After a few minutes of muffled crying and screaming, I finally managed to calm myself down enough to where I could think somewhat clearly. I knew I had to tell someone, but was scared that if I did She would hurt me, maybe even kill me. I wondered what my dad would do if he found me, torn to shreds like mom had been, somewhere on the side of the road. She would probably act like She was devastated, and comfort him. Maybe, after awhile, She would even force him to forget about me, just like she seemed to be doing with the memory of my mother.

That's when the realization hit.

I froze, suddenly paralyzed. Wild thoughts and theories began racing wildly through my head, stirring up memories of my mother's death. She had been mauled by an animal... Ripped to shreds but not eaten... The animal was never identified...

Her.

I clutched the comforter of my bed, tears streaming down my face, teeth grinding furiously, feeling sick to my stomach. Suddenly very much alert, and more angry than scared, I picked up my phone and dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" the dispatcher said.

"Help me please," I almost screamed into the phone. "There's a woman, no, a creature at my house. She attacked me. Sir, She killed my mother! Can you hear me? Please help!"

The dispatcher didn't respond right away.

"Ok," he said slowly, "And what's the address of your home?"

I told him, trying to remain calm.

"Ok we'll have men out there in a few minutes" he said. I thanked him, relieved but still terrified, and hung up. Now I had to wait.

A few minutes later, I heard sirens sounding on the street outside my house. I ran to the window and looked out, relief washing over me when I saw an officer stepping out of his car. Wanting to beat Her to the door, and knowing She couldn't hurt me now that the cops had arrived, I ran downstairs.

When I was halfway down the steps, a knock sounded on the door. She was there in a heartbeat. I stopped short as She miraculously beat me to the door. She had changed again, back into Her normal, beautiful self. She turned and smiled at me before opening the door and confronting the cop.

"Good evening officer," She said.

The cop raised his eyebrows, his eyes going straight to her cleavage. "how can I help you?"

The cop stared at Her a moment, his eyes meeting Hers.

"Um, a young lady called earlier reporting domestic abuse or an attack by an animal at this address?" he said, the sentence more of a question than a statement.

"Oh, I'm so sorry officer," She said in Her sickly sweet tone, "My daughter had a nightmare! It was so intense she called you, and came running down the stairs afterwards to tell me. She tripped and fell in all the excitement."

"Oh," the officer replied, a dead look in his eyes. I watched in horror as he seemed to believe every word of Her phony story.

"Yes. I'm so sorry to have wasted your time," She said. I could see Her batting Her eyelashes at him, "You see, my daughter's, or rather my step daughter's mother died by an animal attack. A tragic story. It's haunted her and her father for years now. She's had nightmares almost every night since then. Poor thing."

"Oh," the cop said again flatly. I took a step back as I realized he wasn't going to help me.

"Again, I'm sorry to have wasted your time tonight," She said. "Have a good evening."

The officer took a moment to register what She had said, then stepped back.

"Alright, goodnight ma'am," he replied. She waved at him as he walked back to his car, then closed the door. I took another step backwards as She turned around, smiling at me.

"Why don't you go up to your room honey," She said. I stood there for a moment, staring at Her and the closed door in shock, then ran up to my room. I shut my door and locked it, breathing heavily, my eyes wide.

She had killed my mother, I knew it, and She was controlling and manipulating my dad. I had to get help, I had to stop Her, and I had to do it fast.