The Nightmare Club: Part 1 (2016)

Count to three

Close your eyes

Now you’ll see

Where shadows lie

The moon hung heavy and full in the night. It reflected the dying light of the sun as it retreated below the horizon. Night swept across the city like a flood enveloping everything in its wake. Jason ran along the rooftops in a silent rush. The object in his backpack felt heavy. It weighed on his mind as he listened to the sirens on the streets below. He did not understand the object’s significance but it needed to be delivered and the old woman paid him well to transport it safely. The divides between buildings were small and easy to manage for someone like Jason. He delivered questionable packages to people all the time. This was just another night for him.

The glow of the moon felt especially bright tonight. Jason could see his shadow stretch across the rooftops and dissipate into the orange glow of the streetlights below. He hoped his silhouette was invisible to the eyes of the police combing the streets. He needed to make this delivery and get as far away from the orb he carried in his backpack as possible. It seemed to be nothing but trouble, like a jinx. He had never been this hotly pursued before and policemen seemed to know where he was at every turn.

A yellow light suddenly pierced the darkness. It blinded Jason as he neared the edge of a rooftop. He heard the voice of a police officer echoing through a bullhorn. The spotlight felt hot on Jason’s face. It blinded him. He covered his eyes and backed away from the light. As he did, he felt himself slip. It was not the edge of the roof or a skylight. It was darkness. Jason fell. He left the piercing light of the police and the soft glow of the moon above him as darkness rushed up to greet him. All sound vanished except for the rush of wind around him. The next thing Jason felt was his body hitting the ground and the next thing he heard was the sound of his lungs gasping for air. He did not remember holding his breath but it felt like he died and was reborn with new breath. Jason looked around and realized he was in a room lit by dim candlelight. He could not tell how big it was because the flames of the candles only lit the center of the room in a perfect circle. Outside the light the edges of the room softened and were lost to shadows.

Slowly, whispers filled the room. Jason looked around and watched as three figures dressed in black slipped out of the shadows and into the soft glow of the candles. Their hair caught his attention almost immediately; one of the women had bright red hair, the other, golden blonde, and the man, dark hair that almost looked blue in the flicker of the firelight. They looked at him intently as if searching his mind for the purpose of his intrusion. Jason slowly pushed himself to his feet and as he did the orb fell from his backpack and hit the ground with a soft thud. It rolled away from him until it stopped under the foot of the woman with red hair. She bent down and picked it up with a silent grace as if the orb deserved a sense of reverence. The three figures huddled together with the orb between them. They whispered in hushed tones. Jason knew their conversation regarded his fate. He could not tell if the room had a door and he knew he could not outrun the figures he shared his new cell with. He stood completely still in the center of the ring of light and waited.

After a few moments the three figures turned to face Jason. Before he knew what was happening, the figure with yellow hair moved and grabbed his left arm and the man with blue hair grabbed his right arm. Their moves had been almost imperceptible, like they moved in and out of the shadows. Jason struggled to free himself but their strength was much greater than his own. The woman with red hair moved toward him and kicked him in the chest. Jason gasped for air as he felt himself fall. The next thing he knew he was pinned to the ground with the woman’s foot on his chest.

“What is your name?” She said coolly, almost in a whisper.

“Jason,” he coughed out under the strain of her black boot.

“Do you know what this is?” the woman asked, displaying the orb like a divine relic.

“A paperweight? I don’t know. I don’t ask questions, I just take the money and make the delivery.”

            The woman smirked and nodded at the other two. The yellow-haired one smiled and the man looked concerned but nodded begrudgingly. Jason watched as they both pulled knives from their belts and raised them high above their heads. He closed his eyes and hoped the moment would pass quickly. They pulled the sleeves of his hoodie up so his forearms were exposed. Jason could feel the burning gaze of the red-haired woman in is mind’s eye. The cold steel of the blades on his arms sent cold shivers shooting through his body. He braced himself. Then the red-haired woman shouted.

“Stop!”

            Jason opened his eyes. The three figures were on their feet, standing at the edge of the ring of firelight. They stared at him intently. The red-haired woman stepped forward and offered Jason her hand. Seeing no alternative, he took it, and she pulled him to his feet. She maintained her grip on his wrist and turned his arm over.

“Where did you get this?” the woman asked, indicating the intersecting scars on Jason’s left forearm.

            Jason was taken aback. No one ever asked him about his scars and when they did, they never believed his answer.

“I tried to kill myself,” Jason stammered out.

“That is the lie you tell people,” the red-haired woman said, staring intently into Jason’s eyes, “how did you really get them?”

“I don’t remember,” Jason said, “All I remember is waking up one night in a cold sweat, screaming after having a nightmare, and there was blood everywhere. My parents rushed me to the hospital and after I explained myself they sent me to a psychiatrist. He told me I was schizophrenic and put me on some meds.”

“Are you still on them?” The woman interrupted.

“Yeah,” Jason said, “the nightmares stopped once I started taking them.”

“Stop,” The woman said abruptly. She then nodded at the other two who walked to opposite edges of the circle of light. The woman stepped back so Jason stood in the center of the triangle the three of them formed.

“The nightmare you had was real,” the woman explained, “the pills you are taking are preventing your spirit from traveling to the Nightmare Realm.”

“The what?” Jason interrupted.

“When you sleep your spirit leaves your body and enters a different realm that we call dreams. We are a secret society that has learned how to ‘lucid dream’. We are of a chosen order of three knights that battle nightmares and prevent them from entering our world. A prophecy has been passed down for generations that tells of a fourth that will come when the need is most dire.”

            As the woman spoke she held the orb up in the air and released her grip on it. It floated into the air and hung above Jason’s head in the center of the triangle. He stared at it. It began to glow and reflect the light of the candles.

“This orb protects us, as our bodies are vulnerable once our spirits have entered the Nightmare Realm.”

“And you think I’m your ‘chosen one’?” Jason said in disbelief.

“The prophecy tells of a boy with a cross on his arm that will bring balance to light and dark. Tell me. In your nightmare, did the darkness take a form?”

“I don’t remember,” Jason admitted, “I just remember three sets of glowing eyes.”

“That is what I feared. Those are Ahri, Nyx, and their Shadow Beast, rulers of the Nightmare Realm. They have also heard of the prophecy and wanted to kill you before you could stop them.”

            Jason’s mind spun. He could not believe what he was hearing. It all sounded so unreal. He could not believe it, and yet, here he was, brought here by accident. Or perhaps, he was here by fate.

“The one with the yellow hair is Tess, the other is David. My name is Brigit, but you may call me ‘Bri’.”

            As the light from the orb overhead grew more intense he realized the figures were not as old as he originally thought. They could not be much older than himself and he was only eighteen. He watched as they all pulled knives from their belts and held them over their outstretched palms. They whispered a four-lined poem and drew the blades across their palms. The lights on the candles flickered and the room began to spin. A dark hole opened up underneath them and Jason could feel a rush of wind burst upward under his feet.

“Once we are in the Nightmare Realm, stay close. Your spirit will need to adjust and we will need to discover your power,” Bri shouted over the wind.

“What power?” Jason shouted back.

“Once outside the confines of your physical body you will be able to unlock your spirit’s full potential!” Bri shouted back.

            Jason watched as the four of them fell. He tried to ask her what her power was but all sound vanished inside the vortex. Then the light dimmed and everything faded to black. The next thing Jason felt was his body hitting the ground and the next thing he heard were his lungs gasping for air.