Creature of the Lake

                The day had started out with sunshine as we drove.  It's Sunday.  But it turned into a blizzard of rain, lightening, and thunder.  It was a raging storm.  I love storms.  My name is Jason French.  I have cappuccino colored skin.  My eyes are light brown.  My hair is reddish brown.  It's in natural curls on my head.  I'm 6 foot 3.  I didn’t play any sports in school.  I hate sports.  But I work out though.  My parents are Jacqueline and Steve French.  My mom has the same color skin, hair, and eyes as me.  My dad is tall.  His eyes are gray.  His hair is light brown.  He has dreads.  His skin is a shade darker than mom's. 

We had lived in South Carolina, in a big house on Hiltonhead Island.  I always went to the beach.  I loved it there.  I lived there ever since I was born.  Now I'm 16.  My dad had gotten a job in New England.  I got mad when he told us.  I'm not mad now.  I accept it.  Not really. 

            "Mom?"  I asked, pulling my Gameboy from my backpack.

            "Yes Jason?"  She answered. 

            "Why does dad have to work here?"  I asked, shuffling through my backpack for a cartridge.

            "Because he has to do construction work for a company."  She answered. 

            "Oh."  I said, finally finding the game I wanted.  I popped in Donkey Kong.  I played that for awhile.  Mom is driving our small RV.  Dad is asleep.  He was stretched out beside me on one of the beds.  I was sitting up on the other one.  I got bored so I looked out the window.  I saw boats and docks.  I saw a seafood restaurant.  A few people were in there.  I love seafood.  We pulled into a small town called Waterville. It's in Maine.

            "Steve.  Steve wake up."  Mom calls to dad.  He stirs but doesn’t wake up.  I slap him in the stomach. 

            "I'm up.  I'm up.  What is it Jacquey?"  He asks, sitting up.  Mom had pulled up to our new house.  I gaze out at it.  It's not as big as our other house.  It's painted in grays and blues.  Matches the sky, I think to myself. 

            "Here's our house.  Jason, help your father unload the car."  She orders.

            "Ah mom."  I groan.  I lay down on the bed.

            "Now!"  She snaps.  I sit up and get out of the car.  I carry two boxes, one stacked on top of the other.  Dad carries three.  All of our boxes are big.  Mom opens the door for us.  Dad and I set the boxes on the floor by the door.  I look at how empty the house looks.  I look around and notice the furniture next to the boxes.  This is the living room.  I help dad bring in the rest of the boxes.

            "Your room's upstairs, Jason."  Dad tells me.  Mom and dad carry their stuff down the hall from where we stand.  I look around for stairs.  I see some a few feet from the door.  I trudge up the stairs.  I finally reach the top.  I see a door on the left.  I try to turn the knob.  It wouldn't budge.  I see a door on the right that's a little down the hall.  I try that doorknob.  It turns.  The door clicks open.  I see a very large room.  My bed is already here.  The movers brought the beds in advance.  The floor is wooden.  My sneakers make a lot of noise on the floor.  I sit my boxes on the floor by my door.  There's a window in the wall far from where I stand.  I shuffle over to it.  I peer out. 

            There's a lake.  It's small.  On one side, there are trees.  It creeps me out.  I open my boxes.  I see a door.  I walk to it.  I open it.  It's a bathroom.  I try to find the light switch.  I find it and flick the switch.  Lights come on.  I have a toilet, sink, and a shower.

            "Yes."  I say to myself.  I turn off the light and back out, closing the door.  I see double doors.  I walk to them and open them.  I see a huge closet.  There is a shelf and drawers.  The drawers are on the left wall.  I see a bar running underneath the shelf.  I leave the closet and go over to my boxes.  I take out my stereo system.  I put it on the shelf.  As I do that, I feel a paper beside it.  I grab it.  I see it's folded up.  I unfold it.  A picture falls out.  I pick up the picture.  It's in color.  Looks to have come from an instamatic camera.  I see a silhouette of a figure on the photo.  I can't make it out.  I look at the paper.  Someone wrote something on it.  It reads:

            "To anyone who finds this, watch out.  A creature lives in the lake.  Be careful.  It found me, but I ran away from it.  I live on 623 Baker Street.  The house is light blue.  If you ever find me, tell me if anything strange has happened.  Like people act weird all of a sudden.  Find me and we can kill the creature." 

                                                            Janise Reeves

                                                            3-27-2000

            It’s Sunday, June 15, 2001.  This happened a year ago.  I look at the picture one more time.  I can make out the lake in the background.  I run to my window and see the lake.  The storm has stopped.  It's gotten dark.  It was 6:00 when we got here.  Now it's an hour later.  I ran downstairs.  I ran into my parent's room.  They were unpacking their boxes.

            "Mom!"  I said loudly.

            "What Jason?"  She asked.  I thrust the paper and picture in her face.  She grabbed it.  She moved over to the window to get more light.  She read the paper, then looked at the picture.

            "Where'd you find this?"  She asked, handing it to dad.

            "In my closet."  I replied, looking at dad.  He handed it back to me.

            "I don’t like that lake."  I spat.

            "Why?"  Mom and dad questioned in unison.

            "Because it gives me the creeps."  I said, still holding the paper.  Mom came over and hugged me.  Her hair was frizzy, so it went in my mouth.  I brushed it away from my face.

            "Don't be scared dear.  It's just a lake."  She said in a soothing voice.

            "What if what this lady says is true?  What if there is a creature?"  I asked, pulling away from mom.  Dad came up behind me.  I turned around.  He put his hands on my shoulders. 

            "Jason.  Don't believe what she said.  She was probably crazy."  He said, patting my shoulders.

            "Get off me!"  I yelled.  I ran back upstairs.  I looked in my open closet.  I felt around on the shelf.  I felt a box.  I grabbed it and plop on to my bed. It was a shoebox.  I open it.  I saw photos in there.  I took some out.  They weren't like the first photo I found.  I looked at them.  They were pictures of the lake, from all angles.  I took out the rest of the photos.  Some were of a girl, about my age.  She was very light-skinned, with gray eyes and blond hair.  She seemed in distress in each picture. 

            In each picture, she was with a figure.  After looking at those, I saw a book.  It was a journal.  The cover said: "Janise Reeves-Journal entries."  I opened it.  I got a whiff of mildew.  I scrunched my nose up.  I read the first page.

            "Day one: January 1, 2000

                        My first day of school.  I'm going to Ridgemont High.  Don't know anybody.  I hate it here.  Everyone calls me 'Monstergirl'.  I loathe that name.  I make good grades.  A's and B's.  I live with my grandparents, Lonnie and Jacob Reeves.  My parents died trying to fight the monster.  I lived here all my life."  I read the other entries.  I stopped.  I looked up and saw my parents standing at the door.  They appeared to be mad at me.

            "Jason?  What're you doing?"  Mom asked me, staring at the box and the photos.

            "I found this in my closet.  That's where I found the first stuff."  I answered her, getting up and handing her some pictures.  Her and dad looked at them.  They were shocked. 

            "What does this all mean?"  Dad asked, pulling his dreads.

            "It means there's something in the lake."  I replied, standing up.

            "Nonsense."  Mom said under her breath.  I heard her.

            "What if it's not nonsense, mom?"  I questioned, walking over and taking the photos from her.  I threw them back in the box.  I started to put the box back in the closet but dad snatched it from me. 

            "We'll keep this until we can give it back to the owner."  Dad calmly said.  He left.  Mom was still standing there.

"Did you unpack your things?"  She asked.  I nodded. 

"Put your blankets and sheets in the closet down the hall."  She directed me. 

I grabbed my linen box and followed her down the hall.  She goes down the steps.  I hear mom and dad talking.  I sit my box down and try the knob again.  It still won't budge.  I kick the door.  It buckled.  I tried the knob again.  It still wouldn't budge.  I looked under the knob.  I see a keyhole.  I try to look in it.  I see darkness.  I always carry my Swiss Army knife with me.  I take it from my jeans pocket and flip out the metal nail file.  I put it in the keyhole. 

            I turn the knife back and forth, trying to get the lock open.  I finally hear a click.  The door opens slightly.  I push it further.  I put my knife back in my pocket.  I take my flashlight from my box.  I turn it on and shine it in the room.  I see a TV and boxes.  I try to find the light switch.  I feel on the wall to my left.  I find a switch and flick it.  A light comes on.  I look up at the ceiling.  I see a single bulb.  It's bright.  I walk over to the TV.  I see a VCR on top.  A tape is partially sticking out. 

            A white sticker is on the end towards me.  It reads: "Lake bubbling".  I push the tape in and a picture pops up.  It's the lake.  I see bubbles forming in the middle of the lake.  The bubbles move towards the shore.  The picture zooms in on the bubbles.  A dark head slowly appears from the bubbles.  The picture blurs then cuts off. 

            "What happened?"  I whisper.  The tape pops back out.  I look in the boxes.  I see jars full of a liquid.  I pick one up and look in it.  I see a mass of blackish-green skin.  I turn the jar around.  An eye is in the skin.  The iris is goldish-brown.  I juggle the jar, almost dropping it.  I put it back in the box.  I pick up another jar.  I see a large finger in it.  I put that one in the box.  I saw other jars in there but I don't want to see them.  I walk out and take my box back to my room.  I threw it on my bed.

            I put my clothes in the closet, closed it and went back to the room.  I stand at the door.  I see the light went out.  I try the switch again.  It's still in the 'On' position.  I close the door and sprint to my room.  I look out the window.  There are lights around our house, so they illuminate the lake.  I see bubbles in the middle of the lake.  A head appears.  I briefly see its face.  The lights go out.  What I saw of its face was horrible.  It had a huge mouth, teeth jutting out.  It had two large eyes, the same color as the one I saw in the jar.  It had two slits above its mouth.  I guess it passed for a nose.  My eyes finally adjusted to the sudden darkness.  I saw its shadow moving toward the house.  I saw its shadow change from a lumbering figure into a man.  I felt its eyes staring at me through the darkness.

            A few minutes later, I heard three voices.  I sat on my bed for awhile.  Then, I crept into the hall.  I stand at the top of the stairs.  I slowly step down the stairs, a few stairs at a time.  I peer into the dining room from the stairs.  I see mom and dad.  I also see a strange man.  They're all standing around the table.  The man was tall, with short brown hair.  He was a white man.  He looked to be my age.  He could be a little older.  I saw mom look at me.  Dad and the man didn’t notice. 

            "Jason!  Come down here.  I want you to meet somebody."  Mom shouted, waving her arms in my direction.  I slowly walked down the rest of the stairs.  I shuffled into the dining room.  I stood next to mom.  She put her arm around my shoulders.  I glared at the man. 

            "Jason this is….What was your name again?"  She asked, staring into his eyes. 

            "William Scott."  He replied, stretching his right hand out in my direction. 

            "Hey."  I said, not taking his hand.  Dad came up behind me.  He whispered into my ear.

            "Shake his hand, son."   He urged.  I grabbed his hand and shook it lightly.  It felt slightly wet.  I let go immediately.  I looked at his hand as it fell back to his side.  Then, my eyes slowly looked him up and down.  I did this twice and I looked at his face.  I noticed he had a small, thin nose.  He had a huge mouth.  I saw his eyes.  They were the same as the monster's eyes. 

            "Well!  Steve and I will be in our room finishing unpacking.  Why don't you guys get to know each other?"  Mom asked, grabbing dad by his arm.  I saw them leave.  As they disappeared out the door, I fixed my gaze on William.

            "So Jason.  How do you like it here?"  William asked, slowly walking towards me.  I backed up. 

            "I don't like it.  It's cold and dreary."  I answered, walking into the living room.  I plop onto the big, black leather couch by the door.  I prop my feet up onto the table.  I watch William as he walks around the table and sits next to me.  There's a space big enough for two people to sit in between us.  I can smell a stench.  I look at William.  He stares back at me with his eerie eyes. 

            "What's that smell?"  I ask him, scrunching my nose up.

            "What smell?"  William asks, leaning over towards me.  The smell is stronger.  It smells like a wet person.  I back up against the arm of the couch.  He leans away from me. 

            "I know you've seen me.  I've seen you, too.  I need someone.  A certain person.  Like Janise Reeves."  He says to me.  He's still looking at me.  He smiles.  His grin is huge.  It scares me.  It looks like he has too many teeth.  They look sharp.

            "You're the monster of the lake."  I say.

            "In the flesh."  He says, standing up.  I stand up and face him. 

            "I found a letter and pictures from Janise.  She wants me to find her and we can kill you."  I hiss at him.  He still smiles at me.

            "Why would you want to kill me?  I'm happy being here.  I've been in other places and they accept me."  William says, going to the door.  I step in front of him.

            "That's because you made them accept you.  You have a power or something that controls people."  I say, slowly opening the door.  He laughs heartily.

            "You're right.  I do have a power.  I already got your parents."  He gloats.  I gasp.

            "How?"  I question him.

            "I bit them.  I disappeared in front of them as they opened the door.  I snuck behind them and bit the back of their necks.  My saliva sticks to their brainstems and controls them."  He answered, opening his mouth and gnashing his teeth.  I saw that they were very sharp.  I opened the door all the way.

            "Get out you monster."  I hissed, not speaking too loud. 

            "I'll be back."  He said, walking out the door.  He turned around and looked at me.  I stared at him as he changed back into his monster form.  He growled loudly.  Then, he fled for the lake.  I heard splashes as I closed the door.  I ran to my parents' room.  The light was off.  I could see their outlines in the dark.  I flipped on the light.  They didn't stir.  I walked up to the left side of the bed.  I looked down at mom.  She was lying on her back, drool coming out of her mouth. 

            "Mom.  Wake up."  I whispered.  She didn't answer.  I tapped her on the shoulder.  She abruptly sat up. 

            "What?  What?  What happened Jason?"  Mom asked, grabbing my shoulders.

            "That guy is the creature."  I told her.

            "William is not 'the creature'."  Mom said, letting go of my shoulders and yawning.  She looked at her watch.  It was 10:00. 

            "Mom?  Turn around."  I told her. 

            "What?"  Mom asked, yawning again.

            "Mom, please turn around."  I said again.  She turned around.  I lifted her hair away from her neck.  I saw a mark on her neck.  It looked like multiple holes.  Like teeth marks. 

            "Oh no."   I whispered.  Mom turned around.  She stood up.  I backed up as she did. 

            "Jason."  Mom said, a blank look on her face.

            "What?"  I asked, moving towards the door.  I ran out.  I ran to my room and closed and locked my door.  I heard mom bounding up the stairs.  I ripped the door to my closet open.  I grabbed the shoebox and threw it on the bed.  I opened it and rummaged through the pictures.  I found the journal again.  I flipped to an entry I had read before.

            "March 1, 2000:

                        It got my grandparents.  I came home from school.  I got in the house and saw grandma and granddad shaking on the floor in the living room.  I asked what was wrong with them.  They started shrieking.  'Don't hurt us!  We never hurt you!'  They said.  I kneeled down near them and held them.  They were biting and scratching at me.  I cried, but not from that.  I was crying for my poor grandparents being controlled by it.  I called my brother, James.  He shouted at me:  'Janise!  Don't call me!  I hate you!'  He slammed the phone down.  It got him, too.  I ran back to my grandparents.  They were lying motionless on the floor.  I felt for a pulse in my grandma.  No pulse.  I did the same to my granddad.  No pulse either.  They were dead.  The pressure was too much. 

I sat there next to their bodies, crying for an hour.  I finally stopped.  I called 911 and an ambulance came.  I stayed home.  Then, I heard a scratching noise.  It was coming from the door.  I peered out of the peephole.  It the creature, only it was in the form of a young woman.  I didn't answer the door.  I looked out again.  Its' eyes were staring at me.  I looked away and walked towards the middle of the floor.  I opened a trapdoor and jumped down.  I crept down the slope of the floor.  I finally arrived in the basement.  I heard loud pounding from outside.  The creature was trying to get in but I locked the door with the heavy duty locks my parents bought when they first discovered the creature." 

            The writing stopped there.  I flipped through the journal, trying to find how to cure people who were controlled.  I found it.

            "March 4, 2000:

                        The only way to cure the controlled people is to kill the creature.  I've tried on many occasions to kill it, but I couldn't."  I scanned the page.  I wasn't prepared for what I read at the very bottom.

            "Jason.  Find me and we can kill it.  Hurry!"  I gasped.  I heard a loud pound at my door.

            "Jason!  It's mommy.  Come out."  I heard her whisper.  I threw the book and box in the closet.

            "Mom!  You're being controlled by the monster!"  I shouted, standing in front of the door.

            "Controlled?  HA!  Yeah right.  Oooh!  A monster's controlling me!"  Mom said goofily.  I ran to my window.  It was pitch black out there.  The lights were back on.  I looked at my watch.  It was 10:40.  I looked out the window and saw the lake.  It was bubbling in the middle.  It was the monster.  I saw it.  It came out of the water and walked along the shore.  It stopped.  It turned its round head.  I saw it open its big mouth.  I heard a growl come from it. 

            Then, I heard mom growl, too.  The monster growled some more.  Mom growled, too.  I ran to the door and tore it open.  I saw mom standing there, growling like the monster.  She crouched on the floor and grabbed my legs.  I fell over.  She crawled on top of me.  I froze.  Her face appeared over mine.  I saw her eyes were wide open.  Her mouth twisted into a snarl.

            Without warning, mom knocked me upside my head with a fist.  I was knocked cold.  I didn't even feel her get off me and go back downstairs.

            I awoke the next morning with a splitting headache.  I got up and ran to my bathroom.  I turned on the light and looked in the mirror.  There was a red mark on the left side of my head. 

            "I didn't know mom could hit so hard."  I said aloud.  I looked down at my watch.  It was 8:30 in the morning.  I hurried and got showered.  I put on my black jeans and black long sleeved shirt.  I slipped on my black hiking boots.  I looked at my watch.  It was 9:00.  I opened my closet door.  I looked around for my jacket.  I saw red sleeves sticking out of a box.  I pulled my jacket out of the box and pulled it on.  I slowly opened my door.  I peered out, looking both ways.  I saw no one.

            Walking out of my room cautiously, I crept down the stairs.  I listened for my parents.  I didn't hear them.  I shuffled down the rest of the stairs and walked into their room.  They weren't there.  I checked the kitchen and they weren't there either.  I ran back upstairs and checked the room I went in yesterday.  Nobody.  I ran into my room and looked around.  Nobody.  I looked out my window.  There they were, in their clothes from yesterday.  They were just standing there near the lake.  I ran downstairs and out the house.  I ran around back.

            "Mom?  Dad?"  I asked loudly.  They didn't respond.  I ran in front of them.  I saw their eyes were glazed over, staring at nothing.  I waved my hands in front of their eyes.  No response.  They were like zombies.  I ran around front.  I went into the garage.  I saw my motorcycle right next to our RV.  I hopped on.  I fumbled in my pocket in the front of my jacket.  I found the key and put it in the ignition.  It started smoothly.  I pulled my helmet over my head. 

            Revving the engine, I raced out.  I remembered Janise's address.  I cruised along the street, looking on both sides.  I turned on Baker Street.  I finally spotted a house marked 623.  I pulled up in the driveway.  There wasn't a car in the driveway.  I turned off my bike and hopped off.  I put my helmet into its case on the back of the bike.  I walked to the front of the house.  I stepped cautiously on the front steps.  I rang the doorbell.  I heard footsteps padding towards the door.  I looked through the peephole.  I saw a gray eye.  I heard many locks being unlocked.  The door opened wide.  A girl stepped out cautiously.  She was wearing faded bluejeans and a black turtleneck.  She spoke.

            "Are you alone?"  She said, a scared tone in her voice.

            "Yeah."  I replied, eyeing her.  She suddenly grabbed me by my jacket and pulled me into the house.  She locked the door.  I turned around and saw her standing in front of the door. 

            "Come on."  She said, walking in front of me. 

            "You're Janise Reeves, right?" I asked her.  She was standing in front of me.

            "In the flesh."  Janise replied.  She turned around and kneeled on the floor.  Janise pulled up a trapdoor. 

            "Jump down Jason."  She ordered, moving out of the way.  I shuffled over and looked in the hole.  A faint light was down there.  I jumped down.  The ground was slightly sloped.  I moved as Janise jumped down.  She closed and locked the hatch.  She crept in front of me.  I followed.  We finally arrived in a spacious room.  I concluded that this was the basement.  She ran to a big couch.  Janise plopped down. 

            "Come over here Jason."  Janise called, patting a seat next to her.  I shuffled over, looking at the stuff in the room.  I plopped next to her.

            "How do you know my name, Janise?"  I asked.

            "I knew you'd come here.  I had a feeling."  She answered, pulling at her unruly curls.  She reached onto the table in front of us and grabbed a few photos.  She handed them to me.  I looked at them.  They were pictures of the monster.  The pictures showed it at the lake.

            "How'd you get these?"  I asked.

            "I took them last year when I lived in the house you're living in now.  I took them from the den.  I had a special camera that could see it.  Other cameras won't capture it."  She explained.  Janise grabbed her camera from a chair next to the couch.  I held it.  It was pretty big.  It had a large flash bulb and an instamatic chute where the pictures came out.  I handed it back to her and she set it in between us.  I looked at my watch.  It was 10:30.  She jumped up and ran to a chest.  Janise pulled out a pair of black boots.  She slipped them over her socked feet.  A shotgun was sitting beside the chest.  She grabbed it and threw it at me.  I caught it.  It was a double barrel shotgun.  It was a pump-action shotgun.  She grabbed a vest and put it on.  It had multiple pockets.  She filled the pockets with shells. 

            Janise told me to follow her.  We emerged in the foyer again. 

            "We have to go back to your house.  We'll wait there until it gets dark."  She ordered.  We went outside and jumped on my bike.  I had an extra helmet.  Janise put it on.  We sped off to my house.  Arriving in my house, Janise ran to the kitchen.  I followed her.  She opened the back door and ran out.  I followed her out to the lake.  We saw my parents lying on the ground.  I checked for their pulses.  They had a pulse, but it was a little weak.  We dragged their bodies inside the house and to their room. 

            We went into the dining room and sat down.  I found a deck of cards sitting on the table.  I shuffled them.  I started to build a card house.  Janise helped me.  We got to the second story.  I've tried to build a card house before but it always fell down after the first story.  I checked my watch.  It was 11:37.  We got tired of building the card house.  We knocked it down.  I put the card back in the middle of the table.

            I shuffled into the living room.  Janise followed me.  We collapsed on the couch.  We slept.  Janise was leaning against me.  Hours passed.  I woke up suddenly.  It was dark in the house.  We didn't turn on any lights when we arrived.  I checked my watch.  It was 5:00.  I nudged Janise.  She jumped up.  I got up and beckoned for her to follow me.  She got up and grabbed the shotgun from the dining room table.  We walked out back.  It was slightly dark.  We stared at the lake.  It was very placid, the surface unbroken.  I saw bubbles start to form in the middle of the lake. 

            "Look Janise."  I told her.  I pointed to the lake.  She saw the bubbles.  She grabbed my elbow and led me to the back door.  We stood in the shadows.  I saw the creature surface.  It walked slowly.  It turned its back to us. 

            "Do you have a knife?"   Janise whispered.

            "Yeah."   I answered softly.

            "Stab it." She hissed.  I crept slowly away from her.  I stepped quietly towards the creature's back.  Raising my knife, I stabbed it in the back.  It shrieked.  I ran back towards Janise.  She put four shells into the gun.  She raised it and shot it once in the back.  It turned around and glared at us.  She shot it again, this time in the chest.  It staggered and fell.  Janise walked cautiously toward the bleeding monster on the ground.  I followed her.  The monster changed into William.

            "Jason.  Why'd you stab me?  What I ever do to you?"  He softly cried.

            "You controlled my parents.  Janise told me about you in her letter and journal.  We have to kill you."  I answered.  I tried to stab him again but he grabbed my arm.  Janise shot him in the arm.  He let go.  He grabbed my leg with the other hand.  I lost my balance but didn't fall.  Janise shot that arm.  He let go and screeched.  William turned back into the monster.  It got up and bared its teeth.  Janise tried to shoot it again but it grabbed the gun and threw it at the house.  Grabbing Janise, it dived back into the lake. 

            "JANISE!"  I shouted.  I ran to get the gun.  Running back to the lake, I aimed for the creature.  I saw it surface with Janise.  It was strangling her.  I got a shot off at its arm.  It shrieked and let go.  Janise was gasping for breath.  I stepped to the shore and stretched my hand out to her.  She reached out and gripped my hand.  I pulled her out.  I threw the gun on the ground and grabbed her hand with the other.  She got her other hand up and gripped my hands.  I struggled to pull her out of the water.  I finally got her out.  I dragged her to the house.  She lay on the ground, breathing rapidly.  I ran back to the gun.  I picked it up.  I pumped it to get it ready.  I scanned the lake.  No monster appeared.  As I turned my back, I heard bubbling.  I spun around and saw the creature in my face. 

            I raised the gun.  It had a surprised look on its face.  I shot it in the head.  It fell backwards.  I shot it over and over again.  I shot it so much it looked like Swiss cheese.  It breathed one last time and stopped.  I slowly turned.  Janise was gone.  I called for her.

            "JANISE!"  I shouted, looking around.  I heard a noise behind me.  I whirled around and saw Janise.  Her gray eyes were flashing. 

            "Janise?  What's wrong?"  I asked her, putting my hands on her shoulders.

            "We did it.  We really did it."  She said breathlessly. 

            "Come on.  Let's go."  I led her back to the house.  I glanced back at the creature.  It was dissolving. 

            "Look Janise.  It's dissolving."  I told her.  She turned around and looked at the creature.  We looked at each other and laughed.  We killed it.  We walked back into the house.  I walked into my parent's room.  They were still asleep.  I shuffled towards the bed.  I shook mom.  She stirred.

            "Ugh.  What happened?"  She asked.  She put a hand to her head.

            "I can't tell you.  It's a long story."  I told her.  I heard dad groan.  He sat up abruptly.

            "Where am I?"  He asked loudly.

            "You're home."  I told him.  Janise stood behind me. 

            "Are these your parents?"  She asked me.  I nodded.

            "Yep.  Mom?  Dad?  Meet Janise Reeves."  I said, stepping to the side.

            "Hello Mr. and Mrs. French."  Janise said, waving.

            "Hello, Janise."  Mom said.  Dad waved back.  Mom sat up and shook her head.  She stood up and hugged me.  Dad got up and hugged us.  They let go.  Janise spoke up.

            "I guess I'll go home." 

            "No.  You'll be lonely.  Stay with us."  I pleaded, grabbing her hand. 

            "Is there room?"  She asked. 

            "Yeah!  There's a room across the hall from mine." I led her upstairs.  I opened the door across from mine.  I flipped on the light.  The room was made up.

            "Voila!"  I said.  Janise hugged me. 

            "Take me back home and I'll get my things.  What's left of them."  She said.  We got into my parent's RV.  I took her home to pack.  I waited outside.  Minutes later, she came back.  She was lugging two suitcases and a bag.  We arrived back at the house.  She unpacked in her room.  I stood in her doorway. 

            "So?  What do you think?"  I asked.

            "I love it!  I like you Jason."  She said.

            "Wow!  I like you, too."  I said back.  I walked in and hugged her.  We hugged each other tightly.  I looked at my watch.  It was 10:00.  That was a long battle we had with the creature.  I let go of her. 

            "Goodnight Janise."  I said.

            "Goodnight Jason."  She said.  Then, she kissed me on the cheek.  I smiled.  She smiled back.  I left her and went to my room.  I looked at her before she closed the door.  I closed my door and changed.  I turned off the light and jumped into bed.  Ahhh.  Sleep.  Never to fear again.  I'm glad Janise is with us.  She'll be safe.  Goodnight.