There's A Monster Under My Bed

 I grew up in Nigeria, Benue state, Makurdi. Precisely behind Deo-grastia school. I really loved our old house. It was so much fun living with my grandmother. I'd go to school in the morning and return after noon. She'd help me out with my homework and then tell me stories till nightfall. Nightfall. I hated the night time at grandma's house. There was a monster under my bed.

Every night at exactly 11:00pm WAT I heard a sound that no one else seemed to hear. It started off with a soft "brrrrrr" like someone was snoring, then it intensified to a growl. Then it softened back to a "hmmmm" then back a growl. Every single night. Not one night missed. I couldn't sleep. I never dared to look under the bed. I told my grandma about it but she never believed me. She thought it was just one of those things kids make up. I pleaded with her to at least listen to it but she said she never heard any sound coming from my room.

One day in 2012 I asked my grandma to stay with me, on my bed for the night. She would probably be able to hear the sound better. At 8:00pm WAT we were ready for bed. She laid on my bed and I beside her. I kept my head on her chest as she smoothened out my hair and brushed her palm against my back slowly. I knew she slept off when she stopped. At exactly 11:00pm WAT it started.

"Mama, Mama" I whispered as I shook her to wake up.

"Mn? Mn? Y-ye-yes?" She stuttered as she opened her eyes.

"Can you hear it? Do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The sound. It has started"

"I can't hear anything"

Oh my God. Grandma could not hear it but I could, loud and clear. Or was it just in my head? I began to scream and cry. I was much more scared now.  No one could hear the sound I heard. Was I loosing it? That was the worst night of my life. 

I sat on the rocking chair outside, on the yard staring at the road as I remembered my childhood and that dreadful night. My brows furrowed as a thought slid into my mind.

"I'm older now. I'm stronger now. I'll go back to the house and see."

I quickly started the car and drove to my old house. It was very dusty when I got in. Spider webs everywhere, dead and alive cockroaches, sheesh! It was just 2:00pm WAT. I cleaned the living room and laid on the couch starring at the ceiling awaiting nightfall.

At exactly 10:40pm WAT I went into the room. Everything was exactly as it was since I left. 

"I guess no one's been here since grandma died."

There was an iron rod leaning against the bathroom wall, probably from a window. I picked it up.

"Might come in handy"

11:00pm WAT. It started.

"Okay, you're older now, you're older now" I said to myself.

Slowly, noiselessly I looked under the bed for the first time since I started hearing that sound. I turned on the flashlight on my Android phone and there it was. Nothing. There was nothing there, nothing under the bed. Unbelievable! It was never real. 

Then I heard it say "COME"

"COME"

It was a soft hoarse whisper that seemed to echo. Should I run? Should I scream? 

I asked, "Come where?"

I crawled under the bed into the darkness. I kept on crawling and crawling, crawling and crawling. "My bed isn't this big, how long have I been crawling?". I kept crawling till I reached a set stairs. I climbed down the stairs into what seemed to look like an underground sewage drainage facility. How does under my bed lead to this murky place?

"Hello?", Shouldn't have said that.

But I got a reply. From IT. 

"HELLO"

The soft hoarse whisper came from behind me. There was... a figure. I couldn't quite make out what it was so I shone my flashlight towards the figure and...

Bright green enormous snake-like eyes where staring right at me. It was huge with hair all over it's body. I screamed as I ran in the slimy liquid back up the stairs. The stairs seemed longer this time. I don't know if the creature was chasing after me, I didn't look back. But I could feel that those eyes were still staring at me. I crawled out from under the bed, ran out of the room, out of the house and into my car.

"Those green eyes"

"Those green eyes"

After a few seconds I started the car and zoomed off.

"There really was a monster under my bed!"

"Shit! I dropped my phone!"