A Midnight Mind

Chapter 17: Halloween Nightmares

"Violet!" Ethan shouted, grabbing her arm and yanking her away from the dream man's clutches. Violet shrieked as the cut and bruised man limped toward them, his knobbly knees shaking with each step.

"D-don't go," he gasped. "You're all here. You... you have to help."

"What the hell is that?" Ethan heard Pryce call from somewhere nearby. He glanced behind him to see Pryce and Kara, each dressed in a more perfect version of the costumes they were wearing. While Pryce's costume didn't reveal quite as many obvious flaws, it was still far from fully mimicking the grotesque horror that stood before them. Pryce and Kara stood next to each other, staring with mouths agape at the rogue projection.

"Oh my God," Kara whispered, eyes peeled open in shock and recognition.

"Please!" said the dream man, inching closer to Ethan and Violet. "You need to listen!"

"Stay the hell away from me!" Violet screamed, pushing against Ethan to get them farther away from the invader.

"Who are you?" Ethan demanded, absently flicking out the plastic tubes of his toy lightsaber, oblivious to how ridiculous he must have looked. With his other arm he shielded Violet, staying close to her as they both backed away.

"I haven't much time," said the man before cutting into a wet, hoarse cough. Half-hunched over, he looked up at Kara and Pryce with red, watery eyes. "Don't you recognize me?" he said, blood dribbling from his purplish lips.

Ethan turned to look at Pryce and Kara, who looked at each other in confusion, silently asking each other the same question and silently reaching the same answer: not at all.

"I've been so lost," the dream man sobbed. He wobbled with every step, but quickened his pace, advancing to Ethan and Violet, arms outstretched. "I need your help. Please, you must help..."

"Who are you?" Ethan asked again, waving his "weapon" in front of him menacingly. To his surprise, it flashed and hummed like a real laser sword, glowing with a green energy. Even the hilt felt cool and metal, rather than flimsy and plastic.

The dream man stumbled back from the weapon for a few steps before collapsing to his scarred knees, wheezing harshly. Some of the wounds that Ethan saw on him from earlier in the week were no longer fresh and bleeding, but there were newer ones that weren't there before.

"It's even worse tonight," the man said. "They're everywhere, and they're so much more real. I can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" asked Violet in a barely-controlled tone. Her nails were digging into Ethan's forearms, but he wasn't sure if it was due to fear or excitement. "Who's everywhere?"

"I can't keep running," said the man, covering his face with his pale hands. "I'm trapped." He looked through his fingers at Ethan, his eyes wet and scared. "You have to help me. You have to find--"

A sharp slash divided the dream man's body in two. It was as though someone took an eraser and swiped it from the man's shoulder and down across his chest, sending out a dusty smudge exploding from under his armpit. Instead of collapsing, the top half of the dream man simply faded away into the air, his still-open mouth stretching in a silent scream before evaporating. The rest of his body followed in much the same fashion, like a shadow consumed by a faint light, until there was no trace of the dream man at all.

Standing in his place was Neil Edwards, his dark weapon clutched in both hands. Neil's face was hard as stone, but a grim, satisfied smile creased his lips.

Stunned, Ethan said, "What did you do? What did you do to him?"

Grinning triumphantly, Neil said, "I stopped him."