Page 11 of The Nightmare King

And then I had a nightmare.

Chapter

Six

KINGS OF HALLOWEEN

I saw the very face which had visited me in my childhood at night, which remained so fixed in my memory, and on which I had for so many years often ruminated with horror...

J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla

GHOST FACE

My overactive imagination had no real source. I didn’t watch a lot of television aside from mindless reality shows. Physical books never held my interest for longer than a page or two, that’s why I listened to them instead. The only art I took part in was jewelry making and even that I was only mediocre at. Horror wasn’t really my thing, though I loved the campy scariness of Halloween.

I loved my Halloween dreams. Except for this one.

Late summer air mixed with children’s laughter and eased through the screens of musty windows. The doorbell rang, and several cats meowed, swooshing their soft fur through my legs. This was a house I’d never seen before— bright orange carpet and neon green flower wallpaper.

A white sheet-covered ghost, a pointed hat little witch, and a superhero beamed up at me. “Trick or treat!”

On a table by the door sat a big plastic caldron filled with vintage candies, which I deposited in each pillowcase or pumpkin container. The kids shouted, unwrapping their spoils, and pattered back into the neighborhood night. The crescent moon’s light splintered through trees as I stood admiring it for a moment. It was peaceful here, it was Halloween, and there were cats. This wasn’t so bad.

And then the phone rang.

A pink rotary phone vibrated with its assault until I answered. “Hello?”

Only static greeted me. The feel of paws on my bare feet made me smile as I hung up and petted the fluffy grey cat. “Do you need some food, buddy?”

The moment I hung up the phone, it rang again. This time when I answered, I could hear heavy breathing on the other side of the line. “Who is this?” I asked into the silence. Even the felines seemed to be listening.

I hung up.

The phone rang again.

“This isn’t funny,” I greeted. “What, are you some kind of prank caller?”

The heavy breathing continued, until suddenly, a low voice resounded with static in my ear. “Trick or treat?”

My heart jumped into my throat, and my palm went slick against the phone. I picked up the base and walked to the window, peering through the blinds, only seeing a few stray children scampering down the road. “What?—“

The doorbell rang, and the voice repeated slowly. “Trick… or… treat?” Trembling, I paused with my hand on the knob, afraid of who or what might be waiting on the other side. “Open the door, Lucy.”

Then true fear gripped me. Mare never called me Lucy. His voice, this voice, was different. And I truly felt afraid now. For the first time in a long time, I actually wished to wake up.

Instead, I opened the door. Only cold air tinged with wood smoke, and wax greeted me. So real, so potent, too tangible to be a nightmare. That’s what made my encounters with Mare so intense. And it’s what made the in-between time in these worlds without him so… horrifying.

I jumped when the voice echoed in my ear again, I’d forgotten the phone as I clutched it with my shoulder, getting tangled in the spiraled wire. “Wrong door, Lucy.”

“I’m scared. Is this Mare? You’re scaring me,” I admitted, locking the deadbolt, knowing it wouldn’t help. A cat purred against my ankle.

“Oh, don’t you play this game with Brandon? Or Dr. Truman?” His voice was hateful now as if speaking through gritted teeth. “You talk to them every day. Now it’s my turn to have you on the line.”

Somewhere, a door in the house shook, and I began to tremble, tears filling my vision. “Stop, please stop this. I only ever wait for you.”

The shaking noises in the house stopped, and the heavy breathing on the other end of the phone returned. “Perhaps… if I kill you… you’ll stay with me.”

My words dried on my tongue.

---