This chapter is for ELIJAH BLACKWOOD, who requested this…'monster'. I hope you like it, and enjoy reading it.

Updated:12/31/2013

…

"Look at this," Ethan's mom said as she put the morning's newspaper down on the dining table; her, her husband, their kids, and Benny were all eating breakfast together.

"What is it Honey?" his dad asked, not really paying attention.

"Another little girl was… attacked," she said with some difficulty, looking at her daughter. "Jane, you'll be careful won't you? And stay with your brothers when they walk you to school and back. Ethan, Benny, you two will keep an eye on her, no matter what. Please. This is the fourth attack in two weeks and they've all been on little girls 10 and under."

"Mom, we've got this," Ethan said, taking the paper and reading the article; Benny was reading it over his shoulder, and he could imagine his boyfriend's face held the same look that his did. His dad stole the paper while he looked at Benny, who shook his head. "Come on Jane, let's get you to school."

…

"What do you think it is?" Benny asked as they watched Jane run into her school. Ethan shrugged and let Benny lead him to their school, which was done the block from Jane's. "I don't think it's just some homicidal maniac."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's just a gut feeling I have. Besides you don't want anything to happen to Jane do you?"

"As long as Jane is with one of us, or an adult, she'll be okay."

"But what happens if she's not? We need to get this thing before it attacks another girl."

"You're right. I know you are. So what do we do?"

"We need to do some research."

The two were silent as they made their way into their school.

"You know what's interesting?"

"Hmm?"

"This morning your mom said 'stay with your brothers', not 'brother'."

"Oh yeah, I noticed that too," Ethan said, shrugging. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"That the mother of the guy that I'm absolutely in love with thinks of me as another son? A bit." Ethan shook his head and Benny grinned. "So, wanna meet up in the library at lunch and see what we can find on Wikipedia about this… whatever it is?"

"I doubt we'll find anything, but sure." Benny gave him a soft kiss and hurried to his class. Ethan stood by his locker for a moment before he shook his head.

He hoped it wasn't anything bad.

…

Ethan was already in the library when Benny walked in, his arms wrapping around his shoulders.

"Find anything?"

"Well…" Ethan said, shuffling through the newspapers he had next to him before looking back at the computer. "I hate to say this, but you're probably right."

"Oh, that's not good." Ethan chuckled and looked at his boyfriend, who was still standing behind him. "Explain."

"Well… the only piece of real evidence that the newspapers printed was that before…whatever it is attacks, it says the same thing…"

"Which is…?"

"There are two variations; I'm not sure which is correct… But its 'Am I pretty?' and 'Do I look pretty?'."

"So…it's a female demon?"

"I guess… Anyway, I searched those phrases, supernatural beings, and attacking little girls."

"And?"

"Here's the one that sounds the most like what's going on here," he said, bringing up an article. Benny began to read.

"The…kuchisake-onna, also known as the slit-mouthed girl, is a female specter that was mutilated by her husband. Now, she chases after young girls and will carve into their faces once they answer her question 'Do I look pretty'?'… Holy shit."

"Yup," Ethan said with a sigh.

"Think that's what it is?"

"I'm still holding out for the homicidal maniac."

"E."

"Benny… I can't do demons, and specters, and just…monsters in general. I can't."

"Ethan, what if something happens to Jane? What if this…thing comes after her? We've got to stop this before things get worse. There's going to be more little girls attacked, and one of them could be your little sister or a friend of hers. Do you know how many times I've wanted to give up? But I keep going, and you know why? Because I know there are people that need help in this fucked up town we live in. And if we don't…then who will?"

Ethan was silent as he studied his boyfriend, who looked at him with determined eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done with Benny?"

"Pod person," Benny said with a grin, making Ethan chuckle. "Now come on, let's go get something to eat while we figure out how to defeat a demon."

…

"So there's a demon terrorizing the little girls of Whitechapel?" Sarah asked, taking a sip from a travel mug she had, watching them.

"Do you have to drink that in front of us?" Ethan asked, shying away from her a bit. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Do you want to see me shrivel up to a prune without nourishment?"

"That'd be kinda cool," Benny laughed, making her shake her head.

"Anyway, off of me and back onto the demon. What do we do? Because I don't want anything to happen to Jane."

"Maybe… maybe we need to bring the demon to us…" Ethan started slowly, pushing the food around on his tray.

"Even if we had somehow gotten the demon to come to us, how do we get rid of it?"

"I bet Grandma's got a vanquishing spell for something like this. Since it's so specific I better ask her about this one."

"Instead of stealing it and screwing it up like always?" Benny glared at Ethan, who just grinned.

"Ass."

"You love me."

"Still." Sarah watched them and rolled her eyes.

"Ethan. Can I talk to you for a minute?" she cut in, making him look at her. "Alone?"

"Oh…" Benny said, getting up, "I'll just let you two talk then." Ethan watched him and then turned to Sarah, who was looking at her mug.

"What?"

"About Christmas Eve… I wanted to apologize."

"There's nothing to apologize about. You were drunk-"

"Ethan. I'm sorry. I was only a little buzzed. I kinda… milked it."

"Oh."

"Yeah… I just…I'm not sure what came over me that night. I know you and Benny are like…soul mates or whatever, but… I don't know. Just know that I am sorry."

"I forgive you Sarah. It's okay." She nodded and he got up. "Why don't you come by later and we'll plan more to get rid of this demon." She nodded again and he smiled at her. "Bye."

"Bye."

…

That night, Ethan, Benny, Sarah, and Ethan's little sister Jane were all sitting at the Morgan dining table.

"I got the spell," Benny said, placing a ripped piece of paper on the table. "Now we just need a demon."

"I was thinking about that… Jane… would you be willing to…" Ethan couldn't finish his sentence, but Jane was nodding.

"Yes. Because one of the girls that was attacked was a friend of mine. I want this thing caught. What do I need to do?"

…

Jane looked over her shoulder, not seeing anyone as she walked down the block. She pulled her coat closer and walked faster as she saw the corner store's light at the end of the street. As she was about to approach it, the streetlights around her flickered and went out, leaving the only light the one she was under, a spotlight in the dark.

"Little children shouldn't be out so late by themselves," a voice said, causing Jane to turn and see the tall figure standing behind her.

"I had to go to the store," she said softly, the bravery she had felt at find this thing gone now; the woman was tall, her dark hair cropped short by her ears; she wore a long-skirted dress, the end brushing the ground. Across her mouth was a dark veil, covering most of her face.

"Little girl, can I ask you something?" she asked, eyes piercing into Jane's.

"I-I guess…" she said, taking a step back, looking around.

Still, she saw no one around.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Jane gulped and the woman's eyes scrunched up, as if she was smiling.

"Y-yes." The woman ripped off her veil then, letting the thin material fall to the ground. Jane had to hold in her scream as the woman leaned closer.

"What about now?"

The woman's mouth was slit at the corners all the way up to her ears, gaping wide as she stared down at Jane. Jane couldn't answer as the woman raised a large knife that was stained pink towards her face. "AM I?!"

Finally, Jane screamed. Ethan and Benny ran out, Benny's hand raised to strike the spell. The woman stopped and turned to look at them before she let out a loud screech.

"AM I PRETTY?! DO YOU THINK I'M PRETTY?!" she screamed, moving towards them. Benny raised his hand at her, his lips moving fast. Her knife fell from her fingers as she began to convulse in mid-air. With one last twitch, she was gone.

Jane sobbed and ran into Ethan and Benny's arms, letting them engulf her in tight hugs.

"Thank you," she sobbed into their arms. "Thank you both so much."

"I didn't do anything," Ethan said, turning her to Benny. "He did."

…

Ending sucked, I know. I'm sorry.

Ignore it if you want and just pretend it was better than that.

Have a safe and happy new year everybody!

-JustMe133