Night Feed

A 10 Sentence Horror Short

The baby monitor clicked on at midnight, carrying not a cry but a deep, raspy lullaby.

She hurried upstairs, her skin crawling with worry as the voice grew louder.

The nursery door stood open, swinging just slightly, yet she clearly remembered closing it earlier.

Inside, the baby slept soundly in its cot, chest rising and falling in perfect calm.

A tall, black, eyeless figure towered over the cot.

The figure turned slowly, revealing a cavernous hollow where a mouth should be, the lullaby spilling out from a gaping hole in its chest.

She tried to scream but her voice sank into silence as all the air was suddenly pulled from her lungs.

The figure reached out for her, stretching impossibly long arms that swallowed her into shadow.

Morning came; the father tiptoed into the nursery to check on the baby, who was still sleeping peacefully.

The baby cooed softly, muffling the sound of the monitor which whispered her screams on repeat.

By E. M. Page