Hello, friends. The following is my short story for this year's Writers Jam. To anyone reading my tale, thank you. It's very much appreciated.

My starting prompt was "Anniversary" and the total word count for the story is 2482. Please enjoy!

The HUGGABUNCH: BILLY'S BIRTHDAY

“Humm…” Wilby pondered. “Is he going to wake up soon?”

“Of course he is!” said Dina. “It’s his very special day!”

“And a fine day it is.” spoke Mimi. “A wonderful day for fun.”

Billy listened to his friends chitter and chatter with his eyes firmly shut. He was very excited, but his mischievous side compelled him to play around with their expectations, if only for a moment. It wasn’t long, however, before a silly smile began to grow on his face.

“Say…” said Wilby. “You don’t think he’s dead, do you?”

“SHUT UP, STUPID!” said Rags. “He’s AWAKE!”

“Good morning, everyone!” Billy said, opening his eyes. “Say…what day is it today?”

Wilby, Rags, Mimi and Dina all smiled wide. With a joyous cheer, they replied altogether;

“IT’S YOUR SIXTH BIRTHDAY, BILLY!”

Billy and the gang all burst into laughter. Billy’s bed was alive with fun as they all rolled around on their backs, giggling away. Dina was the first to compose herself. “Happy Birthday, Billy.” she said. “To celebrate, we’ve each gotten you a present.”

Now if you’ve read this far you may feel confused, dreadfully unaware of who Billy’s friends are, and why they were in his room so early. You see, Billy’s friends were a very special bunch. A silly group of animals called ‘The Huggabunch’.

The Huggabunch were a group of magical critters from a faraway place. A long time ago they came across Billy, feeling sad and all alone. The critters were moved by Billy’s plight, and decided from that day forward they would be his best friends forever.

There was Wilby Melonbear, whose sweet tooth was beyond comparison. For his sixth birthday, Wilby gave Billy a jam sandwich which appeared to have a bite taken out of it. “Here you go, Billy!” said Wilby. “It’s really yummy, I promise!”

There was Dina the dinosaur, who was very well-spoken and polite. She gifted Billy a pencil. “You can practice your spelling with this,” Dina said. “Or your times tables!”

There was Rags the raccoon, the cuddliest of the bunch. She was famous for her wild attitude. “Geez Louise! Give the kid a break, Dina, he just wants to draw.” Rags leaned in and gave Billy a small kiss on his cheek. “Happy birthday, Billy.” she said, as Billy blushed. “Here’s to many more.”

Finally there was Mimi, a peculiar little cat who could fly all around. “I’ve got the best one, Billy! Here! Look!” Mimi reached behind his back and pulled out a squeaking rubber bone.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

“It’s a new chew toy for Lucky!” Mimi proudly proclaimed. “Let’s go play with him!”

Billy could hardly contain himself. He sprung out of bed and dashed to his door with the Huggabunch following in tow.

“It’s my birthday! It’s my birthday!” Billy cheered. “Good morning, Mom and Dad!”

Billy darted into Mom and Dad’s bedroom, full of excitement, only to find something slightly odd. Mom was standing by the window, silent, smoking a cigarette as she gazed outside. Dad was nowhere to be seen. Billy stepped toward Mom and gently tugged on her gown. “Mom?”

Mom took a deep breath, and patted Billy on the head. She looked at him with a faint smile. “Good morning, Billy dear. Happy birthday.”

Billy held up the rubber bone chew toy for Mom to see.

“Where’s Lucky?” he said. “I’ve got a new toy for him.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “Where did that come from?” she asked.

Billy turned and looked to the Huggabunch, smiling warmly at him from the bedroom doorway. This was a little awkward. You see, an odd peculiarity about the Huggabunch was that it seemed only Billy could see them. He had tried to tell Mom they were real, that they had come to be his friends, but she never seemed to believe him.

“Um…” said Billy. “...a friend gave it to me.”

“I see.” said Mom. “Dad’s taken Lucky out for a walk, Billy. They’ll both be back soon, I promise.”

However, Mom wasn’t being entirely truthful. About two hours ago, Mom and Dad had woken up to find Lucky was missing, and the backyard gate was wide open. Dad had taken to the streets to track down Lucky…and still hadn’t returned.

Mom sighed, rubbing her temples. This wasn’t good. She was quite desperate for today to go well, as Billy’s previous birthday had been quite the kerfuffle.

Reaching five years of age is an important milestone for any child. As such, Mom was looking to make Billy’s fifth birthday one of his best ever. She arranged a special dinner for Billy at his favorite restaurant; Scrumdiddlyumptious.

As far as birthday dinners go, it was quite pleasant. The restaurant was clean enough, the staff were nice enough, and Billy loved his chicken tenders and ice cream. However, as the family exited the restaurant, Billy looked into one of the parked cars in the lot and spotted…well, Mom didn’t really want to think about that today. All you need to know is that his name was Jack Ingrim.

As hard as the experience had been on Mom, it had an even worse effect on Billy. He was more quiet. More withdrawn. He had taken up playing exclusively with his imaginary friends. The counselor assured Mom that this was a healthy coping mechanism, but she was concerned how his year at school had been. His classmates thought he was different, and none of them wanted to come to the party today. 

In spite of all of this, Mom was determined not to let Billy’s sixth birthday be spoiled.

“Follow me, Billy.” she said. “Come see what we did in the living room!”

Mom led Billy toward the living room. As she opened the door, Billy and the Huggabunch were taken aback by what they saw. Streamers! Sparkles! Decorations everywhere! A table filled with candy and snacks! And a great, big sign on the wall that said;

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY!

“Holy crap!” Rags exclaimed.

“RAGS!” said Dina. “Remember your party etiquette!”

Billy held his hand over his mouth to stop his laughter.

“Happy birthday, my special man.” said Mom. “How about you and I play a game while we wait for Dad?”

Mom pointed Billy to something on the wall.

“Look at that, Billy!” said Rags. “It’s Pin The Tail On The Donkey!”

“And look!” said Wilby. “Mom’s put a picture of Dad’s face over the donkey’s face! How silly!” “...and concerningly passive-aggressive.” said Dina.

“It’s not all that surprising,” said Mimi.

Billy wasn’t sure what passive-aggressive meant, but he didn’t think too hard about it. He just wanted to have some fun.

Mom handed Billy the tail with a tack attached and blindfolded him.

“Alright, Billy. Have a go!”

Suddenly, Mom’s phone began to ring.

“Oh, look who it is. Just a minute, Billy.” Mom said, turning around to take the call.

“Henry,” said Mom. “Have you found him?”

Billy stood awkwardly, not really sure what to do with himself.

“Come on, Billy!” Rags said, poking his shoulder. “Let’s get this show on the road! Pin the tail on the donkey!”

“I don’t know, Rags,” Billy said. “I think we should wait until Mom gets off the phone.”

“Nonsense!” said Dina. “Come on, Billy. We’ll guide you. Just follow our instructions and we’ll pin the tail in the exact right spot. Mom will be super impressed!”

“W-well…” Billy stammered. “O-okay.”

“Turn left!” called Rags.

“Step to the right!” called Mimi.

As the Huggabunch directed Billy, Mom continued chatting to Dad.

“So you’ve definitely checked the Daniel’s backyard? And the Erikson’s? Did you check their shed? Henry, he has to be somewhere nearby. Did you call the pound?”

“Lean a little to the left!” said Mimi.

“Little further!” cried Rags.

“Up, Billy! Raise your hand up just a little more!” said Dina.

“Move it to the right…” said Wilby.

Suddenly, Mom heard a noise through the phone. The distinctive noise of a tap. The edges of her mouth curled into a frown and she began to whisper into the phone. “Are you at the bar? Henry? Henry. You are not doing this to me today, do you understand? If you don’t find that fucking dog, I don’t want to see you here. Find him.”

“Now, Billy! Now!” yelled Rags. “Do it!”

Billy thrust his harm forward, jamming the tack directly into what he thought would be the donkey’s butt.

“AARGH!!”

Billy jumped. He tore his blindfold and to his shock saw Mom, bent over double with the donkey’s tail pinned firmly into her tailbone. Billy was paralyzed as he made eye contact with Mom. Her face somehow looked full of terror, shock and rage all at once.

“BILLY!” Mom shrieked. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT!”

“MOM!” Billy cried. “I-I DIDN’T MEAN TO-”

“GET AWAY, BILLY!” Mom said, shoving him to the floor. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

And with that, Mom tore off toward her and Dad’s bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Billy felt dreadful. He walked slowly toward the door and knocked. He didn’t get a response. He just heard a few muffled sobs from the other side.

Billy looked back around to see the Huggabunch, all standing, looking at him with deep worry painted across their faces.

“Billy…” said Dina. “I can’t believe that just happened. We’re so sorry.”

Rags elbowed Wilby in the stomach. “OOF!” he said. “It was my fault, Billy. I said right when I should’ve said left. I’m sorry.”

With nothing else to do, Billy went back into the living room. He was so confused. How did he end up putting the tail in Mom?

A little while passed. First ten minutes. Then thirty. Then an hour, then two. Billy wasn’t very old yet, but he knew he had to be careful of Mom’s anxiety. He’d had to learn about it very early as Mom often struggled keeping things together. Billy felt terrible knowing that he’d upset her so much.

Dina wandered over to Billy and nuzzled into his side.

“Billy,” she said. “I’m sure Mom will be okay.”

Mimi floated over and landed gently on Billy’s head. “Cheer up, Billy,” he said. “Mom will come out of her room soon and you’ll make up. Everything will be okay.”

Suddenly, Billy heard a click. Then a scratch. Then the sound of the front door coming open, a breeze coming in through the house. It was Dad.

Dad walked into the living room and looked at Billy. He seemed to be swaying slightly, and his pants looked a little loose.

“Dad…” said Billy. “Where’s Lucky?”

“We’ll talk about that.” Dad grumbled. “Where’s your mother?”

Billy just looked down at the floor with shame. “She’s in the bedroom.”

Dad narrowed his eyes. He nodded slightly, and proceeded to his and Mom’s bedroom.

Billy couldn’t make out what exactly his folks were saying, but it didn’t sound very pleasant.

It got worse. Louder. When Mom and Dad argued, it always did.

Billy did the only thing he could think to do. As the yelling turned to screaming, and the screaming turned to hitting, he ran for his bedroom and shut the door.

Billy climbed under his bed, not daring to make a peep. Wilby, Rags, Dina and Mimi all laid by his side, huddling close. For the next little while, Billy simply pretended he didn’t exist.

Night time came. Mom and Dad had gone quiet. Billy was sure they would apologize to him the next day. They usually did.

Suddenly, a small shy voice broke the silence.

“Billy?” said Rags. “We’re here, Billy.”

Billy buried his face in the carpet. “Go away.” he said.

“Billy,” said Rags. “We know this birthday hasn’t been a very happy one. But if you’d like…we have an extra surprise for you.”

Billy’s closet door creaked open slowly. Sitting inside was a present. Billy stood up, his eyes fixed on the gift. It was a great big red box with a blue ribbon tied around it. Wilby, Dina, Rags and Mimi all stood, giving Billy sympathetic smiles. “We hope you like it.” said Dina.

Billy crept forward, excitement welling in his heart. Billy thought to himself how happy he was to have the Huggabunch. Ever since he’d seen that poor, dead man, Billy hadn’t felt the same. His tummy felt like it was full of wiggling worms all the time, and he found it hard to be happy. But he was lucky, because the Huggabunch had come to him. They knew that he felt alone, and scared, and sad. And they were going to help him by being his best friends forever.

Billy untied the ribbon and grabbed the lid of the present box. He turned and looked at his friends with a grateful smile. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes. “Thank you so much.” said Billy. “All of you.”

Billy opened the present.

The smell was the first thing that hit.

Billy coughed and gagged. Through stinging, watery eyes he gazed into the box. Sitting inside was a bloody pile of flesh, guts and fur, arranged into some kind of brick.

Billy screamed. He fell back and retched, laying in disgust and terror on the floor.

The Huggabunch began to giggle. Billy’s face turned pale as their giggles turned into loud, sharp laughter.

“HEE HEE HEE!! Your folks are certainly cheap, Bill!” Dina cackled.

“Cheap, ugly decorations? No presents or cake?” Rags laughed. “Some party!”

“It’s a good thing we came prepared.” giggled Mimi. “We got you a cake!”

“Mhm!” Wilby chortled. “And we picked a great flavor!”

Rags pulled something out from behind her back. With a wicked smile, she plunged the item into the unsavory pile of meat. It was the rubber bone chew toy.

“IT’S LUCKY FLAVOR!”

The critters all cackled.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!”

Billy sat frozen with his mouth agape. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think. His head thumped with stress and his heart pounded with terror as the Huggabunch continued to cheer and chortle, to point and laugh.

You see, dear reader, unbeknownst to Billy, Mom or Dad, the Huggabunch were more than just imaginary friends. They were something far more insidious, and far more unknowable.

They were the terrors that had haunted Jack Ingrim. They appeared to him under a different guise, on the day his brother had taken his own life. They terrorized Mr. Ingrim relentlessly until the day that, likewise, he finally took his. Billy, poor Billy, had no way of knowing this. No comprehension of the twisted powers which now preyed upon him. But there was one thing, in this moment, that had been made painfully clear to him. The “Huggabunch” were not his friends.

Wilby, Rags, Dina and Mimi threw their hands in the air and let out a joyful cheer.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLY!”

THE END

Note: Earlier, I lied. My starting prompt was "Facade".

Thank you for reading, have a wonderful rest of your day :))))))))

- Nuggy