“Where’s the little sneak?” her mother’s boyfriend snarled.
Chloe slid further under her bed.
“Chrissakes Zeke, she’s seven—wouldn’t steal your smelly socks,” her mother slurred.
Chloe tossed crusty socks into the Hole.
Hiding from drunken fists, she’d found it, barely a pinprick. Nourished it with her terror and tears. Then, as it grew, Zeke’s nail clippings, snot rags…
Zeke’s leering face appeared. Chloe shrieked. His arm flailed toward her. Missed. Plunged into the Hole.
Zeke screamed, withdrawing a spurting stump. He fainted. The Hole slurped Zeke down with a peptic pop.
Chloe giggled. Now the monster’s under the bed.
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Phantom by Liam Dragan"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Neuroluxe Implant no 3Z82M99B64 by Bryanna Botham"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Blindly Following Orders by Chris Tattersall"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Donor by Collette Night"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>