S15E09 - "Tentacles, Tentacles!" - Horror Hill

**Erik Peabody** (0:02)
Chilling Tales for Dark Nights.
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Hello, listeners, and welcome back to Horror Hill. I'm the voice you can barely hear in the radio static, Erik Peabody. Tonight, I've got a double feature of scary stories for you, and since it'll be a cold day in hell before I can't come up with a fitting title for an episode, I've christened this pair Tentacles Tentacles. We'll open with Chump by Chris Wolf, a charming tale of a child and the beast that lives under his bed. After that, we have some deep space horror in Salvage by Heath Faff. We're running the gamut from the relatable to the otherworldly tonight, folks. And since both of these are juicy little bite-sized nuggets, I'm capping the synopses here. Let's begin, shall we?
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And now, from author Chris Wolf, I give you Chump.
If your child is afraid of monsters, keep it that way. I know that sounds cold, maybe even cruel, but the alternative can be far worse. Your son or daughter will go through a phase where every closet has a creature in it, and evil specters haunt every darkened room. Console them, assure them that monsters aren't real as much as you want, and when they don't believe you, let them grow out of it naturally. One of the worst things you can do is to meddle any further than that. I know from firsthand experience.
When I was a teenager, I tried to get out of the house as much as possible. I stayed over with friends, joined in after-school activities, anything I could do to get away. It wasn't because my home life was particularly bad. My parents weren't abusive. My family was upper middle class. I had nothing to actually complain about at the time. Still I felt the need to get away from that safe and loving environment whenever possible. I guess I wanted the freedom to make a few mistakes of my own.
I all but refused to look after my little brother Cory. He was the quintessential picture of every adorable sitcom kid, right down to the blonde hair that didn't match up with anyone else in the family. Supposedly, he inherited the gene from my mother's side, and it would darken as he got older. I couldn't help but notice that neighbors and random strangers lavished him with praise whenever possible, something I couldn't remember happening to me throughout childhood. I didn't hate him for something he couldn't control and didn't ask for. There was no real sibling rivalry between us, but suffice to say, I was totally disinterested in taking care of him when mom and dad were out. I could only hear him ask for a cup of juice with a D so many times before I felt myself rolling my eyes and letting out a disgusted groan. That was why my parents had to hire babysitters. Back then, I didn't really think much about the cost of hiring someone to look after my brother when I could have done it for free. I was too busy working out my own life and discovering who I was as a person. I had little time to focus on anyone other than myself, but I guess that sort of myopic self-interest often comes with being a teen.
The last sitter that my parents hired was Rebecca, a girl from my school. She was your stereotypical nerd who could be trusted with us. When I answered the front door that night and saw her standing there, my mind immediately raced. I thought she might be there to see me, and my stomach sank with dread. Suffice to say, I wasn't in to her, and in that moment, I imagined having to turn down an invitation to some social function or another. What are you doing here? I asked bluntly. I'm sure my sheer surprise and awkwardness came across as rude. You must be Rebecca, my mother called from the hallway as she approached. Wow, you're early. That's so great. I relaxed instantly. She was there to take care of Cory, not to give me a panic attack. Breathing a sigh of relief, I got my jacket and stepped out the door and was on my way to spend the night with Charles Henry, one of my closest friends. On the way out, I heard my mom explaining the house rules to Rebecca. First of all, we should talk about Chump.