I Can Count To 10
Every night follows the same old routine a bedtime story, a goodnight kiss, and then Mom and Dad leave me to sleep. But tonight, something's different. Tonight, they didn't follow the routine.
Lying in bed, I felt a growing sense of nervousness, an anxiety that gnawed at the edges of my mind. I needed a distraction from the negative thoughts creeping in. My room was dark, with only the soft glow of the night light plugged into the wall and the comforting presence of the stuffed animal my big brother gave me before he moved out. He always taught me how to count to ten because I'm ten, and it made me feel closer to him whenever I felt uncomfortable.
As my eyes wandered, they landed on the remote sitting on the dresser next to my bed. I had an idea. I reached for it, my fingers brushing against the cool plastic, and turned on the TV. The screen flickered to life, and to my relief, the first thing that appeared was my favorite show: *Peppa Pig*.
On the screen, Peppa Pig and her friends were gathered in the sunny backyard of Peppa’s house. They were playing a counting game with Daddy Pig. “Alright, everyone,” Daddy Pig said in his cheerful voice, “let’s count to ten while we jump!”
Peppa giggled, and so did her friends. “One!” they all shouted as they jumped into the air. “Two! Three! Four!” Their laughter grew louder with each number, and the scene showed them bouncing higher and higher, their feet barely touching the ground.
When they reached “Ten!” the camera zoomed in on Peppa’s smiling face. “Let’s do it again!” she squealed, but as she did, the screen flickered for a moment, and the sound warped strangely, like an old tape being twisted.
It lasted only a second before everything returned to normal, and the characters continued their game. But something about that brief moment made me feel uneasy, even though I tried to focus on the familiar, happy scene.
Suddenly, I heard faint noises outside, like soft footsteps on the grass. My heart skipped a beat as I strained to listen, and then, I heard it a snort, almost like Peppa Pig’s. I quickly turned down the TV, trying to catch more of the sound. My mind raced with confusion should I be scared, or was this some kind of magical moment? Could Peppa Pig really be here?
I pressed my ear closer, holding my breath as the noises continued. *Thump, thump, thump.* A low snort followed, then a sniff, long and deliberate. *Thump, thump.* The sounds grew louder. *Oink… oink…* My skin prickled with fear as a high-pitched screech echoed through the night.
Panic gripped me, and I quickly scrambled under the bed, clutching my Peppa Pig stuffed animal tightly against my chest. My heart pounded in my ears as the sounds grew closer. *Thump, thump, thump, thump.* Each step sent a jolt of terror through me.
Then, I heard it the creaking of a door slowly opening, the familiar crack it made as it swung on its old hinges. My breath hitched as my parents' sudden screams shattered the silence. “Ahhhhh! What the hell!?” my dad shouted, his voice filled with shock and fear.
Mom’s scream followed, shrill and terrified. “AAAHHHH!” suddenly everything stopped, no one was screaming and I tried to listen, I heard my TV back from commercial playing the theme song like it always do;
Peppa Pig: "I’m Peppa Pig"
Peppa Pig: "This is my little brother, George"
George: *oinks*
Peppa Pig: "This is Mummy Pig"
Mommy Pig: *oinks*
The theme song sent a shiver down my spine giving the context of my situation.
Suddenly, I heard heavier footsteps, the kind that could only belong to something big. *Thud, bump.* *Oink, oink, sniff, sniff.* My chest tightened with fear.
In my panic, I accidentally pressed the soft button on my stuffed animal’s leg, the one that made it talk. A cheerful voice chirped, “Let’s learn to count to ten!” My heart plummeted as it began to count aloud. “One... Two... Three...” Each number felt like a hammer striking my chest. I desperately tried to muffle the stuffed pig, but it was no use.
The footsteps grew louder, heavier, closer. Each *thump* sent icy shivers down my spine. “Four... *Thump.* Five... *Thump.* Six... *Thump.*” The sounds were closing in on my door, eerily in sync with the counting. “Seven... *Thump.* Oink... Eight... *Thump.*” I saw the silhouette of two thick legs casting shadows beneath the door.
“Nine...” The door creaked open slowly, the rattling of the hinges like nails on a chalkboard. *Thump, oink.* The pig noises filled the room, curling around me like an unseen force. The footsteps stopped, right at the edge of my bed. I covered my mouth with my hand, desperate to stay silent, praying it wouldn’t think to look under the bed.
I could see its feet now, standing just beyond the edge of my bed. They were twisted and unnatural, like a pig's hooves but elongated and malformed to support its weight on two legs. The skin was rough and leathery, with patches of bristly hair jutting out in random spots. The metal clinks echoed in the room as the creature shifted its weight, revealing the rusted, iron-like texture that covered its hooves. The joints creaked with each movement, as if this creature had been assembled from something once living, now corrupted into a grotesque imitation of a pig.
"Ten," the stuffed animal chirped, its voice far too cheerful for the terror I felt. I wanted to cry so badly, but it took every ounce of my strength to stay quiet.
Then, the creature made a long, piercing screech that cut through the air, raising every hair on my body. In one violent motion, it swung my bed aside, exposing me. I was no longer hidden. It saw me.
Standing over me was a monstrous version of Peppa Pig, but twisted and deformed beyond recognition. Its head was enormous, just like the cartoon, but the eyes were sunken deep into its face, dark and hollow, with tiny pinpricks of red light glowing from within. The skin, which should have been smooth and pink, was mottled and cracked, with patches of greyish decay spreading across its body.
Its smile was the worst a wide, unnerving grin that stretched too far, revealing rows of jagged, uneven teeth, some chipped, others stained with something dark. The dress it wore, once bright red, was tattered and dirty, clinging to its distorted, bloated body.
The most disturbing part was its snout, which was elongated and twisted, ending in a set of sharp, jagged tusks that protruded grotesquely. Each breath it took was a wet, raspy wheeze, and the smell of rot and decay filled the air around it.
It looked exactly like Peppa Pig, but this was a nightmarish, uncanny version a creature pulled straight from the darkest corner of my imagination.
It grabbed my legs, its grip tight and unyielding. The skin felt rough and unnaturally warm, like dried leather heated by the sun. As it began to drag me, panic surged through me. I scrambled desperately, reaching for anything that might stop it from pulling me out of my room. My fingers latched onto the door hinges, and for a split second, I almost managed to pull myself back.
But it was too strong. With a violent tug, it yanked me out, my screams the only thing escaping my mouth as I was dragged into the darkness beyond. “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
As I disappeared from view, my stuffed animal lay abandoned on the floor, its cheerful voice now eerie in the silence. “I can count to 10.”
