Hungry

Theresa poked her head into the fridge and frowned.
What the hell happened to my leftover Domino's Pizza? I don't remember eating the last couple pieces.

Annoyed, she made herself a bologna sandwich. As a bedtime snack, it wasn't her first choice, but she'd been swamped at work all day and had skipped lunch. At least she still had a few day's worth of groceries, she wouldn't need to go shopping until at least Saturday. She washed her hands and headed for the bedroom.
Thank the gods tomorrow's Thursday, only two days until the weekend.

Theresa set the alarm for five in the morning and crawled into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Feeling as if she'd just gone to bed a few minutes before, Theresa smacked the alarm into silence. "Ugh," she moaned. "I need a new mattress." Yawning and stretching, she slipped into her fuzzy pink slippers and headed to the bathroom to empty her straining bladder and then take a quick shower. The hot water soothed her aching back and shoulder muscles and when she headed to the kitchen to cook up some breakfast, she was humming, cheerfully.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Theresa yelled at the refrigerator. She knew damn well there had been a half dozen eggs in there when she went to bed. Now, they were nowhere to be found. Slamming the refrigerator door shut, she grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house. I guess it's McDonald's drive-thru again.

That evening, when she got home, she was a little afraid to look in the fridge again. She was hungry as hell and dying for fried pork steak and mashed potatoes. She knew, without a doubt, that there was one pork steak left in the freezer and four or five potatoes in the pantry. Feeling a wave of anxiety sweeping over her, she took a deep breath and opened the pantry door.

Theresa gasped. There was nothing in there. No potatoes, no canned goods, no boxes of mac and cheese. The shelves were completely empty. She struggled to control her emotions, a lonely tear streaking down her cheek. Was somebody breaking into her home at night and while she was at work? What the hell was going on around here?

She contemplated calling the cops, but what if they didn't believe her? There was no sign of forced entry. They would probably think she was losing her mind and forgetting that she had eaten the food or that she hadn't bought the grocery items in the first place.

Theresa sat down at her kitchen table, her head in her hands. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for the disappearing food. It had to be a hungry burglar, a genius who could break into a house without showing any signs of his presence. It seemed far-fetched, especially considering the fact that she lived in a nice neighborhood with a low crime rate, but no other possibilties came to mind.

Opening the fridge, she pulled out a lonely carrot stick and munched on it, absentmindedly. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and decided to just go to bed. Eating didn't appeal to her anymore.

As she tossed and turned, unable to quiet her racing mind enough to fall asleep, she heard a thump from downstairs. She reached over to turn on the lamp, but nothing happened when she pulled the cord. Her heart racing, she quietly slipped from under the covers and tiptoed into the hallway.

The kitchen light was on, and she could see a shadowy figure moving around near the refrigerator. Creeping slowly down the stairs, she moved closer to the kitchen door.

A strange snuffling sound came from the kitchen, but despite her fear, she peeked around the corner.

The creature she saw, eating the last of the raw hamburger that she had planned to make Hamburger Helper with, was the strangest sight she had ever seen. It was at least six feet tall, covered in dark brown, matted fur. It had big, pointy ears that looked especially huge on it's abnormally small head. It turned, as if it had sensed her watching.

"HUNGRY!" it roared, charging towards her at an unnaturally fast speed.

She didn't stand a chance as it tackled her to the floor and tore into her abdomen with long, sharp teeth. It didn't waste a single tasty morsel of this unexpected buffet, licking up all traces of blood before returning to the dark corner of the basement that it called home.