NIGHTMARE 5: THE CULLING

March 7th 2026

(Just under three years after Nightmare 3/The New Opponent)

Large, cold rain drops fell from the dark grey, dusty clouds in the dark night sky.

The large drops hit the ground extremely quickly.

Meanwhile in the Police Station…

Two police officers drag a child abuser inside a cell.

“Wait there.” One of the officers sternly says.

“I’m happy Nightmare quit, it’s been better for our jobs.” The town sheriff says.

“Yet again boss, crimes has been out of control, riots, arson, more violence.” Says an officer.

“True.” The town sheriff says.

“I can’t believe it’s been two years since he quit.”

They all nod other then the child abuser.

“That Nightmare… he’s…” The child abuser says shaken up.

“A devil?” The town sheriff asks.

“No, even worse, HE KILLED MY BROTHER FIVE YEARS AGO, 2021 NEW YEARS EVE!” The child abuser said, banging his head on the cell bars.

“Shut up!” One of the officers harshly yells.

“It was in the past, plus your brother was a wife beater.”

The animal abuser knocks himself out and the other officers check his vitals.

“Dead.” Said an officer.

“Damn!” The town sheriff says.

“Take the body away. I’ll deal with it later.”

The town sheriff receives a call on his phone and he answers it.

“Hello, ah yes, who was it? Oh right, hi dad! Yeah, the violence has been extreme here lately.” The town sheriff says in his phone.

As he’s talking, he looks at a framed drawing of Nightmare, he’s menacing red eyed glare, it looks like he’s covered in blood in the drawing.

The first drawing we got of him. An officer says in his head.

“How’s it going for you?” The town sheriff asks.

“Sounds better then here! Haha! Anyway, hope to see you soon, when the chaos settles.”

He hangs up the phone.

“If it settles…” Mutters an officer.

“Also the new night guard Vanessa wants a chat.”

“Sounds good! I’ll speak with her later.” The town sheriff says.

A FEW HOURS LATER…

“Look, the new animatronics are going weird, it’s strange!” Vanessa says.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s normal.” The town sheriff says.

Vanessa nods and leaves the room.

Suddenly an officer rushes in.

“Another body has been discovered!” He exclaims.

The town sheriff leaps from his chair and gets to his car, so does the other officer.

They all go to a cabin in the middle of the woods, the windows were broken and stained with dried up blood.

“Whatever happened here must of happened a very long time ago.” An Officer says.

They have all their guns and flashlights held up in front of them, and the town sheriff kicks down the already somewhat broken door.

Suddenly they all hear barley audible groaning from the cabins bedroom.

“Behind me.” The town sheriff whispers as they get closer to the room, and the town sheriff then kicks the bedroom door off its hinges.

In the corner of the room they see a man shirtless tied up with rusting chains, and he is covered in blood.

He looks extremely unhealthy and weak, as he is skinny, pale, and his eyes are bloodshot, his lips looks like they lost color years ago, and they are dried with cracks filled with blood.

“Let me out.” He says quietly.

The town sheriff rushes to the body.

“How are you here, how are you still alive?” The town sheriff asks.

“My back, I don’t feel my flesh.” The man says gasping for air.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” The town sheriff asks.

“He gave me the inability to die, just to torture me…” The man tied up says.

“Who?” An officer behind the town sheriff asks.

“The dark devil.” The man says with widened eyes.

They untie him and they turn him over.

They see his back is covered in scratch marks, the marks looks infected.

Suddenly the man stands up and tries to run, but suddenly they catch up to him.

ONE HOUR LATER… (1:00Am)

They fed him and gave him water, he is now surprisingly fine.

Suddenly thunder crackles in the sky.

“That’s weird. It’s completely calm.” Says an officer.

Suddenly the power flickers.

“What the?” The town sheriff wonders aloud.

Suddenly the doors fling open and the power cuts out entirely.

“NO, NO, NO!” The man in the cell screams.

Suddenly a large dark figure appears.

“WHO ARE YOU?!” The town sheriff asks with a shocked and scared expression.

Suddenly lightning strikes and it reveals him.

It reveals Nightmare himself.

The man in the cell starts sobbing loudly.

Nightmare looks towards the sheriff, then at the prisoner and takes him.

“WAIT!” The town sheriff yells.

But it’s too late, Nightmare already took him from his cell.

The doors slam shut and the power goes back on, everything was now calm again.

All the other officers were knocked out cold.

The town sheriff looks around in fear then all the officers slowly wake up.

“What happened?” One of them asks.

The town sheriff helped them get up.

He decided to keep what he saw a secret.

The town sheriff looks towards the cell.

It was real. The man was gone.

Meanwhile out of town…

The man Nightmare kidnapped starts screaming out his lungs.

“Please…” He says.

Nightmare meets his eyes with his red eyes.

“I will teach you what real pain is.” Nightmare says, then Nightmare tears his spine out, blood explodes and splatters everywhere, Nightmare now made it possible to kill him.

The man dies right away once the blood hit him.

Meanwhile in town…

“We need to see who freed him.” An officer yells.

“He escaped and got ran over, I brought him to hospital but it was too late.” The town sheriff lies.

“Okay, we’ll announce it to the news, then.” The same officer says.

“No, no… I need to tell the truth…” The town sheriff says.

“I saw him… Nightmare took him away…”

“Impossible.” The officer says.

“Not impossible, actually.” Vanessa says.

“Where did you come from? Also, how’s it not possible?” The officer asks.

“Two things, first, if someone quits, then it’s not impossible for them to return. Second, I heard the whole thing from outside when my power cut out.” Vanessa answers.

“You saw that too?” The town sheriff says.

“Well, I didn’t see Nightmare, but I heard screaming, thought you could use some help.” Vanessa says.

“What are you hiding, sheriff?” The Officer asks.

“Nothing.” He says.

“I’ve got to go now, see you around town.” Vanessa says, before running off.

TWO HOURS LATER… (3:00AM)

“I need some sleep…” The sheriff says to himself as he drives home.

“If I can.”

He makes it home and goes to sleep for the rest of the night.

7:00AM

The sheriff makes it to the police station, but then all of a sudden riots occur.

“Get your weapons!” He yells, as he and the officers do so.

They set the station on fire.

“WE WILL RISE ONCE AGAIN! WE ARE THE ANIMAL ABUSERS!” They all yell, but then Nightmare appears from the shadows and the power cuts out.

They all turn to him.

“Haha! Nice costume faker, who made it, your parents?” The rioter holding the flag said.

He goes closer to Nightmare.

He tries to make Nightmare flinch.

“Nice, arm, mind if I have it?” Nightmare asks.

“What?” The flag bearer asks.

Nightmare grabs them and rips the flag bearers arm right off, blood escapes both wounds and splatters all over the pavement.

The flag bearer grabs his missing arm, covering his hand with blood.

Nightmare holds his dismembered arm in the air, then he breaks it like a twig.

Nightmare picks up the flag bearer, then bites his head clean off, blood explodes and splatters all over the pavement, Nightmare and the flag bearers remains.

“Fake now?” Nightmare asks them all, as they all cry and scream.

Nightmare leaps towards them, he attacks all six thousand of them.

The police officers evacuate the building.

“I won’t leave without a fight.” The town sheriff said, then he loads a double barrel shotgun.

Nightmare picks up a rioter, and tears then in half, blood releasing all over the ground.

“NIGHTMARE!” The town sheriff yells.

“I’M HERE TO HELP!”

The town sheriff looks around and sees Nightmare has already killed roughly five thousand.

“I don’t need help.” Nightmare said, as he kills six in a row, splitting them in half, blood and organs fall to the ground.

“Go to the tower still being built across the road, you’ll be safe there.” Nightmare said.

The town sheriff hesitantly nods, and runs to the tower.

Nightmare eats another rioter whole, blood only escapes through Nightmare’s sharp, long teeth.

The town sheriff goes the top of the tower, and sees the chaos from up there.

He soon realises that that’s everyone.

Every single animal abuser, pedo, and every bad person in town.

Nightmare was winning.

Nightmare finishes them covered in blood and dead organs.

He looks at the tower.

Suddenly the officer the town sheriff was talking with tries to knock the town sheriff off the tower, the town sheriff’s shotgun and pistol fall and break on the the ground from impact.

“This was destined to happen, your death is inevitable!” The Officer yells as he points his pistol to the town sheriff’s right temple.

“So was yours.” Nightmare said behind him.

Suddenly Nightmare picked up the officer, and ate him whole.

Blood and chunks of flesh and muscle, perhaps even bones fall from Nightmare’s mouth as he eats the Officer.

“You saved me, why?” The town sheriff asks.

Nightmare finishes eating the Officer.

“You’re an innocent man, Kole. I never kill innocent people, I save them.” Nightmare answers.

The town sheriff’s name is Kole, he never uses it, though.

“You should be a hero.” Kole said.

“I’m no hero, I only kill very bad people, not mildly bad. I kill only the unredeemed.” Nightmare said.

Kole stands up.

“What’s going to happen to you?”

“I’m leaving this forever, keep me alive in memory, strike fear in the hearts of them who dare to cross you.” Nightmare said.

“Why? Why are you quitting?” Kole asks.

“To prove the world doesn’t need me. I’m just a killer, Kole. I don’t have real rules, I just kill the people who do the most harm. It doesn’t change globally.” Nightmare answers.

“You made a change. You will be the real reason abusers will stop existing from now on.” Kole says, breathing heavily.

“I know. I will make it stay that way forever. Only put fear into the hearts of very bad people.” Nightmare says.

“What are you gonna do once you quit forever?” Kole asks.

“I’m going to destroy my physical body forever, my soul shall live on, but my physical body won’t, my time has come.” Nightmare answers.

“Besides, I’ve had this body since 83’.”

Kole looks to the ground.

“It was nice. You haven’t just saved this town or country, you’ve saved the entire world. You’re the hero we need.”

“I told you Kole, I’m no hero. You are.” Nightmare says.

“I’m quitting next month, Nightmare, to raise a family with my recently married wife.” Kole said.

“Good for you Kole. Just remember, if someone tries to do something bad to your kids, tell them about me.” Nightmare mutters.

Kole slowly nods.

“What is it like? Being like you?”

“Me? Oh, power. Power is a driving point, but it didn’t consume or control me.” Nightmare says.

Kole steps towards Nightmare.

“I will tell the others what you did, they will finally respect you.”

Nightmare nods, he knows he’s not talking about the other officers, he’s talking about the animatronics.

Kole walks past Nightmare.

“Nice meeting you, I guess.”

Nightmare looks down and nods.

Kole leaves, and drives away to get the fire fighters.

Nightmare looks towards the sunrise.

“An end of an era.” Nightmare mutters to himself.

“The end of my era. The Nightmare Era.”

Nightmare sees the fire fighters extinguish the fire.

“I never knew how beautiful this world can be, despite being full of bad people.” Nightmare utters, the he walks away from the building.

“Goodbye, world.”

Nightmare walks into the forest, never to be seen or heard from again.

Nightmare is only there to see nature as he destroys his physical form once and for all.

Kole glances up at the tower, Nightmare is gone.

Kole looks down, then back towards the fire being put out.

TWO MONTHS LATER…

Kole and his wife now have two kids who are a month old.

One is a girl, the other a boy.

“I have a feeling they’ll change the world one day.” Says Kole’s wife, looking at them both.

“So do I, Emma, so do I…” Kole says.

THE END… OF NIGHTMARE…

THANKS FOR READING THIS SERIES…