Nightmares in the Night
Not a day goes by that my sleeping schedule doesn’t get even more messed up. Not only can I not sleep, I can’t seem to wake myself up either… You see, there’s a difference between getting sleep and being asleep… When you’re as scared as I am to sleep, being awake is your only option. My dreams get worse every night. They become more cruel, and vicious- more like a nightmare.
As I lay in bed at night, with the breeze of the ceiling fan, the sound of the crickets outside my window, and the darkness of my room, I shiver. Something about not seeing what’s in front of me confuses my brain. Maybe I should open up a window- and get some new air circulating. I strain and help myself up to the edge of my bed and set my feet below me on the fuzzy carpet, ready to start walking. My elbows bend, pushing me up off the bed and out into the darkness.
The glow from my window seemed to get more dim with every step I took towards it. I squinted with confusion still making my way over. As soon as I reached the window sill my fingertips slipped, throwing me to the floor. Hitting my head on the way down, my eyes got a glimpse of something terrifying, something you see in horror movies everywhere- a man. A man dressed in all black, with nothing on his face but a mask, covering everything but his eyes. I almost had the chance to scream, until I hit the carpet, fading into darkness.
Having an up-stairs bedroom has it’s perks I guess. My thump was loud enough to attract the attention of my mother and father, who were directly below me, trying to get some sleep. Getting their attention with the loud thump of my head, they ran up the stairs coming to check on me. My mother flipped the switch on my lamp to turn my light on only to find nobody there. Puzzled, my parents looked at each other in amusement to see my window wide open. As they heard footsteps up the stairs they called my name, walking over to the window. My father stuck his head out, looking around my yard for any sign of me.
As the footsteps got closer, they turned to the door in hopes they would lead to me. Instead, it was my 11 year old sister, crying. Not only crying- she was sobbing. My parents ran over to her, asking what had happened, in hopes it wasn’t anything major.
“I-It’s Camryn…S-She’s laying in the back of that tuck out there… She doesn’t look too good.”
“We don’t have a truck.” My father said scratching his head.
My parents took off down the stairs, searching for me in every room- in hopes that I would be there. When they got to the door they weren’t hesitant to open it. As soon as the door creaked open, my parents jotted out. They were too late. The truck was leaving the drive-way.
My parents ran up to my room, telling my sister to call 911. They searched for clues that could lead them to me. They immediately ran to the window, when some red drops of blood caught their attention.
“She must have hit her head on the window, Brian!!” My mother screamed.
“Then where do you suppose she is, dear!?” My dad quickly responded.
My mother quickly stuck her head out of the window again- when something caught her attention.
“A LADDER?!” She screamed in astonishment.
My dad jotted up, looking at the ladder that lead right to my window.
“That man must have taken our daughter!!” My father said filled with anger.
My mom hesitated, before answering his remark.
“H-How do you know it was a man?”
My father looked to the ground,slowly looking up to her grinning sheepishly.
My mother looked puzzled. The thought of him having anything to do with this couldn’t wrap around her brain. She slightly tilted her head, squinting her eyebrows together. She immediately recognized the ladder from his workplace- out in the middle of town. It belonged to one of his buddies, that she always got a creepy feeling about when he was around. This evening she ran into him while picking up my father from work, seeing the exact same ladder in the back of his truck.
She thought quickly. I knew that look on my mother and it was her fierce one. She had many different faces- but this one was by far my favorite. All caught up in the midst of this, I thought to myself…
“How can I be seeing all this?”
Immediately I knew this answer; I was dreaming.
As the dream kept playing, I knew things were about to get worse. I tried waking myself up many times, but I couldn’t figure out how to. My father was taking steps backward- realizing she knew what was up. I tried to scream, but I had no voice. I tried to move, but I had no body. I tried to wake up- but I simply couldn’t.
I couldn’t watch this. Knowing my dreams, they all got terrible quickly. This wasn’t even the beginning. I thought and thought tossing and turning in my bed. I could feel the sheets and blankets tangled in my legs. This was a horror movie I was forced to watch.
As my dad moved back towards my dresser, his hands were feeling around for something. As soon as they reached my lamp his hand moved down the cord, unplugging it from my wall. Not only did this create darkness for them both, but it also acted as a weapon for my dad.
My mother did all she could, and climbed out the window and onto the ladder. She was fighting back the tears as she climbed down reaching the bottom in no time. She looked up to see her husband in the window about to come down. She tried pushing the ladder over, but his leg caught it in time for him to start down it. As soon as one foot hit the ladder my mother ran. She ran into the streets frantically screaming for help.
I was sweating in my bed- with my heart beating faster by the minute. My parents were my everything. I was so scared to lose them. And that’s when it hit me… I was scared to lose them.
Immediately I knew what to do. I had to convince myself I wasn’t scared. That I trusted they would never become what was unraveling before my eyes. The nightmare wasn’t helping. If I didn’t do this quick enough, I’d see my own mother murdered in seconds. My mother screamed my name- “Camryn!!” she cried, “Camryn please come back to me, baby.”
“Camryn!”
I sat up. Deep breaths rapidly coming from my mouth. I opened my eyes to see my mother standing over me.
“Having a bad dream sweetie?” She said innocently.
I didn’t reply for enough time for me to tackle her with hugs and kisses.
“I don’t ever wanna lose you, mom.” I said with the breath I had left.
“Oh sweetie, how silly! Me and your father will always be with you!”
I smiled, telling her I loved her. She means the world to me.