Inspired by - 23. Chapter 23 - Sam's Bogey Man

“I think I killed him,” Sam said from the hallway.

The group grew quiet as four heads turned and looked at the little boy. Sam gulped but didn’t move.

“What do you mean you think you killed him?” Debbie asked, as she set down her soda and stared daggers at the little boy, Sam.

Sam stood clutching his teddy bear, tears streaming down his face. His bare feet made no noise as he stepped into the living room and faced the teenagers gathered there.

Tricia stood up and walked over to her baby brother. She knelt down and rested her hand on his shoulder as she looked him in the eye.

“What happened, Sam? Did you have a bad dream? Something scare you?”

“Damn kid always …”

Tricia shot Ted a look and he shut up quickly.

“Just tell me what is wrong, Sammy.” Tricia kept her voice calm as she waited for Sam to tell her why he was out of bed.

Sam pulled his teddy bear close and tried to stop his bottom lip from quivering. Finally he stuck out his chin and sniffled once.

“I woke up cause the Bogey Man was trying to get in,” he whispered burying his face into his teddy bear.

Neal came over and knelt down by Tricia. He smiled gently at Sam and gently patted his shoulder.

“How do you know it was the Bogey Man?”

“He was all in black,” Sam began looking at Neal wide eyed, “and he was pushing on my window.”

Ted laughed as he heard Sam talking. Sam frowned and his eyes grew wide. His bottom lip began to tremble but he held his teddy bear tight and looked over to where Ted sat beside Debbie.

Neal gave Ted a look and then turned his attention back to Sam.

“What happened next, Sam?” Neal pulled Sam over and into his lap. The little boy leaned against Neal but had a tight grip on his bear.

“I got scared,” Sam began his voice going higher as he told his tale. “So I grabbed Teddy and moved to the side of my room to hide. The Bogey Man opened my window and he climbed in.” Sam paused and looked up into Neal’s face. He raised his hand, “honest.” The tears slowly fell from the little boy’s eyes.

“Shh. It is okay, Sam. I believe you. What did you do once you hid?”

Tricia was looking nervously at Neal and then down the hallway Sam had come from.

“I grabbed my bat. You know the one Tricia; the one Daddy got me at the park.”

Tricia remembered her brother trying to sleep with the commemorative bat he got last summer from the baseball game. It wasn’t a heavy bat; in fact it was just the right size for him. Their mother made him keep it in a little spot by his dresser.

“When the Bogey Man leaned into my room I grabbed the bat and I hit him. I hit him and hit him till I dropped it and come out here,” and then Sam broke down into tears again.

“You hit him?” Tricia looked at Neal. The look of panic on her face was clear.

“You think the kid is telling the truth?” Debbie began to shoot nervous looks up the hallway that led to Sam’s bedroom.

“Only one way to find out!” Neal carefully passed Sam over to Tricia. He looked at the little boy and his girlfriend as she wrapped her arms around him. “Stay here.”

“Come on, man,” Ted began to grumble. “This is all in the kid’s head.”

Ted was looking angrily at Sam. His face was red and he kept balling his right hand into a fist. He turned and looked at Neal where he stood at the edge of the hallway.

“I mean Sam always wants something when Tricia has to babysit him. I mean a drink of water, someone to read to him.”

“Look, I’m not asking you to do anything. I am just going to check out his room,” Neal stated as he glanced again at the little boy who was shaking in Tricia’s arms.

“Hold on a minute,” Tricia said as she slid Sam onto the couch near Debbie. She rushed over to the end table at the other side of the room. She was back a minute later and handed Neal a heavy flash light. “Here," Tricia said as she forced it into his hand. "Take this with you.”

Neal leaned in and kissed her quick.

“Go with him, you stupid jock,” Debbie whispered as she shoved him toward Neal.

Ted looked back at Debbie and grunted. The he walked over and followed Neal down the hallway. The two walked softly and Ted pushed open the door to Sam’s bedroom. He looked in and then turned to Neal pissed off.

“See. A total waste of time,” Ted furiously whispered at Neal. As he turned to go there was a sound in the room.

Both guys froze for a moment.

“Uh,” grunted someone from the other side of the room.

Neal flicked on the bedroom light and hurried around the bed, followed by Ted.

Sprawled on the floor was a stranger in a ski mask. Sam’s little bat lay along side of him.

“Holy shit!” Ted stood staring down at the guy as Neal slipped his belt off and used it to tie the guy’s hands together. “The little bastard was telling thing the truth.”

Neal looked up at Ted as he sat on the guy’s back.

“Would you go have the girls call the cops already? Looks like little Sam is a hero. Tell the girls to stay down that end of the house and keep Sam with them.”

It seemed no time at all until the cops arrived. The bandit had been hitting a number of houses in the area. He had a tendency to rob people while they were home and usually hit the bedrooms in the back of the houses. He hadn’t seen Sam when he decided to pry open his window and hadn’t expected to be attacked by a little boy with a bat.

The following morning, the paper’s read “Little Boy Bats Bogey Man.”