appeared to be staring back as though it were asking him for something. He wasn't really scared by the face but he knew he didn't like it. He decided to erase the picture.

As his eraser touched the paper he heard a low groan, a growl. He turned his head to find the source of noise. Seeing nothing he turned his attention back to the drawing. Again his eraser touched the paper. This time there was a muffled demon like scream. The demon he had drawn on the paper suddenly stood up in front of him above the desk. The eyes were grossly uneven on its head. Its side was to Kevin and it slowly turned to face its creator. Kevin stool spellbound, unable to move. Now facing Kevin, the demon drew itself up and off the desk to his full Hell given form. It stood a full five feet above Kevin, a low sickening moan vibrating from its throat. Its upper lip was rotted to the point that it no longer covered what was left on its teeth. A red film was covering the entire body as though the skin had been peeled back to reveal the bare meat. The demon raised its hand and pointed to Kevin, slime dripping from its arms. Kevin turned to run but never got the chance. In an instant he was being thrown toward the door with the force of being shot from a cannon. He crashed into the door, smashing it into splinters. Kevin forced himself to stand, his face bleeding. The figure followed him to the doorway, smiling. It was clear by the look on his face that Kevin was completely disoriented. With a mere move of its hand the creature sent Kevin reeling down the stairs, his body coming to rest against the wall adjacent to the stairwell. Kevin lay there lifeless. His mother suddenly appeared from the kitchen. Screaming Kevin's name as she saw him, she ran to his side and held his head in her lap. She turned and looked up the stairs just as the demon got to the top step. She never had time to scream. In less than a heartbeat the entire first floor exploded into flames.

He was closing in for the kill.