Drowning In My Own Mind

4

*Chris*

Ricky looked pretty shaken at remembering the woman, and I felt pretty bad for prying, but I just wanted to help him. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him closer to me.

"I'm sorry if I was prying into something bad, I just want to help you."

He just turned and hid his face against my shoulder.

"It's ok, I'm just not used to someone wanting to help."

We sat like that maybe three seconds longer before he moved from under my arm and I frowned a little.

"Can we go back home? It's freezing."
I nodded and threw away our now empty cups before following him to the car, getting in and driving back to our house. I finally pulled into the driveway and we went in, Ricky going straight to his room. I didn't really know how to take that he'd been having dreams that make him cry and yell while he was sleeping since he was a kid. Even though he'd kinda explained everything, and I've seen one, I still don't fully understand them, or why he has them. I'll have to call up my friend, Kuza. He knows more about this than I do. I walked up to my room, phone in hand as I dialled Kuza, waiting for him to answer.

"Hello?" His voice was thick and I'm guessing he was hung over.

"Kuza, it's Chris. I was wondering if you have any information on ghosts and possession and things like that?" I waited patiently as I heard him shuffling around.

"What exactly are you looking for?" I heard books being dropped and assumed he had his paranormal reference books.

"Anything you can dig up on long-term dream possession and influence." I heard more shuffling and then the sound of pages being rapidly turned.

"Might I ask why you've shown a sudden interest in this?" I mulled it over a bit and decided to tell him.

"You remember Ricky, my roommate? He's having violent nightmares and keeps saying it's because of something that happened in the woods by his father's house." I could practically see him flipping through that damned book.

"Found it. It says here that there's a specific type of demon that controls dreams and such. The German call it an Alf." He gave me all the information I needed on these, including some Old World ways to stop the thing. I finally got off the phone with him and picked up the faintest sound of crying. Ricky.

*Ricky*

I was back at my dad's house, back on the day I first stayed with him. I saw me at age five, looking at the woods. There was that damned woman, her hand outstretched. Five year old me ran from her, into the house, and I walked to her. I reached her and she dug her claws into my shoulder.

"Stay away!" She and the forest melted away, leaving me in a black area. Suddenly, movie scenes popped up, but these were nightmares. Gory, garish images, bloody, dismembered bodies. But these were my family, my friends, everyone I cared about. In one scene, my mom was cut open like a gutted fish, each organ pulled out, her blood in jars like some crimson wine sealed away. In a different one, my dad was strung up by his wrists, missing his lower body, his tongue cut out along with his eyes. My friends Ryan and Devin were dismembered, bone pale maggots worming through their flesh. I saw Chris, bloody, beaten, and emaciated, hung on a cross like a modern Christ.

"You should have listened to the woman in the woods as a child, Richard. I own you now, and you can't get away." That thing's voice pierced my mind, making a black rage course through me.

"THE FUCK IS UP WITH YOU AND YOUR OBSESSION WITH ME? I'M NOT SOME FUCKING PUPPET, SOME STUPID MARIONETTE TIED TO THE STRINGS ON YOUR HANDS! I'M HUMAN!" I scanned the room, looking for the monster. Cold, claw- tipped fingers rested on my shoulder.

"You stupid, stupid boy."