The complete story.

 NOTE:  Ok guys, I posted the first part of this story before, but I had to go to work.  This is the full, final, finished version.  It probably seems boring at the start.  It gets creepy, very quickly.

 

 

The summer breeze swept aside the flowery curtains around Vanessa's bedroom window.  The young girl frowned in frustration.  The curtains were interrupting her tea party with Mr. Waddles and Foxy Loxy, her favourite toys.  She made a quick glance out the window, noticing the approaching darkness of night, before she hastily slammed her window shut.  The noise carried through the small two-storey town house she shared with her mother.   

Downstairs, there was a sudden commotion of noise, coming from the kitchen where Vanessa's mother was making dinner.

"Mama, are you okay?"  The little girl peeked out from her bedroom, looking down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"I'm fine, darling."  The mother replied weakly.  "But you need to come down here, Nessy.  We need to go out for a little while,  and get out of this house."  Her voice trailed off.

"Can I bring Foxy Loxy?"  Vanessa asked.

"Vanessa, just come here honey.  We need to leave."

Vanessa quickly snatched Foxy Loxy off the bed, and put Mr. Waddles back on the shelf.  She slowly made her way down the stairs.  She didn't want to go out.  It would be much more fun to stay home and have a yummy dinner before she finished her tea party. But no, adults always need to rush around and go out all the time...

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the closet door cracked open the tiniest bit.  Vanessa peered through the crack, wondering how it opened by itself.  To her surprise, a pair of big brown eyes were looking back at her.

"Nessy! Shh, come in here!"  It was her mother.

What was Mama doing in the closet?  It wasn't like her to play hide and seek.  The little girl dutifully slipped into the closet, sitting in her mother's lap.  She gripped on to Foxy Loxy tightly as she sensed her mother's fear.

"Mama, why are we in the closet?"  Vanessa whispered.

"There's something out there Nessy... It looks like me, and it sounds like me, but it isn't.  It wants to hurt me, and take you away.  I can't let that thing take you away from me..."  Her mother replied softly.  Vanessa could feel her mother's tears on her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, sweetie.  But we can't let it stay here."

"What do we do?"

"Honey, I need you to do something very important for me.  It's going to be scary, but it's the only way."

"What do I have to do?"  Vanessa tried to look up at her mother's face, but all she could see was darkness.

She felt a handle being pushed towards her.  She held it in both hands, dropping Foxy Loxy to the closet floor.

"It's a knife, darling.  You need to go out there and stab this thing. Right in the belly.    It's going to be scary, but it won't hurt you as long as it doesn't touch you.  It looks like me, but don't be fooled darling.  I'm right here with you, and I need you to help me, Nessy."  Her mother pleaded.

"All right, Mama.  I love you.."  Vanessa crept out of the closet, and into the hall way.

 As she left, she heard a faint voice whisper "I love you too." 

Vanessa could feel her pulse racing.  She looked down at her feet, afraid of what was going to happen.  She just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.  Her foot steps were muffled, but not silenced by the carpet.  She clutched onto the knife, trying not to let it slip out from her sweaty palms.

She peered around the door frame, into the kitchen.  Sure enough, it was there, curled up into a ball in the corner of the room.  It turned to look at her.

"Nessy..." It said.

Mama was right.  It DID look like her.  And it sounded just like her too, but the voice was strained, not like Mama's normal calm, soothing voice.

It dragged itself towards her,  with one arm outstretched. 

"Nessy, come here baby.  We have to leave before it comes for me...  Come with me, and we'll go somewhere safe."

Vanessa felt the tears well up in her eyes.  This thing, whatever it was, looked just like Mama, but it couldn't be.  She was in the closet, waiting for Vanessa to save her.  She wiped the tears out of her eyes, and raised the knife.

"Nessy!  Please don't!  You have to believe me, it's going to hurt us!"  It begged.

"You aren't my mama!''  Nessy shrieked.

"Nessy!"  It seized her on the arm.

Vanessa let out a bloodcurdling scream, and drove the knife through the thing's stomach, just like Mama told her to.  She stabbed it again and again and again, until the kitchen floor was covered in blood.   She took a deep breath, and crumpled onto the floor.  She sat there for maybe a minute or more, before she heard foot steps coming towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, darling"  Her Mama's voice said from behind her. 

Vanessa turned to face the voice.  

Her eyes widened, and she whispered.

"You're not my Mama..."