The Journey 'An Adventurers Novel'

Chapter 4

She holds him in her arms. He had another nightmare, they were getting worse and more violent. She had found him drenched in his sweat on the floor, his shaking from fear was like a seizure. Through testing Dr. Morgan assured her that he was not having seizure but instead fighting his sleep.

She waits in the room crying holding his small hand. He lies there sleeping, he is so precious; unable to imagine life without him her tears stream faster. She forces herself to breathe, she allows herself to hope, and she bows her head, until it touches his hand, to pray. She prays with all he might for God to spare her son; he was the only one that she had left. A hand touches her shoulder; she turns to find no one there. There is a knock at the door.

"Come in" she states hoarsely.

The door opens and a doctor walks in.

"I'm Dr. Morgan" the tall handsome doctor says to her.
    She hated that this was still happening more frequently and that the only thing anyone suggested was moving back to Briargrove. She had fought to leave that place and finally she and her husband were able to go. When they moved to California they were able to obtain Samuel. A short while ago Daniel had died due to a freak accident. The doctor believed that his death was the cause of the nightly terrors. It seemed plausible at first, but when Samuel tried to talk it out after it had nothing to do with Daniel.
    He was having the same nightmare about a monster with many faces. He had tried his best to explain it to her but at his young age of four he didn't quite have the words. The best she could do was console him until he could no longer fight his sleep. His adorable face was afflicted with dark circles, his cheeks not as full, and his eyes showed sorrow. All she could do was hold him rocking gently back and forth singing:

"Close your eyes, don't you cry.
Daddy went to find you some horses.
Say goodnight, go to sleep.
Mommy will keep out the dark forces."

He finally falls asleep against her and all she can do is pray that these terrors end soon. She him down on the pillow next to her and snuggles up close.

"Mommy will protect you." She says as she kisses his forehead before falling asleep next to him.

"HELP!"

She hears a tiny voice calling out to her. She struggles to get off the cold hard damp floor. Why is the floor wet? She cannot wonder now though she has to find him why is he missing.

"Where are you?" She yells.

She runs franticly in a strange but familiar atmosphere. Where the hell were they and how did they get there. She had to find him. Finally she enters a large empty room and sees a familiar blue shirt. She runs too him.

"Samuel! Why did you run?"

She is yelling at him as she turns him around she realizes something is wrong. It isn't Samuel; it's a girl. She has to help her to protect her. She knows this girl but cannot remember her name; her eyes, there was something wrong with them. Sudden fear rushes over her. Abruptly the girl begins to change. Her face melts showing features until turning into a sweet round face with messy blond hair. The eyes, sea green with yellow speckles, stay the same.

"Mommy, you let go. You let go!"

Samuel voiced screamed at her. It couldn't be Samuel. This couldn't be her precious little boy.

"Mommy would never leave you, Sammy!"

She said sweetly knowing that it wasn't her child. She had to escape the place and find him.

"Never, Mommy?" The ting said with Samuel's voice.

"Never." She says.

She hugs the thing with Samuel's body and pushes the knife, in her hand, through his back where the things heart would be. A piercing yell comes from the beast as she pushes it away from her. It begins to change once again right in front of her eyes. This time it was different. It was almost as if it couldn't decide what shape to take: the shape of the baby, the shape of a child, or the shape on an elder.

"There is no running from me, girl. I will find you wherever you are."

The thing screeches at her. She has to believe that she can escape for she has to get to Samuel. Running is her only chance so she forces herself to turn and run.

She runs so hard she doesn't realize she is falling off of a cliff. She hits the bottom and every bone in her body aches. She tries to sit up and doesn't succeed. Suddenly there is this immense pressure and her body begins to shake. Her husband had mentioned this happing to him when they went to visit him hadn't he? Her ears are wringing and all she can hear is a high pitched screech. Had that thing found her already?

"Mommy, MOMMY! Wake up."

She hears as tiny hands shake her body back to reality. She looks around and finds herself on Samuel's bedroom floor. Had she gone to sleep there? She looks up at Samuel's scared little face, he is laying halfway off his bed in order to shake her awake.

"Get off the floor, mommy, or the monster, she will get you." He says; his small voice trembling in fear.

"What monster, Samuel?

When she realizes the dream she just had she continues

"How do you know it's a girl?"

She pushes the worried thoughts out of her head knowing eventually this monster phase would past, she was just glad that she would still be able to calm his fears about something.

"Where is the monster Samuel; how could it get me?" She says with a small laugh.

"It's the same monster from our dreams, Mommy, she's hiding under the bed. She said she would find us wherever we were."

He says sitting in the middle of the bed holding his hand out almost to beg her to get off the floor and join him. That type of vocabulary was strong for his four years and it was extremely close to what she had heard in her dream.
She was not yet off the floor and still had a perfect view of under the bed. Her mind knows it was too dark to see anything. Her body was completely against her looking as every hair stood up and shivers went down her spine. Still she had to be strong for Samuel. She turned her head and forced her eyes to look. It was just as she thought; too dark to see. Then she sees two sea green with yellow speckles.
Eyes staring at her.