Nightmare Beast
Cyn Bagley (c) 2012
The deep violet blackness hid any predators that might hide in this cave. I scooted back until I reached the cracked rock walls, which rubbed against my back. I looked around, hoping for some light so that I could see what dangers lurked here.
I could hear my breathing, hard and rapid as it pounded in my chest. I tried to quiet my fears. In the background I could hear a slight whisper of footfalls and breath. I couldn't tell if it was walking towards me or away from me.
My fear ratcheted as I strained to hear the steps. Then the footsteps stopped. I knew it was standing in front of me. I could feel its warm breath in my face.
Despite my fear, I touched it and felt the soft fur on its torso. I looked up into its yellow eyes. There was intelligence there. I knew it could hear my breath and my skipping heartbeat.
Suddenly, it roared. I screamed and scrambled away from it hitting the rocky sides with my back.
"Mommy, mommy, mommy," I cried, embarrassed and scared that I was that one person who would cry for his mommy as I was shitting my pants.
It grabbed me and began to shake me. I tried to kick and even smashed my head against the beast.
As I began to wake I heard, “Wake up. Wake up. It was just a dream.”
I awoke in my bed in a small room. My aunt, now my guardian, was standing by my bed holding a small candle to stave off the darkness. She was in a flannel nightgown with slippers on her feet. She set the candle down on the little desk by the bed.
"Hush," she whispered, as she gently stroked my face.
My heart calmed. The beat in my head became fainter. I was in the real world, a world where my parents had been butchered by something so evil that I couldn’t name.
One day I would grow up, find the killer, and take my revenge. If I had to claim the darkness, my beast, to do it, so be it.