One...two...three... Moon was counting to keep away the monsters. 

He breathed as quietly as possible and used every bit of his willpower to keep from crying.

He took in all of the sounds.

The screams and wails calling to him, which once told him to stay hidden, were now begging him for help. 

He didn't move, he didn't respond, and he never let out a peep.

Four...Five...Six... The screams ended, but alas, he would have no moment of respite.

Without the screams masking all other sounds, the bone-chilling music of flesh being rent from the bone followed.

 Counting, it was a trick his mother taught him, what good it did her, huh?

His knight in shining armor for his entire life. The beacon that guided him throughout his troubles, pushed him to be better and helped him mature, had fallen in battle.

It was a saddening thought and hurt him deeply, but he made a promise to his mother.

"Don't die"

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It was the last thing she told him before she had to run outside of the room to meet her greatest adversary.

Seven... Eight... Nine

Moon could hear the abomination finishing its meal. The chorus of bone being crushed, and hideous growls were coming to a close.

Only heavy breathing and greedy sniffing resounded as the heavy atrocity lumbered its way around his home. 

Time slowed, and the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his chest threatened to give away his hiding place.

He was almost sure he wouldn't be found considering he was under the bed up against the wooden frame since it created a pocket that made him invisible unless you were also under the bed.

To be sure the beast didn't just look under the bed from the other side and see him, Moon had a thin jet-black sheet to mask him in the darkness, it was tucked in through both ends of the bed to secure it. 

This was a game of hide and seek he couldn't afford to lose.

He waited for five minutes, then he waited for 10, and it was completely silent. 

He could've used this chance to sneak out and escape, but every time he tried, a deep primal feeling, something so familiar, yet foreign to him caused his hair to stand on end, freeze his motions, and remain rooted in his hiding place. He had no choice in this matter it seemed.

After an agonizing 40 minutes passed from the moment, he gave up attempting his escape, he heard a small chuckle.

"Been waiting nearly an hour and you won't come out kid. What does a poor soul have to do for a free meal around here?"

Then heavy steps resounded on the side of the room, opposite the door.

Moon realized the creature was waiting on him to try and escape in order to make quick work out of him without having to apply much effort. 

If he had attempted to escape, he'd have ended up just like his mother.

However, it seemed Moon only delayed his demise since the entire bed was suddenly turned over for him to come face to face with his mother's killer.

"Hey there little fella, dinner's ready"