tremorworks

September 30

Dear Samantha,

I finished that book, and tried it, but it didn’t work very well.  My fist try at a lucid dream woke me up right away, and I couldn’t do it again that night.  But at least the nightmares were gone.  For a while.

Last night I had one again, just before I woke up in the morning.  There were more of those shadow things, I could see them all this time.  I was in the hallways of my school, and I think I was looking for something or following someone, I’m not sure.  It was dark, and the lights were off.  I heard the janitor opening things up for the day though, so it must have been early morning. I could see the colors of the sunrise shining through the blinds in the classrooms, but it was still really dark though.

The monsters didn’t waste any time, they just rushed me this time.  So I ran as fast as I could.  For some reason I couldn’t tell myself it was a dream.  It’s been on my mind so much, these same nightmares, the same monsters, but I didn’t realize it.  These dreams are so real, it’s hard to tell, even with the monsters.

I ran to the gym, and into the girls’ locker room.  The things were right behind me the whole time.  I could hear them whispering this time, but I still couldn’t make out what they were saying.

I slammed the door and locked it, hoping that would keep them out, and I tried to find some way to get outside.  As I searched frantically, I heard some banging on the door.  I was glad they make those locker room doors out of metal.  But as I looked, I saw dents being pounded into it from the outside.  The entire frame was shaking, and the pounding seemed to be getting louder and louder.

Then it stopped.

Just like that.  I was still terrified, but for some reason I went closer to listen for them anyway.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  What am I saying?  It was a dream, I never understand them!

I put my ear up against the door, hoping I wouldn’t hear those whispers but straining to try.  I did hear one, the instant before an ice-cold hand wrapped its pointy claws around my ankle again, from right under the door!

I screamed and scrambled to get away from it, and I fell down as I did.  The claws were still clutching my ankle, pulling, but whether the thing was trying to pull me toward it or pulling itself through the door I’m not certain.

My terror was growing, and I was panicked.  I didn’t know what to do.  There was nothing I could use as a weapon, and I wasn’t strong enough to get out of its grip.  I was so terrified, you can’t possibly imagine how scared I was.

But then something happened.  Something I never expected.  I heard a scream, but it wasn’t a normal scream.  It didn’t sound human at all, it sounded like some animal getting caught by a predator, but even that is too real of an explanation.  It sounded surreal, like something you’d hear in that movie “Aliens”.  Like a screech, an inhuman howl of pain, a sound that no normal creature ever could, or should, make.

As soon as the screeching started, the monster let go of me and pulled its claws back under the door.  I heard more noise, I think there was an explosion, there was a flash of light from under the door, and the screams lasted for a few seconds, and then it was silent again.  I waited there on the floor, still trying to catch my breath, still terrified that something was still on the other side of the door, waiting for me to get closer.

I listened carefully, and after a moment I heard footsteps.  They were getting closer to the door.  I started to wriggle away as quietly as I could, and the footsteps stopped.  I could tell they were just outside the door.  I held my breath, hoping whoever it was, whatever it was, wouldn’t come in if it didn’t know I was there.

The lock opened.  It was one of those sliding locks, the kind that you can’t possibly open from the outside, and it opened.  By itself.  I had to hold back a scream.  This was even scarier than the monsters, because at least I could see them now.

The door swung open, very slowly, like whoever was opening it was being very cautious.  It
was darker than I remembered on the other side, so I couldn’t make out much.  But there was a
man there. I caught only a glimpse of him as he said, “It’s time to wake up.”

That’s when my alarm clock went off and I had to get up for class.

Let me tell you, it was the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced. But what’s even weirder was that at gym class, the locker room door was covered in dents.

Still trying to dream of home,
Lucy