A start. A dream.

I
         The man standing in front of me is Jesus. I can’t explain how I know this, but like any strange dream, you simply know. He doesn’t particularly look anything like I would have expected, but it is him. He is young and thin. He is dressed in a simple, beige robe and his feet are bare. He doesn’t seem to notice the razor sharp rocks of the river bank beneath his feet. The water from the river is black and moves silently past us, headed to some unknown location in this strange world. The sky is gray around us and there is no wind, color, sign of life, or sound. Across the river lies another barren bank full of sharp, black rock.

         He is staring at me expectantly and although I don’t remember being asked, I know what he wants. He is waiting for my wish.  The answer comes without hesitation.

“I wish to see him.”

         No answer comes from the figure before me, only the same calm stare, but I know that he has obliged. From behind me, I can hear footsteps walking down the bank toward the river. I turn around slowly, Jesus already forgotten.

         Joy overwhelms me when I see my childhood friend standing there. Tears well up instantly and run random trails of moisture down my cheeks. His dark brown hair is un-kept and bunches up around his ears. His hazel eyes are striking and he is wearing the same blue jeans and t-shirt he had on the last time I saw him alive. There are so many things that I want to say, so many things that I want to ask. How are you? How have you been? Who killed you? Do you know who killed you, Eddie? But I can only smile uncontrollably.

         Eddie is not smiling, however. I feel that he is happy to see me, but his face tells a different story. He looks tired. Ragged and worn down. Most of all, he looks scared. 

“Hello Eddie.” I finally manage.
“The Dark.” He replies in a low voice.
“What?”
“The Dark!”
“What about it, Eddie? What do you mean?”
“The Dark is taking over.”
“All of it? Or just this part?” My reply is instant although I don’t understand it.
“She is coming.” His eyes look frantic and he swings his head violently to the side looking over his shoulder.
“Jake, She’s Coming!” He is frantic now, full blown panic setting in “I have to take my seat!”

         Before I can ask who ‘She’ is, he turns and runs along the river bank. I’m not surprised at all to see a stand of metal bleachers facing the dark, oozing river. There are other people sitting there, staring blankly out across the water. The people sitting quietly on the bleachers are made up of full grown men, women, and a few children. Eddie continues toward the bleachers and takes a seat at the bottom row. He turns his head toward me once more, but no longer looks scared. A heavy glaze has set across his eyes. 

         In the next instant, I am also sitting in the bleachers. I am on the top row and looking down at Eddie who, like everyone else, is staring at the figure standing in front of us. She is old, and decrepit. Tattered black rags hang loosely across her deformed, hunched body and her inhuman eyes are as black and deep as the water flowing behind her. When she speaks, her blistered lips pull back against small, sharp fangs and a shriek escapes her that chills my bones. Utter terror begins to rise up inside me. She is here to take us all home. I don’t know what that means, but when she begins to shriek I am already under her spell and can do nothing but go along.

“GOODNIGHT! GOODNIGHT!” She Shrieks.

“GOODNIGHT!  GOODNIGHT!” The dead reply.

Darkness.