Good things never came from the darkness; not true darkness. Stacey knew that. She also knew that the darkness in her closet was true darkness, and that wasn't good. Neither were the voices that lived in there and spoke to her at night.

"Stacey...," they would say, "Stacey! Come here, Stacey...," and then they would laugh. She would pull the covers over her head, and they would laugh louder.

Stacey Canton was 8 years old. Blonde, slightly built, a little bit barrelhocked, but pretty all the same. Her face had a sculptured look, her sky blue eyes set at perfect right angles to a finely shaped nose, her lips were neither too wide nor too narrow. She had heard all her life that she would break hearts when she grew up, and she believed it. Yet, despite this, she believed there were monsters in her closet, too.

Stacey didn't know, really, what they looked like. She had only seen a part of one a couple of weeks ago, and knew there were claws, but that was it. (It was dark and she wanted proof they were there, so one of them scratched the outside of the closet door with his claws.) She also did not know what they wanted. Many times she would ask them only to have them laugh. Oh! how they would laugh, and she would hide.

Tonight, they didn't laugh. Instead, when she asked, they became quiet, murmuring amongst themselves, thumping and banging in the darkness.

She was sitting up in bed, not hiding. They had been haunting her closet for weeks, and in all that time, they had not come out to get her. She wondered if they would someday come out, but thought they probably wouldn't. The darkness in her room was not true darkness, and she didn't know if they could live outside of the closet. She really didn't want to know, either, but for right now she felt safe.

"Stacey...," she heard, "Why don't you come to see us? You'd like it in here with us." More laughter, friendly-like.

"Why don't you come out here?," she asked, pulling her covers closer.

"We like it in here."

"But there's true darkness in there." Silence from the closet. "I think you can't come out here. I think you'll die if you come out." More silence. She fell asleep. And the laughter started.

When Stacey opened her eyes the next morning, it was on total chaos. Her bedroom had been totally destroyed during the night. Her clothes were strewn all over the floor, some even draped across the foot of her bed, many ripped into shreds. Her stuffed animals were knocked off her shelves, her books thrown everywhere; pages were lying all over the room, many of them tore up. Something had taken a bite out of her lampshade, and there were claw marks on her headboard, directly above her pillow. The closet door was shut tight.

Stacey was scared. Her skin was clammy, palms sweaty, her mouth was as dry as soda crackers. The reason - her favorite teddy bear, Max, who had slept with her every night since she was one, was now spread all over the bed. He looked like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz after the Flying Monkeys had got him in the Haunted Forest. His head was still on her pillow next to the place where her head had been, his glass eyes staring accusingly at her. "I'll take care of it," she told him, and then she got mad.

Before dark, she got ready to fight. Since the monsters had destroyed her room and killed Max, they could live outside the closet. She knew she could live in true darkness, and her child's mind told her that in true darkness, light was the enemy. She believed that all things born in true darkness would die in the light.

She assembled the things she wanted to take: a jump rope, matches, candles, a flashlight plus extra batteries, her brother's Super Soaker 2000, and a lunch. Two peanut butter sandwiches, an apple, a chocolate Snack Pack, a spoon and a napkin. She put everything in a knapsack and waited for dark.

"Stacey...," they snickered, "are you there, Stacey?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Did you see what we did?"

"Yes."

"We can live outside the closet, Stacey," one voice said, a gravelly voice.

"I know," she replied. "Why didn't you stay out? I would like to see you."

"Oh, no, Stacey. You're not allowed to see us! We would curl up and blow away if you saw us!" Taunting laughter came from the closet.

"How many of you are in there?" Stacey clutched her knapsack.

"We don't know. We can't count that high!" Another voice, this one whiney. More laughter from all of them. She listened closely; there seemed to be 5 or 6 different laughs.

Stacey knew that if she was to go in the closet, it had to be at night. Over the last couple of days, during daylight hours, she had looked in the closet. It appeared to be a normal closet, filled with clothes and shoes, plus some toys in exile. A small light bulb in the ceiling didn't work anymore, that's why the dark was true. Stacey knew that at night, the closet expanded and became the home of monsters. She didn't know where they went in daylight, didn't really want to know, but she knew she would know before tomorrow morning. She waited.

She sensed they were gone. Sunrise was about 6 minutes away, she had only a few minutes to enter the monster's world. She grabbed her knapsack and opened the closet door, flashlight in her pocket.

The first things she saw was clothes. The closet looked like it was normal, but she knew it wasn't. She stepped in and closed the door. She stuck her hands out in front of her, separating the clothes. She walked slowly forward, expecting to hit the back wall. She was so mad at them, she wasn't afraid.

Stacey never found the back wall, she just kept walking down what seemed to be a hallway, her footsteps echoing in the darkness. She figured she was far enough in, so she turned on the flashlight.

Her watch said 5:45am. It was too late to turn back. She was in the monster's world, like it or not. She shined the light around, not knowing really what to look for. A long hallway stretched out in front of her, with doors spaced about 10 feet apart on both sides.

She walked over to the nearest one, to get a better look at it. It was a solid oak door, no cracks in the door or around it. There was a glass doorknob above a keyhole. No key. Stacey turned the knob; nothing. The door wouldn't open, it wouldn't even rattle. She aimed the light above the door. The name "Tommy" was printed above it in wide crooked letters. Once more, she tried to open the door and couldn't.

She moved to the next one with the same results. For a second, she thought it was the same door, but the name "Hannah" was above this one. She moved down the hall, testing the doors, the only light her flashlight. Sue's door wouldn't open, neither would Jamal's, Annie's, Jeffrey's, Justin's, Craig's, Mary's, Tanelia's, Titianna's, Robbie's, and so on. None of the doors would open or even rattle. It was as if they were not even doors, more like panels on a wall with doorknob decorations. Finally she gave up and just walked down the hall.

Other names floated by above doors that wouldn't open. Finally, the hall ended, opening up into a large room. The flashlight cast a dim glow around the room. There was trash all over the floor; food wrappings, crumbs, and rags lying around. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, the paint underneath was yellowed and cracked.

There were also things like toys, remote controls, gloves, keys (which she knew would not open any of the doors), even power tools. She realized that these were things people had lost. No, not lost, stolen by the monsters, like thieves in the night.

Spaced about 15 feet apart were hallways leading off into the darkness. Written above these openings were the names of towns; Denver, Little Rock, Houston, San Francisco, and her own town, Detroit. So the doors in the hallways must be the closet doors of the kids in those towns. She still didn't know why the doors wouldn't open, nor why there was nobody around. The place should be crawling with monsters - they should be chasing her, or laughing at her, or doing something. Instead, they were hiding.

She walked through the room and came to a door that had nothing above it. She tested the door, opened it and found herself in a new room that was dimly lighted. She shut off the flashlight, and walked in at the far end of the room. A woman sat on a throne; the light was coming from her. She looked like a Queen. Her dress was white, her hair blonde, and she wore a crown. The throne was gold, and sparkled in the light. She looked sad.

"I do not wish to be disturbed," she said as the light became brighter.

"I'm sorry," Stacey said, but stayed where she was.

"Why do you not run from the light? What kind of monster are you that you do not die in the light?"

Stacey answered, "I'm not a monster. I'm a little girl."

"A little girl! I have not seen a little girl in ages. What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for the monsters that killed Max," Stacey said emphatically.

"Max? Who's Max? Tell me of this." The woman gestured to the steps leading up to the throne. Stacey seated herself and told the Queen her story.

"I had no idea my monsters have gotten so bold. They have strict instructions not to harm anyone in any way. Scare someone, yes, that's their job, but not to harm anyone. Why do you think they would do this?" the Queen asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, because I taunted them. I told them I didn't think they could live outside of true darkness." Stacey hung her head.

"You were right, girl. They cannot live outside of true dark. Even the light in my throne room is enough to burn them severely. They must have entered the people world on a moonless night." The Queen stared thoughtfully off into the distance.

An idea came to Stacey as she stared at the Queen's face. In a flash, she knew what to do. She put the idea in the back of her mind, for the Queen was speaking again.

"They must not be allowed to continue this practice. I will call a meeting tonight." The Queen slapped the arm of her throne, and the light dimmed a little. "Which brings us to you. My dear, even if I have not seen a child for a long time, I remember your kind. It is dangerous for you to remain here. If you stay for longer than 24 hours, you can never return to your home. You must remain here forever."

Stacey said, "Your Majesty, I don't want to stay here, but they killed Max."

"I know, child, yet you must return to your own world. Go now, and remember always that light is the enemy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Stacey stood up and walked away. The Queen watched her go, and said, "Do what you must do, girl. Do what you must." The Queen's face no longer looked sad, it looked resigned.

Stacey's journey back to her closet was uneventful. Her flashlight flickered once, but came back strong after she shook it. She thought about her problem as she walked. As she reached her door, she thought she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she shined the light down the hall. Nothing.

She reached her door and shook it. It wouldn't open, and it wouldn't rattle. She looked at her watch, 9:15pm, dark had fallen. She'd been gone all day! Her mother would be frantic! Stacey pounded on the door. "Momma?" She heard mocking laughter off down the hall.

"It isn't true dark, Stacey. How do you expect the door to open?", the gravelly voice said.

She shined the light down the hall. Still nothing. Suddenly, she got it. The door wouldn't open because of the flashlight! A sense of relief followed immediately by terror washed over her. She'd have to shut off the light to get the door open and the monsters were close enough to see her and know what she was doing!

Placing her hand on the doorknob, she took a deep breath and turned off the light. Immediately, she heard footsteps rushing toward her. Frantic, she turned the knob. The door opened. She rushed inside, slamming the door and turning on the light just as something heavy hit the other side. She stood trembling with relief amongst her own clothes as the monsters laughed on the other side.

"You'll have to sleep sometime, Stacey. We can wait! We live forever!" The gravelly voice laughed. The other voices laughed, too. Stacey opened the closet door into her room, keeping the light aimed at the closet entrance. She made her way across the room and switched on the overhead. Laying the knapsack with it's unneeded contents down, she left the room and went to her mother.

For the first time in many years, Stacey slept with her bedside lamp on. She could hear the monsters, but they couldn't get out if there was light.

Her mother tucked her in, making her promise to call the next time she visited a friend. For some reason, her mother never noticed she was missing. Stacey accepted it; maybe the Queen helped her.

The next day, she booby trapped the closet. Her brother (who was younger and got all the neat toys) had a glowworm; she lifted it with no hesitation. She got her dad's hammer, some staples and some rope.

A glowworm was a doll who's head lit up when you squeezed it's stomach. She tied the rope around it's belly with a slip knot she'd learned about in Girl Scouts, and hammered the rope into the wall with the staples. One end fastened to the wall next to the closet door, the other on the back wall, monster-side. The glowworm floated in midair, attached to the rope. She pulled on the rope, the worm lit up. She reset the trap and left the closet, shutting the door behind her.

All day long, she thought of the closet, and snickered. Stupid monsters! They were in for a shock all right. The Queen had said light burned the monsters, and Stacey wanted to hear them when they found the glowworm. That would teach them to kill Max!

Long before it was time, Stacey was in her room, sitting by the closet door, listening. Hour after hour she sat, listening for the slightest sound. Finally, she heard faint shuffling, banging and thumping coming from the closet. Muffled laughter followed.

"Stacey...We're coming to get you, Stacey!" More laughter. "We know you went to see our Queen. Did she tell you monsters burn in the light, Stacey? She lied to you, Stacey."

"No. Queens don't lie," Stacey whispered to herself, "don't believe them."

"We're coming, Stacey. We're coming right now!" The door on the monster-side opened, the laughter grew louder. She panicked and thought the glowworm hadn't worked, when suddenly she heard a slam and screaming. Howls and shrieks sounded from the closet. Stacey put her hands over her ears. Even blocking her ears she heard a whistling sound like a teakettle that got louder and louder, then a pop! and nothing.

Stacey removed her hands from her ears, and opened the closet door. Blood and gore streaked everything; her clothes, her shoes, it had even splattered the glowworm, which shined like a beacon. Stacey knew one of the monsters had gotten trapped with the light and had exploded when overexposed to it.

"Stacey!", she heard through the wall, "You're a wicked child! We were just having fun! But you win. We are sorry about Max, and we'll go away and never come to you again." Stacey breathed a sigh of relief. "But beware, Stacey! We will return when you have children someday." She heard them shuffle away, crying over the death of their companion.

"I'll be ready," she vowed, "for Someday."

By Khris Comstock
Copyright May 1996, 2780 Words

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