Sweet Treats

The alarm rang through the house, startling Marcy to her feet. She hurried to the door, only to find Ariel standing in the threshold.

Marcy let out an exasperated sigh and shut off the alarm. "Ariel, you gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?"

The ten year old looked up at her and smiled, holding up a frazzled Barbie doll. "I left her in the garden."

"You should've told me," Marcy said, pushing the door closed and resetting the alarm. "It's after dark."

Ariel pouted. "I'm sorry Marcy, please don't be mad at me!"

Marcy pursed her lips, then pinched the girl's cheek. "I'm not mad. Cmon, you wanna watch a movie before bed?"

Ariel immediately perked back up. "Yes please!"

Marcy was into her third hour at the Aultman house, with little Ariel Aultman to babysit. She was an only child, and while a bit unusual, soft-spoken and kind. Marcy felt this was going to be an easy night and, hopefully, a regular client. Her mother, Stacey, heard of Marcy through a friend of a friend's sister, and excitedly called, in desperate need for a babysitter.

Ms. Aultman was preparing for a date when Marcy arrived, touching up ruby red lipstick in the hall mirror.

"There's money for pizza, or whatever you gals want," Stacey told her through the mirror. "No sweets after six, bedtime at 10 since it's not a school night."

"You got it," Marcy replied, smiling. "And you'll be home…?"

"If this goes well, by midnight. If not, probably in thirty minutes," and she laughed while throwing the lipstick in her purse.

Marcy chuckled along with her. "Well, I hope all goes well ma'am, and Ariel is in good hands with me."

Stacey turned to her and smiled, teeth pearly white against her fresh, blood-red lips. "Wonderful. Ariel! Come meet Marcy!"

The little girl came bounding down the stairs, a doll gripped in her hands. Marcy inspected the girl's pin-straight blonde hair and brown eyes so dark they seemed black. Ariel stopped in front of her.

"Now Ariel, you be good for Marcy-" a horn honked outside, stopping Stacey mid-sentence. "I love you baby, mommy will see you in the morning."

Not wanting to risk her lipstick, Stacey blew an air kiss and hurried to the door.

"Goodnight Mother!" Ariel called back.

Stacey grabbed her coat from the coat rack by the door and was gone.

In the three hours Marcy had been with Ariel, all had gone well. The two worked smoothly together, eating pizza covered in mushrooms and olives, tidying up Ariel's playroom, and picking out pajamas for after her bath. However, as the sun had set and the stars peeked from their inky hiding spot, Ariel began to act strange.

First, she had picked a peculiar movie for a young girl. One with blood and guts and screams of terror.

"Are you sure your mom lets you watch this…?" Marcy asked, hiding behind her hands.

"Oh yes, all the time! We usually laugh at them together," Ariel responded, eyes glued to the movie, lips turned in a wanting smile.

"R-Right… laugh…" Marcy mumbled. She had never been too fond of horror movies, not even when her longtime crush, the dreamy Zackary Bates, asked her out to see Guts lll; The Reckoning. The idea of him was tantalizing. The movie? Absolutely not.

After the fifth slashing scene, Marcy stood up abruptly and cut the movie off.

"Alright, bath time," she spewed out.

Ariel whined. "But we were getting to the good part!"

"Cmon now, it's almost your bedtime." Marcy gently pulled Ariel to her feet.

That seemed to excite the girl, who's whine and pout turned into a smile of delight. "Right!"

She nearly plowed Marcy down on the way to her room to retrieve her pajamas. Marcy had a chill along her spine as she followed, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself.

It's just the movie, she thought, biting on her lip.

Ariel was old enough to not need assistance in the bath, so Marcy began straightening the room as she waited. Ariel was without wanting, that was for sure; luxurious dolls adorned the shelves, lovely dresses hung in the closet, and pictures on top of pictures littered the walls of Ariel and her mom in different destinations across the world.

As Marcy cleaned, she found a dirty green scrunchie on the floor. It didn't seem to belong in the bright pink, flawless room. Marcy picked it up, carefully stretching it between her fingers. She noticed curly red hair knotted in the tie and furrowed her brows.

Just then, Ariel bounced into the room, pajamas on and a brush in hand. Marcy stuffed the scrunchie in her pocket, looking over at her.

"All done?" She asked.

"Yep! Can you brush my hair? Mother always does before bed," Ariel explained, sitting on her bed.

"Sure," Marcy said, sitting behind her and taking the brush. She carefully began brushing through Ariel's damp hair, and the girl hummed a soft tune.

The air in the room felt as though it dropped a few degrees. Marcy shuddered, murmuring, "I may need to find you some extra blankets tonight."

"Oh no, I'll be alright," Ariel turned to her and smiled. "Thank you! I'm tired." She yawned, pulling her covers back.

Marcy stood, shaking her head. "Yea… okay." She set the brush down on the bedside table, then helped Ariel under the blankets. "Do you need anything before I turn the lights out?"

"No," Ariel answered. "Goodbye Marcy."

Marcy let out an awkward giggle, tucking the girl in. "Good night, Ariel. Goodnight."

Ariel only smiled. "Right."

Marcy had an uneasy feeling in her gut as she clicked the night light on, trudged to the door, and looked back at Ariel. The child was still smiling, eyes closed. Marcy swallowed, flicking the light off and quietly pulling the door half-shut.

It was almost immediately Marcy felt as though someone was watching her. She made her way back to the kitchen, fixing herself a glass of water. As she sipped on it, she checked to make sure all of the windows were locked and secure. Something still did not feel right.

"The damn movie…" she huffed under her breath, downing her water.

A loud thud sounded above her.

Marcy froze, gripping the glass tight.

Thunk. Thud.

Her heart leapt into her throat. Quietly, she set the glass down and inched towards the stairs. Up them she went, praying it was just Ariel playing a prank on her.

At the top of the stairs, she saw something that made her blood run cold. At the end of the hallway stood a shadowy figure, its head peering into Ariel's room.

"Hey! Get away from there!" Marcy shouted, reaching for her phone. Nothing.

Dammit! Dammit, it must be downstairs!

The figure turned suddenly towards her, its face now visible. Marcy stifled her scream as she saw decaying flesh and rotten bone. The figure lurched towards her.

The scream fought its way from her as she took off running. Down, down, down the stairs she flew, hearing the lumbering footsteps of the creature behind her. Into the kitchen she went, yanking a knife from its block and whirling around to find nothing. Her breath ripped from her lips, eyes darting around frantically.

"Get out of this house! I'll kill you, I swear!" Marcy cried, her palm growing clammy around the knife's wooden handle.

A shriek emerged from upstairs.

"Help me!"

"Ariel! Hold on, I'm coming!"

Knife still in hand, Marcy raced back up the stairs, following the girl's screams. Throwing herself into the room, she found it to be empty.

"Ariel?" She whisper-shouted. "Ariel, where are you?"

Marcy heard the sickening thump again. She dove into the closet, pressing her back against the wall under the dresses hanging from the rack. Her heart pounded in her ears, eyes clouded with tears and sweat.

Thunk. Thud.

Her eyes widened, slapping a hand over her mouth.

Please, please let Ariel be alright… was all she thought.

After a moment, the sounds ceased and all was silent. Marcy waited before slowly standing up. Something crunched under her foot.

Fumbling in the dark closet, Marcy found the chain. As light flooded the small closet, Marcy swallowed down her shouts of surprise.

Crushed under her foot was a pocket mirror splattered with blood. Beside that was a pair of rounded glasses, bent and cracked. Near that was a locket hanging open.

The three items were tagged. Marcy gently picked up the mirror, reading the small tag.

Jillian Holmes, 17, 2022 November

Marcy's body filled with more terror, looking at the tag on the glasses.

Rebecca Worthington, 16, 2022 December

Dread filled every bone in Marcy's body as she read the third tag.

Emily Bassett, 16, 2023 January

A scream ripped through the silence. Marcy dropped the items, pushing the door to the closet open to find the creature standing before her.

Marcy shrieked, stumbling back. The creature was even more hideous up close, flesh sagging from its bones, maggots and flies curling around its pus-filled wounds. A horrible stench invaded her nose, a smell of death and decay.

It didn't happen instantly. She fought and cried and screamed, begging mercy for the young girl who she hoped was hiding. As the creature tore Marcy's still beating heart from her chest, the last warm breath leaving her spattered lips, she thought only of Ariel.

***

Marcy Bigby, 18, 2023 February

Ariel giggled as she taped the tag to the phone. Stacey sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"I don't understand why you must keep these trophies," she said to her daughter.

"Because I like remembering," Ariel replied.

"Fine. Just- hide them well, in case the police come snooping around."

"Of course, Mother."

Stacey left the room, not bothering with the bloody carpet or walls until the morning. Ariel hummed as she placed all her trinkets into her jewelry box.

"I'm glad you still play with me, Brother," Ariel murmured. "I missed you. And this is even more fun when you're dead."

The poor creature lay full in the child's tree house, watching the house through the small makeshift window in the wood. It smiled a toothless grin at its sister's room.

"Ah-ree-el…"

Fin.