MonkyingAround
the theme for this round is My Chemical Romance. So I picked the song Ghost of You. It is one of my personal favorites. Here's the link:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=92jgp7vNemc
I wake up from yet another nightmare. I have been having the same one for months now. Every single night. Sometimes, if I try, I can manipulate small things. But no matter what I do, the nightmare always ends the same. She dies and there's nothing I can do to save her.
I kick off the blankets that cover my sweaty body. I sigh and roll out of the bed. I walk to the bathroom cautiously. Hoping that maybe today will be different and that I won't see her again. That just maybe, I'll wake up from this nightmare I've been living in.
She haunts me in my dreams and when I am awake, you see. It's like living a constant nightmare that you can never wake up from. No matter how hard you pinch yourself, you can never escape.
I flip on the light switch and jump when I see her through the bathroom mirror. She stands there, staring at me. Her face is pale and her eyes look like they are glowing.
"Please leave me alone," I cry out. I bang my fist against the glass of the mirror. The mirror shatters to pieces and I hear her laugh. I look down at my hand and find it sticky with blood.
"You're not real!" I yell out.
"Jase..." I hear her taunt me. "What are you talking about Jase?"
"Please," I say helplessly.
"You said we'd be together forever."
"I-I said that we'd..." Her words seem almost hypnotizing. "No! You're never coming home! You're never coming back! I can't wait forever for you!" I yell as I snap out of it.
"You don't have to wait forever Jase. Come with me."
"You want me to kill myself? No, the real Victoria would never want me to do that. The real Victoria would want me to continue on with my life and to be happy."
Her eyes burn with rage. "No! You can't leave me here by myself!" She screeches. The bathroom door slams shut and the lights flicker. "You can't escape from me Jase. You'll never escape"
Her voice is everywhere. It's inside my head, it's in the room. Everywhere. There is no escape from this cold, dark voice. The lights flicker out and I'm stuck in complete darkness. I stand completely still. My mind is racing. What do I do? Think!
"You need to stop this," I yell. "This isn't you. Please Victoria."
I hear the cold laugh start up again. "Stop this? Oh, I'm just beginning. If you won't join me willingly, I guess I'll just have to force you."
I shut my eyes. "This is all a dream. You're going to wake up right now and it's just going to be another one of your silly nightmares you have," I tell myself.
"This isn't a dream Jase. This is real. I am real."
"No, you are not real!" I feel my way to the door and try to open it. It doesn't budge. I curse out in frustration. I start to kick at the door repeatedly. "Let me out right now! This isn't a game!"
Her laugh keeps echoing in my head. It beats inside of me like a drum. I kick the door one last time before it opens. Except the room it opens up to isn't my home.
The walls are all grey. Shadows illuminate the walls. I look closer and see that the shadows are people. And those people are Victoria and I. It is a memory.
"Please don't go," the past me says. "I need you."
"I have to Jase." She suddenly grins wickedly. "You must never leave me. We're going to be together forever."
My eyes widen. "No! This never happened! Stop messing with my mind!"
A high pitched scream fills the room and the image changes. There are no walls. Instead, a barren waste land stands before me. I look down at my feet and find cracks along the ground. It seems as if I move, I will fall through the earth.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"This is where I take everyone that won't obey me," she hisses in my ear. "You could've made this a lot easier on yourself. But no, you had to defy me! But that's okay. I like it when they feel the pain."
I turn to face her and realize that she is slowly changing. This thing isn't Victoria. It changes into a dark, black shadow with glowing red eyes.
"Now you must pay the price," it says. It no longer sounds like Victoria either. It's voice is raspy and hoarse almost like some sort of demon.
The ground starts shaking and the cracks start to extend under my feet. It starts cackling.
I look in the distance and see a white, almost transparent light. "Jase! You have to run!" It calls.
And so I run. I follow the light and it guides me through the darkness. I hear the demon behind me, growling loudly in frustration.
"Go through the light Jase. I can't guide you any further."
That voice. It sounds so familiar. "Victoria?"
"Please Jase. You must go now."
I take one last look at her. "I love you Victoria. I always will. I'll never forget you."
With those final words said, I run to the light. I take one last look back. The demon is there, it has caught up to Victoria. It starts to drain the light out of her slowly.
"No," I say to myself. "I will not let her die again. I'm not going to cower away this time."
I charge after the demon, full speed. I feel my body start to burn up in an abnormal way. I look down at myself and it looks as if I am on fire. I tackle the demon and it screeches in pain.
"You will never touch her again!" I scream at it.
The demon gives one last horrible screech before it shrivels up and turns to ash. I turn to Victoria for the last time.
She hands me a white stone. "Take this. It will protect you. Goodbye Jase. Thank you, you set me free."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wake up, gasping for air. My whole body is burning up. My right hand aches and when I look down at it, I see the white stone.
I smile to myself. I did it. I saved her. It was real. It was all real. The demon is gone. It can't haunt me any longer. I am free from its terror. I can now move on with my life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
65 years later...
It seems so long ago, when that all happened. I never forgot it and I never forgot Victoria. I lived a good life. I married and had two children. Both of them have blessed me with four beautiful and loving grandchildren. They are my legacy.
As I lay in the hospital bed dying, I am not afraid. I am ready for it.
"Jase. Are you ready?" Victoria asks.
I nod my head. "Yes, I am ready." I pause and look into her eyes. "Does it hurt?"
She shakes her head and smiles at me. "No, you won't feel any pain. Come with me Jase. Let me guide you through the light once more."
I take her hand and together, we walk through the light.
