The Nightmare

The dream starts like most do. I’m wandering around laughing, having fun. As is the way in most dreams I don’t quite know where I am. I know I’m having fun wanderiwandering , but the setting I’m in seems to change every time I look around. Despite the fluid scenery I feel calm and content. As I walk I find myself outside enjoying the sun. But I slowly become aware of a shadowed crowd gathering in the background. As I turn to face them I realize that the beings moving around behind me, though human in shape, are not people like I thought they were. They are hideous creatures with gray flesh falling from their bodies, dead, staring eyes, and gaping mouths that emit groaning howls. As fear begins to seep into the dream I attempt to flee the monsters, yet though I ran hard, sprinting through multiple scenes, I am unable to escape the decaying creatures behind me. As my fear grows stronger the world around me seems to grow darker and more desperate. Though I pass through many crowds in my attempts to flee the dream, it is as though I exist on a different plane than them. Though I can see and hear them, they remain ignorant of my pleas for help, never noticing me or my pursuers. I run hard, pushing myself to go as fast as I can, fleeing through stores, houses, and deserted streets, never escaping that which has driven my state of fear into blind all consuming panic. As the dream continues I am unsure of whether I have been running for days or for seconds. I know only that my legs feel slow as though stuck in molasses, and my fear has infected the dream to the point where everything around me has grown dark and been twisted into intimidating shapes that seem to reach out towards my fleeing form in an attempt to ensnare me as I run. Finally, I come to a familiar setting. I find myself inside my grandparents’ house. The house is filled with my family as though it was Christmas time. Everyone is talking and laughing, the rooms are bright and warm, the tv plays in the background constantly switching between sports. For a moment I pause and enjoy this new scene. I’m happy, surrounded by family and in a safe, welcoming setting. I began to believe that I had finally escaped and so, allowed myself to relax once more. But my moment of peace is shattered as the light, and sound of laughter drain from the scene leaving me in cold shadows with my family crowded in one room standing stiff and still as statues. My moment of hesitation has allowed the creatures to catch up to me. I try to hold on to my family as the gruesome, decaying creatures enter the room pushing me back with nowhere to run. I stare at the creatures in horror as their moans fill the room. I turn back to my family to beg for help, or to at least see a friendly face, but as I turn I realize my family is gone. Instead I am surrounded by monsters pressing in closer, reaching out with clawed hands towards me. As the monstrous crowd closes in I scream out desperately crying for my family, even as I realize I’ve been left alone with no hope of survival. All I can do as hands grab and tear at my clothes and flesh is close my eyes and scream