Dream Demon

I lost all taste for sleep. I cant do it anymore. My wondering mind and my helpless body has been noticed by the "Dream Demon". It is terror, harnessed by all that i fear. Doctors cant explain my night terrors, they say i have to be faking or some how hurting myself in my sleep but it is real. My sleep, my hide away from evil has been found. I opened the door that was never meant to be opened and now the flood of horror and pain spews its hate onto me.

I still wake up under my bed, as if i was dragged off and shoved under. My legs and arm have cuts and scars from "it" ..... The Boogey Man, the monster under my bed, The thing that lurks in the middle of the night..... He watches you even if you dont know it. He is just waiting til no one will notice your screams.

Once he has you he doesnt strike just yet... in fact he is gentle at first. He glares over you as you sleep, softly taking off a sock to see if you notice. Then softly touching your cheek or taking your covers off. But once your eyes meet his then it is all slaughter from then on. Twisting and pulling, Biting and Gouging, even bending limbs backwards so you will fit under the bed. He doesnt take you to eat you or for its own please. He takes you so it can fall asleep to your screams of torture.

The Tree Walkers

I remember the morning, it was cold and brisk as the dark blue sky in northern Michigan began to rise. I sat in the driveway while my uncle packed the station wagon as we prepared our annual hunting trip. The old car had a rusty red paint job and a car rack on top that held our tent while in the back seat laid our shotguns, my uncles new pistol, and my dads old rifle he gave me before he left for Afghanistan. He would normally come with us and we would hunt big game like elk and moose, we never hunted bears though. There is believed to be a ghoul or goblin that roamed the lands where the bear hunting grounds were. Obviously my dad just said that so i wouldnt want to hunt bear and also the land was another 2 mile hike from our camp site.

My uncle slammed the trunk and came over and gave me a tight hug. "Ready Kiddo?!" he said condescendingly. I nodded and sat up front while my uncle put his pistol in his hip holster. He got in and we began our drive north. My uncle tried to tell me stories about hunting when he was a boy but i fell asleep 15 minutes in. The two favorite stories he would tell were about the 12 point elk and the goblin that attacked my grandpa. My grandpa would never come with us hunting. He would tell me when he was a boy he use to live in these parts; the people were told to never go out passed dark because the goblin would get you. The story was so kids would be home before dinner but apparently my grandpa said he say this "goblin" kill his pet cat and ran into the woods. The story is actually kind of funny when you think about it.

We pulled into our camping grounds which we owned out in the middle of the woods. I gathered wood while my uncle pitch the tent. It was only 7 in the morning so we went straight to our tree stand once we finished setting up camp. We took our guns and sat in the tree for a few hours before we both got off a shot on a moose which my uncle hit. We tracked the moose a half mile before we found it dead in the middle of the woods. You had your standard entrance and exit bullet holes from the shoulder though the stomach. The hind legs and the bottom of the stomach had cuts from probably barbwire or other moose but the way it lined up looked way too odd.

We dragged the moose back which took the rest of the day basically and once we got back to camp we were exhausted. We didnt even have dinner; we just slept through the night. The next day we went to our normal spots but no luck. We checked our tree cams to see what activity has been going on and to see what sizes the moose were this year. The whole day was a disappointment, we didnt see any moose. Only 2 on camera and they were babies.

The last spot we went had a stand and a camera, i sat in the stand while my uncle checked the camera. He looked down at the monitor and became uneasy. I then became nervous because it was getting dark and i couldnt remember the way back. My uncle grabbed me and told me to stay behind him and be quite. I thought it was a joke at first, "Ohhh sure, did you see a gobblin on the camera?!" i joked. He didnt respond. His eyes were fixed ahead. I knew he was serious when he told me to take my safety off and to make sure i was loaded. I then became even more scared.He quietly showed me the camera while still looking ahead. To my dismay i saw something that made my skin crawl. In the monitor was a group of hooded people surrounding a scary gothic statue. I was confused at first. These people just carry out this statue out in the middle of the woods and huddled around it? It made sense later that night, when we got back to our camp. We didnt have a fire before we left our camp but now there was one which we saw off in the distance.

We knew our grounds well so we hiked up high on the hill on looking our site. Both my uncle and I sat wide eyed as we had our guns fixed on our camp site. We were about 40 yards away but we were well covered with the brush and the dark sky of the winter night. On our camp site were 7 people in robes and an old rusty ford truck still running as the people were looking around our site. They shot into our tent then lite it on fire thinking the people were still in their. They then carried out this stone statue from the camera and set it upon the ashes of our tent. It took all of them to carry it, but once set in place they all knelt in a semi circle except one. He went to the back of the truck and took out a large knife and dragged out the moose we killed yesturday. He gutted it and held a cup next to the wound and filled it with blood.

I didnt bother watching the rest, i just sat holding my gun hoping they wouldnt see us. My uncle kept watch and we sat there for about 2 hours before they left. We agreed to take watch and sleep where we were. The sun rose and we went down to the camp site. The moose was mutilated and there were symbols written in blood on the trees and on the ground. We gathered what little we had left and hiked back to the dirt road that we took to get here. The car was lite on fire and was beyond use so we didnt have any other choose. About 4 miles down the road we walked before we reached the pavement road that led into town. We were happy and relieved to know we were out of the woods and somewhat safe. Just as soon as we felt safe the sound of a truck was heard off in the distance. We waved it down but closer it got the clearer we realized we had scene that truck last night. The old man driving the truck stopped and smiled at us. "Look like you boys are lost." We nodded still holding our guns. "Why dont yall get in da truck n ill drive ya inta town?" "Its ok", my uncle whimpered, "We were just out for a walk". "A walk eh? You need guns to go ona walk?" he smiled. "Yes sir, Bears and all" i said. " Ohh thats right, bears, gotta be careful now, specially out in des woods. Some people have been seeing Goblins out here, dont wanna mess wit dem now, ya hear? He still smiled. Well ill best be on my way, he said. "Yall be safe now" he said slowly. He turned to me, winked, and drove away into the woods. Something told me that wink wasnt a "Be safe, pal" kind of wink. It was more like "Ill be seeing you real soon" wink................ and I was right.