The Marvelous Misadventures of Walter Guilman: The Witch House

Nightmares

Daniella Elwood had woken up several hours before her classes started. Being it was her first day at a prestigious college, she wanted to make sure her first impression was strong. She combed her hair, ironed her clothes, and ate a good breakfast. Well, about as good as slightly stale bread was. She had to leave an hour before class was due to begin, since it was such a long walk and very few taxis came by. She was about to leave when she realized that Guilman was still in bed. She considered waking him up for a moment, but then decided he must have opted for afternoon classes. "Based on how hard he was studying, I don't really blame him." Elwood thought. She began to move toward the stairs, when she heard Guilman's quiet moans from the third floor. "Iä... Iä... Shub-Niggurath..." she heard him say. "He's just having nightmares again." Elwood reassured herself. "He said he had them all the time." She walked down the stairs and began to turn the polished marble doorknob on the heavy front door, when Guilman started to scream violently. He wasn't saying anything like before, he was just yelling like he was on fire. Elwood ran faster than she ever had before, dashing up the two flights of stairs and throwing the door to Guilman's room. She ran along the curved floor of the strange room to Guilman's bed, which he had placed on the queer platform at the north end of the room. She grabbed the violently squirming man by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Guilman!" she yelled over his shouting. Guilman's eye suddenly snapped open and he threw himself out of bed, landing flat on his face on the curved floor. He scrambled up onto his knees and turned to face Elwood. "Aza... Az.. A..." he whispered. Elwood jumped from the short platform and knelt in front of Guilman. "Walter," she said in a soft, but authoritative tone. "It was just a dream, whatever you saw can't hurt you now." At that, Guilman seemed to calm down somewhat. His eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to remember something. "Th.." he started to stammer. "Th.. Thank y-you Daniella.." his voice trailed off as if he could barely concentrate on her. Then he seemed to regain his composure. "When do classes start?" he asked. "The morning classes start in about an hour," she said looking at her watch. "Then I suppose I should get dressed." Guilman sighed. He rose and walked over to his dresser. "Are you sure you want to go?" Elwood asked. "By the sound of it you had quite the encounter.". Guilman chuckled. "Are you kidding?" he asked sarcastically. "I've been waiting for this day for years. And besides, I'm used to the nightmares." Elwood left the room so Guilman could change, and met him at the front door. When he arrived, they both set out through the thick snow of early January. As they walked along the icy sidewalks, Elwood couldn't put the look of anxiety on Guilman's face out of her mind.