Little Helper
Daniel skipped off happily into his kindergarten classroom after getting on his soldier outfit for Halloween. He was proud of the costume his grandmother made and was eager to show his friends and his teacher.
“Look at me!” Daniel cried.
“Oooohhh… you look really good, buddy,” Mrs. Chambliss said. She patted him on the shoulder and smiled warmly.
Daniel blushed and twisted about with something in his hands behind his back.
“What you got there, buddy?”
Daniel dutifully jutted out cupped hands. Mrs. Chambliss hesitantly took the item and grasped it, turning it over to see the detail, and was surprised by its weight. “Who gave you this?”
Daniel giggled and ran out of the classroom. Mrs. Chambliss took it to her desk and gently rubbed her finger along its ridges. It looked almost real.
Mr. Summers strolled down the hall to see Mrs. Chambliss. He’d be judging the kindergarten costume contest. The kids had lined up with the teacher’s aide outside when he drew near. Just as he turned into the doorway, he stopped dead. Mrs. Chambliss turned to reveal a panicked look in her eyes.
“Tom…”
In an instant, there was a bright flash, rapidly approaching heat, and a force that threw Tom across the hall hard into the lockers. His limp body slammed hard onto the floor and blood slowly spread from unseen wounds.
Screams crescendoed and echoed in the hallway as students ran to the nearest exit and teachers ran toward the commotion. One slid on debris in the doorway and recoiled in horror at the sight. The blast laid shards of glass and candy all over the room. Mrs. Chambliss’s desk was askew and her chair pushed up against the blackboard. Her upper body was a mess of charred and shredded muscle with her arm swinging from a few sinews. The parts of her face that were still intact were dotted with shrapnel. An eerie silence descended on the scene as an ambulance siren sounded in the distance.
~~~
Ashley sat with his head bent and his body drained of energy. His wife stared blankly out the window with her legs held close to her chest.
“Who the fuck gave him a grenade?”
Dana only shook her head and wiped away fresh tears.
“Where did it come from?”
“I don’t know. I dropped him at school. That’s all.”
Ashley slowly stood up and began pacing. “We’re lucky, you know. This is being ruled an accident. The fainting at the station helped.”
Daniel stood shrouded in darkness listening to his parents and smirking.
~~~
“Daniel, we need to know where you got it.”
“The grenade?”
“Yes, son, the grenade. It, uhh, it caused a lot of damage. Mrs. Chambliss got badly hurt.”
“She’s actually dead.”
The detectives shared a momentary glance. Dana rubbed Daniel’s back.
“Yes buddy, she is dead.”
Daniel bowed his head and appeared to think a while. Paul folded his hands on the table.
“The man helped me. He told me she’d be sorry…”
“Sorry for what?” Paul asked.
“She took my toy away because I wasn’t ‘sposed to have it in class.”
“Sorry about that. I know that stinks. But, you see, now your teacher is gone forever.”
Daniel bowed his head again and said nothing.
“So who is this man who helped you?” Paul asked. He pushed a glass of water across the table. Daniel finally looked up and took a sip.
“Who was the man, Daniel?”
“He came into my room. He told me to give the grenade to Mrs. Chambliss.”
“Who is he??”
“The shadow man.”
"Daniel stood shrouded in darkness listening to his parents and smirking."
Was not ready for that!
Equal parts funny and unnerving!