Blood Red Sandman

Inspired by the Lordi song of the same title.

             Tanya curled up in her bed, comfortable with Mr. Bobo, her teddy bear, tucked in her arms and her night light casting a soft glow over her room. Daddy had taken care of another bad man earlier today; he was in jail with all the other bad men. The nights another one was in jail were the ones she felt safest in. She sighed, remembering that at school tomorrow all the other kids would more than likely ask questions about Daddy and how he caught the bad guy. He was a local hero. He always was, he was the sheriff in the small town. Being the daughter of the sheriff always meant that you got questions about Daddy, and that was the only thing she didn’t like about Daddy’s job. Tanya wasn’t good at making stories sound interesting like Mommy. Mommy already had four books published, more than a hundred pages.

            The night light flickered, but Tanya didn’t notice. She was too busy contemplating the magical number of a hundred. How big it seemed to an eight-year-old. Her thoughts were so consummate that she started feeling sleepy. In a few minutes, she was asking the sleep fairy Mommy and Daddy told her about, the Sandman, to come and sprinkle some of his sand on her so she could fall asleep. The Sandman was waiting closer by than she thought.

 

            Sherriff Young had captured yet another of his workers, another mortal pawn of his. Mortals were expendable, but the efficiency he caught them with was uncanny. He fumed, thinking about what was here, the foundation of another of God’s churches, his little children. It should have been nothing, but it annoyed him that such a small church couldn’t be destroyed, and it wasn’t because of God interfering. No, he had left right after making the world. It was mortal man, using their laws, which made it still exist. He had caused trouble for the town several times, taking a human form and enticing them to do crimes they wouldn’t do if I wasn’t so… persuasive. You’d be amazed what people would do for the promise of sex, money, food, or fame. Unfortunately for them, demons tend to go back on their promises. They hadn’t upheld their end of the bargain anyways.

            This last one had been the tenth one that month. Sherriff Young was just too zealous in his work. It brought him some satisfaction to know that that was the reason that the sheriff and his wife were talking of divorce, not nearly enough though. It hurt a bit to have to take physical form to convince someone to do something, and ten times in the first twelve days of a month was just out of control. It was time to do something about it all.

            He lurked outside the house, watching Tanya. Grinning, he walked through the wall as if it were nothing, and started to take a physical form. His outline was that of an average man, clothed in a violet cloak. The face he chose was a rounded, innocent face. Blue eyes sparkled in mimicry of merriment, and a bag appeared in his hand, slung over his shoulder. He looked at himself in the mirror on the closet door, and grinned. The innocent, satin-clad girl would fall for it flawlessly. He took two steps toward her bed, and sat at the foot of it. She grunted softly, still sleeping peacefully.

            A moment later, her eyes opened slowly. She sat up, stretched, and saw him at the foot of her bed. She didn’t respond with terror at all, but calmly, voice laden with grogginess, said “Who are you? Why are you in my room?” She looked up at him, waiting for an answer.

            He smiled his best winning smile, and eyes glinting, said “You already know about me. I made you fall asleep. My fairy name is too long, so you can call me Sandman.”

            “I know you. Thought that was who you were. But why are you here? Aren’t you the fairy who is supposed to make me sleep?”

            “I am,” he said. “But I was over in your Mommy and Daddy’s room, and I heard something they are keeping from you. I made them fall asleep and decided I should tell you, since it is very important. A mommy and a daddy should not keep secrets from their children.” Tanya tilted her head to the side, not saying a word. “Come here Tanya, I’ll tell you.” She crawled out of the covers and over to him, sitting on his lap. As the white satin of her night gown brushed his hand, he shuddered with anticipation. It would almost be time.

            “Mr. Sandman, what is it Daddy and Mommy are keeping secret? Is it something bad?” The innocence shown in her eyes. This was going to be a fun one for him to kill. Perhaps it was worth the annoyance of becoming a physical entity to do this. “Please tell me.”

            “I’ll always tell you Tanya. I wouldn’t lie to you.” She hugged him, and as he held her close he told her, “Your mommy and daddy are breaking up. They will not be living together anymore. Do you understand that?” He felt her shaking her head in his chest, and her body started to shake with sobs. “I wish it wasn’t true Tanya, but it is. Mommy thinks Daddy works too much, and when you think about it, how often do you see him?”

            “D-d-daddy is out catching the bad men in the world though. H-he doesn’t have to see us all the t-t-time.” Her face was covered in tears. I lifted her off of my lap and tucked her back into bed. “Daddy is making the world safer for me and Mommy. Doesn’t Mommy know that?”

            He stood and walked beside the night light. Tanya didn’t notice the empty area in the mirror where he stood, nor the fact that her room was becoming slowly darker as the night light was forever extinguished. The moon made her night gown shine like a sheet of pearl, still not as white as her face. “Your mommy knows what his intentions are. He wants to keep you two safe.” He slipped into the darkest part of the room, and started changing. His nails elongated, teeth pointed into fangs. Small horns made a coronet around his head, and he hunched over. His voice started to drop to a low hiss. “She knows though, something your daddy doesn’t. He thinks he can get rid of all the bad men, all the monsters in the world. There are just too many. There will always be one more, and it’s always the one you can’t trust at all.” He turned towards her.

            The feel of her skin tearing was almost as good as the sensation of the warm blood drizzling over his body as he held her above him. Her screams were silent, unheard. He had no wish for the sheriff to come by and try to do something. He wanted to see the look on his face when he saw the blood everywhere in her room, staining everything, and his eyes falling upon her night gown, tossed aside before he cut her skin. The night gown lay in a pool of her blood, and a large piece of it was missing. Hanging above her bed, was a shred of satin, with a trio of crimson drops. He knew the words that entered his head when he saw that. They were the words that all of the mortals he commanded said. He sat outside the house, invisible, and mouthed the words with the horrified father, his bloody grin complementing his fear-filled, anguished face.

            Red drops stain satin so white, the way I sign my name.

Reviews

You DO have a talent with developing characters. You made Tanya's view childish and innocent, and really got down the way a child's speech would be.
Then the transition to Sheriff Young is very good, with his outlook more mature.

I'm a bit confused about the sheriff. Was that Tanya's father? Or a man who works with Tanya's father?

[SamBug]

OH my gosh! That's so sad. I was in suspense the whole time. It was a great write. It had me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I feel so bad for the girl. That's so depressing. It was a great way to finish though. :)

[Larissa G.]

Wow, wow, wow. Suspenseful and terrifying, the complete and utter flip of the child's fairy tale story to me. It was a bit confusing when the second bit started, until we figured out who was talking. Nice job, nice job indeed. I've got the shivers going up mt spine now...I am so glad I read this early in the day.

[Captain Blackheart (The..]

Oh Sh*t. What the hell just happened. A nice piece, very blood curdling. You built it up nice and then pow hit us with it. A good piece and very disturbing.

[These Haunted Hallways]

Ugh, disgusting lol. Talk about Vigo the Carpathian lol. Evil, and bleh, disgusting lol. How did this get into ur head? lol. But good write. I just seen the musik video. Now it's gonna keep me up- *taps foot* lol

B.A.

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

Ooh....good thing I didn't read this before bed. Now I'm going to have nightmares. lol This story is awesome and I really like it. And you said I'd be bored. :P Great work!!!

Heather