The Demon's At The Door

  Hi Creepsters.

  Here is another short story from the recesses of my mind.

  It is based on a nightmare that I had a while back 

  and I thought it was time to bring it to life.

  I think the underlying nature of this tale is that of guilt 

  and uncertainty 

  and perhaps a sliver of evil.

 #ReadOn

 #CreepOn

  The Demon's At The Door - Nightmare #130

  by:Deevious

  I left him.

  I did.

  I left him behind in that darkness.

  And I've been ashamed of myself ever since.

  Sick to my core.

  Unable to forgive myself.

  Unable to forget that -

  That thing;

  That creature.

  That hideous monster that devoured him like a last meal.

  I see his face everywhere -

  It haunts me -

  Taunts me -

  Tortures me worse than any creature ever could have hurt me.

  I remember his eyes -

  Big, brown, clear eyes, full of light and promise.

  Full of conviction and passion.

  Until he saw it.  

  I could see his eyes fill with fear and disbelief.

  I think we saw it at the same time.

  I didn't even pause.

  I didn't think he would either.

  But he did.

  I told him to run, but he froze in place.

  Stood still and stiff, like a statue outside a stadium.

  I didn't even turn around, not until I was in the church.

  Not until I was through the doorway.

  That's when I heard his first scream.

  Then, another wail followed.

  It sounded wet and I knew he had blood in his throat.

  I looked into that cold, dark night and saw his body drop to the ground.

  A huge, shadow-like creature with silver hair 

  and crustacean claws hovering over him.

  I yelled so loud and so long I thought my lungs would burst, "David!"

  But the people behind me pulled me into the chapel and closed the doors.

  I kicked and screamed and fought them like a junkie being hauled off to rehab.

  I refused to be consoled and blamed them for his demise.

  I cursed them out in this holy place until there were no hateful words left to spew.

  When I finally collapsed, I laid the blame on myself.

  Blamed myself for loving him in the first place; 

  for accepting his marriage proposal in such a wicked and uncertain time; 

  for allowing myself to believe in a future.

  My mind tortured me with visions and illusions of his death.

  My guilt conjured up unreasonable scenarios and ridiculous outcomes.

  After the tears and the self-loathing, I passed out.

  I fell into an exhausted sleep only to find a land of broken dream pieces 

  and hellish nightmares that left me with more questions than answers.

  And when I awoke to more screams, I realized they were my own.

  A fevered sweat and a swollen head 

  and an aching heart brought me back to reality.

  Brought me back to this wretched new world where monsters roamed free 

  and humans became the hunted.

  A knock at the main door interrupted my thoughts.

  No one would answer it.

  No one would dare.

  But I dared to open it.

  I wanted answers.

  I threw away any regard for safety or for myself.

  I ran to the door with grandiose thoughts of a David reborn, or better yet, saved.  

  I led myself to believe that he had survived the attack.

  The others begged me not to open the door; 

  Reminded me not to invite whomever - or whatever - 

  was at the door into our safe space; Into this holy place.

  “Remember, they cannot break the threshold unless you invite them in,” 

  one of the elders reminded me as I reached for the door handle.  

  “Do not invite them in,” another elder whispered from behind me.

  I threw back the deadbolt and swung open the oak door.  

  “David?” I asked, expecting to see him, 

  wanting nothing more than to fold up that previous nightmare 

  and tuck it away into the alcoves of my mind.  

  Instead, a ghastly creature of great height and width filled the doorway.  

  It’s skin was gray and brittle, like dried leather. 

  It had patches of silver fur around its neck, like a lion’s mane.  

  The creature was huge and hideous and looked like it hadn’t slept in years.  

  “What did you do with David?” I demanded.  

  It studied me.

  “What did you do to him?” I cried out with all the anger I had ever felt in my life.

  It breathed heavily, emitting an awful air of what smelled a lot like  

  raw burger cooking in a frying pan.   

  It spoke softly and with a grin, “I set him free.”

  ~ Deevious 2018-2019 ~

❤Thank you for being here in the darkness with me.

Read more wicked tales at my label: Nightmares