Nightmares

Beginning of several shorts

She was falling. Strips of hair flashed before her eyes. Her nightclothes flew up, tight against her back and legs, arms reaching for the light flying away. She tried but couldn’t scream. Fingers of air pushed against her mocking her decent into the darkness.

She sat up quickly in bed hair sticking to her sweat covered face, hiding the panic in her eyes. A pair of candles left burning on a small nightstand across the room cast the only light. ‘I need to calm down. Just another nightmare that’s all.’ Chest heaving, she blinked herself more awake. She wanted to run, to hide, and to disappear but her limbs betrayed her. Slowly the electric sting like pins poking her fingers began. First fingertips then hands, the sensation continued to creep up her arms stopping at her shoulders. Suddenly the feeling was gone and quietly as it had started.

Using her hands she walked herself to the edge of the bed. She reached out and felt the cool smooth surface of the board she needed. Snuggling one edge under her bottom, yes still some feeling there, she reached across and grabbed the arm of her chair. Sliding her into place she waited. ‘Move foot. Come on, MOVE!’ closing her eyes tight she willed and wished it. Nothing changed. After a few minutes she positioned her legs and locked them in the chair before heading out into the night air.

Her room had never been so clean. No more clothes left on the floor on tossed carelessly on the bed. No more papers, pens and pencils left in random nooks, to grab when the urge to create blossomed within her. Those little things, the little parts of life had been taken away. She hated her room now. When she looked around she failed to see anything that connected it to the real her. The posters were nice and everyone tried to make it pleasant for her. She knew it was over the day her mother painted over the mural she had painted herself so many years ago. ‘We need this wall for the medical equipment’ they said. So she closed her eyes refusing to shed a tear and rolled away.

Now she needed to get better. She needed to get her feeling back in her legs just as she had her arms. No one believed she would. She willed it back. ‘Focus and determination on your goals, that’s what works.’ So what the doctors said she would get most mobility back above the waist, she wanted it all back.

She punched in the code on the small electric lock by the door activating the motion sensors and power. “Lights off.” She said and the lights went out. She pushed her hand control toward the door and it opened. A rush of fresh autumn air flooded the room. The air felt cold on her damp skin, she breathed in deeply catching the scents of dying leaves and day old grass. There was a hint of skunk and something else. Quietly she rolled out of the house onto the deck. Her skin looked almost translucent in the moonlight. Her black hair glowed. Tendrils of steam rose from her giving her a ghostly aura. She slowly scanned the trees for any wildlife, the skunk smell was fading but she was sure there would be something.

Low hanging branches stirred, barely making a sound. Staring she saw it. A figure moved from the trees. A female mule deer stepped out and began grazing; her fawn was there closer than a shadow. The two moved slowly and deliberately nibbling on the grass and wild onions. And that smell came again. It was a musty old smell, some mixture of animal and damp earth. Her eyes narrowed, peering into the semi blackness. The occasional cloud break would allow more moonlight to pass, but still the darkness was now giving to its secrets. She rolled to the edge of the deck, the door behind her slid shut. Sounds of crickets and night birds filled the air masking the gentle hum of her electric motor.

Bursting from the tree line only feet from the deer, the animal was on the defenseless doe’s back. A deafening crack and crunch stopped whatever futile struggle the doe would have attempted. The small fawn stood stone still, too young to run, too inexperienced to know what was happening. The beast from the woods turned and snapped the fawn in half with a single bite. Red eyes settled on the hum figure sitting on the deck maybe ten yards away.

Her eyes were wide, staring, unblinking. Each breath felt like it was being drawn through a straw. Knuckles pressed tight against skin as she gripped the side arms on her chair. ‘The door closed’ she thought, ‘the door closed, the deer what happened to the deer? I must still be sleeping.’ Just then almost as if reading her mind the beast began to move.

The beast began to move, almost crawl toward the deck. Black hair turned almost silver when it stepped from the shadow into more direct moonlight. A cloud covered the moon and the beast became invisible again. All but the red eyes moving ever closer, head tilted to the side giving the impression of curiosity. The cloud moved and now she saw the beast was closer than she thought. It wasn’t a dog, or wolf exactly, but something else. Now the odd smell she had caught earlier engulfed her. Every labored breath brought the scent deeper into her making her want to be sick. She was frozen with fear of what could come. The beast stopped a foot from her, raising its head bringing its eyes even with hers. ‘Something is there’ she thought, ‘some smarts, something not so primitive.’ The beast sniffed deeply then quickly taking in the circumference of her face and hair.

The beast’s mouth opening wide, showing yellowed teeth dripping with saliva. Long pink tongue extending, curling toward her smooth white cheek. Without warning a cold wind blanketed the deck, bringing life to wind chimes long forgotten. The icy blast seemed to cut the connection and stifle the scent that was choking her. The beast drew back sharply looking to it’s right. Eyes narrowed it began to growl at the shadows. A burst of light shot out hitting the beast in the side just as it was turning to run. Hitting the ground hard on its side, the beast rolled, looked to the shadows and leaped away into the darkness of the wood.

Chest heaving she slowly turned to look toward the source of the light. Nothing but darkness greeted her. She felt the cold retreating from her like a blanket slipping off the bed. The porch light came on, the door slid open. Her Aunt rushed out with the family cat close at her feet. “What are you doing out here? All sorts of stuff is in them woods dear. You need to be inside.” She leaned forward in her chair and let her stomach loose. Remnants of last night’s dinner spilled out mostly missing the deck. She turned, watery eyed to her aunt, “I need to get back to bed, I don’t feel so good.”