Nightmare (Part Three)

I do the first thing that comes to mind- I run. Without even looking to see if it's the monster that is behind me, even though I am certain it is, I sprint down the passageway and turn into another hallway, trying but desperately failing to escape the thing that's chasing me.

Of course I couldn't gain distance between myself and that thing- it was freaking hovering over the ground.

I side-step and turn right around a corner only to come face-to-face with a dead end. Shoot. Well, it looks like this is the end for me, I think optimistically to myself. My whole body begins to tremble, and I can feel myself going into shock as realization dawns on me- I never got to see my family one last time. They’re still missing, and I will never get the chance to make sure they are safe.

“Hello, Emily,” the thing whispers again as I feel its cool breath on my neck. I slowly turn around, terrified of seeing the dementor up close and personal. Gulping, I come face-to-face with my worst nightmare, and what I see is absolutely horrifying.

The monster’s cloak may have helped hide is disturbing countenance, but it certainly did not cover it completely. A horrid, putrid looking face (if that’s what you want to call it) stares me in the eye. With no legs or arms that could be seen, the thing simply floated in front of me. Midnight black eyes upon a scaly face seem to stare into my soul, and I shudder.

“Wh-what do you want with me?” I slowly stutter. I slowly back up until I trip into the back wall. The thing just slowly floats in front of me, hovering only a short distance from me. I can smell his garbage breath from even a few feet away, and it takes everything in me not to puke all over the ground. The ground beneath my feet is uneven and rocky, and when I look down, bones crack underneath my feet.

I was literally standing in hell right now.

"Why darling," it coys, "I just enjoy playing games with you. This whole night, you thought you could get away and be safe, but then, I played my game and you were trapped again," he cackles. "You stupid, stupid girl. When I set my eye on someone, they never get away."

"But, what a-are you?" I cry out, and I push into the wall as much as I can, trying not to smell him anymore.

"Sweetie, I am your worst nightmare. And tonight is the end of the journey for you. You are mine, and I will really enjoy tearing you apart limb by limb. . .by limb."

Inch by inch, it floated toward me until it was close enough to reach out and grip my chin with a scaly hand. He squeezes hard and I screech out in pain.

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" I scream and hit the monster. It doesn't even flinch. My foot kicks out and I make contact with the figure underneath its ripped black cloak. It laughs a high-pitched. . . sound. “You have nowhere to go. Nobody to help you. You are completely alone. And in my clutches." He pauses, "but before I finish you, I want to play one more game."

I look it in the eye as suddenly the room around me changes once again. I am still in the dementor's clutches, but we are now in a vast room, dark and empty. There are only six things in the room with us.

Three chairs.

Three people.

Mom, Dad, and Sierra.

They are all bound, gagged, and unconscious. With all my might I wrench away from the monster and run towards them, only I don't make it very far. I am barely three feet away from them when the monster claws me around the neck and drags me backwards and away from them.

"Not so fast, little girl," he croaks. Instantly, he has me pinned in place through gravity and whatever mind powers he possessed, so I can't move at all. It slowly lets go of me and floats to face me again. The monster begins to pace back and forth in front of me, apparently thinking deeply about something.

Minutes pass, though it feels like years, as the thing continues to stalk around in silence. Eventually it speaks, and the words that come out of his mouth break my heart into a million pieces.

"I'll make a deal with you, honey. If you can kill your family as I stand and watch, you can go free, and I will never haunt you again."

Time freezes.

Kill my own family? How could I be expected to do that? This monster was the spawn of Satan, and the dementor was certainly enjoying this game it was playing with me. It was sickening.

"You're sick," I say out-loud, finding I can still use my voice even though I can't move an inch.

With the snap of a scaly finger, a gun appears in front of me, floating in front of my face. My arm raises in time with the monster's hand motion across from me, controlling my body, and it grabs the gun.

"I've changed my mind again. You will kill your family whether or not you want to. And after you kill them, I will still kill you. It's more fun for my this way," it cackles once again.

I can't believe this is happening. What did I do to deserve this? My life, it was normal. I was just a college kid who spent all her time doing homework and hanging out with friends. I didn't live a crazy life. But, in one night, everything changed and it was over.

I'm toast.

I try as hard as physically possible to wrench away from the control of the monster, but it has a firm grip on me with his mind. I stare in horror as my hand wraps around the gun, and I shift into a shooting position. My finger locks around the trigger, and my body moves on its own to stand directly in front of my dad.

"Pl-please, please don't do this!" I scream out. Tears stream down my face, and I actually wish I was dead already. Death would be better than killing my own family.

It grins beneath its cloak and inches toward me, "I will do this. And you cannot stop me."

Bang.

The gun goes off. I hit my dad straight through the heart with the first bullet of the gun, and I wail. Why was this happening?

I move to the right, in front of my mom.

Bang.

Right through the heart.

I am numb. I can't wait to die.

I am once again moved right by the monster’s mind control, in front of my sister.

Sierra, beautiful, little Sierra.

Bang.

She's dead.

I slump to the ground, no longer under the control of the dementor. Tears fall freely down my face as I realize they're gone forever. I have nobody now. I was truly alone.

"It's your turn now," the monster is upon me in seconds, fingers grasped around my neck. It squeezes hard and breath escapes me. My lungs scream out as the monster cuts into me. I can't breath. My vision goes black, and I know it will all be over in a few seconds. Good. I don't want to live without my family. Long nails slice open my skin, and blood flows freely from my body as I turn my head one more time to get a last look at my family. My lungs fail as my eyes roll into the back of my head. This is the end.

I wake up drenched in sweat.