Darkness

Mom! Mom! He called desperately but no matter how much he shouts he can’t seem to hear his voice. It’s like he is shouting only inside his head but no actual words are coming out his mouth.

Then he notices that he can’t move! He looks around and all he sees is black inky darkness. He struggles in vain to move his body, then suddenly he felt something grab onto his feet dragging him deeper into the darkness. He instinctively knows that whatever is dragging him is darker than the darkness surrounding them. This cannot be real! This must be a dream! Wake up he orders himself! Wake up!

Mom! He calls out again hoping that his mother would hear and wake him up. But again no sound comes out. He thrashes in frustration. Oh no; He can’t breathe! As if the darkness is suffocating him. He is about to black out!
MOOOOOM! He shouts sitting up in bed. His body is drenched in sweat, dripping down his hair. He gasps dragging air into his lungs. His heart beating so hard he can almost hear it.

“Mark! Are you okay honey”, his mom ask outside his door.
“Yes mom. Just a nightmare”, he shouts at her.

“Are you sure”, she asks moms are prone to do.

“Yes, I’m sure!” he answers annoyed.

“Okay. Call me if you need me then”, she said.

He sighs, He remember the inky darkness. He look at his cell phone 3 am in the morning - the witching hour he realize. He shivers, he looks around his room. Instead of being comforted by the usual things, he can only see the shadows, imagining what kind of monsters are hiding within; ready and waiting to pull the unwary into their realm. He remembers the dark thing dragging him deeper.
He was only able to sleep again when the sun was about to rise. His last thoughts before exhaustion hit him was thank God it’s summer.

Mark! Your friend Jamie is here, time to wake up! His mother shouted downstairs.

Ugh! He groaned covering his head with his pillow. Five more minutes he mumbles.

Maarrrrk! His mother shouted again.

What is it with mothers? It’s as if she has already forgotten his nightmare that evening. Doesn’t she realize that he is sleep deprive? It’s not like he wants to spend his day sleeping.

“Maaarrrk! Did you hear me?”

“I’m up!” he shouted back. He rubs his eyes with both hands. His nightmare already fading out of his mind, wiped away by the light of the sun. He dangled his feet on the edge of his bed when he spots something on the edge of his eyes. When he look over there was nothing there. He shrugs, refusing to think about it. Anticipating a day full of adventure – they found something interesting in the woods coming of school yesterday.

Filled with anticipation he flew through his morning routine, brushing his teeth, taking a quick wash and then changing for outdoor clothes. He runs through the hallway past the landing down the stairs and into the kitchen.