Nightmares Are Real

Chapter 1- Sadie Jones

I always go out in the witching hour. It is quiet then, safer. The humans can not see me in the witching hour. I make my way to the first house, my feet thumping rhythmically. I take out the latest list out of my satchel to make sure I'm on the right road. "Sadie Jones," mumble to myself. "Pretty little thing, she is." I stare at her picture and a small girl with a toothy grin smiles back. She has uncontrollable, shoulder length ringlets and smiling eyes. The corners of my mouth perk up as I shove the list back into my satchel. Then I hear it. The all to familiar sound of nightmares. Screams of terror, wailing, moaning and sobbing all rolled into one.  I shudder violently as memories etch their way into my mind. I push them away, trying to hold back tears. "Come on Monster, this is silly." I tell myself. "What's in the past stays in the past." I shake my head slightly and follow the nightmares sound.

The nightmares draw me in with an invisible rope. I can do nothing but allow them to lead me to them. The pull tightens as I stop in front of an old house. It had a wooden structure and was two stories high. It seemed as though a feather could knock it down with ease. I make my way towards the nearest wall and ,with caution, start to scale up it. Despite the appearance of the house it easily could hold my weight. I let the nightmares guide me to a window slightly jarred open. I curl a finger around the window frame and gently ease it open. "CREAK." I wince and look towards Sadie. Thankfully she is in a deep sleep and is dead to the rest of the world. I wriggle my large body through the window and carefully place my feet down on the floors. I glance at the small girl and sigh with relief. She hasn't woken.

Then it hits me. The nightmares. The scream and moan for me to let them escape from their prison. Of course I am the only one who can hear them. I peer around the room, trying to spot the dream catcher that holds the nightmares captive. Out of the corner of my eye I see it. This dream catcher has a simple and playful design. I creep closer to get a better view, dodging around objects small humans use for fun. I try to block out the wailing of the nightmares, focussing on the design of the dream catcher. It seems to be handmade for it is clumsier than usual. The human used colours of the earth; browns and greens. And in the centre of the rough cut piece of crystal. I stare at the crystal for it is the prettiest thing I have ever seen. "Simply beautiful." I whisper transfixed on the glittering gem. A forceful tug towards the dream catcher awakens me from my trance. Sighing I take out the small wooden chest. Although old and worn from hundreds of years work, it still does the job nicely. Using my claw, I open the small slit in the top of the chest and close my eyes.

As always I shudder when entering the chest. Even though I was created here I never feel as though I belong. Glancing up at the hole in the chest, I see my body. Shaggy hair covering my body and my small gruesome features. My long gnarled talons hang beside me. I look away disgusted by my own appearance. I make sure that I see no visible cracks in the chest and after triple checking I flick the switch that draws the nightmares in. The familiar feeling that feels as though the darkness is being sucked out of you hits me. I learnt after hundreds of years that closing my eyes weakens the feeling. I stand in the corner as the nightmares fill in the chest. I open my eyes and examine what we have tonight: a few clowns, maniacs, bears and a crocodile. The usual. I feel a slight tug on my arm. I look down to see nothing but a mutated caterpillar. Yet I feel it again, stronger this time. With out warning, I am sucked back into my body and feel a small tug on my talon.

My soul freezes and so does my body. And I feel another tug. Slowly, carefully, I turn around. I stifle a gasp to see a small human staring wide eyed in front of me. Not any small human though, it was Sadie. She is awake. And worst of all she had seen me. My jaw drops. Gently, she tugs my talon again with one hand the other holding a small stuffed bear. She peers at my with inquisitive eyes. That gives me a wake up call, I shut my mouth and bend down to her level. Sadie freezes for half a second before launching on my and wrapping her gangly self onto me. I stiffen. "What is small human doing?" I wonder. I wrangle her off of me and put her before me. She smiles her big toothy grin and moves her hand from side to side. "Is this a form of human greeting?" I think confused. But then her hand drops and so does her smile. I frown confused as I see terror creep into her eyes. I widen my eyes and whip around. The chest! A pitch black line from the pretty crystal to the chest was widening. The chest had cracked in various places and monsters could be seen squeezing through the small gaps. The chest can only sustain a certain amount of nightmares before it reaches maximal capacity. The chest explodes with a deafening bang.

The entire house shakes as millions of nightmares break free from the box. Sadies screams are drowned out by hundreds of nightmares bouncing off walls and maniac screams. I search through the chaos to find Sadie.  As my eyes rest upon her, a nightmare with eight arms and a tall slender body pounces onto her. I hear her deafening screams as she is dragged out onto the window by the  nightmare. It looks straight into my eyes and givens me a sly grin. I notice that the nightmare's teeth are pointed at the teeth and drenched in blood, which only makes me fear for Sadies life even more. It disappears along with small human, Sadie.