Thank you to everyone who followed or reviewed the first chapter. Because of your support, I will post another piece of the story. I do apologize for the short length of the previous chapter. It may take me a few before they begin to become a more acceptable length.
Please be sure to give me your feedback, and in return I will continue to work on the story. Thanks again!
Chapter 2: The Trap
"I'm sure it was nothing. Maybe you dozed off on the couch for a second. I often see weird things when I'm tired. It was probably a bug or a mouse if anything."
Her cousin had responded exactly as she had expected. The girl knew no one would believe her about seeing a small person running across the carpet. She didn't even know if she believed herself. Her cousins explanation that she had given over dinner seemed to be the most logical answer.
But still, as she sat on the couch in the room where it all happened, she couldn't help but wonder if she really did see it.
Her cousin retreated upstairs shortly after dinner. She had taken up residence in the parents bedroom. After a long day of work, and after making sure her young cousin was fed and satisfied for the night, she would lay in the queen size bed and watch the tv that sat perched atop the dresser. Her watching would be often interrupted by quick texting breaks as her phone constantly buzzed with new messages.
Normally, the young girl would've been bothered by her cousins baby sitting style. She didn't like that she hid herself away at the end of the day, leaving her with no one to talk to. She often complained that she might as well have been left without a sitter. But today she didn't care. She could only think about the weird incident that had happened earlier that afternoon.
She also had told her cousin about how she was feeling over dinner, but that was just as quickly dismissed. "I get that, too." Her cousin nodded. "Some days you just don't feel quite right. It'll pass. I'm sure you just miss your mom and dad."
She wasn't so sure that was it, but her numb state didn't make her feel much like arguing. Her angry thoughts lay dormant, so she accepted her elders reasoning.
The girl sighed and continued staring at the ceiling. She was so wrapped up in her problems that she hadn't even bothered to turn on the tv. She laid there for what could've been hours trying in vain to figure out what had happened to her and what she had seen earlier.
Fatigue began to hit her, and she finally decided to end her thoughts for the day. She rolled over to glance at the clock before retiring to her bedroom. The digital clock just flipped to 11.
Just as it did, a ripple appeared from under the tv stand. A ring of color rippled across the carpet, starting bright and fading as it grew larger and larger and spread farther and farther. As it began to cross into the dining room, it had faded completely. As quickly as it had come, all signs of the ring had disappeared.
She blinked.
"I'm just tired," she told herself.
"I'm just tired. I'm just tired. I'm just tired. I'm just..."
The girl repeated the sentence over and over again in her head. Her nails dug into the arm of the couch and a bead of sweat rolled down her face. No matter how many times she told herself she was just tired, she couldn't convince herself. She knew what she was hearing. It was that same scratching scritching sound she had heard the day before.
She glared at her watch. It was barely noon. She wished her cousin was home so she could prove the sound was real. But she wouldn't be home for another four or five hours. The sound would no doubt stop long before then.
She listened for it again. It was quiet, but still there. A tiny scratching sound coming from under the tv stand. She was sure it was there. She wasn't tired, she was hearing it. And she was sure it was that same creature.
She couldn't take it any longer. Though her other feelings were muffled, her curiosity still burned strong. She had to see it again. She had to know what it really was. She had to catch it.
As quietly as she could, she stood up from the couch and tiptoed into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and grabbed the biggest plastic cup she could find. It was translucent too, perfect for viewing the animal after she had caught it. And she could keep it in there until her cousin could see it too. Then she would prove it wasn't fatigue.
With her trap in hand, she returned to the living room, taking her place just in front of the tv. She stopped and listened again. Sure enough, the scratching sound continued. This was it. She took a deep breath and held the cup tightly in both hands. It was time to catch the small person.
With all her might, she kicked the side of the wooden tv stand. The sound was loud and the whole stand shook, but as she watched the shadow beneath with bright eyes, she didn't see anything. She waited, holding perfectly still, but nothing ever emerged. The scratching had ceased. Whatever was beneath the stand wasn't coming out. But she couldn't give up. She had come this far, she had to find out what it was.
She dropped the plastic cup to the floor and pressed up against the tv stand side with both hands. Using every last ounce of strength, she began to push the heavy object. It took a lot of effort, but the stand began to scrape across the carpet, slowly revealing more of the floor beneath. The more she could see, the more invigorated she became and the harder she pushed. The scratching noise returned, more frantic now, as the creature attempted to follow the moving shadow. Finally, when she had pushed the tv stand halfway to the kitchen, the creature emerged.
It appeared from the front of the stand. Just as quick as before, it darted across the carpet and ran for the darkness beneath the couch. But the girl was determined. Even in her dulled state, she reacted quickly, grabbing blindly for her plastic cup. As fast as she could, she slammed the cup at the tiny figure on the ground.
She was fast, but the thing was faster. With a quick swerve, it completely dodged the plastic trap and continued skittering to the shadow. Without thinking, and with her left hand still holding the cup firmly to the ground, the girl launched her right hand in front of her and slammed it to the ground.
She couldn't believe it. She did it. She could feel the tiny creature struggling beneath her bare hand. She caught it.
Catching her breath, she analyzed the situation. She prayed it wasn't a bug. She hadn't actually meant to touch it with a bare hand. After all, she didn't know if it possessed the ability to sting or bite. But it didn't feel like a bug. In fact, the small thing writhing rapidly beneath her fingers almost felt like cloth. Tiny tiny cloth.
It was squeaking too. And she could hear it breathing. It gasped and squeaked and tried its hardest to get away. But she wouldn't let it go. She had to see what it was, even with her bare hand.
Keeping her hand to the floor, she pinched her index finger to her thumb, trapping a pinch of the creature in her fingers. When she was sure the grip on it was secure, she began to slowly lift it to the air. She could finally see what this elusive being was.
Its squirming began to subside as it moved further and further from the ground. It tensed itself into a tight ball as she brought it just in front of her face. Though still feeling off and muffled, she mustered a small gasp.
It was a tiny person. She was right.
