The Dream
"Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there's little fun to be had in explanations; they're antithetical to the poetry of fear."
― Stephen King
***
"Hi Aunt Caroline!"
"Hi my sweetheart! Come here let me give a big hug!"
Its feels like it's been so long since I've seen her. She's is the only family I've got left and this weekend we are celebrating my 18th birthday. She hasn't changed a bit, and her house is still exactly the same. Her little cabin always felt so warm and cozy, all our family pictures were hanging on the wall, reminding me of the time I still had my whole family. That's why I wanted to spend my birthday here.
Amber had to run back to the car before she could greet my aunt; she forgot her cell phone and had to call her mother to tell her we arrived safely. Exhausted she came back and greeted her, "Hi Mrs. Caroline!"
My aunt gave her a warm smile and hugged her as well, "Hi Amber, wow you've grown allot since I last saw you."
Amber blushed a little, "I think I've gotten taller, but not much."
My aunt extended her hand and helped us pick up our bags, "Come on girls, lets go inside. The fire is already burning and I've got some yummy marshmallows to get us started. She guided us to our usual bedroom and gave us a few minutes to settle in.
While Amber was unpacking, I noticed that she pulled a strange bottle from her suitcase.
"Amber, what is that?"
Amber smiled at me and answered, "A little vodka to get the night started. It's your 18th and I know you didn't want to party, but you can at least drink a shot or two at the campfire.
I just sighed and nodded my head. There was no arguing with Amber and she was right; it's only once that I'll turn 18, so might as well make the best of it. After we both unpacked and admired the view from the window, I decided to put on something a little warmer. I pulled out my jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt and Amber just grabbed a jacket that was still lying in her suitcase. You had to admire the different atmosphere at my aunt's place. It was so quiet and peaceful and I bet you could go walking in the woods in the middle of the night and the only thing you should be afraid of is small little wild animals. There wasn't another soul insight, just the way I liked it. Maybe I'll take Amber with me then we could go on a walk.
The campfire was so warm and cozy. You could here the wood crackling in the flames and every now and then there would be a discoloration in the fire; turning some of the flames red or green. It was a beautiful, calm sight. My aunt was still in the house and I could hear Amber whispering something to me.
"Amber what did you say?"
"Shh! I said I think it's time for a shot. Here, you go first."
Amber handed me the little shooter glass with the Vodka floating like clear water. I haven't eaten anything today so I knew that only a few of these will get my head spinning. Regretfully I held the glass up to my lips and with one movement of my hand; the clear liquid flowed into my mouth. The taste was bitter at first and then the alcohol taste came threw. I almost spat it out, but I forced myself to swallow the Vodka. As I swallowed I could feel the liquid burning down my throat, but at least I was glad the worst was over. Amber already drank her shot and she couldn't stop laughing at the way I drank mine. I'm not use to alcohol as much as she was. Right after we finished the shots we heard footsteps and knew that was my aunt coming down the stairs. Amber quickly hid the bottle behind the little stump we were sitting on and we both just looked at her when she came and sit down.
Aunt Caroline gave us one look and said, "What have you girls been doing?"
My aunt wasn't as stupid as we thought and we just turned our gaze to the fire to try and hide our guilty faces. After a while my aunt forgot about that and we sat around the fire talking to each other; catching up on old times.
After a while of just sitting I decided to ask them to come and walk with me threw the forest, "Sorry to leave you guys, but I've always wanted to take a walk here and tonight is the night that I'm doing it. Does anyone want to come with?"
My aunt's eyes grew wide and she practically shouted at me, "No!! You girls can never go into the forest at night, there are things lurking there that is true horror."
Confused, we both looked at each other and then asked her, "What type of things?"
My aunt's expression was very worried and it looked like she hesitated, but she told us anyway, "A long time ago, before any of us were here, a creature was created in the darkest depths of Hell named Asmodeus. In Hell there are seven princes, each of them representing a sin. They are superior to all the other creatures. This creature lurking here in the woods is said to be Asmodeus, on of the Princes. He returned to Earth to find young, beautiful and innocent girls and enslave them. Rumors have it that he lurks in these woods, waiting for the right moment and then capturing the girl. Once you are in the clutches of Asmodeus, you will never escape and you will experience torture like you've never imagined."
There was silence for a moment and then Amber and I just started laughing. "Come on Aunt that is just a myth or something they made up to keep kids from running into the woods."
I knew that story was just a myth or a scary story, but the more I think about it, the more I liked it. I knew I had a twisted mind from since I was little and I decided to live with it. While other children dreamt of rainbows and sunshine, I dreamt of dark things. At the time my mother thought that I need to see a psychologist, but I kept my thought to myself since then. I really liked all the creepy, scary things, but had to keep it quiet when I was younger. The one afternoon I found one of my t-shirts that I secretly kept from my mother. It was a beautiful black t-shirt with various symbols and pictures on it, in the middle the words "Property of Demons" was painted over the pictures in a beautiful deep red. I fell in love with the t-shirt the moment I saw it, joking that maybe that's the reason my mind was so twisted.
I wouldn't mind Asmodeus taking me away, he actually sounds kind of sexy and better that the other jerks I've dated so far. I decided to joke around and stood up, with my hands on my hips and said, "Now I'm going to go look for him."
Amber knew I was joking and was laughing hard, but my aunt didn't like that joke. I didn't care and decided to walk in to the forest. I ignored my aunts yelling and Amber's laughing and walked on.
The forest was very dense and it took me a while to get thru the first few trees. The fresh smell of moss and the sound of crickets was music to my senses and I took in everything this forest had to offer. I knew I had to stay in the forest for only 5 minutes and then go back out to prove that there is no such thing as Asmodeus.
I wasn't even finished thinking when I heard branches move behind me. Quickly I turned around too stare into the darkness to try and see what's out there, but there was nothing.
"Who's there?" I shouted into the darkness. My heart was racing when I heard some type of laughing coming from those bushes. I backed away from those bushes and as I taking steps backwards; I pushed myself against something big. At first I thought it was a tree, but then I heard breathing. My reactions were very slow and suddenly I heard this thing whisper my name. Slowly I turned around and saw a tall creature staring down at me. What shocked me was the fact that he had fangs and that his eyes were red as the blood flowing thru my veins. It almost had a certain glow to it. Before I could move or scream he grabbed me and made me collapse on the ground with him on top of me. He placed his hand over my mouth to stop my screaming and licked at my neck. I kicked wildly, but nothing helped. I listened to his breathing and noticed that he was smelling me.
"Finally...you are mine now."
I wanted to scream at those words, but it was no use, his hand was blocking any type of sound coming from my mouth. Next thing I knew I felt him place his mouth over my neck and then...
I woke up screaming, only to realize that it was a dream I had. Part of the memory was from the last time I saw my aunt and the other part was just my imagination. Ethan was lying next to me, watching me as I tried to steady my heartbeat. He ran his claws up and down my spine and that sent chills up my body. I had to keep remembering myself that he was a demon.
"What's the matter my Angel? Bad dream?"
Lilly hesitated, "Nothing...just a nightmare."
