by Mark Lukens
And there he was, in some other monstrous landscape, something from a haunted spaceship drifting through space. A safe space, he thought. But she could find him anywhere now.
He ran down the dark metal halls of the spaceship, trying to outrun her. But he couldn’t lose her.
And like the other times, when there were no other options, he was suddenly on his own street, running for home, running to his true safe space.
“Not this time, Henry!” she yelled, catching up to him.
He stood in the doorway of his home for just a moment, staring back at her with true fear in his eyes behind his mask. And then he bolted inside and slammed the door shut.
Cassie heard a series of locks turning and bolting shut—more locks than there should’ve been on the door.
“I’ve already been inside your home,” Cassie said through the door. “You know that. I’ve already been invited inside.”
“Go away!” Henry shouted from behind the door. “Leave me alone. I’m not bothering you anymore!”
“I’m like a vampire,” she yelled at Henry through the door, using a reference he would understand. “Once I’ve been invited inside, I can come and go as much as I want.” She concentrated on that thought as she turned the door handle.
And the door opened easily.
Henry stared in disbelief as he stood in the hallway near the stairs. “You . . . you’re not supposed to be able to do that.”
“The rules have changed,” she told him.
His eyes bulged behind his leather mask, his gloved hands clenched into fists.
“You can take off that mask,” she told him. “I already know what you look like. You’re not a monster, not a killer, just a sad little man.” She threw the photo she had of Henry up into the air, and suddenly the walls were covered in photos of Henry.
He whimpered and ran into a room off of the hall.
She knew it was the dining room.
Cassie needed to hurry before he woke himself up. A moment later she was in the dining room, and she forced a chair to slide out and slam into him. He sat down hard, and chains came from the ceiling, floor, and the corners of the room—thick chains with hooks and barbs on the ends of them, something from the Hellraiser movies. They wrapped around his body, pinning his arms and legs to the chair, the hooks piercing his flesh.
Cassie walked up to Henry as he struggled. His eyes bulged behind his mask, his mouth open wide as he panted.
“No more,” she told him as she pulled his mask off, revealing his boyish face. “No more, Henry.”
He struggled, but the chains pulled tighter and tighter, tugging at his skin and clothing. He moaned in pain.
“You leave me alone,” she told him. “You leave Jenna alone. You leave your Aunt Nora alone. You understand me? You can make up whatever perverted fantasies you want to with make-believe people in make-believe worlds, but you leave the real ones alone. Got it?”
He didn’t answer.
“I’ve been in your house. I’m going to become real good friends with your Aunt Nora, and she’ll let me know if you’ve been bullying her. I’m going to be watching you.”
Henry suddenly dissolved into nothing, disappearing, and the chains that had been holding him dropped down onto the chair with a clatter. He had woken himself up. Cassie dropped the leather mask she held in her hand like it was a filthy thing.
*
Cassie made several more trips to visit her new friend Nora. She made sure that Henry knew that she’d been there. She often left messages on his desk for him. And over those few weeks, she’d watched Nora grow stronger and more confident. Henry couldn’t get kicked out of his aunt’s house—he had nowhere else to go. She convinced Nora to use the power she had over her nephew.
“He won’t terrorize you anymore,” Cassie promised.
“Thank you,” Nora said, holding on to Cassie’s hand with tears of joy in her eyes. “Thank you for everything.”
For the next few weeks Cassie prowled Henry’s dreams, following him and watching him, controlling those dreams when she felt the need to. It was exhausting sometimes, and distasteful, but necessary. She was always watching, always ready in case he tried to torment someone else.
Cassie visited Jenna’s dreams a few times, but she didn’t interfere in any way. Hopefully as Jenna grew older, these nightmares would fade into her memories until they were gone for good.
*
Cassie continued seeing Saul for a session every week, getting stronger and stronger every time, but also delving deeper into her meditation. She had changed in a fundamental way over these last few months, and she told him that she had him to thank for that. Of course he said she only had herself to thank, that he’d only been her guide. She knew he was going to say that.
She’d also grown closer to Zoe, and she now could count a few people in this world as true friends.
At work she got promoted. She slept like a baby at night now. She ate better, exercised more, stressed out less. She’d even gone out on a few dates, but nothing serious. She wasn’t going to rush anything. She felt like she would know when the right person came along.
She was truly the master of her own life now. And she was the master of her dreams . . . and sometimes she flew in her dreams.
This is one of the newest stories in this collection. The idea came from a conversation with my son. I don’t want to name names, but he told me about a friend of his who swore he could lucid dream. And this friend told my son that he’d seen him in his dreams, that he’d followed him and watched as some creature followed my son, and another creature followed my son’s girlfriend.
The idea gave me the chills. Of course I immediately thought my son’s friend was bullshitting him, but the writer wheels inside my mind began turning right away. “There’s a story in there somewhere,” I told myself. I thought I was going to write something more along the lines of my son’s friend’s claim that he saw dark entities following my son and his girlfriend, and I’d only jotted down a few notes so I wouldn’t forget the essence of what I wanted to write.
But then I was listening to a radio program, something about paranormal stuff, and a lady was talking about people psychically attacking others. And these two ideas kind of melted together. I wondered right away what would happen if a man who could lucid dream began tormenting another person in their dreams, and this story was born. It’s so exciting when a story comes together, or the roadblocks in a story idea break away and I can see the path the story wants to take.
This was a fun one to write, and like a few of the previous stories, it kind of got away from me. I almost turned it into a novella, but I felt that the story needed to be told at this length. I’m pretty happy with it. I hope you were, too.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Thank you so much for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed it.
A favor to ask:
I have a favor to ask of you. If you could take the time to leave a quick review on Amazon, it would mean so much to me, and it could help other readers.
Being an author is a dream come true for me, and it only happens because of readers like you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mark Lukens has been writing since the second grade when his teacher called his parents in for a conference because the ghost story he’d written had her a little concerned.
Since then he’s had several stories published and four screenplays optioned by producers in Hollywood. One script is in development to become a film. He’s the author of many bestselling books including: Ancient Enemy, Darkwind: Ancient Enemy 2, Descendants of Magic, The Summoning, Night Terrors, Sightings, The Exorcist’s Apprentice, What Lies Below, Devil’s Island, The Darwin Effect, Followed, Ghost Town: a novella, and A Dark Collection: 12 Scary Stories. He’s a proud m
ember of the Horror Writers Association.
He grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida. But after many travels and adventures, he settled down near Tampa, Florida with his wonderful wife and son … and a stray cat they adopted.
He loves to hear from readers! You can find him on Facebook at Mark Lukens Books, and on Twitter @marklukensbooks. You can also follow his blog at www.marklukensbooks.wordpress.com and he can be reached via email at [email protected] and [email protected]
If you liked the stories in this collection, be sure to check out my other collection of short stories.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00JENAGLC
Ancient Enemy . . . it wants things and you have to give it what it wants.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00FD4SP8M
And don’t forget about the sequel to Ancient Enemy.
www.amazon.com/dp/B01K42JBGW
Ghost hunters investigate an abandoned Caribbean island with a bloody past and a terrifying secret . . .
www.amazon.com/dp/B06WWJC6VD
Four film school students investigate a remote cabin where an alien abduction reportedly took place many years ago . . . but they encounter much more than they ever could’ve imagined.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00VAI31KW
After a tragic accident, seventeen-year-old Danny goes to live with his father who is an exorcist . . . but their first case together will reveal mind-blowing secrets that will change Danny’s life forever.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00YYF1E5C
How do you hide from a psychic serial killer? That’s just what Tara must do when the monster who slaughtered her family finds her again.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00M66IU3U
Ryan wakes up in a motel room with a bag of stolen money, bullet hole scars on his chest, and no memory of his past. His only clue is an address in a small Oregon town where all of the horrifying answers are waiting for him.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00HNEOHKU
Six strangers wake up in a ghost town where they must figure out the rules in a twisted game before it’s too late.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEZRF7G
After suffering from debilitating nightmares, Pam goes back to her father’s estate to uncover the horrifying source of those dreams.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0143LADEY