Nightmare grabbed at her hand to no avail. His ethereal form mostly swept through her. I say mostly because his passing hands—or claws—left behind a gunky, slimy residue on her skin. Nevertheless, she persisted in gripping tightly, gritting her teeth, her veins popping up on her forearms from her years as a data entry typist.
And then he stopped screeching—and stopped struggling, too.
He’s going to do it, I thought. This is it.
You see, there’s a reason why I hadn’t held on all those years ago. There’s a reason why Nightmare had escaped my clutches, and why I had failed to once and for all destroy him.
Years ago, as I had been in this very same position, holding the vile creature, he had fully revealed himself to me. The sight of the demon standing before me had been so unexpected, so unnerving, that I had shrieked and very nearly had a heart attack and had...let go. That was my mistake. And it was weeks before sleep would find me again.
Mercifully, Nightmare was gone from my life. But I knew the bastard was out there. Somewhere.
And here he was now, spreading his poison to this sweet young lady. This desperate young lady.
And there she was, holding on like a trooper.
My directions were clear: keep your damned eyes shut. And she did. By God, she kept them shut as tight as she could, and now Nightmare’s ethereal form was something more than ethereal. He was physical. As physical as he could be. Hell, he even cast a shadow over her bed.
But she kept her eyes closed as my book had instructed...
God bless her.
Nightmare, infuriated, screeched loudly...but still Susan kept the bastard at bay, holding him fast.
And before my very eyes, I watched as the entity continued shrieking even as he shriveled into something small and ugly, until it finally disappeared altogether. Even the slime that had covered her arm was gone.
Minutes later, Susan, who had been whimpering softly, dropped her empty hand and covered her eyes, still afraid to open them after she had destroyed such a formidable enemy.
* * *
I hung around for a few more days, and by God, the demon known as Nightmare didn’t return. Whether or not he had somehow survived to haunt another’s dreams, I didn’t know, but this time it felt final.
This time, he felt gone. Forever gone. An acceptance spread through my consciousness.
My work here was done. Truth be known, my work was done long ago, the instant that bus decided to use me as a crash test dummy. As such, I had, of course, failed miserably.
I’ve seen things in the spirit worlds that I want to forget. Other demons. Darker entities. Creatures so foul that even I would look away.
But nothing as foul as Nightmare.
Where had he gone? I didn’t know, but all it took was for one brave and desperate young woman to face down her own nightmare. A nightmare in every sense of the word.
Susan was sleeping peacefully on her side, a smile on her face.
Sweet dreams, I thought.
I realized I had nowhere to go. My purpose in life—and death—had been fulfilled. I had no reason to go back to my familiar haunts. And with that thought, golden hands reached out to me for a fourth and final time.
This time, I took their hands.
This time, I allowed them to lead me away.
The End
~~~~~~~~~~
Soul Train
Judd Ramses lay in bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the coming train.