Between the Lions

Were you afraid of the Boogeyman as a kid? The nightmarish entity that's life goal is to scare the bejesus out of bad children? But, you may of not heard about THIS one. It may sound crazy, I know. But, after my experience, I may never look at myself as a normal person. My family and friends never believed me though, calling me confused, a liar, etc. Maybe, I was only ten at the time.

I live in a neighborhood that you may have seen in old 50's movies such as Grease, with my younger sister, Emily, and my dad. Our mom was sometimes at work till 10:00. I was watching Sesame Street with Emily till we saw a bumper of a new show, Between The Lions. Between The Lions is basically a show similar to Sesame Street, but it was about how to read and spell. We once watched an episode about a book titled Abiyoyo. But, what I saw seemed bizarre.

The characters who played the lions were acting normal, but everything around the lion family was indescribable; humanoid lizards crawling on the walls, pale bald people, spider walking down the stairs and across the halls, men in dark hooded robes stood with the children as if they were their teachers. Emily asked me about the hooded men and creatures. I told her that it's probably just a Halloween episode. However, after checking the calendar, I saw that it wasn't October. I thought this must of been a re-run. Suddenly, as I was about to walk into the living room, I heard Emily call my name.

"Kyle? What does these words mean?"

I looked and saw the cub's parents, Theo and Cleo, saying or spelling words such as Fire, Blood, Murder, Destruction, and Evil. However, they simply explained what the actual words are. I was unnerved by this. So, I went to change the channel to Emily's dismay, but noticed something which caught my attention. The set was similar to our library that was right across my home. I thought that the library was usually CGI and not real. However, it appeared as if this episode was actually filmed in my hometown library. That's not even the scary part, because as I looked through the window there were children playing in my neighbor's front yard. Soon, I glanced back at my television and, in absolute shock, the children were there being filmed. Also, the children were playing with both Lionel and Leona. It was as if they were filming this LIVE.

My eyes widened, and Emily noticed that I was pale as a sheet. She asked me what's wrong, and I already started to breath heavily, feeling my chest go up and down. I told her to go in her room and watch SpongeBob. She nodded and went to her bedroom. What was going on, why are there children at the library, and how is it that I'm not loosing my mind over something, a pair of little children couldn't understand? Being only ten years old and barely mature enough to understand these types of predicaments, I was both confused and terrified.

But, I had to keep it from becoming more of an issue. Even if it brings me to my downfall.

The next day after I got off the school bus, Emily hugged me and said that lions were following her to school. My mind went in all directions,

"Who followed you?" I asked, not letting her know I was horrified.

"The lions from that show, silly!" She chirped.

Now I was starting to panic. My heart was beating like a galloping horse. I started sweating bullets, and I was on the verge of breaking down into panicked screams! Cause now she was telling me what sounded like something that a madman would say at an insane asylum! But, thank heavens this was going inside of me. Because, I didn't want to frighten her, and let her know, this was a very disturbing situation. Emily and I went inside and she was already started watching Between The Lions. Soon, I witnesses something that made my blood turn cold. It showed the four puppets inside my own house. Also, I was in frame. I looked at the TV, and back at were the cameraman would of been. I ran out of the house screaming for my mom and dad as they pulled in the driveway, tears in my eyes.

I was literally going insane... However, I knew that I had to be strong for my family. And most of all... I had to be strong for Emily. But, who's going to be strong for me?

I had no other choice but to ward off this entity that's stalking Emily at school, and scaring me to death. Later that night, I crept out of my house and ran to the library with nothing but a flashlight. I remembered the people who owned the library locking the doors and windows. I might've regretted doing this, but I had no other option. I picked the lock and entered the front door. Good thing Skyrim has taught me how to pick locks. I searched through out the entire library and found a mysterious book upstairs in the middle of the children's section.

It was a book called the Necronomicon. A book on how to raise the dead. I know this because I accidentally took a peek at my dad watching Evil Dead. I knew that if I took this book to my parents and show them what our library was doing, they would believe me. So, I grabbed the book and looked at it in my ten year old hands. Suddenly, I heard the office door nob shaking. So, I turned and called out "Who's there?!" Every fiber of my being froze in unimaginable fear. The door slowly creaked opened, and I heard the most horrible sound I've ever heard. Then, I saw them crawling on all fours. Pulsating bloodshot eyes were looking straight up at me. One of them had bandages around it's eyes, obviously blind. Their grotesque and sharp teeth gnarling, their pointed ears down, obviously angry at what I've done. But, what on earth did I do? All I did was grab this- this fictional book on how to raise the dead.

I shined the flashlight on the creatures, but they vanished. I turned it off, to see them still there. I flashed it on and off, realizing they're invisible when in the light. I went to run downstairs, but I saw two similar creatures blocking the entrance, my only escape. The monster on the other side had a hat and T-shirt similar to Lionel in the show. I just figured it out... the truth behind Between The Lions...

It was them... These things I was confronting, this was them, the lions in the show. In the show, the lions were little puppets. But, in real life, it was there little game of Russian Roulette with reality. They were brain washing us... tricking us into becoming there victims before killing us or eating us. The meats that the puppets were eating... those were parts of children. I didn't want to think that- I did- I did NOT want to think of something like that. I just couldn't. My childish mind was too feeble for such nonsense.

I wanted out of this hellish library as fast as I could, but I was stuck in one place, too scared to move. Then, I felt the blind creature grab my shoulders from behind, biting into my shoulder. I let out a gut-wrenching cry as the pain shot from my right shoulder down my arm. The thing that supposed to be Lionel let out a demented, clown-like cackle as I cried out in both pain and terror. I elbowed the monster off my back and punched it in the jaw. I ran downstairs, passed the two monsters, slammed the door shut and ran home.

I was beginning to feel dizzy from the amount of blood loss. So, I tried crying out for mom and dad. I thought I wasn't going to make it. Eventually, I collapsed in the middle of my front lawn and blacked out.

I woke up in the hospital and heard Emily chirping, "Look mommy! He's waking up!"

"Emily...?" I asked quietly.

"Kyle thank God!" My mom said with tears in her eyes.

"I'm glad your okay, thank you doctor." My dad smiled, shaking hands with the medical professional. He was happy that I was going to make it out alive.

"Where did you find this weird book?" My dad asked.

I look and saw the Necronomicon in my dad's hands.

"Uuh... I was in the library last night."

With that said, I told them everything. But, they wouldn't believe me. They said that the librarian told them that I was breaking into the library and stealing a book. Also, I was attacked by a guard dog that was just doing its job.

However, I knew that these "creatures" were no guard dogs. Some of the things I saw were standing on they're hind legs, and doing movements that I recall as Marionette-like. And they didn't run towards me, instead, they were flown towards me, as if hands were inside their backs that made their facial movements. This reminded me of the new IT movie, like how horror movie reviewers described Pennywise was puppet-like in Bill Scarsgard's performance. Because of my traumatizing experience, I might as well be in the new IT movie. Those creatures I saw in the library on that night were just like the new and improved Pennywise. Maybe WORSE than Pennywise. I didn't know what happened, or how nobody saw what I saw...

I grew up paranoid and skeptical of that library. So, I moved out of that town and ended up living in my suburban home in Newport News, Virginia. I still watch Between The Lions on YouTube. But after what happened during my childhood, made me think twice about things.

Let this story be a warning to ALL of you out there reading this. Be extra careful about what you watch on PBS kids. They maybe cute and harmless to kids. However, dark secrets sometimes lurk behind their innocent disguises. Maybe the last thing you'll ever think about is Abiyoyo.