Tyler’s action figures, a miniature human-like thing that had been living inside him.
“Are you a Snifferblob?” He whispered.
The humanoid creature only looked at him, hopped down onto the floor and began to walk towards the kitchen, not looking back. It was only then Billy noticed the emptiness inside him the creature had left. It seemed the Snifferblob was more a part of him than he had ever realised. Perhaps the little voice in his head was actually the voice of his Snifferblob. He listened, trying to sense if it was still there. All he could feel was a vast empty void. For all his fighting, the thing in the Trans Energy overalls was right. There had been a Snifferblob inside him. And now it was gone. He needed to hang on, to wait for Angeline to come to him because now he was ready to say those three words that meant so much. It was only now, as he lay shivering and bleeding out on the hallway floor he realised some things were bigger than affairs, revenge, or holding grudges. Some things in the world had neither rhyme nor reason, and he had seen first-hand that sometimes, things came out of the darkness and knocked on the door which could derail a life in a split second.
Billy smiled as he watched the tiny creature which had climbed out of his stomach enter the kitchen, giving the macabre cage containing Mr Conwell’s severed head a wide berth. Three more of his kind appeared, pushing open the cupboard under the sink and awaiting their fellow creature. They helped it to climb up into the darkness, and with one last look back at Billy, the foursome gently closed the cupboard door behind them. The silence in the house was broken only by the gentle sounds of pans being displaced, as the tiny creatures disappeared further into the darkness to wherever they dwelled.
Snifferblobs.
Billy took one last breath and smiled.
WATCHERS
[This is one of my favourite stories. It very nearly made the cut for inclusion in Funhouse, but I left it out because I wanted to make a few tweaks to the story and the deadline for finalizing the stories was getting close. I like the idea that those malevolent and supernatural things which are always so dumbed down in books and films might actually have been much the same as people are in life. The idea of a grim reaper with a bad attitude and jaded with his job was just so appealing that I had to write it straight away.]
YOU KNOW ME. You might not think so, but you do. I’m in the corner, watching and waiting just like I’ve done your entire life. Sometimes you might sense me, but I’m always one step ahead, gone by the time you stare into the darkness and try to figure out what that sound you just heard was. I don’t mean anything by it. I just get bored, and when that happens you’re an easy target.
Let me explain.
I’m that thing.
You know what I’m talking about. The glimpse of a shadow moving in the corner of the room or the stealthy thud that wakes you at night. The horrible feeling that comes over you for no reason and makes your skin crawl.
All me.
It’s funny, really. You humans are so easy to scare. There’s no sport in it anymore. The world has changed now. It’s all gadgets, electronics, and social media. Everyone is just so damn busy these days that a lot of the innocence has gone. You humans became desensitized and stopped believing in the possibility that something like me could ever exist.
Don’t worry, though, I’m still here.
I always have been.
Of course, it was different when you were younger. It was easier back then, easier to fuck with your susceptible little mind. That part is always fun, especially at that ripe age where kids still believe in monsters and the boogeymen, and things that go bump in the night.
Kids, in general, are more receptive, more aware of things from my side of the world. Hell, some kids can see us no matter how much we try to hide. We light up like Christmas trees to them, which
“Are you a Snifferblob?” He whispered.
The humanoid creature only looked at him, hopped down onto the floor and began to walk towards the kitchen, not looking back. It was only then Billy noticed the emptiness inside him the creature had left. It seemed the Snifferblob was more a part of him than he had ever realised. Perhaps the little voice in his head was actually the voice of his Snifferblob. He listened, trying to sense if it was still there. All he could feel was a vast empty void. For all his fighting, the thing in the Trans Energy overalls was right. There had been a Snifferblob inside him. And now it was gone. He needed to hang on, to wait for Angeline to come to him because now he was ready to say those three words that meant so much. It was only now, as he lay shivering and bleeding out on the hallway floor he realised some things were bigger than affairs, revenge, or holding grudges. Some things in the world had neither rhyme nor reason, and he had seen first-hand that sometimes, things came out of the darkness and knocked on the door which could derail a life in a split second.
Billy smiled as he watched the tiny creature which had climbed out of his stomach enter the kitchen, giving the macabre cage containing Mr Conwell’s severed head a wide berth. Three more of his kind appeared, pushing open the cupboard under the sink and awaiting their fellow creature. They helped it to climb up into the darkness, and with one last look back at Billy, the foursome gently closed the cupboard door behind them. The silence in the house was broken only by the gentle sounds of pans being displaced, as the tiny creatures disappeared further into the darkness to wherever they dwelled.
Snifferblobs.
Billy took one last breath and smiled.
WATCHERS
[This is one of my favourite stories. It very nearly made the cut for inclusion in Funhouse, but I left it out because I wanted to make a few tweaks to the story and the deadline for finalizing the stories was getting close. I like the idea that those malevolent and supernatural things which are always so dumbed down in books and films might actually have been much the same as people are in life. The idea of a grim reaper with a bad attitude and jaded with his job was just so appealing that I had to write it straight away.]
YOU KNOW ME. You might not think so, but you do. I’m in the corner, watching and waiting just like I’ve done your entire life. Sometimes you might sense me, but I’m always one step ahead, gone by the time you stare into the darkness and try to figure out what that sound you just heard was. I don’t mean anything by it. I just get bored, and when that happens you’re an easy target.
Let me explain.
I’m that thing.
You know what I’m talking about. The glimpse of a shadow moving in the corner of the room or the stealthy thud that wakes you at night. The horrible feeling that comes over you for no reason and makes your skin crawl.
All me.
It’s funny, really. You humans are so easy to scare. There’s no sport in it anymore. The world has changed now. It’s all gadgets, electronics, and social media. Everyone is just so damn busy these days that a lot of the innocence has gone. You humans became desensitized and stopped believing in the possibility that something like me could ever exist.
Don’t worry, though, I’m still here.
I always have been.
Of course, it was different when you were younger. It was easier back then, easier to fuck with your susceptible little mind. That part is always fun, especially at that ripe age where kids still believe in monsters and the boogeymen, and things that go bump in the night.
Kids, in general, are more receptive, more aware of things from my side of the world. Hell, some kids can see us no matter how much we try to hide. We light up like Christmas trees to them, which
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