CoSQ, Chapter Four: The Devil is Under the Bed

So here we have chapter four! And what would chapter four happen to bring? Oh, just the introduction of a very special thing that hasn't had many hugs in it's lifetime.

You get to meet "it" as it's known in this chapter, and get ready. You're going to be seeing more of it in the future. And no, it isn't a clown.

It was dark. It was alone. Stranded. Frightened even. It had never been so dark in it's life. It tried to move, but couldn't. It had once been part of something. A vast darkness that spread itself from point to point in the light of the world. It was born in a clash of sound and light that brought seemed to bring order to the chaos around it. Born from an explosion of law battling against disorder. The epicenter gave it a thought. Gave it identity. And in the explosion's light it spread from moment to moment, coming into contact with more like itself. They drifted away. Impossibly fast. For a brief moment it was content, happy. For a brief moment it belonged. And then it all swept away. Alone again. Aeons of nothing. Blinking lights in the furthest of distances would become gigantic gaseous clouds. Spread an impossible distance across, and no matter how large they became the size was but a fraction of the distance between it and them. Stars spiraling and dying around him, but always just out of reach.

If it could count, it would have done so. As it counted these balls of light burning into existence, just to burn out again, it would have discovered numbers of incomprehension size. Every so often it tried to struggle in the strange prison that was it's existence. It called out, it screamed of course. It begged and offered anything of itself to anything that would aid it. There was only silence. Silence and darkness.

Then something happened. A miracle. A disaster. It wasn't quite sure. It spiraled and seemed to tear apart. Something pulled. Something tugged. All the while pushing. Caught in sensations of forceful travel, for a moment it thought it might die. And then there was light. Beautiful magnificent light. It could dance. It could stretch. It had a shape at last. But the light was soon to fade to a dullness. It's blinding glory now but a haze around him.

It was wet. It had no idea what this strange feeling was, or how to describe it. It was warm. Compared to the very nature of it's existence in that prison like life, this was warm. It was afraid, what was this sensation it had not felt before. It had forgotten about the bang that brought it into existence, how heated that experience had been, so very long ago. Even now, though it had long since forgotten, the feeling of the warmth that had elicited dread and fear soon brought feelings of further joy.

There was a second light. Larger. Brighter. Again it was flung, but this time it felt different. Air swept against it's form as it shattered the speed of sound, once again. This time however it felt it. Turning itself around it could see the effect, the sudden collapse of air behind it. The ripple about it's being. It heard nothing of course, but the whoosh about it's form. Not that it had words for such sensations. Not that it was afraid any longer.

Every sensation was new. Every sensation was immaculate. If it had a concept of pain, it would be feeling it. It would be adoring it. It saw the world around it, and that world gave it such enjoyment. Never before had it been so relieved. Perhaps it could find itself here. It's own again. Had they been here? Had they called him here in the light? That blessed and required life, the fruit of all existence? It could not help but try to keep its form turning, ever moving to take in all the glorious sights around itself.

Then it grew fearful again. The darkness was coming. The horizon grew darker. The light blues deepening into a black with small distant stars. They were no larger than a pinpoint, and yet they were the closest it had ever seen them. And it feared this darkness that enveloped these small lights. There was a larger light, he had seen it's kind before. A moon, though it had no word for it, for indeed it had no language to speak of. This object floating higher than it was in the air reflected light, but it would not be enough.

The darkness spread about it, and it became cold. Stiff. It's existence slowed once again. Whereas before these strange material things flew past it in a blur, now they seemed to crawl. Slower and slower in the darkness. It landed amidst some woods and froze. Light from the moon and the stars blocked off from it. The cursed canopy lay above him, and would lay above him as an eternity past for it. Always still, unable to move.

Life of some sort darted beyond it's vision. Strange creatures that existed in this blighted darkness. Moving incredibly fast, faster than it had seen anything move before. Faster than it believed anything could move. Faster than it seemed to have traveled across the two blue expanses, the ocean and the sky, not less than centuries ago.

It knew not the truth of it's nature. Did not comprehend it's existence. That though it lay undying, life only came with the light. A simple night on this little planet the inhabitants called Earth would last an eternity. It was patient however. It had waited once before. Millennia after millennia passed before it once already. In that darkness deep in space where seconds were felt as centuries. It knew not when light would come again. It knew not the cyclical nature of this world's light. But it knew it would come once. It had prayed for light, and it was delivered light, ever so briefly as it had been. Light would be delivered again.

And it was. Though when compared to it's first wait, this second span of darkness was an incomprehensibly small portion of the first, still the time spent frozen in darkness seemed to take far too long. It remained patient, but always was it eager. It had tasted light. It wanted more. The moment a soft glow appeared in the distance, it perked itself up. Entirely devout in it's anticipation.

It inched closer as the slightest provocation. The tiniest drawing back of the shadows gave it strength. It bathed in the creeping sunrise, until finally it had been submerged. Fueled again it struck out from it's previous jail. It spread across the fields, daring not to come underneath the trees it traveled quickly for open ground.

It tried to find it's own. There were several things like him scattered about everywhere, but unlike itself they hid behind objects. They did not partake of the light. It did not understand, and it became angry. How could it understand? It's entire life spent in darkness, what would it truly ever know of shadows? Ordinary shadows, not like it and it's kind. Mere absence of lights, reflecting the object's shape that stood between them and the source of the light. Very unlike itself. Something free. Something ever changing, but of it's own design.

It saw a creature. Something alive. Small. furry. Elongated ears. It wanted to belong, but was skeptical. Below it, hiding from the light was what he had first mistaken for one of it's own. It quickly decided it was a mere mockery, a trick. This creature, however, with the elongated ears and teeth, this was the true life form of intelligence. It thought to communicate, after all it was no longer alone. But how would it do so? How could it do so? It moved close, but the creature was spooked. The creature wasn't like it. This creature was solid, had a definitive form and shape. It had weight and height and mass.

Still, it decided to borrow from it. It took it's shape, it took it's size and it took it's motion. It continued to seek out more open lands, where surely more useful life must be found. Something like it, that could appreciate the light. It was unaware, but for a moment it was actually being stalked. Hunted by a larger beast. A fox had, at a distance, mistaken it for a dark rabbit and given chase. Fortunately for the animal, as soon as the fox's honed senses discovered the mistake, the fox took off in full abandon in any direction that was away from this unnatural rabbit.

As for it, it traveled and closed the gap. Birds fled it's presence. Insects stood still. It ignored all of these things. They must be lower creatures. They must be worthless. It had never come across life in this sense before, but it was utterly unimpressed.

It stopped. There was something different about the surroundings now. There was still trees, but they had been changed. Somehow. Cut and neatly packed. Straightened and carved. Piled in a shape it had not seen yet, a rather angular and unnatural thing. It had come across a garage. There was more life here, that stood on two legs. Less furry. They had a curiosity about them as they dug into the ground. Pulled out those strange insects it had passed before, though it knew not what to call them still. It watched them, as they intrigued it.

Not realizing at first how much time it had been spending doing so, it wondered about them. They were different. Curious. Obviously some intelligence. It noticed much larger and different creatures come and go, they must be the same somehow. Different colors in the hair. Slight changes in the skin. Some were paler or darker, but not by much. Freckles and scars and birthmarks set each of them apart so amazingly, at least to it. It that had only known a uniform darkness. The tiniest difference in these creatures spoke wonders. Unlike the insects, despite the differences between those, these creatures were of some note, and it enjoyed the study. It took some time, but it finally decided that these things must be alike indeed. It had been watching a family, and that fact slowly dawned on it.

It had studied too long. They were heading away, and it followed, however it could not keep pace for long. The day had ended, and the darkness of night returned. How horrible it's fate had been, to find something so promising and have to lose it again. It strained to stay in the path. It fought hard as the night seeped it's strength, it's very momentum. It tried, but try as it might it could not keep pace with these things. Their movements sped up as it's slowed, but it did see enough. It saw them enter another dwelling, shaped similarly to the barn but different: a house.

It hatched it's plan. It took ages for it to move into place, it's strength and speed slowed to a crawl in the low light. When the clouds overhead passed over the moon, it appeared to freeze. A slug passed it by, appearing to move as fast the crickets across the way. It changed it's shape, mimicking those musical bugs, but was far too weak to leap. It's form could not leave the ground, which it was still unaccustomed to. It altered it's form again, mimicking the slug that seemed to it to be so quick. Despite the change it found itself barely inching itself closer to the house.

The moon's light returned in earnest, it quickly decided to experiment, remembering that it's form was malleable. It need not stick to such strict shapes as these solid creatures. It became something that wriggled with multiple limbs, but that proved to be no more effective. It became spherical, immediately starting to roll down the small incline. That helped, but it found the deed of moving up the next incline, to it so very steep, an impossible task. It struggled as a spiral column covered in small hair like appendages. It became an indescribable blob. It became a form made entirely of legs and claws. It remembered the rabbit, and tried that. It remembered the birds, but did not have the strength to fly. It saw a mouse, but again the transformation proved to be useless. It became like those strange curious things, which in the time to come he would know as children. Again and again it changed it's form, and again and again it found itself barely capable of cutting the distance between itself and it's goal.

It once again became desperate. It became angry. It actually felt tired, for the first time in it's ever long existence. It despaired and screeched, a sound no animal near by heard. Still the wildlife became still. Crickets quieted and quickly fled. Even the moths with their tiny minds knew well enough to flee. It wasn't the sound itself, for there was no sound to it's outcry. Still, somehow they felt it. Deep in their mortal bones, carapaces and every sense they had, the night life knew it was to run, leap and slither as far away as possible. Somewhere in the house, a mother who had been enjoying the sound of the crickets gave pause. Something made her suddenly nervous. The children awoke from their sleep sobbing and wailing. The cat hissed, and in it's agitation crawled and hopped around the house, knocking over a lamp as it did so. Nothing near the house where it lie on the ground, in the darkness shrieking, managed to sleep with ease that night.

It cried out for what felt like decades. If it had nerves they would be have been frayed. If it had a stomach, it would feel queasy. It's nonexistent eyes would have produced tears. It's finger nails would be torn, if only it had some, due to it's clawing into the ground. It suffered for an eternity, writhing in it's own emotional pain.

This world was cruel. At least in the empty space it had occupied before it came to this world, it had long ago given up on hope. It had long ago forgotten what it felt like to know sensation. Here, where the light came and went with such indifference was simple torture. To give it strength, only to take it away. Twice now it suffered with the dawn and the day bringing him something so beautiful, just to have it's spirit stolen away with the light.

The sun would finally come, as it had before. With no sense of time, it could not possibly know when or how long it had waited. When it came there wasn't joy, however. How could it rejoice knowing that soon it would suffer again? It wouldn't suffer alone. Not any more.

The morning dawn gave it vigor to move, to stalk in the temporary day as it pleased. The children would awake and leave the building, carrying strange compartments on their backs, they entered a noisy yellow thing and were carried away. One of these creatures, whom it had heard one of those children refer to as father, would leave as well. Entering a stationary and quiet blue thing that sprung to life nosily. He too would be carried away within it.

That left one creature in the home. In the coming hours she would scream. For reasons it did not comprehend it hated her. Hated how she was capable of thriving in both the day and the night. Hated how there were others like her, where it had known nothing but loneliness. It hungered to claw at her, and so it did. It hungered to twist her flesh, and so it did.

She laid there on the floor underneath it, as the night time started to come. It had yet to have it's fill, but it knew. It knew there would be no strength left in itself soon. It had to move. It had discovered the strange objects that created life when manipulated. It flicked a switch while there was still just enough light for it to move, and it felt itself gaining strength. It hid in the darkness. It knew there would be a nearly endless wait. Whenever, if ever the light returned it would head out again. It would wait. It's time would come, it had to. It was still angry, and it knew not how to deal with such emotions. It never had the chance to lash out before. It liked it.

Time passed, and finally the father came home, with the two children in tow. They screamed and sobbed at the sight of the woman, twisted and gurgling. She uttered madness, syllables with no reason. Her body twitched, an exposed rib quivered as she breathed.

She tried to speak. The words barely came as the father yelled at the children to get to the door. What could have done this? Was it a human? No, this looked like a beastly attack. He yelled at the children to run, hide in the car. Don't come out. She tried to speak again, a frothing bubbling sound that rose from her throat as she slowly choked on her own blood.

He tried to assist her. Tried to tell her it would be okay. The call had already been made, and the sounds of sirens in the distance started to louden. She finally spoke, “The bed. The devil is under the bed!”

He ran, and grabbed the mattress, flipping the thing aside he expected something. But he saw nothing. It saw him, however, as it hid in the cracks of the floor. It saw the fear. The anger. It was all too delicious. It couldn't wait till the next dawn.