Expensive Mistakes

Careful Makin' Wishes in the Dark #3

Tobi's journal:

I had gotten quite acquainted with Mr. Edburt, much to my displeasure.

I opened my eyes to face the night's dream. My heart sank when I realized I was in the room again. I curled up on the bed and pulled the blankets over my head. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

I had to. Before Mr. Edburt appeared. He terrified me. Always in my head. He treated me with such familiarity. Who was he? What was he?

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

The mantra played over and over in my head until it tumbled from my lips, deafening in the still silence.

The wait. I couldn't stand the wait. He was going to come. Going to torture me. Get it over with.

But he knew. He knew it was the wait. He was in my head. So much so, he bled into the daylight hours, leaving me paranoid in my times of sanity. Every shadow. Every creak in the woods. Mr. Edburt was everywhere and nowhere.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

I heard the light flicker.

I didn't bother looking up. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, praying that I would wake up. I never prayed so much as in my dreams. I wanted so much for it to stop.

"No god can hear you here."

I didn't need to look up to see the source of the voice— didn't need to see the glowing blue eyes boring into me, the substance webbing across a wide maw lined with sharp teeth, the unnatural tilt of head, the dark hair spilling down shoulders like ink.

Wake up, wake up, wake up, wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup—

"It's pointless, you know."

I didn't respond. Maybe if I didn't play along, he'd go away. But he knew my thoughts. I didn't need to say anything, because he always got my authentic reaction. No time to censor. Once it was thought, he knew it.

And it thrilled him.

Sighing in defeat, I pulled the blanket from over my head and sat up to face my tormentor. His grin somehow widened.

"What do you want?" I snapped, trying to keep the tremor from my voice. "You are not real."

I expected a reaction from him— for him to get mad, hurt me, something other than this waiting.

Instead, he let out a dark chuckle. "Of course. I'm in your head. This is a dream. You know this."

"Yes," I said slowly, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Control it."

Of course. That made sense. Control the dream. Make Edburt go away. Unlock the room's door. Leave to a better dream. Simple. Very simple. "Right."

Deep breath. The light flickered. I turned to look Mr. Edburt in the eyes. I forced myself not to be unnerved by his glowing blue eyes. They held no emotion besides malice. He gave a challenging smirk.

Simple. And then I will never have another nightmare again.

I closed my eyes and imagined that Mr. Edburt was gone.

He's gone, he's gone, he's gone. I repeated the thought to emphasize my point. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes again. I was shocked to find that Mr. Edburt was no longer in front of me.

"It worked..."

I stood from the bed and looked around. There was no sign of him. The lightbulb glowed consistently. It did not flicker.

"It really worked!" I exclaimed. My confidence renewed, I strode up to the door and closed my eyes. The door is unlocked, the door is unlocked, the door is unlocked.

I reached out and twisted the doorknob. It turned with little resistance. My heart soared. It really was working. Mr. Edburt had underestimated my control. Look who was laughing now.

I opened the door and was greeted with the darkness of the void. The ground is solid, I thought, taking a step through the doorway. I was unsurprised when I didn't fall into an abyss and instead noticed I was standing in a hallway. Confidently, I walked down the hallway, knowing that what I wanted to happen would.

I allowed the hallway to stretch on for a while, contented by the silence and being alone with my thoughts.

I wasn't bothered by the darkness. It was much better than the obnoxious lightbulb back in the room.

I noticed a door at the end of the hall and smiled. I was getting out. I began planning my new dream. Peacefully quiet. Maybe in the woods where I played with my siblings. A quiet walk through the woods would be nice, I decided, drawing closer to the door.

Picturing the dream I wanted to enter, I reached for the doorknob of my escape route.

My heart sank when I realized where I was. It was the room again. I turned around to exit the way I entered but the door had locked behind me.

Unlock, unlock, unlock.

It did not.

Laughter came from behind me. "Did you really think that would work?"

I pulled on the door harder.

Maybe it was just stuck.

It didn't budge.

I felt Edburt's presence behind me. "So. Am I really in your head? You're not the one in control."

I woke up in a cold sweat.

I am going insane. 

A/N I'm really sorry for the short, late chapter. Things got really busy with the musical. It went well, though! I'm going to try for a full-length chapter this Wednesday because I hate having a screwed up update schedule. Title from "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" by Fall Out Boy. Once again, so sorry for the really short chapter. I will make it up to you guys. Look forward to Wednesday!