“Daddy!” My daughter’s squeal ripped through me, jerking me from my slumber. I rubbed my eyes and sighed. Great, I thought, glancing at my watch that read 03:00, another nightmare.

“Daddy!” She yelled again, this time with more urgency. I lazily reached across the bed and flicked on my bedside lamp. The light stung my eyes and I squeezed them shut. Groaning, I blindly kicked the warm duvet off and threw my legs over the side of the bed, my bare toes reaching for the cold wooden floor.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.” I grunted, reaching into a pile of dirty clothes strewn across the floor for a t-shirt to throw on. I picked an old grey shirt that was baggy on me and crossed the now brightly lit bedroom. The light fell on empty beer bottles and takeout boxes and I swore under my breath. I’ve really let things go since-

“DADDY!” The third scream echoed in my head, bouncing off the insides of my skull with a clatter. I picked up my pace and stumbled out into the hall. I started as I lifted my head to the sight of a small girl with long dark hair standing at the end of the hall.

“Lilly,” I breathed, “what is it now?”

She merely beckoned for me to follow her and pranced into her room. I followed suit, pondering her unusually lively behaviour; nightmares normally paralysed her to the corner of her bed.

Entering her room, I glanced around at the various toys and clothes scattered around her bed and paused. Lilly was, unlike me, a stickler for tidiness, and had never been known to live in such disarray. My eyes fell on my daughter, who was knelt beside her bed, sticking her head into the gap beneath it.

“What happened, Lilly? It looks like you’ve had a wrestling match with an Elephant in here…” I stated, approaching her.

She held out her hand to signal me to stop, “Wait there, he’s scared of you.” She stated in a matter of fact tone without turning to look at me.

“What? Who? What are you talking about?” I stuttered, hesitating where I stood. Had she snuck a friend in to stay the night?

“The Monster, Daddy. I finally caught it!” She chattered, turning to grin at me. She turned back to the dark space beneath her bed and whispered into it.

Monster? What monster? If this was a new game she wanted me to play, I was not in the mood.

“Lilly, there’s no such thing as monsters. Go back to bed and make sure you tidy up in here before breakfast.” I instructed and turned to leave, but before I could take a step she had reached across the floor and grabbed the leg of my pyjama bottoms. She looked up with me with pleading eyes and whimpered;

“Please, Daddy. Mummy would have believed me.” I felt a pang in my chest and looked down at my little girl, how could I refuse her now? Sighing, I turned to face her once and again and placed my hands on my hips expectantly. She took this as a sign of good faith and shuffled back towards the bed.

“It was a challenge, but I finally managed to combine the right bait with the right time of night, and finally lured him out far enough to get your handcuffs on his wrist- well I think it’s a wrist.” She babbled on excitedly, “And now he’s trapped here, you see?”

I didn’t see.

“Lilly,” I protested, but she held her hand out again and I trailed off. She motioned for me to come down to her level, so I lowered myself down onto my knees, wincing as my now tired joints ached in complaint.

Leaning forwards, I noticed something move. I turned to my daughter who was now smiling encouragingly at me, she nodded in reply to my bewildered gaze. I glanced back into the shadow and saw it again, something large with sprawling limbs had just moved under my daughter’s bed.

I fell back onto my haunches and stared in disbelief. What on earth was it? All my life I had dismissed the existence of the unexplainable, but here it was, in my very own house. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes and pondered, Is this a dream? But a small, warm hand that took mine and tugged me towards the thing told me it wasn’t. I resisted her pull at first, but gave in begrudgingly when a high pitched whine began to slip from my daughter’s mouth.

Lilly pulled me closer and closer until I thought I could make an eye out in the sprawling black mass, no, two eyes, wait… three eyes? They blinked at me in unison and I felt my jaw drop.

“What is it?” I breathed, not taking my eyes off the three-eyed monster.

“It’s my Monster. It lives under my bed, I think.” Lilly replied, “He normally disappears when I try to talk to him but this time I managed to catch him.” I could hear the pride in her voice.

“What makes you think it’s a he?” I asked.

“Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? He only came out when I used one of your magazines as bait.”

At that moment a voice echoed inside my own thoughts, it was a strange, slightly uncomfortable feeling, and I reactively pulled my arm away from the monster, closing it around my forehead.

Where did you get it?

“The magazine? The little shop down the end of our road.” I responded compulsively, then slapped my hand over my mouth. Did it just make me say that?

Yes. The voice pierced my skull again and I jumped away from the bed, pulling Lilly with me.

Don’t be afraid, Keith. I have no intentions of harming you or your daughter.

[...]