I’ve been very brokenhearted lately. When a loved one dies, it’s natural to have moments of relapse. It’s natural to have moments where you just need to cry. A few days ago, I was watching a little TV. I was just trying to get my mind out of the darkness for a little bit. This had been the longest time without anyone dying, disappearing, or being mutilated. As I was watching, this commercial came on. It was a commercial for baby oil. The commercial featured a mother holding her infant child close. The child looked so comfortable. It looked so safe in her arms.

It reminded me of my kids. It reminded me of all the fun times we used to spend together. I used to take them to the park, celebrate their birthdays, and play games with them. It broke heart knowing I would never be able to do that anymore. Because of one stupid mistake, my entire world was ripped away from me. I dropped the remote and broke down in tears. The thought of me being with my wife and kids was too much for me to handle. I miss them so much.

There hasn’t been a day that goes by where I don’t think about killing myself. I just want to be with them. If there is an afterlife, I’ll see them. If there isn’t, then at least I’ll finally have peace in my eternal rest.

There is a reason why I feel that Squealer is not just some creature from another dimension. I feel that it isn’t a work of science. I believe that Wester was lying to me. I feel that the Squealer is watching me. I believe that it’s always watching and listening. I don’t think it’s just me. I think it watches everyone in this town. As I mentioned, I had a bit of a sad breakdown over the loss of my wife and kids. A few days after this, I received an anonymous gift at my door. It was a teddy bear.

It looked like your standard teddy bear. Something felt a little weird about it though. When it picked it up, it was soft. I’m not talking about cotton soft. It felt more like it was a squishy type of soft. I squeezed it to see if it would make a noise. All I could hear was the disgustingly moist sound of it being squished in my grip. I’ve learned how to be a bit smarter now. I felt that this was some sort of trick, so I immediately chucked it in the woods. I honestly didn’t feel like dealing with whatever hell that wanted to bring in.

Later that night, I went to bed. The thought of my family ran in my head all through the night. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something scraping against my door. I ignored it. I was done with the Squealer and its bullshit. Whatever was scraping at my door could scrape all it wanted. I wasn’t answering.

The next day, I awoke to a restless feeling. Not only was my mind in a dark place, but that goddamn scraping didn’t stop all night. I woke up to a somewhat beautiful morning. I hadn’t seen one of those in a while. Once I had a good cup of coffee, I left for my shift. I opened my door to see it barraged in claw marks.

I arrived at the office, and one of the deputies was looking at me with a smug face.

“So...Who is your secret admirer?” he asked.

I was confused on what he meant. Besides, how am I supposed to know who my secret admirer is? That’s why they’re called “secret admirers”. I asked him what he meant. He pulled out a present that he said was left on my desk. It was that same goddamn teddy bear. It was the same one I chucked into the woods. How did it end up here? Who brought it here?

I grabbed the bear from the deputy’s hands, took it outside, and threw it in the back dumpster. What was disturbing was that, this time, it made a noise.

“Huuuuuuuuggggggg mmmmmeeeeeee!!!!!”

I turned around to look at it. Its eyes were different. Its eyes were wide and bloodshot. They didn’t even look fake anymore. These eyes looked real, as in they looked like a human’s. I just pretended that I didn’t hear it, and walked off. I went the rest of my day trying to block out the thought of that damn bear. My shift went by pretty plainly. We had no weird calls or anything.

After my shift, I went home ready to put my feet up. When I walked inside, the atmosphere of felt hostile. It felt like, for some reason, I wasn’t welcome in my own home. To my surprise, I wasn’t alone. Sitting on my couch, there was the same God-forsaken teddy bear. I knew, at that moment, that this was another “friend” of the Squealer’s. All I could think to do was ask it a question.

“What do you want?”

The bear slowly turned its head to look towards me. I could hear the sound of popping as it moved its head. Its eyes were still wide open and bloodshot. Without warning, its chest opened to reveal a small humanoid creature crawling out. It looked out at me and screamed. The pitch was so high that it made my ears pop. I don’t think it damaged my hearing but it was surely close.

The thing retreated back inside the teddy bear. As quick as a bullet, it darted through my living room window, shattering the glass. What was that? What did it want? For days, I went curious. How many minions does this thing have? I guess that makes a new addition.

1. The Squealer

2. Ice Cream Man

3. The Deer

4. Waterworks

5. The Watchers

6. Princess

7. Huggy

Huggy is the most recent creature. I don’t just mean for me. I learned that a woman was rushed into the hospital a few days ago. She said that she was attacked by something. She said that something snuck behind her, pinned her to the ground, and took the unborn infant from her stomach. The worst part is...this happened on the same day I first saw the teddy bear.