Authors Notes: Not a one shot, but I honestly have no clue how long it will be. Reviews and criticisms welcome.

Day One

“RUN!” the woman yelled at her son. Trying to be heard over the screams of her husband, and the shrieks of the monsters.

Dennis ran up the stairs of his house. He was barefoot, still in his pajama’s, having just woken up minutes before. He didn’t know where he was running to. But he knew he didn’t want to get caught by bloody people, who had jumped through the window.

His Mother was pushing him, forcing him to go faster. “Into the attic!” she told him. Her voice was almost a screech from fear.

He heard the hall table fall. Footsteps were racing up the stairs. He heard the moans and shrieks of the monsters getting closer. He didn’t want to look back. His Mothers’ hands once more pushed him hard, grabbing him when he stumbled. Not letting him slow down.

They reached the end of the hall. Dennis’s Mother jumped up, catching the trap door to the attic. Dennis looked past her, as she pulled the steps down. One of the monsters had just reached the top of the stairs. Under the blood it looked like Mr. Olsen, from across the street. Mr. Olsen crouched, looking like a cat about to pounce on a bird.

Dennis screamed when he saw his friend Tammy, jump onto Mr. Olsen’s back. She didn’t have an arm. She pushed the man down, and started to run at them, when she slipped and fell. Dennis could hear a crack as her head hit the floor.

“Dennis get up there,” his Mother told him.

He half climbed up the steep stairs on all fours. He felt the stairs shake, his Mother was right behind him. He didn’t look back. He didn’t want to see his friends like this.

The they scrambled into the dusty, dirty attic. Dennis turned to help pull the stairs up, to lock the monsters in the hallway. Halfway up, a pair of hands grabbed the end of the ladder, they pulled down. Dennis and his Mother nearly fell forward, on top of Mr. Olsen.

“PULL!” his Mother ordered.

They leaned back. His arms seemed to be on fire, and his hands were numb. More monsters were pulling on the stairs now.

His Mother gasped as the stairs were slowly, steadily, pulled down. “Dennis get ready to close the door, and lock it. Don’t open it for anyone,” she panted. Dennis nodded his head.

His Mother crying, leapt at the monsters below. “I Love You!” she shouted, as she landed on Mr. Olsens’ chest.

They let go of the stairs, staggering under the force of the diving woman. The need to rip, bite, and rend the flesh from her, meant they ignored Dennis. The stairs went up quickly, as Dennis numbly followed his Mothers last instructions. He locked them automatically, even as he heard his Mother shriek in pain.

Dennis sat down. Unwillingly, he listened to the sounds of clothes ripping, teeth snapping together, snarls, and bones cracking. It reminded him of his cat Tabitha, killing and eating a bird. Moans, like the ones they had heard outside only minutes before, came through the thin ceiling.

Dennis covered his ears. He thought he heard his mothers voice, moaning with the others. He didn’t want to hear it. He crawled along the floor, carelessly knocking over boxes, trying to get away from the moaning. Reaching the far wall, right beside the chimney, he pulled his knees up to his chin, pushed his head into his legs, closed his eyes as tightly as he could, and covered his ears. He began humming, trying to drown out the sounds of the moans.

---

They were still beating on the ceiling. Dennis didn’t know how long he had been in the attic. He couldn’t remember when the monsters had started trying to break down the ceiling. He wished they would stop.

Maybe Samantha would help him. She had left at dawn for work. So maybe she was ok. She had just bought a car, so she might be driving home right now. She’d rub her hand through his hair, even though she knew he hated it, and call him her stupid little brother. But she always helped him when he needed it. So she’d be coming for him.

He wished she’d come soon.

---

It was getting dark outside. Some of the monsters still hit the ceiling. He wanted them to stop. But when he yelled at them to go away, they all started to hit the ceiling again. Why wouldn’t they go away?

He was hungry, he hadn’t eaten anything all day. There wasn’t any food in the attic, and he couldn’t get to the kitchen. If the monsters hadn’t come, he’d be having spaghetti and meat balls right now. He had been going to help his Mom make the meatballs. His Dad was planning on playing catch with him in the park. And then they probably would have bought a hotdog from the little food vendor. It would be smothered with onions, pickles, and ketchup. And he’d have a chocolate milk shake to.

Samantha would probably come home with a cake from her bakery job. Or a blueberry pie. Dennis liked blueberry pie the most, but everyone else liked the chocolate cakes. So she usually brought home a chocolate cake once a month for a special treat.

Dennis licked his lips. At least he tried to. His tongue and lips were very dry, and his tongue was sticky. He tried to work some spit around his mouth. It helped a little.

He wanted to see his Mom and Dad again.

Dennis screamed, as something scratched against the window. He looked around wildly, afraid it was a monster. The monsters downstairs started to moan loudly, and hit the ceiling.

He calmed down, and looked at the one window in the attic. Smiling he ran over to open it up.

“Tabitha you’re alright!” he exclaimed, hugging his cat.

The tabby cat squirmed out of his grasp. She looked at him in disgust, as she licked her grey, black and white striped fur flat. Dennis sat down beside her, and started scratching her white throat. He placed his head against her body, wanting to hear her purr. It helped drown out the sounds of the monsters.

Eventually, Tabitha stood up and went to the door leading down. She began scratching it and meowing. Dennis walked over to her, and carefully leaned over to pick her up.

“I’m sorry Tabitha,” he said. “We can’t go downstairs anymore. It isn’t safe. But I’ll leave the window open so you can go in and out. That way you won’t need to use your litter box. Okay?”

Tabitha meowed again, and squirmed out of grasp. She kept scratching at the door, even as Dennis told her she couldn’t go downstairs. Finally she quieted down and sat on Dennis’s lap, going to sleep.

Dennis rubbed her back, letting his mind go blank. This was just a dream he thought. If he just went to sleep, his Mom would wake him up in his bed. Everything would be all right then. He let himself think this happy thought. Forgetting that he’d been sleeping and hoping the same thing all day.