Dark Dreams

The moonlight shined though the old thorn bush into the window of our room making strange shadows on the wall. One part of the shadow looked like an evil face. When the wind blew it looked like it was talking. I thought I heard its voice.

“This one is mine,” it said as its voice cackled.

Then it made an agonizing cry.

“No lord,” it said as it sobbed, “I was mistaken the morsel is yours. Spare me.

It screamed as it died. The new shadow slowly moved off the wall and on to my bed. I was froze in fear and could not move. Slowly the shadow crept across my blanket, toward me.

I had a desire to lay on my stomach, and its appendage bound its maw into the back of my neck. It latched on to my soul and began to feed. I could not move or fight it. The incredible pain made me pass out.

Latter I awoke in bed linens soaked in my sweat. At first I could not move. It was as if my body had to learn to move again and I was slow to get up. There was a deep ache in the back of my neck. I felt weak and fell back to the damp sheets. That's when I saw it on the wall watching me. In a flash it was on me again. I tried to fight it, but I was to debilitated. Still, I struggled. This time it injected a dark poison into me. Every part of my body was in agony. I could not move, and it fed on me.

This time when I awoke I did not move. I glanced around and spied it on the wall, a dark shadow that looked for my movement. I stayed still and it watched my breathing ribs. It was like it was hypnotized by it. I concentrated on breathing slow and regular. Then it saw my eye blink and it was on me again. Sucking the life out of me. I shuddered and it latched on stronger. I got little flashes of light at the edge of my vision that grew bigger until all I saw were the flashes of light. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I passed out.

This time when I came to conciseness It ached so bad. It was hurting me, and I could not stop it. I knew I had one motion then it would be on me again. An idea formed in my mind. It was a shadow. What if I reached and turned on the light on my night stand? Would the shadow vanish. In a flash I turn on the light and it was gone.

Kim woke up and said “Turn off the light so I can go back to sleep.”

“No,” I said.

“What’s wrong,” she said.

I rubbed my sore neck, and said, “Look at the back of my neck and tell me if you see a mark.”

Kim said, “Of course I’ll see a Mark that's your name.”

“Very funny,” I said, “Look at the back of my neck and tell me what you see.”

“There is nothing,” she said.

I was relived, it was just a dream.

“No wait there is something,” she said.

My heart sank.

She said, “A few small puncture marks on either side of your spine and a slight rounded red spot encircling them. Were you bitten by something?”

“Yeah Kim, a bad dream. A moon shadow attacked me.”

“A moon shadow? Moon shadows don’t leave marks on your neck, Mark.”

I said, “This one did.”

“Start from the beginning,” she said.

“I couldn't sleep. I was looking at the shadows on the wall and I thought I saw a face. It move as it talked to me.”

Kim said, “And that attacked you?”

“No, babe! It was killed by a darker shadow, and that shadow attacked me.”

“Mark there are marks on your neck shadows don’t leave marks. Your scaring me.”

“Kim, I tell you it was a dark shadow on the wall. I saw it. It was eating my soul.”

“Something real was biting you, Mark let’s put a bandage and some ointment on it. Then search the bed for bugs.”

I said, “Okay.”

She fixed me up but, we found nothing. We got back in bed.

“Turn the light off, Mark, so we can go back to sleep.”

“No, Kim I’m afraid. I was powerless to stop it. It wanted to eat my soul.”

“Mark, I’m going to eat you if I don’t get any sleep tonight. It was a bad dream. Nothing is in the dark trying to eat your soul turn off the light, and go to sleep.”

I turned off the light and closed my eyes. I did not want to see the shadows on the wall. About Twenty minutes latter I woke up and Kim was shivering. I reach to put the blanket on her as she lay on her stomach next to me, and I saw the shadow creature on her in the moonlight of the darkened room. I grab at it but my had passed through the shadow. She moaned. I turned on the light and it vanished. Kim woke up.

“Not again Mark, turn off the damn light nothing is attacking you.’

“Not me Kim, you.”

“Let me sleep, Mark, or someone is going to die.”

I turned out the light. I watched it move off the wall to the bed then on to Kim’s neck she started to quiver again and it latched on to her strongly. I did not know what to do I turned on my phone and shinned the light on Kim's back and the creature vanished. Kim opened her eyes.

“What the Hell are you doing Mark.”

“Kim, I’m scaring the shadow creature off you.”

“Your dreaming Mark. Turn off the damn phone and go to freaking sleep.”

“Kim Do you want me to just watch as it eats your soul.”

“Please Mark, nothing is eating my soul. Go to freaking sleep.”

As I lay there in the dark, my eyes heavy with sleep, I see the shadow move on the wall. I open my eyes and it is closer, but they close again. I forced them open and I see the shadow move on the bed. My eyes close and I sleep.