Mimi's Demons

Chapter 15: Grandpa's Knife

When they came back down she was in a room on a big bed. The walls were blank and white, and the carpet was a light brown. Heavy, wooden blinds covered the window.

Her pants and underwear were warm from peeing herself and the rest of her was cold.

Mimi scrambled to her hands and knees, only for the world to swerve and tip her back onto her side. Her head hurt and her stomach twisted.

"Honrye," she tried to say, but her dry throat only rasped. "Honrye!"

He'd still come, wouldn't he? He still liked her, right?

But like wasn't love. And she was covered in the stink of her own pee and she had been stupid enough to crawl into some stranger's car. Now no one would find her and she'd end up on that billboard in Wal-Mart for missing kids.

Mimi wanted to cry. She could feel that her eyes were all crinkly from dried tears already. But her heart beat too quickly and everything wouldn't stop spinning and she had the faint feeling that, if she started to bawl, she'd throw up.

Somehow, she managed the coherency enough to reach into her pocket, where she felt the weight of her grandpa's knife.

Just like that, the world seemed to steady. She could breathe again.

She wasn't alone. Grandpa was here.

But Mimi wasn't dumb enough to think she could fend off a grown man with just her grandpa's fishing knife. She'd always been small for her age and even if she managed to stab him, the small blade would probably just make him angry enough to hurt her back.

Maybe he wouldn't hurt her?

Then she remembered the look on the man's red face as he stuffed the rag against hers and the skull splitting grin of his demon.

...No. Mimi wasn't going to be stupid again.

Slowly this time, Mimi sat up, and thankfully her dizziness didn't tip her back over again. She took a closer look around and found the unicorn with the holographic hooves and horns next to her, its blank blue eyes glittering with mocking sparkles. She scowled and threw the unicorn across the room, only to feel a little guilty later. It wasn't the unicorns fault it had been used as bait. It had probably only ever wanted to fulfill its purpose as a toy; to be the best friend of a loving, little girl.

Mimi tried clearing her throat, working up as much saliva as she could to wet it down.

"Honrye?" she called, clearer this time.

A strange sort of electricity trickled in the air. Mimi felt the hairs on her arm stand up.

She waited for a second, then swung her legs over the bed. Whether he came or not, she couldn't just stay there waiting for her captor to come back.

Just as she stood to go towards the lone door, a familiar clawed hand reached out from under the bed. Within a blink Honrye had appeared, green eyes wider than ever and gray mane bristled high like a troll doll.

"Mimi, why are you here?" The green eyes flickered lightning quick to the door. "You should not be here." He sniffed and shuddered. "Your fear..."

"This isn't snack time," she snapped. "Help me get out."

His eyes shivered on hers. He opened his mouth—

The door swung open.

Her captor smiled, the funny freckle under his eye morphing with it. His hair had been combed and he brought in a stench of cheap cologne.

The slinky demon hung tight to his shoulders, its nails so deep into him it practically didn't have hands.

Mimi took a step back, her hand clenched around the knife in her jacket pocket, just as the man wrinkled his nose.