Dust Bunny

There's something under my bed.

Don't touch the floor.

It can't get you if you don't touch the floor.

There's nothing under your bed.

- Nothing but dust bunnies. - I know.

He'll eat you.

Go to sleep, Aurora.

Good night, Aurora.

I wish, I wish, I wish.

I wish, I wish.

I wish, I wish, I wish.

I wish, I wish, I wish...

Aurora?

- Yeah? - Get up here.

Come on.

- Aurora? - Aurora!

What are you doing out there?

- How'd you get outside? - Get in here. Are you okay?

Get in here.

I don't like you going to bed so upset, Aurora.

I want you to think about all your worries

and put them in my pocket.

Everything you're afraid of.

Everything you're afraid will happen.

Put it all in my pocket

and I'll hold it for you so you can sleep.

Hmm?

Are all your worries in there?

Oh. Boop.

Good night, Aurora.

Goodbye, Daddy.

You're too old to suck your knuckle.

You're gonna get buck teeth.

Good night, Aurora.

Goodbye, Mommy.

Aurora?

Aurora? What is going on in there?

Aurora?

Mom?

Mom?

Is that enough money?

For what?

To procure your services.

I haven't counted it.

How do you know the word "procure"?

Word-a-day calendar.

What's your name?

Or is "A" your name?

Aurora. What's your name?

I've got 327 dollars and...

42 cents here, Aurora.

Where'd you get all this money?

I robbed a church.

Is that enough to kill a monster?

What makes you think I kill monsters?

I saw you kill one.

What did you see?

In Chinatown.

Behind a dim sum restaurant.

I saw a dragon.

And you killed it.

You saw me kill a dragon?

How did I kill it, Aurora?

You slid under its belly...

...gut it like a fish.

And then you cut off its head.

You got some imagination.

I got two eyes.

Monsters aren't real.

Yes, they are.

Don't pretend.

Grown-ups don't pretend.

Grown-ups pretend not to be afraid.

But they are. All the time.

That's mostly true.

- Erora... - Aurora.

Erora.

- Aurora. - Little girl...

have you told your parents I kill monsters?

Stop it.

What do your parents think about monsters?

Do they believe in them?

They do now.

Now they do?

They didn't before, but now they do.

It's hard not to believe in something

when it's eating you.

Ate you.

A monster ate your parents?

Yep.

Like the one you think you saw me

slide under its belly and gut like a fish?

Yeah.

And this monster lives under your bed?

Yes.

Show me.

Did you see it eat your parents?

I was under my blanket.

You just heard them getting eaten?

I just... heard them getting got.

That's my mom and dad's room.

I think they tried to hide in there.

There's no blood.

Generally, when something is eaten, there's blood.

It ate them whole.

Did your mom or dad have a gun?

Somebody had a gun.

You hear a gun go off?

Told you so.

This all looks like it made some noise.

Your parents didn't call for help?

You have neighbors.

No one heard this?

It eats everything.

It even eats your screams.

Will it eat your "I told you so" when it eats me?

I'll tell you "I told you so" now,

and when you get eaten,

you'll know I already told you so.

Why didn't you go to the police?

Why aren't you going to the police now?

I don't know what I would tell them.

See?

I could tell them, uh, there's a little girl

who's been abandoned by her parents.

You can tell them that. After you kill it.

I'm trying to understand this the way you understand this,

little girl.

The monster you think you saw me kill...

I know, I saw you kill it.

Your monster, it's like that?

That's why I hired you.

I haven't agreed to be hired.

I don't know what you saw behind that dim sum restaurant

but I didn't kill any monsters.

I didn't kill anything.

That's really why you won't go to the police.

Killing things is against the law.

Have you killed a lot of things?

You seem like you've killed a lot of things.

In my experience, the sort of monster

that can eat a person whole and not spill a drop

does not do so randomly.

Are you done pretending now?

I'm seeing things how you see things.

Why would a monster eat your family?

They touched the floor.

If your monster's like mine,

it doesn't eat people for walking on the floor.

Why did your monster want to eat you?

Because I kill monsters.

Hmm.

Yeah. Uh, go home, little girl.

There's something under my bed that wants to eat me.

Then don't touch the floor.

Didn't think I'd see you again.

I'd hug you, but as you know,

I really don't put effort into such things.

- You ordered a sandwich? - I did.

You want half?

I'm trying to unclench my jaw.

It's in a perpetual state of clench,

so I have to...

uh, release it...

so it doesn't pop out of my skull

when I take a bite of food.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Mmm, mm.

Mm, mm, mm.

Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

Mm.

Either of these familiar?

Should they be?

They're my neighbors.

Professionally disappeared.

You've actually met your neighbors?

I'm aware of them.

Daughter was home when it happened.

She see it?

She heard it.

Thought it was a monster under her bed.

You're looking for a monster?

The monster's looking for me.

And I think that monster got the wrong apartment.

Monster's lucky it got the wrong apartment.

Must have broken in and realized their mistake.

Had to kill the parents who'd seen them.

That girl didn't see anything. They let her live.

I'll take a look at these.

How do you know the little girl didn't see anything?

She told me she didn't see anything.

She saw you.

There's a little girl who knows your face.

She know what you do?

She doesn't know anything.

She saw monsters. She believes in monsters.

You're a monster.

She believe in you?