Page 154 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

Clara shuddered once, twice, then moaned again as the doors opened all the way – and the black void inside sucked all the warmth from her body. It was so black and so cold. Why had Godfather ever opened those doors? Clara now reached out to Godfather, afraid of being left alone with that black hole, sucking at her. But to her dismay, Godfather climbed off the clock and walked straight into that void.
“Don’t leave me!” she cried, “Don’t leave me!”
Where was he going? How could he leave her here, all alone – with that black hole waiting to take her? “Don’t go – don’t leave me!”
She was so very afraid!
And, as it is in all nightmares, Clara’s quickly went from bad, to worse. For she saw from within the bowels of the black void, beady, red-black eyes blinking and staring out at her. If only I could scream, she thought. If only I could scream!
When the beady, red-black eyes multiplied, Clara knew she’d scream, but she could only moan – as her fear increased and she began to tremble. And then scream she did – as ugly, yellow teeth, with even uglier yellow fangs, stretched out below the beady eyes into the ugliest yellow sneers Clara had ever seen! And those eyes and those sneers were coming out of the clock, after her.
She was so very, very afraid!
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