November 28, 2014 by Mark Lidstone

Imagine

The sun had barely risen. Its dim light streamed through the cracks of thick trees, casting long shadows over snow-covered ground. The forest was quiet except for the shrill snapping of twigs and crunching of snow as a giant, lumbering beast forced its way through the thick brush searching for its breakfast.

Many of the forest’s residents cowered in hiding places. They didn’t expect to avoid the monster, that was impossible. Instead, they prayed it would eat its fill before finding them. Faster animals ran – frantically trying to escape before it could catch their scent and chase them down.

But ten-year-old Danny McCallister was safe. Though he was close enough to experience it all, he was only a silent spectator – moving through the trees like the wind.

“Cocoa’s ready.”

A faint voice that Danny easily ignored.

The monster stopped suddenly, its front leg raised mid-step. There was something close by. It could smell it. The beast slammed its nose into the ground, trying to track the smell. The powdered snow was sucked through its nostrils and deep into its snout before shooting out again with a snort.

“Danny…”  

Not now. Things were about to get good.

In an instant, the monster was off, its claws carving deep scars into the snow and ice as it tore through the forest. It crashed through trees, tearing them out of the ground as though they were trying to jump out of the beast’s way.

It slid to a stop, slamming into a wall at the base of a cliff. Its massive body cracked the stone and rocks tumbled and crashed into the ground around its feet. Undeterred, it sprinted along the wall until it found the entrance to a cave. It pressed its snout against the hole and inhaled the delicious smell inside. It couldn’t fit through the opening but that wouldn’t stop it from getting to its meal.

The creature lifted its arm and swung at the wall with a roar. Its claws tore through the mountain effortlessly. It tore away fistfull after fistfull of stone until it found its food: a trembling, crying grizzly bear.

The monster snarled before rearing onto its hind legs and letting out a victorious, blood-curdling howl.

“Danny McAlister!”

Danny’s mother’s booming voice shot through the forest and grabbed him by the collar of his pajama shirt. It dragged him, kicking and screaming, through the snow, until he found himself back in the living room of the cottage his family had rented.

His nose was pressed firmly against the window. His breath had fogged the glass, obscuring his view of the trees outside.

“Your cocoa’s getting cold, sweetie.”

He sighed. “Yeah. I’m here now.”

He accepted the mug from his mother. She sat down next to him with her own steaming mug. Her eyes were dim with worry – a look Danny was becoming all too familiar with.

“Where were you this time, Dan?” his dad asked from behind the counter. He was washing the dishes left over from breakfast.

Danny gestured toward the window. “Out there.”

“Yeah?” Dad smiled. “What’s out there?”

“Some beast,” Danny said. “He was like a hundred feet tall.”

“Was he…umm…” Mom paused a moment. “A friendly beast?”

Danny laughed. “Oh, no!” he said. “Don’t mess with this guy. He like, ate a bear, you know? And not a baby one. One of those big grizzly bears!”

“Wow!” Dad laughed. “That’s exciting.”

Mom wasn’t laughing. She took a long sip from her mug.

“Do they ever scare you, Danny?” she asked. “These monsters?”

Danny shook his head. “They’re my imagination,” he said. “They only do what I tell them to do. I’m…” he looked at Dad. “I’m in control.”

Dad smiled back. Those were the exact words he’d said to Danny the first time he’d gotten carried off in his own thoughts.

“Stop worrying about the boy, Maureen,” he said. “Dan’s got one heck of an imagination. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Mom sighed and left the couch. “If he doesn’t get locked away somewhere first,” she mumbled. She shut herself in the bathroom and turned on the shower.

“Don’t mind your mother.”

“What does she mean, ‘locked away’?”

“She just worries too much,” Dad said. “You keep doing you, kid.”

Danny considered that thought for a while as he drank his cocoa.

“Finish up, Dan,” Dad said. “We’re going to take a walk through the forest soon. Hope we don’t run into your monster friend.”

Danny smiled and rushed to get ready.

—

The forest wasn’t as intense as it was in Danny’s imagination. The trees were much more sparse and the area was pleasantly bright. He walked a few steps behind his parents along a man-made trail with benches located sporadically along the sides. There was snow, though. So he’d gotten that right.

“Not how you pictured it, huh, Danny?” Mom asked, as though she could read his mind.

Danny shook his head and ignored the glare his dad gave her.

“No,” Dad said. “Real life’s rather boring sometimes. That’s why we read, or watch movies, or play video games. It’s fun to escape into a world of imagination.”

“Sure,” Mom said, returning the glare. “As long as we remember that real life is where we live. That’s where the important things are, like our family and friends. It’s a little silly to think a giant beast could hide in here. Eh, Danny?”

Danny didn’t respond. He focused on his boots and the sound the snow made when he walked.

“Jesus. Give it a rest, Maureen,” his dad said under his breath.

Danny hated it when they fought. He always felt like it was about him and he wasn’t sure how he could make it better. He couldn’t stop imagining if he wanted to. It just came naturally. Besides, he would feel like he was letting his dad down if he did. But at the same time, continuing to imagine upset his mom and he didn’t want that either.

“You know I worry,” Mom said. “Jules used to tell stories just like his.”

“Danny’s not like your sister, Maureen. She was schizophrenic and had no control over anything she saw. Danny’s just playing.”

“He’s ten,” Mom said. “It’s time for him to break out of this phase before it’s too late.”

“He’s only ten,” Dad said. “And this ‘phase’ needs to be encouraged.”

Danny couldn’t listen any longer. He blocked out their voices and opened up his mind, allowing the trees to grow and surround them in a thick wall. He smiled as the tension left his shoulders.

To his left, the trees rustled suddenly, before a woman burst through, screaming. Her clothes were torn and blood-stained. She ran past Danny and his family without paying them any notice.

An explosion boomed deep in the forest and a cloud of smoke mushroomed out of the tops of the trees. Danny followed it with his eyes and found the source of the explosion.

A giant UFO hovered silently above them. It was disc-shaped and made of a smooth silver material. Its edges were lined with lights that blinked in unison. Protruding from the centre was a black gun which spun slowly, as if searching for a target.

Danny watched as the tip of the gun started to glow red. The light intensified until it shot from the gun with a pew noise that echoed through the air. The laser hit the ground between Danny’s parents with an explosion that left them unaffected. They continued walking and talking about something that Danny still didn’t want to hear.

But when the smoke cleared from the ground, something took its place. It was a dark, human-like figure. It was Danny’s height and looked like a shadow that you couldn’t see through. He’d never imagined something like this before and couldn’t figure out where he’d come up with it. Everything in his imagination had come from something he’d seen on TV or read in a book. This was completely new. The worst part was that the figure was looking directly at him. It was acknowledging him.

“Danny!”

His mom’s voice snapped him back to reality once again. He looked up and the sky was empty. The UFO was gone, the trees had gone back to normal, and the smoke had all cleared.

But the shadow remained.

“Dan?” Dad asked. “You OK, bud?”

“Yeah…” Danny said. “I’m here.”

But he wasn’t sure he was. He closed his eyes, squeezed them tight and closed off his mind. When he opened them, the shadow had moved closer. It was inches from his face now.

Danny screamed and tried to back away but the shadow grabbed him and held him in place. Its touch was colder than ice and Danny’s skin started tingling. The shadow leaned forward and whispered into his ear.

“They hate you,” it said. It spoke with Danny’s voice. “Your parents fight because of you. Look at them.”

Danny tried to say something but the shadow cut him off.

“Look at them!” it screamed.

He looked up at his mom. She was crying. His dad was rushing over to him with a look of terror on his face. But everything moved in slow motion and it seemed his father would never get to him.

“Look what you’re doing to them,” the shadow whispered. “You don’t deserve them.”

The shadow released its hold on Danny and he fell backwards into the snow. Dad was there seconds later, scooping him up into his arms.

“Dan? What’s wrong, buddy?” he said frantically.

The shadow was gone.

“Nothing,” Danny said. He realized he’d been crying and his cheeks were stained with tears. “I slipped.”

Mom joined them, wiping away her own tears. She looked at Dad with desperation. He nodded before kissing her on her forehead. There was a sad understanding in his eyes.

“Let’s get back to the resort,” Dad said.

Danny nodded. He searched the forest around them and couldn’t find the shadow anywhere. But he could still feel it sitting in the back of his mind.