The Monster & The Thing-a-Ma-Jig

  9 year old Johnny Jones lived in an old and spacious Victorian home with his grandmother, Nana Jones. It sat on 10 acres of oak trees in the hills overlooking the city. Ever since he could remember the atmosphere in the house and the surrounding grounds was heavy, giving the inhabitants a feeling of dread. It gave off a kind of creepiness that once it stuck to you it was hard to shake off. Even though he brushed off all of the unexplained and mysterious events that would happen to him there, Johnny knew that most of them were beyond rational answers, so he didn’t bother to ask any questions. Even his grandmother couldn’t explain them.

It was 3 am that night when Johnny awoke suddenly with the feeling of being on a boat in stormy seas. He was experiencing the ebb and flow of being on a ship sailing on the ocean. He knew that he wasn’t near anything that could float because he was in his own bed and in his own room where he belonged. The reason for thinking he was on a boat was that his bed was actually moving. It was tipping to one side the room then swayed to the other side, then it began shaking violently. The air in the room was unusually cold as his breath was visible. He tried to gather up his blankets to cover himself but they kept on slipping from his grip. While the tremors grew stronger Johnny had to hang on to his mattress so he wouldn’t fall out of bed to the floor.

He shouted out to his grandmother who was hard of hearing. But he took the chance that his screams would reach her. Of course, there was no response from Nana. Suddenly he heard a scraping sound as a dark misty shadow began to slowly ooze out from underneath his trundle, growing tall and wide. The dark figure that stood before him had no humanoid characteristics but did appear to be threatening him. He knew that he couldn’t wait for someone to intervene for there was no time. So Johnny decided to do something immediately to save himself. He gathered every Tonka Toy and GI Joe that were nearest to him and began throwing them at the dark intruder, scaring it away. When his grandmother reached him the monster was gone. And when she asked Johnny what was wrong, he responded in a stutter that a monster crawled out from under his bed.

Nana Jones began to inspect the room. She searched behind the curtains, inside the closet, behind the dresser and then approached the bed. To look under it, she had to slowly raise the quilt as not to provoke anything that may be hiding there. What she saw was a conglomeration of Johnny’s out-grown toys clustered together displaying the different ways that were used to behead and amputate them. This created an impasse that blocked her view. She came to the conclusion that there was no possibility that anything sizable could ever successfully fit underneath his bed.

“It was just a dream, Johnny.” Nana said softly.

All of his life Nana over-protected Johnny. His Aunt Ruth used to say, “Johnny was never permitted a self-entertaining belch without being subjected to his pediatrician. " And then everyone would laugh. That being the case, Nana worried that she may have to consult a psychiatrist if Johnny was seeing things that weren’t there. Since she didn’t believe in monsters she feared he was losing the remaining marbles that currently existed (and for which he needed) in his head. She felt it was only a matter of time when Johnny would exhibit symptoms of the hereditary family secret. If that happened she would be forced to disclose that the sap of insanity flowed through the Jones’ bloodline at the volume and velocity of Niagara Falls. And she didn’t want to do that!

“That monster, he he had no face.” Stuttered Johnny.

“It ca came at me.” ”It wanted to to hurt me.” He stuttered again.

The elaborate and often contradictory descriptions of what he saw that night, to him, weren’t stark enough to induce anyone into perceiving the same degree of horror that he was feeling. So he went on and on trying to get it right about how it really happened. He recounted how the bed shook in the darkness of his bedroom, how a scraping sound came before the sight of a dark figure that arose from under his bed. But as the night wore on he grew weary of scaring himself and finally fell asleep on the couch in the living room.

The next day Johnny awoke with a sigh of relief. He felt safe in the daylight. After wiping his eyes, he got up and ran into his room. He dived down to the floor landing next to his bed and began clearing out the debris so there would be a clear view to look for clues as to what it was that came to visit him last night.

When he was about finished he realized there were still a few remnants of broken plastic leftover. So he peeked further into the space and noticed something that caught his interest. He saw an object that he didn’t recognize. Curious, Johnny stretched out one of his lanky arms to reach for this shiny metal thing-a-ma-jig. As he wrapped his fingers around it to pull it out, it began to tingle in his hand. Johnny stood up staring at his palm where the object was resting. It looked to be about 1 inch x 1 inch in measurement, made of gold or brass and was oval shaped with strange writing carved into it. The top was chiseled in such a way that rendered it into an almost key-like state. He wondered, 'Was it a key?’ ‘But a key to open what?’

Nana called to him from downstairs so he slipped the object into his pajama pocket.

“Come and have breakfast, Johnny.” Nana shouted.

“Okay, Nana.” Johnny answered.

After his morning meal, Johnny got ready for the day. He decided to go into town to show Mr. Hanson the strange thing-a-ma-jig he found. Since Mr. Hanson owned an antique shop Johnny was hoping that he might know what the object was and where it came from.

The door chimed upon Johnny’s arrival inside Mr. Hanson’s shop, alerting Mr. Hanson of a customer to help.

Johnny looked around and marveled at all of the vintage items and artifacts that were displayed for sale. There were dolls, glassware and collectibles in every category imaginable. He also offered antique furniture. There were desks, tables, cupboards, Hoosiers and French settees to name a few. Johnny noticed some glass cases carrying rare gold and brass artifacts. While in the middle of his wonderment he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, so Johnny turned toward the sound.

It was Mr. Hanson appearing before him. Johnny swiftly produced the strange thing-a-ma-jig from his pocket showing it to Mr. Hanson.

“Interesting.” Mr. Hanson stated.

“Where did you get this?” He questioned.

Johnny explained the events of the night before and detailed just how he came across that thing-a-ma-jig. Mr. Hanson looked puzzled wondering how a rare ancient artifact could have traveled such a long distance only to appear in a 9 year old boys bedroom? Mr. Hanson went on to reveal that the object was certainly old and looked to be Egyptian. He said it was indeed a key, but didn’t know what it opened. Then Mr. Hanson recommended that Johnny leave it with him overnight for research purposes. He said that he needed time to decipher the writing that was carved into the piece. Johnny agreed and made arrangements to come back to the shop the next day. Mr. Hanson took the object and placed it gently into one of the glass cases, locking it up. Johnny then headed for home. On his way he couldn’t help but contemplate what he was about to face when darkness fell tonight. Will it come again? A feeling of dread washed over him.

At home, Johnny begins to prepare for a defense in case the monster returned. He smuggled a steak knife and a mallet into his room, placing them close to his bed. After that, he went to his top drawer and retrieved a dog whistle to wear around his neck. Before turning out the light he notated the time to be 10:00 p.m., then he got into bed and waited.

It seemed like time had stood still with nothing happening. But Johnny still patiently waited. What was he waiting for? The answer to that question gave Johnny the shivers and a twinge of fright.

At 3:00 a.m. a bright light appeared outside of Johnny’s north window. It beamed brightly as it cast an arrow shaped rod into the room pointing toward his south window, the window that faced the oak forest. So it went in one window and out the other, making its way into the oak forest to strike one of the trees.

As soon as Johnny saw it he jumped up to follow it. He ran outside to see where it went and observed in the distance smoke billowing up from one of the trees. Johnny ducked back into the house, grabbed a flash light and headed straight for it. Petrified of the foreboding darkness and the scary trees, Johnny was grateful for the light he was holding which helped him see his way through the forest.

When Johnny reached the scorched and still-smoking oak tree he was astonished to see that the tree was burnt in such a way that an outline resembling an oval doorway had imprinted itself into the bark of the tree. It looked like a doorway that was sealed. Junior tried to pry the door open, but the tree was too hot to the touch, so he backed away. Suddenly a strange whirring sound surrounded Johnny which caused a strong wind to blow him off his feet. In a daze he got up and ran back to the house, locking the door behind him.

The next day Johnny couldn’t wait to see Mr. Hanson to tell him about the events of the night before and to find out what information he had uncovered regarding the thing-a-ma-jig.

On his way, Johnny felt uneasy and kept looking over his shoulder as if someone or something was following behind him. Every time he stopped to look nothing was there. But when he passed one of the store fronts that was built with a with a large plate glass window, Johnny decided to use it to his advantage. He looked into the glass to see what was behind him. This was Johnny’s way of checking on what was following him without actually having to physically turn around. The trick worked. This time he caught a glimpse of the shadow monster peeking at him from behind a lamp post. Horrified, Johnny started to run.

Out of breath and panting Johnny barged into Mr. Hanson’s antique shop.

“Are you alright?” Said Mr. Hanson.

Johnny replied, “It followed me, the monster, it followed me here.”

Mr. Hanson took Johnny’s hand and led him to a chair and sat him down.

“Listen to me.” Mr. Hanson pleaded.

He went on, “You must be careful and heed what I have to tell you.”

Mr. Hanson explained to Johnny that an Egyptian curse was put upon him by the thing-a-ma-jig’s owner. He went on to say that as far as he could tell the monster wanted it for some reason. But if you give it to him the monster will stay permanently.

“So what should I do?” Johnny implored.

Mr. Hanson replied, “You must take the key and find out what it opens-then open it.”

Mr. Hanson added, “But you must leave the key there.”

Mr. Hanson unlocked the glass case and gave the thing-a-ma-jig back to Johnny.

“Here, go find the lock.” Mr. Hanson instructed.

Johnny went on his way carrying with him a new goal and intention. He must find the lock and banish the monster. Johnny wondered, ‘Did the oak tree’s magical door display a lock?’ ‘Was it put there by the Divine in order to save him from the monster?’ Johnny stepped up his speed to get to the oak forest faster.

Night was about to descend and the only light source was the full moon. He wandered among the oaks until he found the one he was looking for. Johnny felt the bark which now had cooled enabling him to reattempt the opening of the magical door. Looking closely, Johnny discovered a hollowed out knot-hole that was similar in shape to the thing-a-ma-jig he had in his pocket. So Johnny pulled it out and stuck it in the knot-hole.

Suddenly, the same gust of wind and whirring sound encircled Johnny but this time he held his ground. Hurriedly, he twisted the key halfway in the lock, but was forced to stop. The monster was behind him hovering over his shoulder and breathing upon him a rancid aroma. Growing taller and more menacing the monster tried to grab the key from Johnny’s hand. Shaking and barely keeping the key steady enough to finish the last half of its required revolution to unlock the door, Johnny pushed down on the hand holding the key using his other hand to put pressure on it and CLICK!-it was unlocked.

To be successful at opening the door to slide the key inside while a wrestling match was taking place between Johnny and the monster took a lot of strength, determination and of course, performing a Half-Nelson to achieve. But Johnny was clever. He managed to open the door slightly to wedge the key into the crevice between the door jam and the door itself. Then he quickly closed it.

Suddenly the whirring sound and strong wind ceased. The stench that was previously languishing around Johnny was replaced by the scent of Honeysuckle. Johnny turned around to see if the monster was anywhere around. Not seeing it, Johnny concluded that it was gone-and hopefully it was gone for good.

But who is that standing by the magical door? Why, it looks like Nana!

The End