Chibi Pachinko Ball Stealing Monsters by DeeDee Welch

I always thought Momoko was crazy. Momoko and her huge dresses and shoes that made her stand out in any crowd. But the day she bought me a pair of those four inch platform shoes, right then I knew she was nuts.
My name is Ryan. I moved to Japan from California. I wanted to travel and ended up loving everything about Japan. I’m a pretty big and very straight dude. That’s why I thought that maybe the platform shoes were a little too much. Little did we know we were going to be putting them to good use.
It was Halloween and Momoko got me to dress up in a dress and those shoes. We decided to go to the Pachinko Parlor. A pachinko parlor is a cross between pinball machine and slot machines, and was my favorite place to go to chill out and have fun. The cigarette smoke made it foggy in the parlor. We sat on fake red leather seats and stared at the silver pachinko balls and the neon flashing lights. Momoko was winning baskets and baskets of pachinko balls. Behind her seat, she had all her red plastic filled baskets stacked up. It was very loud that night in the parlor, since so many were winning big. I needed a quiet break, so I went outside to smoke a cigarette. I heard cats screaming and dogs howling, I didn’t think anything of it then. It was probably school kids harassing animals on their Halloween sugar high. Back inside it was packed. There was a person in every seat, most of them wearing suits. A lot of people probably just came from work. So Momoko let me sit in her seat and she sat on my lap.
A child came through the doors crying, wearing a bunny costume with her bag candy in her hand. She ran to her father screaming about something that was scaring her. Her father comforted her and told her to sit down and eat her candy. She pulled out some chocolate bunny candy and devoured it. Her father ate some too, stuffing it down his throat. I continued to play my game when I heard ear-piercing screams. I looked over and one person after another was flailing their arms and screaming. I looked down and I saw chibi monsters. They were slimy and scaly and had big sharp teeth. Green goop was oozing out of their mouths. They had what looked like chocolate on smeared all over their faces. They were about one or two feet tall, and they were ripping people’s legs apart.
People started running out but more little monsters ran in. I picked Momoko up from my lap and put her on top of the pachinko machines. We sat there in horror wondering how we were going to get out. The chibi monsters were wearing pieces of children’s Halloween costumes, witch hats, clown noses, and animal ears and tails. One of the monsters started crawling up the side of the pachinko machine; it had pieces of the little girl’s bunny costume and chocolate all over its slimy face. They were also stealing pachinko balls and getting money and toys with them. Momoko pointed to her shoes and jumped down. She started slamming her shoes against the floor, kicking and smashing the chibi monsters into slime. I jumped down and copied her all the way out of the parlor door. We saw the monsters also wearing suits running after us holding toys, lighters and riding scooters.
As we were running, Momoko stopped and turned towards some trees and bushes. “Momoko, what are you doing?! The chibi monsters are everywhere. We have to get up high!” I shouted at her. “I know, but I heard something.” She started pushing leaves aside. “What did you hear that is more important then getting out of here?” I started pacing. “I heard a kid. Over here!” She jumped in the bushes and moved some branches and there was a small child, crying. “Are you ok? Where are your parents? Are you hurt?” Momoko frantically asked. “I don’t have anyone. They all turned into things…” the little boy in his blue and red superman costume cried. “How did they turn into those things?” I asked “RYAN!!” Momoko snapped “What? I just want to know if we are safe from turning into small monsters.” “I don’t know. We were trick or treating and then they ate some chocolate bunnies and poof they were monsters…” the little boy’s eyes started to water. “It must have been the chocolate bunnies! That’s what the little girl in the parlor ate!” Momoko said. “You didn’t eat them, did you?” I asked. I didn’t want to take any chances, because obviously Momoko wanted to take care of this kid. The little boy rubbed his throat and said “No, I’m allergic to chocolate.” “GOOD LET’S GO!” I yelled.
We grabbed the boy and took turns running with him on our backs. We ran through a park with lots of trees and a playground. Hundreds of chibi monsters were everywhere. I guessed that most of them were once children, and probably still had memories of their old selves. All of a sudden we were surrounded. One jumped on Momoko and ripped apart her shoes with its exposed finger tips. I jumped on the little creature and its brown green body splattered all over her. As more started crowding around us, I noticed how horrible they smelled and how big their jaws were. The other creatures started attacking our legs with their sharp teeth that felt like broken pieces of glass. There was nothing we could do about it now. I tried to use my arms to drag my body over to protect Momoko, but I couldn’t get them off. It was too late for her.
They wouldn’t even touch the little boy. Maybe that’s memory of their old selves again. The little boy started to run up and down the play ground, and went down the slide. The monsters got distracted and started playing too. I limped to the nearest building and got as high up as possible. I yelled from the roof to the little boy. But he never responded. As of now I’m losing a lot of blood, and to keep my mind off dying, because I know I am, I'm writing this story to you on some paper bags that I found on the top floor of this random building. Whoever you are, don’t eat the chocolate bunnies. And maybe invest in some platform shoes.