Thanks to enough reviewers, this story will be posted in its entirety (well, maybe minus one pointless chapter). Thank you for your time.

And a special thanks to Yeyana Valentine and Teya Yashitoda, without whom this chapter would not have been posted!

Disclaimer: I don't own JTHM, Squee, or any of these songs.

This is one of my first times writing Nny, so he's probably OOC.

I apologize for this chapter's shortness… but I'm posting two chapters so nyah. I'm sorry both of these weren't as good, but another good chapter (in my opinion) is on its way shortly.


Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums,

Part Four:

Pet


He was having a nightmare.

Not just any nightmare, the nightmare of all nightmares.

His very best friend, Shmee, was chasing him through his house… And gaining fast. Normally this wouldn't be cause for concern, but Shmee had developed a mouthful, no, two mouthfuls (one on his stomach) of very, very sharp teeth. Todd was running, running, finally reaching the sanctity of his room. It wasn't sanctified anymore. Wide-mouthed ghouls of shadow plagued the walls, and the once comforting moonlight now became painful, coming from a skull instead. The landscape had changed into a craggy dark wasteland, occasionally hidden from view by the violently fluttering curtains. That wasn't often.

And then he saw it. A giant eyeball borne of Hell was staring at him, growing larger by the second. Terrified beyond all reason, he dove into his bed, the only place untouched by all this evil. Huddling under the covers and shivering, he could hear Shmee's angry clawing at the door that separated them.

Then, there was silence.

He felt, rather than heard, the soft footsteps coming closer to his bed. He tried very hard not to scream, almost failing, when he felt the light pressure on his bed. The next thing he knew, his protective covers were being drawn back. And then-

"Don't fret precious; I'm here…"

He knew that voice!

Todd opened his eyes just a smidgen, and was strangely relieved to see Nny standing there, a finger at his lips, shushing his fearful whimpers.

He was having a nightmare. Or so he thought. He wasn't so sure anymore.

"Go back to sleep…" His words were comforting… but how? How could he sleep knowing all those demonic figures were out there? "Lay your head down, child; I won't let the boogeyman come." Todd realized that the soft pressure he still felt on his bed was one of Nny's larger knives, and oddly, this didn't scare him at all. "Pay no mind to them," Nny was saying, gesturing at the walls, "They don't care about you, like I do." Nny absentmindedly brushed a stray lock of hair off Todd's face. "You'll be safe, I won't let them hurt you… Go back to sleep." He was more forceful this time, and Todd lay down immediately, not wishing to incur his rescuer's wrath.

Todd got the notion that he heard some kind of drums, as if playing a bizarre sort of war dance. It was oddly lulling.

"What-" He started, only to be cut off.

"Shh… Keep your head down. Stay with me, safe and ignorant of the evils of the world. I must isolate you… isolate you and save you from yourself." The scratching on the door resumed, making Todd cower once more. Nny looked at the door and the creature behind it with loathing. "The boogeymen are coming…" Then he did something unexpected. Nny scooped Todd up into a crushing hug, softly swaying back and forth to try and lull him to sleep. It worked like a charm. Nny smiled like the Devil getting the holiest soul on this earth.