Where Nightmares Walk

Untitled Part 1

Are nightmares real? I don't know. Do you think so? Read this story, and then make your decision.

The fire crackled in the grate as I sat on the sofa, rubbing my hands against the icy cold. I hated power cuts. The firelight flickered as a cold breeze wafted down the chimney, dimming the room for a moment. The flames cast eerie, floating shadows that twisted and distorted into monstrous black creatures like trapped souls. The curtains clung to the rail, as if waiting to arise. I had had enough. My imagination was running wild. I stumbled to my feet in panic.

That was when the floorboards vanished.

I landed uncomfortably in a pile of decaying leaves, and its incredible density made me bounce off like a rubber ball and topple onto the grass. Instinctively I searched for a hole in the sky, but I could see nothing but smiling stars. I was trapped.

All things considered, my situation wasn't too bad. The bleak moor was very peaceful, and I suddenly began to feel uncharacteristically drowsy. Not that I was awfully bothered. I just flopped down on the spot. The one thing I never wondered was how the leaves had arrived.

I woke up to a loud whinny, and I thought there were just horses on the moor, so I didn't get too worried. It was when I looked upwards at the blazing crimson eyes boring into my skull that I got a terrible shock. It was a creature from the deepest, darkest thoughts that were hidden right at the dusty back of my mind. It made the devil seem like a cute kitten, and what made it worse was its voice.

"We are the Nightmaresssss, and we sssssshow no merccccccy..." Its voice was an earsplitting, torturous hiss of contemptuousness and pure hatred.

A loud whoosh sounded and a pair of black, clawed wings appeared from the sides of the Nightmare, and carried the creature up into the silver skies, and away from my terrified body.

What was left behind was a mound of ash, taller than me and teetering precariously. Somehow it suddenly seemed to expand, threatening to engulf me whole, and suffocate the life from my body.

The air temperature plummeted.

The mound of dust turned silver in the moonlight and started to crack. Inside was a rather unexpected visitor.

The occupant was a small, black puppy.

It whined pitifully and padded towards me with small shaky paws. I wondered where on earth (or out of it) the poor thing had come from. It looked half starved, and its once neat fur was protruding in stringy spikes like a small cactus. I stretched out a hand, and attempted to touch it. However, McWoofster shied away instantly.

The next action was particularly unexpected. The creature started to arch its back. This wasn't too unusual but when the skin on its spine began to split, I tried to escape. I knew it would become another Nightmare, but before I caught a glimpse, it began to ascend rapidly. Now when the last one had vanished, it hadn't returned, but this soon landed a crushing blow to my skull. I heard the bone fracture, and the last sound that passed my ears was its triumphant cackle. Then, I awakened. My nightmare was over. For now.