Psycho walked toward me in slow motion like in a movie. His left arm came out from behind his back. The object in his hand was a dagger.
My eyes widened with fear, “Wake up! Wake up!” I began to scream to myself. I knew I should be running, but I was frozen. Frantically kicking, I willed my leg into motion. Nothing happened. I was stationary. I moved my legs faster and faster. My heart raced. “Please, please, please,” I begged.
His black eyes intensified, drawing me deeper into his soul. “I love when you beg.”
His words shock me to the core, allowing my body to respond to my demands. I screamed but it was a mere raspy whisper. I could feel my sheets and my pillow rubbing against my skin. I was aware of the vanilla scent from the mostly empty plug-in at the foot of my bed. I was conscious enough to notice familiar things and realize that I was dreaming, but I wasn’t completely waking up. My body obeyed, but my mind couldn’t escape. I was stuck in limbo. I fought with myself as he neared me. Again I tried to scream, but my efforts were barely loud enough to even be heard through my own ears.
“Come,” he said, breaking my concentration.
I fought harder. At last, I gained control of my arms, pushing upward. Next my legs struggled to break from the grips of sleep. I started to thrash around on my bed, struggling to break free of this nightmare.
He floated closer to me as I struggled to escape. “Don’t be afraid,” he purred. His voice was velvety. A part of me wanted to succumb to his request. Survivor instinct pushed me to focus.
Finally, I abruptly sat up. The scream still caught in my throat, trying to escape, I gasped for air. My mind was slow to escape the horror. Searching the room, I looked for any sign that it wasn’t a dream. It felt so real. I sat in bed, trying to convince myself that it was only a dream. It was not real, I thought. Clearing the lump from my sore throat, I reached for a cup of water on my nightstand. I had forgotten to grab the water before going to bed. I slapped a hand to my forehead.
“You don’t have water,” a velvety voice said through the night.
I jerked. The voice wasn’t mine; a voice that had no right to be in my room. I pulled my comforter up to my neck and frantically scoured my surroundings. In the moonlit corner, I saw him—the star of my dreams. I screamed as loud as I could manage, crying and throwing whatever I could grab at him. I leapt to the door; he caught me in midair. I pounded his chest as hard as I could, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“You definitely have a set of lungs, don’t you?” he said, covering my mouth with his hand. He held me tighter. My heart threatened to burst. My breath was ragged and strained. He threw me onto my bed and straddled me. I struggled to free myself. I tried unsuccessfully to scream through his hand still concealing my mouth. “I will snap your neck in half,” he said with a calm demeanor.
“What do you want from me?” My words were muffled by his hand. I continued to struggle under his hold. I barely budged under his terrorizing grip, but I kicked and screamed harder. I imagined rape and mutilation were not far from his plans. I did not want to go out like that.
“Vanessa, wake up… Vessi.” Shannon shook me.
My eyes darted around my room. “Is he still here?” I shrieked.
“Who,” she asked, shaking her head. “Do you still have weird dreams?” Her eyes were full of fake sincerity. “Let’s get you some chamomile tea. That used to calm you down when we were kids.”
She helped me out of bed and into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if that was a nightmare or real. “Was someone in my room?” I asked after we sat down to hot tea.
“No, Ves, you had a nightmare.”
I stared at her for a moment in shock, trying to fight the fogginess in my head. “Are you sure?”
“Um, yeah.”
”B--but it seemed so real. I could smell him and feel him.” I was confused, angry and exhausted. He was there. I know it was real. He smelled of cinnamon and cloves with a hint of rain. It couldn’t have been just a dream. Maybe he left before Shannon could get there? Panic quickly crept back. “It couldn’t have been a dream. He was there.” I shuddered. He was standing in the corner by the dresser. That’s where he usually stands in my room, but this time was different. His eyes were black. The look in them was pure
