Dahl, Danny, Cynthia, and Courtney are four siblings who love each other with their dearest hearts, but are their own pet peeves. A fragment of who they truly are. Courtney was the youngest of the four siblings and a bright, energetic ball of energy. If Courtney made up something dark, then it was mainly false. Except for this time I wasn't. Courtney would sometimes sit confused. But Courtney would never question anything, why would she, she's too young for that? When Courtney started to have nightmares, nobody believed they were actually true. Cynthia shared a room with Courtney, and she claimed that Courtney was lying each and every time. Courtney wanted everyone to believe that it was true, but there was one key element missing from the claim that she was trying to make.
Dahl and Danny didn't have to be afraid of any silly lies Courtney was supposedly making up, even Courtney probably wanted to plea that she was guilty. But something seemed off. You knew that Courtney was lying because she always had a great laugh at the end of it. But why would a ten year old make up something and not laugh at the end of it? Since these supposed nightmares had begun, she was less energetic, something was going on behind the scenes that nobody knew about.
That's when Cynthia began to be a little confused. She saw the door open in the middle of the night, and Courtney started saying, "Stop! Stop doing that whoever you are." Then she heard a deep voice, "No."
Cynthia was scared. Whatever was happening Courtney was definitely not making up. Cynthia didn't want to wake anybody up and scream and wail throughout the entire house. But Cynthia regretted everything.
Then, Courtney started breathing heavier, and there was more crying coming from her bed. Cynthia silently cried and went into panic mode when she heard everything. Did the man in the shadows who she didn't even know doing what she thought she was doing? To a girl. Courtney was too young to understand so she the only word she ever knew to call it was a nightmare. Her parents (Todd and Jill) wouldn't believe her. She would think that Cynthia was making Courtney say what Cynthia wanted her to say. Courtney was too young for this to happen. Courtney was only had about a year left until the stages begun, and who knew what would happen at that point? Cynthia fell asleep quietly weeping at what bad could be happening and what that man was doing in the shadows.
Cynthia woke up that morning scared. Courtney said it was just another nightmare.
Jill finally asked Courtney, "Why would you keep making up these simple lies about just a nightmare? Were sick and tired of hearing that annoying way of life over and over again." Courtney couldn't find the right words.
After Courtney had stumbled over her words, she finally responded to her mother, "I don't know."
"At least you've found another answer." Jill responded, under her breath, she said, "You were just another stupid mistake." Courtney heard that and she felt disappointed because nobody believed her. Not even her own mother, and she was taught in school that adults were people you could trust, not people who would stomp you into the ground. Now it was summer vacation, and she couldn't trust anybody.
But one person did believe Courtney, and it was none other than Cynthia. Because Cynthia was awake the entire time, thinking of who this man could be. Remembering all the past events.
Later when their Mom wasn't around, Cynthia said something to Courtney that would change Courtney forever, finally, something she could trust.
"I believe in your nightmares," Cynthia told Courtney.
"Why would you believe them?" Courtney asked.
"Because I woke up to the noises." Cynthia responded.
Courtney was clueless what was going onto her, she was too young to understand and no girl should be told what was happening to her. But Cynthia already had evidence. She knew it was a man, but that's all she really knew. It couldn't have been Dahl or Danny, or even their Dad, Todd. They had the voices of beautiful tenors leaping through the stars, and what monster would do that to a sibling or a daughter?
So then the next night came, but oddly the man did not come that day. The man that was secretly breaking into their house and doing whatever he was doing to Courtney. Poor Courtney, Cynthia thought.
That night it was peaceful.
The next day at the cut of the afternoon, when Cynthia and Courtney were doing their chores. Cynthia needed to get the vacuum cleaner out of the storage room. But rather than that, Cynthia saw what seemed to be a portal at the end of the storage room. Cynthia had no idea how that even got there and she was confused. She got Dahl and Danny to come see the portal and they were amazed. Courtney also saw it too. So without any hesitation, they went inside that portal and didn't even do their chores.
The land was vast in metal and smog, with rust beaming without a powerful smell, it was almost unbearable to even take a waft. But Courtney, poor Courtney, felt like this was her hiding place. From the man. From the mother who never expressed or showed concerned or even said a simple, "I love you." From the father who was forced to do everything that the mother told her, and when he tried to protect and raise up his voice, the mother shot back at him and the father was also afraid. But only Courtney saw that in the eyes of his father. And maybe Cynthia started to see it too.
"What is this place?" Dahl asked.
"A piece of crap," Danny responded. "That's what I'll tell you it is." That sentence made Courtney realize how close Danny and her father were and how it was odd but funny at certain times.
"This place looks fragile." Courtney said.
"That's not what that word means." Cynthia replied. "Just like the word nightmare."
"What's going on about your nightmares Courtney?" Danny asked. There was a long moment of silence until Courtney opened her mouth and choked on the sewage city smell.
"Sorry," Courtney said slowly, almost teary-eyed.
"We're not judging you." Dahl said. "We just want to know what's wrong. We're on your side and we want to hear what your nightmares are all about. We won't judge like Mom does."
"Then why don't you say anything?" Courtney asked. Dahl, Danny, and Cynthia looked at each other. None of them knew the right words to say. They didn't want to come off as not brave to Courtney (Brave was another word that Courtney did not understand, so they used that to their advantage).
"We are just scared that Mom fill cause commotion in the house with us. We are not brave enough I guess." Danny replied.
"Every time I wake up," Courtney admitted. "There's a man, I don't know what he looks like, but he's in my bed, he has a voice way deeper than Daddy, and sometimes he grabs my throat and-"
"Stop." Dahl said.
"Courtney, please cover your ears." Danny said.
"Okay Danny," Courtney responded, and she covered her ears.
"Why didn't you say anything Cynthia?" Dahl asked.
"I was too scared to, okay?" Cynthia responded. "I only noticed two nights ago, but I didn't want to tell Mom or I didn't want to tell Dad because if I told Mom she would not believe me, and Dad wouldn't do anything about it because he's also scared of Mom, and if he gets a divorce Mom is going to track down and kill my Dad!" Cynthia was hyperventilating at this point. "Your mom's perfect little angels, she never wanted me and Courtney! She said that in front of Courtney because she knows Courtney won't understand and move along with her day, and if she told me, she thinks I would tell everyone and the rest of the family would turns their backs on her and she would lash out on me and do everything that's no unimaginable!" Cynthia was starting to cry. Even Dahl shed a few tears, the first Cynthia and Danny had seen in many years.
"Can I uncover my ears now?" Courtney shouted, then many machines came around them.