Chapter 1: “I’M COMING TO GET YOU”
“Cory, I’m coming to get you,” an unknown voice said in a low, almost guttural growl.
Cory heard the threat loud and clear, but he couldn’t determine who was speaking or where the voice was coming from. He was walking home from his friend’s house, as he had done a hundred times before without incident. It was only ten o’clock at night, and there was plenty of light coming from the almost full moon. Up until the moment he heard the voice, he had been care free and glad that he had the opportunity to hang out with his best friend, Vinny, on the night before Cory would go off to school.
In an instant, all of that changed, as his senses went on high alert. For a reason he couldn’t explain, Cory wasn’t afraid. In fact, the hair on the back of his neck was bristling with what he determined could only be anticipation. It was almost as if he had been expecting the upcoming confrontation and couldn’t wait for it to get started. Even when the world around him suddenly began to change, fear didn’t dictate his actions.
Thick, dark clouds smothered the moon, quickly extinguishing the generous light that, just moments before, had bathed the street Cory was walking on. The only remaining light came from well-spaced streetlights, but all they now showed was a heavy, smoky fog that began to appear out of nowhere. The temperature dropped fifteen degrees in a matter of seconds, while visibility was reduced to no more than a foot or two.
Cory immediately stopped walking and slowly started to circle, peering intently into the fog, hoping to get a glimpse of his adversary. Every muscle in his body was taut, ready to react to the slightest movement or sound, whether real or imagined. As he began his third full turn, he noticed the glow of a pair of sickly yellowish eyes, stealthily approaching him from the sidewalk across the street.
Although it was impossible to see who or what was making those pale globes move, Cory was sure that the eyes’ owner was much larger than the biggest man on earth. Still, fear wasn’t an issue. Cory’s biggest concern at this point was whether this was the best place to face his foe. After all, he had no idea what he was up against, and for all practical purposes, he was blind. As these and other tactical thoughts raced through his head, the decision to fight or take flight was no longer up to him.
“And I’m coming now,” the voice roared.
Just before the unseen limbs of the being attached to the owner of those eyes grabbed him, Cory pulled his head straight up from his pillow and looked around him, his arms flailing at an unseen opponent. It only took him a few seconds to realize that he had been having a nightmare, and it was his mother’s voice he had heard yelling. The wave of relief that swept over him was soon replaced with apprehension when he heard the exaggerated sound of his mother stomping up the steps, literally coming to get him.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m up,” Cory yelled, hoping his mother wouldn’t barge into his room. As much as he loved her, he wasn’t going to miss her flare for the dramatic whenever the mood struck her.
“What’s all this yelling about, Mom?” Cory heard his sister Ashley ask. “We’re both up and we’ll be right down.”
“About time. I’ve only been calling the both of you for the past half hour,” their mother yelled back to them. To Cory’s relief, the sound of her voice was somewhat muffled and she could be heard retreating back down the stairs.
Cory grabbed his robe from the floor and put it on before entering the hallway and racing to the bathroom in the hope of beating his sister. If he won, it would mean having to face his mother alone, but it was better than waiting the inevitable ten to fifteen minutes his sister would take. His quick thinking was rewarded, and less than five minutes later, he was the lone object of his mother’s wrath for taking so long to wake up.
As is often the case with dreams and nightmares, the memory of Cory’s faded away long before his mother was done giving him a lecture on the virtues of responsibility. Of course, having to listen to the entire lecture a second time after Ashley finally joined them for breakfast made Cory rethink his weekend morning routine, and, unlike that of his nightmare, he promised himself it was a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
It might have been better for him to remember his nightmare.
