CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NIGHTMARES

*MAY 27 2028*

I looked around to see if I could find my way back home as I walked through this deep, dark forest with trees that loomed over me like tall skyscrapers. Luck wasn't on my side. The forest was unfamiliar to me, which didn't help my situation. I couldn't help but get the feeling that I was lost. If that was the case, I was in some very deep shit.

I stopped in my tracks and looked around some more, doing my best to keep my cool under these dangerous circumstances. Thinking about it, I couldn't remember how I had gotten here. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. I wasn't a sleepwalker nor do I remember anything that might've led to this point. I tried to think, but nothing came to mind.

"Why…" came a voice from deep within the forest, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked in the direction it was coming from to see if I could see anyone. "WHY DID YOU LET ME DIE?!"

I felt my heart threaten to shatter. I recognize the voice. It did not seem possible. She had been missing for a while and no one had found any sign of her. How was she here? Did she follow me here? It didn't make any sense to me.

I wrapped my arms around myself and began walking. Beads of sweat began to form on my forehead, staining my clothes as well. A wave of fear washed over at the uncertainty of the situation. I couldn't understand what was happening. Why this was happening to me. It was like life was throwing a horrible joke at me. I didn't like that one bit.

"Why didn't you help me, son?" came a voice behind me, which was quickly followed by the feeling of a hand resting on my left shoulder. I growled as I spun around, shaking the hand off of me.

I looked around to see if I could find the person who did that. I found no one. I felt my eyes welling with tears. I knew that voice. It was my father.

'That's impossible,' I thought to myself. 'He died a few weeks ago from slitting his throat. How is he alive?!'

I looked down at the ground, trying to make sense of it all as the tears began trailing down my face. First, it was my sister, and now, my father. Did they come here just to torture me? Like it was some kind of sick joke? They weren't the type of people to do jokes like that. So, why now?

Rapid footsteps moving quickly behind me caught my full attention. I looked to see who it was, but there was no one there. A twig snapped behind me. I instinctively looked to see no one there. My fear was reaching heights I never thought was humanly possible. As I looked, I felt eyes looking at me from behind. I ignored the feeling to catch whoever was making that noise.

A growl from behind me made me become still as a statue. I stayed like that for a moment before I turned around to see who made that noise. My eyes widened at what I was seeing, my brain entering a state of shock.

Lisa and my father were standing a few feet away from me. A trail of blood streamed down from Lisa's head, her hair making it pretty impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from. My father was next to her. The large, gaping wound from his neck was leaking blood, staining his clothes. Their eyes were dead and lifeless like I was looking into the eyes of a zombie.

I stared at them, unable to move. What the hell was this? None of this seemed humanly possible. It felt like I was trapped in a terrible nightmare.

"WHY DID YOU LET US DIE?!" they shouted at the same time in a tone filled with anger. With that, they began charging at me with speed. I shielded myself with my arms.

"AAAAAAAAAAA-"

"-AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I sat up. I began gasping for air like I had just run a marathon. I frantically looked around to see where I was. The familiar layout of a familiar room told me that I was in my bedroom. Not lost in a forest.

I blinked and felt something wet trailing down my face. I wiped it away. I sniffled. It didn't take me long to realize that I was crying. I must've been doing so while I was sleeping. I immediately wiped my tears away with my left arm.

"It was only a dream," I said to myself. "It was only a dream."

It took me a moment to realize how sweaty I was. I looked down at my bed. My eyes widened at the sight of the wet stain on the bed. It was as big as me and it looked recently. It looked like that nightmare took a lot out of me.

The sound of my bedroom door slamming snapped me out of my trance. I jumped in my bed and looked to see who came charging in.

My mother was standing in the doorway, a worried expression on her face and her body wrapped in a robe. A wave of guilt washed over me. I must've woken her up with my screaming. Now, she must be worried sick that something happened to me. I had a feeling of what was going to happen next.

"Mihael, are you okay?" she asked, worry clear in her tone. "I woke up to you screaming! Are you hurt?!"

I stared at her for a moment. I didn't say anything. The last thing I wanted to tell her was that I had a nightmare and have her worry about me more. She already had dealt with enough. I didn't want to make this another thing she had to worry herself over. That didn't sit well with me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said weakly. "It's nothing. Let's try to get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."

My mother stared at me, eyeing me strongly. Something told me that she didn't believe that I was fine. I just woke up screaming from a horrible nightmare. She knew. She wasn't stupid. I prayed that she wouldn't push it. That was the last thing I needed to deal with late at night.

She sighed. "Okay, Mihael. Have a good night."

With that, she left and closed the door behind her. I stayed where I was for a moment. I blinked a few times. She gave up without much of a fight. That wasn't like her whatsoever. If I had to guess, she decided that she would rather be sleeping than questioning me. It was both a relief and a little odd to me.

I sighed and laid my head back down on the pillow. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

*THE NEXT DAY*

I looked down the aisle looking for the items that my mother asked me to get from the store with the list she had given me. I sighed as I continued looking. I was stressed but also relieved. Stressed over what happened last night. Relieved to get out of the house and get some fresh air, even if it meant helping out my mother, which I didn't mind whatsoever.

I didn't get a lot of sleep after having that horrid nightmare. I found myself waking up every few minutes for the rest of the night. To say I was cranky would be an understatement. I was exhausted. It didn't help that I had to sleep on that soaked bed for the rest of the night. I regretted not taking a shower and sleeping on the couch that night. I doubted it would help me sleep better, but it beats having to sleep on a wet bed.

I moved down the aisle, looking around for some of the items that were there. People moved past me, which I didn't pay any mind. What I did pay in mind was the look of sympathy that was plastered on their faces. They knew who I was since I was the son of the former police chief. I was thankful that they didn't give me their small condolences like the kids back at school.

To be honest, I was very grateful that today was Sunday. The last thing I wanted to deal with was more pity from the kids at school. I was thankful, but it has gotten to the point that it has become very tiresome. To me, the weekends were like a blessing sent to me by God to give me a break from the madness that is now happening at school at the moment.

Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked to see no one in the aisle with me. I stayed for a moment where I was for a moment to make sense of what happened. I couldn't get a good look at who it was since it happened so fast.

'Must be imagining things,' I thought to myself. I began to move out of the isle.

A new sound caught my attention, one that made me stop dead in my tracks. It was the sound of a little girl crying. My instincts went crazy. Did someone get hurt and needed help? I didn't know how I could help, but I wasn't going to sit there and let the girl cry her eyes out.

I raced out of the aisle and entered the next aisle where the crying was coming from. My eyes widened. Nothing. There was no one there. My mind began to race. How was that possible? There was no way a kid could move so fast and go unseen. There were no places for a kid to hide without knocking over the products.

I no longer felt comfortable. I was going crazy and the last thing I needed was to break down in the middle of the store. It would be very embarrassing. I quickly got the items I needed and walked over to the cash register, eager to get out and go home.

*JUNE 18 2030*

I began walking in a dark forest again with the only difference was that it was raining… hard. The sound of the rain hitting the ground was soothing, but it didn't help rid me of the fear that was growing inside me. I looked around for any signs of anyone but came up empty.

Despite the fact that I had been finding myself in this forest, I was always fearful of what I would find. Lisa and my father had been visiting me every night. They say the same things every time they were here and when I finally find them standing behind me. It still terrified me to no end.

However, this time, something felt off about the forest. It felt like I was in mortal danger. Like something evil was waiting for me here. An evil that wanted to harm me or worse… kill me.

That alone made the fear inside me grow to new heights. I found myself stopping dead in my tracks as I began frantically looking for whatever it might be. Although something deep down told me to get the hell out of there, I wanted to see what could possibly be making me feel this way.

"Hehehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!"

I froze like a statue as a dark sinister laugh echoed throughout the trees. I looked around trying to see if I could find the damn culprit. The rain made it difficult to see. It didn't help that it was trailing down my face and into my eyes, forcing me to squint to see.

The laughter itself felt unnatural. It sounded demonic. I mean it sounded like a man's laughter, but much more sinister. The danger I felt increased dramatically. I was very certain that I was going to die by whatever was now hiding in the trees.

"Behind you," came a sinister voice from behind. I stayed where I was for a moment before I turned around to see who it was. My fear skyrocketed, taking away my ability to move my legs.

A dark shape was standing about a few feet away from me, its eyes shining a dark, sinister red mixed with a small hint of purple. It was completely surrounded by shadow, making itself look like the Grim Reaper.

I stared at the thing, trying to find the ability to move, but I couldn't. My mind was racing and my legs became Jell-O. There was something sinister about the shape. Something out of this world. I couldn't bring myself to look away. My eyes were glued to the damn thing.
"IT'S TIME TO DIE!" it screamed before it lunged itself at me.

"AAAAAAAA-"

"-AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I sat up. Just like every time this happened to me, I began gasping for air like I had just run a marathon. My heart was racing as I frantically looked around to see where I was. The familiar layout of a familiar room told me that I was in my bedroom. Not in the dark forest with the evil shadow.

I took deep breaths to calm myself down. Once again, I woke up in the middle of the night screaming from a terrible nightmare. It has been two years since my sister has gone missing and my father died. From that point, the town had already moved on, and so did my mom. All except for me.

For the past two years, I have been plagued by horrific nightmares that end with me screaming. By this point, my mother stopped coming in to check in on me since I refused to tell her what had been going on lately. I was grateful for that. I knew my mother was only trying to make sure I was okay and help me, but I didn't want her to worry about me when she has so much to worry about already.

I felt myself and took notice of how sweaty I was.

'Don't tell me…' I thought to myself, although I knew what was waiting for me.

I felt my bed… and groaned. There was a huge puddle of sweat that coated the sheets. There was no way in hell I was going to sleep on this bed. I was going to sleep on the couch. However, I knew I couldn't do that due to how sweaty I was.

"I'm going to take a shower before I go to sleep on the couch," I said to myself. With that in mind, I hopped out of bed and grabbed my blanket. I walked over to the dresser, opened it, and grabbed a pair of undergarments and a pair of pajama shorts.

I walked out of the bedroom, listening for any signs of my mother waking up. There were none. I tiptoed to the stairwell, making sure I went down as quietly as possible so as to not wake her up. That was the last thing I needed to happen.

I reached the bottom and walked over to the couch. I plopped my blanket on the couch before walking up the stairs to the bathroom with my clothes held tightly in my hands.

I turned off the water for the shower before slowly stepping out of the tub. Water trailed down my body and dripped off the tips of my fingers, soaking the rug under my feet. The warmth the water had provided to me slowly began to fade, being replaced with a bitter cold that made my teeth chatter. I shook myself a little bit before walking over to the towel rack. I grabbed a random towel and began to dry myself off, even using it to scratch off some itchy spots on my back.

When I was done, I wrapped the towel around my waist. I began to reach for the doorknob before turning my attention to the mirror. I froze in my spot as I stared at my reflection. I slowly walked over to the mirror, placing my hands on the sink.

I looked and saw myself in the reflection. My eyes were bloodshot. No doubt from all of the crying I did while I was sleeping and going through that terrible nightmare.

Speaking of nightmares, this one was much different than the ones I had been having for the past two years. Why that figure shrouded in dark shadows was there was beyond me. I had never seen anything like that before so I couldn't understand why I dreamt of something like that.

Dreams were very strange phenomena that are still misunderstood and studied to this day. People think that dreams are realms of very strange worlds that we can only access in our sleep. Others think that it's conjured by the human mind and things like that. I didn't know which could be true and I doubt that will explain the dream I had. None of it made any sense.

I shook my head, snapping myself out of my thoughts.

'It's best to not even think about such a thing,' I thought to myself quickly. 'I better get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me.'

I quickly finished my business and wiped myself dry. I put on my new set of clothes and walked out of the bathroom with the towel in my hands. I entered my bedroom and put it on the chair for my computer desk. I walked out of the bedroom and headed back to the living room.

I laid down on the couch, laying the blanket over me. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling above me. I took a deep breath as the gravity of my situation slowly hit me. I have no idea how much I could take. I felt like I was going crazy. The thought of finding myself at a mental institute didn't sit well with me. I was no way in hell going to let my mother worry about that. I wasn't going to let that happen.

'Stay strong, Mihael,' I thought to myself. 'Everything will be okay.'

With that, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

*APRIL 10 2033*

I opened my eyes, expecting to find myself in the forest as usual. Instead, bright lights assaulted me. I blinked a couple of times to restore my vision. As I did, I tried to wrap my head around what could possibly be causing this much brightness. Nothing came to mind.

After what felt like an eternity, my vision returned to normal. I took that opportunity to find out where I was. My eyes widened as I recognized where I was. The familiar neon lights, the metal gates, the smell of pizza, and the logo told me where I was. The Lobby of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.

I tried to wrap my head around how the hell I had gotten here. Nothing came to mind. The new surroundings felt foreign to me due to how much I'd been finding myself in the dark forest I was accustomed to for the past few years.

As I looked, I felt that familiar wave of danger washing over me. By this point, I should've become accustomed to it. I wasn't. I was still as terrified as ever. The feeling of danger wasn't something you could grow accustomed to. It wasn't something that wouldn't stop scaring the living daylights out of you. The strong need to protect yourself would be overpowering everything else.

"You came back," came that familiar dark voice I have been hearing a lot. I slowly turned around to see the dark figure standing a few feet away. My fear grew.

Despite the shadow that consumed it, I could see it baring its teeth at me like a rabid dog. I felt the urge to run, but my legs refused to listen to my brain. I braced myself for what was going to happen next.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME BACK!" it shouted before it lunged at me like a leopard.

"AAAAAAAAAAA-"

"-AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I sat up on the couch. I rested a hand on my chest as my heart began pounding rapidly in my chest. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. I looked around to see that I was in the living room.

I had been sleeping here for the past 3 years. Of course, I would sleep in my bed, but there will be times I will be sleeping on the couch. Me sleeping on the couch has driven my mother crazy a few times, but she understood when she would see me there and I told her that I decided to sleep on it instead of the sweat-stained bed all the time.

I looked over at the pictures that littered the walls. They were pictures of my family when we were still happy. I felt my eyes tear up at the sight of them. I would see them whenever I woke up on the couch screaming from a horrid nightmare. Now, they were painful reminders of what I lost.

I placed my hands over my eyes as I began crying. I couldn't take this anymore. I didn't want to be here. I knew my mother needed me, but I couldn't stand being reminded of the things that were taken away from us. All of this had to come to an end.

"That's it," I said to myself. "I'm sorry, Mother but I can't take this anymore. I'm getting out of here."

*THE NEXT DAY*

"You want to move out?!" my mother exclaimed in shock. I cringed at how loud she shouted that. We were sitting at the table eating breakfast she made for her and I.

I remained silent for a moment before I nodded my head. "Yes."

"But why?" she asked, her tone hurt. I felt my heart ache at that, but I stayed strong. I made my decision last night. I was going to see it through.

"Why? Because I want to get out of here," I replied. "I can't stand living here and being reminded of what we've lost. Besides, I am 22 years old and I am still living here. It's time I spread my wings and begin the next chapter."

My mother stared at me with hurt in her eyes. Despite the pain that spread throughout my chest, I remained absolute. The memories of growing up here and being reminded of my sister's disappearance and my father's lifeless body in the living room were too much to bear. It didn't help with the nightmares that I have been plagued with for the past 5 years. I didn't want to bother her anymore.

"Mihael, please, you don't have to do this," my mother pleaded. "I don't want to lose you."

It took me a moment to realize what my mother meant by that. She probably thought that I was going to move out of Hurricane. I had no intentions of doing so. Even after all that's happened, the town will forever be my home and I had no plans to leave it.

I sighed. "Mother, you're not going to lose me. If you're thinking that I plan to move out of Hurricane, that's not going to happen. I plan to move into a similar neighborhood like ours. That way, you can come over and see me and I will do the same."

I watched a small wave of relief form on her face. That was all the confirmation I needed to know that was exactly what my mother was worried about. However, I knew deep down that she was going to keep trying to convince me not to move.

I mentally sighed at that. I loved my mother, but she could be a stubborn mule sometimes. I should've known that she was going to be like this when I planned to tell her about this. In fact, it really shouldn't have come as a surprise. I was the only family she had left and the idea of me moving somewhere in Hurricane had to be her worst nightmare.

Despite that, she had to understand that I couldn't spend the rest of my life in this house. As painful as it was, it had to be done. And besides, being reminded of what we lost wouldn't do me any good whatsoever. So by moving out, I can hopefully get away from it all and the nightmares will probably stop.

I looked my mother in the eyes. "Mother, no matter what you say, I won't change my mind. I'm moving out and that's final."

"But-" was all she was able to say.

"Mother," I said sternly. "I've made my choice. I know you don't want me to go, but I can't spend the rest of my life here. I am getting out of here."

My mother opened her mouth to say something, but the words won't come out. I waited for what she would do or say next. I could only hope she realized that she wasn't going to change my mind on this at all. It hurt like hell, but it had to be done.

"Okay, Mihael," she said. "I understand."

I mentally sighed in relief. "Thanks. Once we're done eating, I want to start looking for a house. I could use the help."

*5 DAYS LATER*

I sat on the couch waiting for my mother to arrive to tell me that she got the house for me. I decided to not go as I wanted to take the time to think about what would be happening over the next few days before I moved.

It's been about 5 days since I told my mother that I was moving out of the family house and moving somewhere in Hurricane. Despite knowing that I would be living close by, my mother was still upset that she failed to convince me to stay. I understood completely. I was her only child now and the idea of losing that was something straight out of a nightmare.

For 4 days, my mother helped me look for a house that was close to the family house. That way, she and I didn't have to spend like 30 to 40 minutes to go see each other when we wanted to.

Yesterday, we found a house that was a few minutes away. It was in a small neighborhood, the kind that I wanted to live in. The house was one story tall and was made out of fine red bricks with a triangular-shaped roof fitted with a garage and a driveway. The moment I saw it, I knew right away that was the house. The best part was that it was for only $10,000, which I didn't see it as a bad price. I told her I wanted that one. Without hesitating, she called the seller and scheduled to come see it the next day.

So, today was the day. My mother left to see the house and let me know if she got it. I could only hope that she got it. That house was the only one that was in our budget thanks to the money my dad had left before he passed away. If we got this house, I would be a bit happy but also sad at the same time.

The front door opened and my mother stepped inside. I looked to see her walking over to me. She stopped about a foot away from me. I waited for the news that might be coming my way.

"I bought the house," my mother said. "All you need to do is sign this and the house is yours."

My heart leaped out of my chest at that. I was now going to be moving into a house in a small neighborhood. This was the best thing to happen, and yet at the same time, it was heartbreaking. I could only hope my mother would be okay once I left.

She handed me a piece of paper and a pen. Without hesitating, I signed the paper with my signature. I handed her the paper and she took it, as well as the pen.

"The seller told me that you will be able to move into the house in 2 weeks," my mother said. "I'm going to be heading back to the house and give them the paperwork. In the meantime, get packed up. I want you to be ready before then."

I nodded. With that, my mother left and headed back to the house. I waited for a moment before getting up from the couch and heading over to the bedroom to begin my packing.