It Just Wants a Friend

It's 7:30 am, and little Joey was waking up while Kevin, his father, had just gone to sleep half an hour ago. Kevin worked night shifts and had gradually grown accustomed to the lack of sleep. He would try to get micro naps throughout the day as Joey watched his shows, played with his toys, or when he went down for a nap himself.
   Kevin noticed in his half-asleep daze that Joey was talking to himself rather than calling out to him as he usually did. It sounded like a full-blown conversation, not like he was playing with his toys. At one point, he could have sworn he heard another voice in the room. He jumped up to investigate, even though he thought it was probably just harmless child's play. He proceeded across the hall to Joey's room, opening the door quickly to greet him.
   "Good morning, little man!" he said cheerfully. "Who are you talking to?"
   Joey didn't respond right away; instead, he looked at his closet as if waiting for a response from someone else.
   "No one, Dad," he replied finally, his voice shaky with nerves. "I was just playing."
   "Just playing, huh?"
   "Yes, Dad."
   Kevin shrugged it off; Joey had just turned four, and he knew how vivid a child's imagination could be. It was a typical morning routine, with both of them still groggy and exchanging few words. Kevin felt even more exhausted than usual after finishing a 12-hour night shift. This week, he had been putting in extra hours as the security company he worked for was short-staffed due to summer vacations. Despite despising the additional sleepless nights, the extra income was a welcome bonus.
   His wife did her best to assist him, but she had been unwell lately—constantly nauseous, dizzy, and overwhelmingly fatigued. Doctors had attributed her symptoms to low iron levels, but Kevin always had a gut feeling that there might be more to it.
Kevin finished up cooking Joey his breakfast; Oatmeal with lots of blueberries. It was what he ate every morning, no one complained, it was easy to make, full of fiber and vitamins. He laid the bowl in front of Joey and as always every bite was gone in less than two minutes. The child had quite the appetite like his Dad.
   After Joey finished his food, Kevin turned on his cartoons, knowing they would keep him quiet and occupied for at least an hour. Normally, Kevin would seize the opportunity to catch a quick nap, but, they finally found a decent daycare to send him to, and now Kevin could catch up on his sleep while he was there rather than finding the right moment to shut his eyes.
Kevin decided to check on his wife. He opened the bedroom door to find her looking peaceful.
   "Honey?" he said gently, shaking her awake.
   She stirred, her beauty as radiant as ever. Kevin never grew tired of her flawless appearance. "Are you okay? We need to take Joey to Daycare."
   "I'm sleeping," Shannon replied, her voice sounding more tired and unwell than it had in recent days. "I'm going to call in sick today. You take him; I'm going to rest some more."
   Kevin looked at her with a mix of concern and sadness, feeling utterly helpless.
   "Okay, babe," he replied softly. "Take all the rest you need. I'll see you when I get back."
   "Thank you, babe," she murmured as she started drifting back into sleep. "I love..."
   Before she could finish her sentence, she had already slipped into a deep slumber. Kevin stared at her a moment, he was scared for her. He never saw her so unwell before. She still looked beautiful, she was glowing despite how sick she was. He bent forward and kissed her gently on the forehead.
   As he moved towards his bedroom door, Kevin realized it was closed, a sight that puzzled him as he never closed it himself. Before he could ponder this further, he heard Joey talking again, engaged in a full-blown conversation with himself.
   A sense of unease gripped Kevin as he hurried into the living room to find Joey looking startled, facing the corner of the living room wall. When Joey quickly turned around upon his father's arrival, Kevin's concern deepened.
   "Who are you talking to, buddy?" Kevin asked, his voice tinged with tension. "I heard you talking to someone."
   Joey simply stared blankly at Kevin, appearing unsure of how to respond.
   "It's okay, Joey," Kevin said, trying to keep his voice steady. "You can tell me."
   "It just wants a friend, Dad," Joey finally replied, his words laced with a hint of fear.
   "What just wants a friend?" Kevin pressed, his concern growing palpable.
   Joey's expression shifted to one of fear, a look that struck Kevin with a sense of alarm. It was the kind of look a child wears when they know they've done something they shouldn't have. As Kevin knelt down to Joey's level, his voice filled with growing concern.
   "Joey?" he urged, his tone laden with tension. "What just wants a friend?"
   "The scary thing that lives in my closet," Joey finally responded, his words chilling Kevin to the core. "I told him no at first, but then he made Mom sick."
   Kevin felt his heart sink as his pulse quickened, his attempts to stay calm becoming increasingly difficult. Joey's complexion started to pale, adding to the sense of dread that filled the room.
   "Joey, there is nothing that lives in your closet," Kevin insisted, his voice trembling slightly. "Maybe it's just the stress from Mommy being sick, and maybe you had a bad dream."
   Desperately grasping for any rational explanation to reassure both Joey and himself, Kevin struggled to make sense of the situation. "It has to be your imagination," he thought, trying to convince himself that Joey must have had a vivid dream, despite witnessing him talking to an empty corner just moments before.
   "Dad, it just wants a friend," Joey repeated, his words hanging heavily in the tense atmosphere.
   Kevin found himself on the brink of speechlessness, at a loss for how to address or explain any of this to his son. The inexplicable dread gnawed at him, leaving him grappling with uncertainty and fear in the face of the unknown.
   What does this thing look like?" Kevin asked, his voice tinged with concern.
   "I don't know, Dad," Joey responded, his eyes wide with fear. "I only saw its hands with big claws and heard its deep, monster voice."
   Kevin felt a chill run down his spine. Could his son be witnessing something otherworldly? Was Joey's mind playing tricks on him, or was there a real threat lurking in their midst?
   "Joey?" Kevin's voice wavered slightly. The eerie stillness in the room made his heart race. "What does this... thing say to you?"
   "It says you guys are bad and need to be punished," Joey replied in an almost robotic tone, his gaze unnervingly fixed on his father.
   Kevin's breath caught in his throat. He had never seen Joey like this before. The sweet innocence that once defined his son seemed to have vanished, replaced by something dark and malevolent. A sense of dread washed over him as he realized they were facing a force beyond their understanding.
   The room fell silent, save for the sound of their shallow breaths, as an ominous presence lingered in the air. Kevin's mind raced with questions, unsure of what dark secrets lay hidden in the shadows of their once peaceful home.
   "This is madness, Joey!" His dad's voice reverberated through the room. "You need to tell this thing that claims to be your friend to leave and never return!"
   "It just wants a friend, Dad," Joey's voice quivered with a mix of fear and uncertainty.
   "Joey, this thing isn't real!" Kevin's tone was filled with urgency and disbelief.
   "Yes, it is!" Joey's response was resolute, his eyes locking with his father's in a haunting stare.
   Kevin staggered back, a surge of terror coursing through him. How could this surreal nightmare be unfolding before his eyes? The rapid descent into chaos left him speechless, his mind grappling with the unfathomable.
   "If this entity truly exists," Kevin's voice trembled as he broke the tense silence. "You must make it understand that you will never be its friend. We need to leave now."
   Before Joey could reply, Kevin rushed to the bedroom to check on Shannon. He pushed through the ajar door that he had left unsealed. On the bed lay his once-beautiful wife, now transformed into a ghastly sight. Her form appeared as though it had succumbed to years of decay in a matter of moments, her skin shriveled over bones, her once-blue eyes now vacant and ghostly white.
   Kevin's mind reeled in disbelief. Just minutes ago, she had been alive and radiant. How could this nightmarish metamorphosis have taken place so swiftly?
   Panic surged through him as he turned to run back to the living room to find Joey, but it was too late. Joey stood in the doorway, his smile sending shivers down Kevin's spine. It was an almost demonic grin, chilling enough to unsettle even the most hardened souls.
   Before Kevin could react to the unfolding horror, a malevolent force seized him from behind—a presence so dark, so inhuman, that terror gripped his very soul. Monstrous hands, each claw larger and more menacing than any creature he had ever encountered, enveloped his lower torso. A primal fear consumed him as he felt his life force draining away, his skin withering, his breath growing shallow.
   Dread weighed heavily on Kevin as he felt the crushing grip tighten around him, his body succumbing to a force beyond comprehension. In those harrowing moments, as his world spiraled into darkness, he heard it—the sinister voice, guttural and filled with malice.
   "I just wanted a friend."