***
A beeping sound pulled Penny from a pleasant dream she only vaguely remembered. Sitting up in bed, she brushed the sleep out of her eyes, wondering where the sound came from. Then she noticed her cell phone’s blue light. A new text message.
She glanced at the digital clock on the night stand. One thirty. She’d only been asleep for a good fifteen minutes, tops. Maybe it was Chelsea, texting to tell her she got home safe and sound.
Penny contemplated reading the message or not. Sleep tugged at her, but in the end, curiosity won. She grabbed the phone and browsed to her inbox.
One new message from Mom.
Penny clicked on the message, raising her eyebrows. How could she have gotten a text from Mom, if the latter was sleeping in the room next to hers?
Hey sweetie! Will be home later. Love, Mom. Xx
Penny’s breath got stuck in her throat.
Stay calm, Penn. It wouldn’t be the first time someone sent her a message, and the text arrived hours later.
She listened intently for the sound of her mom snoring. A deep growl, a higher-pitched sound, exactly the way her mom snored. She’d heard the sound a thousand times, and she couldn’t count the sleepless nights she’d lain in her bed listening to the calming sound of her mom’s snoring.
Was something different about it today? Penny didn’t think so.
On top of that, what kind of burglar would pretend to be a person snoring?
You’re overreacting, Penn. Get a hold of yourself.
She clicked the ‘call’ button on her cell phone, dialing her mother’s number. Her mom had an obnoxiously loud ring tone that pierced through the entire house, so if she was home, Penny would definitely hear the phone ringing.
The phone started going over, but the ring tone was missing. Nothing came from her mother’s bedroom except the incessant sound of her snoring.
Penny bit her lip to keep it from trembling. What if whoever was in her mom’s bedroom wasn’t her mom?
Suddenly, the snoring stopped. Penny’s heart skipped a few beats. She jumped out of bed, pushing herself against the wall furthest away from the door. The door. Why hadn’t she freaking locked the door?
The silence was a lot more threatening than the sound seconds before. It was the kind of silence that was thick and palpable, ominous, waiting for something to happen.
I have to lock that freaking door.
But Penny’s feet wouldn’t move, like she was glued to the spot. A door crept open at the end of the hallway. Bile rose up in Penny’s throat.
Three steps toward her. She hoped against all odds that the intruder would go back down the stairs, thinking maybe she was asleep, and leave her alone. Another step. And another. Toward her room, past the stairs.
Finally, Penny could move again. She raced forward, toward the door, and fumbled with the lock. Her trembling hands barely managed to turn the key. Once the door was locked, she put a few steps back, taking deep, ragged breaths.
The door knob turned, left to right. Penny started crying, more from panic than anything else. The knob turned again, and someone pushed hard against the door.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God,” Penny said, backing up against the wall, desperately looking for a way out. She rushed toward the window and began pulling it with all her strength, trying to pry the window open.
The window finally budged, and flew open, sending Penny flying backward on to her bed. Penny jumped up again, ran to the window and looked out. It was a long way down, but she’d probably only have two broken legs.
“Honey?” a familiar voice came from down the hallway. “What’s going on? Open up.”
Mom?
Penny released a long, slow breath. “Mom?” she asked in a small voice.
“Yes?” her Mom replied from the hallway. “Penn, I told you I don’t like it when you lock the door. What if there’s a fire or something?”
The voice sounded exactly like Penny’s mom’s, and she nagged about potential life threatening situations the same way Penny’s mom always did, but something nagged at the back of Penny’s mind.
“Where is your cell phone?” Penny asked.
“That thing died about an hour ago. Low battery,” Mom explained. “Can you open up?”
“Why did you come to my room just now?”
A deep sigh resonated from the other side of the door. “I woke up just now, and wanted to check if you’re all right. But obviously you’re not. Care to tell me what’s going on?”
“You sent me a text message you’d be home later,” Penny said. She couldn’t keep the accusation out of her tone.
“I sent that text hours ago,” Mom explained. “Honey, I’m getting worried.” The door knob twitched again.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” Penny said while she walked toward the door. She turned the key and opened up the door a little.
Her mom’s silhouette appeared in the hallway. Most of her face was blocked by the darkness, and Penny wondered why she hadn’t put the lights on. Mom hated walking in the dark. Then mom stepped forward, into the light, revealing familiar features Penny had never been as relieved to see as today.
But the look in mom’s eyes was harsh and cold, a look she only had when she was royally angry at Penny.
“Are you mad at me?” Penny asked, worried.
“No, of course not,” Mom said. “Just a little tired.”
At least she didn’t sound drunk.
Penny put a step back to let Mom into her room. “I was afraid you were an intruder,” she explained.
“Me?” Mom laughed, a dry, hoarse sound. She put a step closer to Penny. Her lips curled into a smile.
Penny smiled back hesitantly, still not entirely recovered from her fear.
Then Mom’s smile grew larger, until the corners of her mouth reached halfway to her ears.
Penny’s eyes went wide and she stepped back, overcome by horror and fear.
Mom’s mouth became impossibly big, running all the way to her ears. “Well, I’m definitely not Mom,” the imposter said. She laughed, again that dry, strange sound, revealing gigantic, razor-sharp teeth.
Penny screamed. She launched at the window, but the monster was too fast. It grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
A giant, blood red tongue slipped from the monster’s mouth. By now, its face was so large and grotesque it didn’t resemble Penny’s mom in the slightest anymore. The monster had black slits for eyes, no nose, and the majority of its face was dominated by the massive mouth.
The monster’s tongue licked Penny’s cheek.
The last thing Penny saw was a giant, black hole filled with teeth as sharp as knives. Then the monster swallowed her whole.