and far away in another dimension he could still vaguely hear himself crying out in shock.
Maybe he was just thirsty. Caught painfully between his teeth, his tongue felt swollen and dry as his eyes combed the smooth bluish walls and ceiling. Doug sat up with much effort and a deep unhappiness crawled around in his chest. Just when he thought he would be okay. Turning to get out of bed the poor boy looked right into the ghastly fiend which visited his bedside this night. Standing beside the foot of his bed, Doug saw the dead man once more as large and true as a real person, staring ahead of him in a trancelike state. The thing’s mouth was slightly open, like someone waiting to say something, and his dead papery eyes were pale and opaque in the blue light where he stood motionless. The teenager froze in fear, choking on his dry tongue and the horrid feeling of his burning chest. But it was not the water which burned his chest now, no, it was pure and raw terror attacking him and he wished he could scream for help before the thing saw him, but he found his throat constricted.
He had to! He had to make alarm or this would not end well for him. With all his might Doug collected his breath, expanded his chest while tears swamped his terrified eyes. And then he screamed. The petrified boy screamed with every ounce of strength he could muster, careless now whether the ghost could hear him or not. He screamed as if his very soul depended on it, loudly and long as his voice brought with it all his fear and desperation. From deep inside him it came, shaking his body under the sound of his bellow and he did not waste time taking another breath.
Above him the dead man moved, stirred finally by his screams. It turned its head robotically, only its head. A grotesque and filthy demon of nightmares with a posh suit, it looked down at the frightened child with no life and no mercy in its eyes. The gaping mouth fell wide open while it stared at Doug and without warning the dead man brought forth a wicked and high pitched shriek. Like a banshee he wailed, letting out a deafening and horrible sound which smashed all the windows of Doug’s room simultaneously. Throughout the house he could hear the glass explode one by one as the sound overwhelmed the whole house.
“Doug! Doug!” he heard his mum and dad calling frantically.
The two adults had raced into the room of their screaming son after being woken by his unsettling shrieks in the embrace of the stormy night. He opened his eyes and slipped from the nightmarish blue room with its broken windows and beheld his parents standing by his bed, holding his hand and consoling him. He was so relieved to find that his first sight was his parents and he calmed down immediately. The windows were intact and everything was back to normal. Heaving, he fell back into his bed in relief, elated to know that it was just another nightmare. He was certainly relieved when he realised that it was Saturday morning and he did not have to be at school.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Krista hated the news. She hated actuarial programs, health shows, reality shows and documentaries. Only sitcoms, movies and music videos ever made it onto her TV screen. There was something deeply distressing about reality and the sour reports of everyday life, other people’s bad luck and sadness, which she avoided in her life ever since she left high school. Her mother always said that happiness is a choice and, at the time, she would mouth off about her pathetic life and the total lack of choice in her life, but her mother, much like a Japanese sensei from an ‘80s movie, would simply smile and say, “You know it’s true, Krissie.”
Krista smiled as she went back in time and she could have sworn she could hear her mother’s voice.
“You’re just too stubborn to shut up for longer than two minutes so that the idea can get through to you. All this fighting against the truth, against anything you
Maybe he was just thirsty. Caught painfully between his teeth, his tongue felt swollen and dry as his eyes combed the smooth bluish walls and ceiling. Doug sat up with much effort and a deep unhappiness crawled around in his chest. Just when he thought he would be okay. Turning to get out of bed the poor boy looked right into the ghastly fiend which visited his bedside this night. Standing beside the foot of his bed, Doug saw the dead man once more as large and true as a real person, staring ahead of him in a trancelike state. The thing’s mouth was slightly open, like someone waiting to say something, and his dead papery eyes were pale and opaque in the blue light where he stood motionless. The teenager froze in fear, choking on his dry tongue and the horrid feeling of his burning chest. But it was not the water which burned his chest now, no, it was pure and raw terror attacking him and he wished he could scream for help before the thing saw him, but he found his throat constricted.
He had to! He had to make alarm or this would not end well for him. With all his might Doug collected his breath, expanded his chest while tears swamped his terrified eyes. And then he screamed. The petrified boy screamed with every ounce of strength he could muster, careless now whether the ghost could hear him or not. He screamed as if his very soul depended on it, loudly and long as his voice brought with it all his fear and desperation. From deep inside him it came, shaking his body under the sound of his bellow and he did not waste time taking another breath.
Above him the dead man moved, stirred finally by his screams. It turned its head robotically, only its head. A grotesque and filthy demon of nightmares with a posh suit, it looked down at the frightened child with no life and no mercy in its eyes. The gaping mouth fell wide open while it stared at Doug and without warning the dead man brought forth a wicked and high pitched shriek. Like a banshee he wailed, letting out a deafening and horrible sound which smashed all the windows of Doug’s room simultaneously. Throughout the house he could hear the glass explode one by one as the sound overwhelmed the whole house.
“Doug! Doug!” he heard his mum and dad calling frantically.
The two adults had raced into the room of their screaming son after being woken by his unsettling shrieks in the embrace of the stormy night. He opened his eyes and slipped from the nightmarish blue room with its broken windows and beheld his parents standing by his bed, holding his hand and consoling him. He was so relieved to find that his first sight was his parents and he calmed down immediately. The windows were intact and everything was back to normal. Heaving, he fell back into his bed in relief, elated to know that it was just another nightmare. He was certainly relieved when he realised that it was Saturday morning and he did not have to be at school.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Krista hated the news. She hated actuarial programs, health shows, reality shows and documentaries. Only sitcoms, movies and music videos ever made it onto her TV screen. There was something deeply distressing about reality and the sour reports of everyday life, other people’s bad luck and sadness, which she avoided in her life ever since she left high school. Her mother always said that happiness is a choice and, at the time, she would mouth off about her pathetic life and the total lack of choice in her life, but her mother, much like a Japanese sensei from an ‘80s movie, would simply smile and say, “You know it’s true, Krissie.”
Krista smiled as she went back in time and she could have sworn she could hear her mother’s voice.
“You’re just too stubborn to shut up for longer than two minutes so that the idea can get through to you. All this fighting against the truth, against anything you
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