Halloween short story

Ayda awoke in a cold sweat, beads of the liquid falling past the curves of her face. She sat up in the darkness and grasped her purple comforter to her thin frame as she looked into the darkness, soft gasps escaping from her full lips. She looked into the shadows of her room in slight confusion. Where was the sun? For as long as she could remember, her nightly terrors always took hold until morning’s light. Did I forget to pull the curtains away, she thought, still shaky from the horrors that swirled in her head. With slow unsteady fingers she reached besides her, to the stand where her lamp and analog clock lay. As she switched the lamp on, light flooded the room in a warm glow, while shadows fought to hang onto the fringes of where the light lay. The soft tick tock of her clock drilled into her thoughts as she glanced at it. The white faced golden clock, fashioned with an old fashioned bell read, 2:23 am. As she looked around her room, she wetted her lips as they felt oddly dryer than she could remember feeling before. Something was off. Even as she tried to calm herself that there was a first for everything, in the back of her mind she wandered onto another thought altogether. She knew as she sat there, thinking of whether or not she should attempt going back to sleep, that she would likely just lay there in the dark for hours on end. Ayda slowly pulled away her covers and stepped onto the plush pink rug on the floor besides her bed and stood. She paced from one corner to the other, picking up books, or toys to make sure she was awake for sure. All felt real enough, and she thought since there was no school tomorrow, that she would stay up until tomorrow night. Ayda stepped towards her door Vic Gear 30 and gripped the handle, thinking that to pass the time, she would go downstairs and watch TV with a possible snack. But the moment she opened her door wide and took a step into the hallway, a great rush of cold air slammed into her like a freight train. She screamed as her thin body was flung backwards like a rag doll, unable to do anything but pray the wind would let go of her. But, instead of colliding into the wall of her bedroom, she kept whirling, head over heels. Her voice ran hoarse as the onslaught continued, the air shredding at her night gown. The wind stopped suddenly, and Ayda found herself shivering in her torn and bloodied night gown, sitting in an old recliner. The air around her was thick with dust, and her heart felt like it was about to explode. She sat facing a fire, but before her very eyes that scene changed into that of a long corridor, with a black door at its end. As she sat, her mind unhinged, her chest rising and falling sharply, the door began to creak open. She tried to stand, but found she had been strapped onto the chair with metal binding that dug into her olive flesh. A stark white, boney hand slid from the confines behind the door, and as the door opened wider, there stood in all its horrific glory, a strange monster made of rotting flesh and white bleached bones. Ayda recognized it: the horrific stench, to the chattering of its fanged teeth, the lurching as its left leg, with no muscle to propel it forward. But, suddenly it stopped as a chain that was hooked into what was left of its flesh, kept it from moving forward. It wasn’t much longer when the one holding the other end of the chain appeared from beyond the black door as well. This too was a monster she had seen in her night terrors since she was old enough to remember. But, unlike the horrific monster that had no name, this was a creature that was man like and held a name for itself, Deimos. Dressed to the nines in a smooth mauve Zoot suit, a black silken tie with sharp leather boots, and slicked back black hair, he might have seemed Night Terror 31 somewhat human, somewhat presentable. But his smooth alabaster flesh, always cracked when he grinned, flashing black decayed fangs. “Pretty pretty Ayda. At last we meet, face to face,” cried out Deimos with delight, each syllable causing Ayda’s mind to convulse. “Although, filling your nights with terror has brought me great joy, tonight’s the night we tango. One last time.” Ayda’s eyes widened in horror, as Deimos let go of the creatures chain, and it came bounding for her, faster than she had ever seen it. She struggled, causing the metal to rip at her flesh. Screaming and crying she begged for it to stop. Ayda lay in her bed, screaming and thrashing. It wasn’t long until her father burst into the room, knowing all too much of the night terrors, and jumped to her side, holding onto her tightly as he spoke in a loud, yet calm voice. “Ayda, Ayda. You’re safe. Daddy’s here.” Her thrashing slowly subsided and she opened her eyes, her lips trembling as she realized where she was. She clasped onto her father and shook, doing her best to forget all that had happened. “It felt so real daddy. I thought that this time...it..” “Shh. It was all but a nightmare.” He said petting her head with his pale fingers. “My pretty pretty Ayda...” his smile cracked at the lips, “It’s all right.”