I remembered the dream for the first time early July. I was walking down a dark road, to this day I do not recognize the area or even the road but from what I could make out by the dark of the road I will describe it. The road was well worn and very much not a main road or highway but was paved with no yellow lines on it. On the side of the road with the rising moon, or at least I am assuming it was on the rise, there was a field with large plants that grew to my head. On the other side, there was a large expanse with nothing to break the horizon except for a few trees and what may have been an old-timey water pump with broken chairs around it. I proceed to walk down this road for several minutes till the field on my right gave way and gave way to a crossroads. I am not a superstitious man or one who is easily scared but something about the crossroads gave me pause and caused me to stop well before the stop sign on my side. Suddenly I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand and felt as if I was being watched. My body was torn between the instinct to run and the fear of the road ahead. Sweat started to dot my brow as I started to turn.

Now for several weeks, this is where I would wake with a sense of unease and would constantly get up and check the locks and windows. As the days passed the sense of unease built until I grew afraid to sleep and by the end of the second week I added a deadbolt to all of the doors.

As the third week hit the dream moved forward as did a sense of urgency to figure it out.

As I turned to look behind me a wind kicked upbringing with it a smell of smoke, rot, and something like rotten eggs. I quickly covered my nose with the collar of my shirt to block some of the smell. Then a dark shape near one of the trees that I saw before but this time all the trees had lost their leaves and had started to droop. From this distance, I could not make out any characteristics of the figure beyond it was human and seemed sickly skinny and possibly facing away from me. I start to call out to the figure to ask where I was but my very body would not let me call out as if it knew something at a base instinct that I should not let that figure know I was here and get out as soon as possible. I took a step backward trying to gain distance from the figure with all feelings of fear of the road behind me gone. As soon as I step back I hear a boom and a flash of light covering my eyes. This is the next point where I woke up for a few days.

During the following days, I had several nose bleeds and began to show exhaustion. This is when on a lunch date with my lover that the dream began to “break boundaries”.

“Dear are you ok?” she asked me as I mindlessly stared at my pork chop.

She then places a hand on my shoulder causing me to jump and look up at her.

“Have you gone to see a doctor yet for you sleeping issues?”

I had told her I was just having sleeping issues but nothing of the dreams and the fear in the bottom of my heart.

“Yeah. I am ok babe just tired. I went to Dr. McCaw and he gave me some sleeping pills.” I hated to lie to her but I was scared the doctors would just laugh at me if I told them I was a grown man suffering from a bad dream.

I held her hand resting on my shoulder and looked into her eyes with a forced smile when suddenly I felt something and looked out the window behind her and saw it the dark figure under an oak tree on a hill barely in view.

“What’s the matter you suddenly went pale?”

Her voice caused me to blink and as I opened my eyes the figure was gone.

“Yeah sorry must be low blood pressure or something.” I had done some research and saw sleep deprivation could cause issues with blood pressure. “I am sorry I think I will have to cancel the movie I think I need to go lie down some.”

“It is fine. I needed to do some things around my apartment anyway.” She said with that smile that I had fallen in love with a few years back but with worry clearly in her eyes.

That night the dream began to change. The plants that had seemed full of life and raise straight to the sky had started to droop as well as showing signs of turning brown.

The moon that was just a sliver had started to grow fuller and be slightly higher in the sky allowing for more light. The road had started to crack and looked older.

I followed the dream as if I was on a track and could not change it even though several times, in the beginning, I had tried but something always moved me forward. As I came to the crash of thunder and the flash of light I did not awake as I had before but opened my eyes and saw the figures eyes for the first time as it turned its head towards me. Even with all that distance, I could see them like they were right in front of me. The whites were either black or completely missing, the color was a bright yellow with the center being elongated slightly but solid black. That night I woke up sweating and could swear I could see the eyes right outside my window. That night I spent the night in the very center of my home with my pistol beside me.

The next morning I called in from work and began to look up what could be happening and more about dreams. I found many things from nightmares being fears from past lives to dreams of connecting you to different worlds or dimensions. I found all of this foolish and laughed at them tisk tisk. I finally came upon a doctor who specialized in dream therapy to help with PTSD and night terrors and since I had decided night terrors fit what was going on I called him even though he lived several states away.

“Hello! This is Dr. John Dyne’s office. I am Jenny how may I help you?” An energetic sounding girl answered the phone.

“Hey I am Erik Greyson and I have been having problems with what seems very much like the description of night terrors on your website.”

“I am sorry to hear that Mr. Greyson. Would you like to make an appointment or just do a phone consultation for now?”

“Thank you miss I would like to just do a phone consultation for now if that is possible.”

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“No problem sir. Let me see if the doctor is free and patch you through if possible.”

A standard elevator type music began to play on the phone. After about a minute I thought I could hear whispers coming through the phone. All I could make out is the shadow and the void.

As I paid closer attention suddenly a male voice came over the phone stopping the music and causing me to jump.

“Hello, sir I am Dr. Dyne. My desk operator told me you were having night terrors. Could you please describe the dream and if there are any negative effects on reality?”

I told him the full story leaving nothing out.

“Hmm. So you said about a month now and it has changed slowly throughout.” I could hear him typing on a computer in the background. “Causing paranoid symptoms when awake as well as hallucinations. Well, sir, I would certainly say what you have described could very well be a version of night terrors. I could see you next week if you think you could make it up here to New York.

“I can be there next Friday if that is ok doctor.”

“That will be fine. I have a spot at four fifteen.”

“I will be there.”

After the call with the doctor, I called my boss at the lab and told him I needed from Thursday to Saturday off. He was happy to allow it after I told him I was going to a doctor.

After having supper with my lover I fought to stay awake as long as I could till my body shut down.

As I the dream I noticed the smells of decay a smoke had grown stronger and the smoke was now visible far above my head. This time as the dream progressed to the point where I looked at the tree with the figure under it the figure was gone. A sense of panic sets in and I frantically look around praying that it was not near me. As I look towards the field I see them the eyes of fire and void staring straight at me. God those eyes no matter what happens I will never forget them. It was like if I looked at them too long my very life would end and burn away. Then I saw its teeth appear in what I could swear was a smile. Each tooth was more of a fang than what a human should have. It was like a shark was smiling at me the base of each tooth was white as snow but the tips were dyed varying colors of red. I was like a deer in the headlights with all my muscles flexed an unable to move while it just looked at me. Then the eyes started to move up till they went from roughly eye level to the point they were about a head taller than me. This is the point I woke up on the floor with scratch marks on the floor like I had been crawling away from something as fast as I could but it had a grip on me. That was the first night that caused me to cry from fear of the situation, anger at my weak mind that would be scared of a dream, and humiliation that I was this weak.

In the light of day, I called my girl to tell her I was going to see a doctor who specializes in sleep the next week and that I would be out of reach those three days.

“It’s ok. I hope they can help you. I miss being able to stay over.”

“I know I just don’t want to keep you up as well.”

I had made that excuse about the time I started moving in my sleep with fear I would hurt her.

That night I decided to try drinking to hopefully keep the dream away, even though I had given it up after the dui that nearly killed me. I got myself some strong vodka and mixed it with a juice to drink it. I do not remember the drinks burning as much or tasting near as bad in my university years. That night I passed out earlier that I had in weeks but I also had my first “talk” with the girl.

“Hello, Mr why are you on the floor?”

I open my eyes and after the world quit spinning I noticed I was in what seemed like an old wooden house.

“Where am I?”

“Well on the floor silly.” The little girl covered her mouth and laughed

“No, I mean like what town?”

“Well, this is not a town it is my families farm.” She looked very confused as if it was obvious.

“How did I get here?”

“I do not know sir when I came from the back where you were.”

“Where are your parents?”

“They…….they have been outside for a long time.” She suddenly looked very sad and looked at the floor.

“When will they be back?”

“I do not know. They just said that I had to stay inside and not be too loud.”

I stood up and went to the window but what I saw stopped my heart and cause me to brace myself from falling. Outside I saw an all to familiar sight of the field and the tree in the distance but the road was hidden from sight because of the plants at least all but the crossroads.

“Sir what’s wrong” She reached up pressing me up so I would not fall.

“WHERE ARE WE?” I yelled at her

“You are scaring me. I already told you.” She ran back and hid partially in the next room.

Her fear shook out of my own.

“I am sorry I was scared myself. Tell me where did your parents go?”

“.....They umm…..said they went to try and help the stranger who the shadow was after.”

“What’s the shadow?”

“It is the figure that steps out of the tree at the edge of our property. Grandpa used to say it was his brother back from overseas.”

“Where is your granddad?”

“He went missing several years ago shortly after the shadow started to appear.”

“Where is the shadow now I do not see it?”

“It has been missing for the last few weeks. It used to just step out and stare in the distance.”

“What changed?” I feel like I already know the answer but I had to hear it.

“A man walked near the crossroads out of the property and when we saw him it disappeared.”

WHy does this dream fill so real I feel like...as I started to ponder the situation I looked back out the window and saw two figures walking towards the house one looked male the other female.

“Are those…” I cut my question off early as I noticed floating not far behind them were the eyes and grin I have seen many times before. It had its arms that seemed much longer than normal placed at the back of each figure.

“Hey kid what does the shadow do if it catches someone?” I say acting calm to not scare the kid.

“Well, mommy said the shadow would either make you a puppet or take you.”

WIthout thinking further on what it meant for it to “take” you I bent down to eye level with the kid.

“So why did your parents say not to leave the house?”

“Well, mommy said the shadow can only enter where is invited or a place that has been dirtied.”

“Since that is the case how about you go to bed it is getting late,” I said with the best smile I could manage.

At that moment a loud bang hit the door and I set up in my bed a tear down my cheek. At least that dream was not as bad as normal. As I say these words I hear a bang on my bedroom door causing it to crack a little. Then a whisper seemed to come from beside me

“I saw you”

I quickly turned to see nothing but what looked like a long handprint on my window.