A Waking Nightmare

You turn your head, but you can't bring yourself to stare at those bodies again. Most especially, you dare not look at what used to be their heads. Glaring at the figure in the robe, you clench your jaw.

"No," you say. "They... no. Those children out there—"

"Are your children," the figure says calmly. The hood shakes back and forth. "Such rage and insanity. The human being is a terrible creature. Such innocence in the face of tragedy."

Your anger bubbles deep within you. The faceless man is lying. You know he is. You've never seen this house before. You've never seen these people, you know you don't live here with them. You woke up in the yard, you know you did. None of this is possible. It is a dream.

Finding the words, you say, "I did not—"

"Shh, shh!" The hooded figure holds up a hand. "This is the best part!"

You watch as his hooded head nods along to the music in the room.

~ Why... somebody... why do people break up?

Turn around and make up.... ~

Annoyed, you take a few steps toward the man.

"I did not kill them!" You yell. "I don't know them! I don't know this house!"

With your vision shaking and your fists clenched, you stare hard at the person at the desk. The hooded figure does not move. The music in the room warps and slows. The candle burns lower. The lamp light begins to flicker. All the tension in your body begins to melt as the hair on your neck stands. From somewhere in the house, the walls begin to groan. Dread emanates from the hooded figure's very being. You tremble uncontrollably.

The hooded head turns. The faceless man peers out at you from his cowl. You imagine that something about that terrible visage is familiar. One word keeps ringing in your ears. A terrible name.

When he speaks, the voice is like the slithering of snakes and the rumbling of thunder.

"Even in Death you cling to insanity. May denial keep you forever, then."

The siren scream splits the air. You duck and cover your ears. Turning, you scream at the scene behind you. The bedroom door bursts open. Two small bodies step into the room. Stumbling away, you nearly topple over the tan corpse that struggles to stand. Its leg wobbles as limp as its member. You yelp. Across the room, the woman with the battered head rises in the corner. Four faceless things start to walk toward you.

You look to the desk to find no one there.

The path to the door is blocked. The wretched family closes in. Frantically, you try to think of what to do next. You're exhausted. You can't go on. There's nothing left to do, but you cannot fathom letting those... things get to you. You're backing away. A mad dash doesn't sound too bad at this point. The bat is lying on the floor. If you can just get to that—

Their black mouths split open wide. The man with the battered head lunges. Leaping back, you stagger and hear a crash. It happens so fast. The fabric you grasp for does not hold you. You're falling away, staring up at the black sky and the four faces in the broken window.

The wind blasts from your chest. Everything is black.

****

You aren't sure what wakes you. It takes a moment to even realize you were asleep. Blinking, you allow your eyes to adjust. Just as soon, you let your eyes close again. A few more minutes won't hurt. There's no light against your eyelids. It isn't time to get up anyway. Your hand sweeps in an arc as you search for the covers.

There are no covers. You feel only grass.

Your eyes open wide and you sit up straight. There's an ache in your neck that you can't quite rub out. It still hasn't really hit you yet. You turn and examine your surroundings. What you find makes you just stare in shock.

You're outside.

Why in the world are you outside?

****

Thanks for sticking with it. Weird, I know. Just wanted to try something different. Don't forget to vote, and check out the other entries in the contest. Drop me a line and tell me what you thought if you like. I welcome it all, love or hate. Thanks again for reading.