Coming Soon–Nightmare Storm–a short story

Coming Soon–Nightmare Storm–a short story

Have you ever awoken from a sound sleep, for no reason?

Heart pumping, you lay as still as you can, listening, knowing you heard something. As you lay in the dark, eyes and ears straining, you can’t hear anything but your own raspy breathing. And if you lie there long enough, staring, you will see something.

A shirt, strewn across the dresser, takes on the shape of somebody, or something, silently, secretly watching you. The longer and harder you stare at the unknown shape, the more menacing it becomes.

As for me, my nemesis is my lady’s long. red terrycloth bathrobe, where she hangs it on the back of our bedroom door. I’ve laid in bed, heart pounding, unable to breathe, watching her robe, and seeing it move.

Of course, while all this scaring myself is going on, a part of my brain screams, “Come on. It’s just Pat’s robe hanging on the door.”

But the other part of my brain is yelling back, just as loud, “It’s coming to get me.”

Now, realistically, I know its Pat’s red robe hanging from the door. I know that. So why do I lie there terrified, unable to do anything but breathe, and watch this thing as it creeps closer and closer to me?

Right at this point is when Pat wakes up, rolls over, and asks me what’s wrong. I guess I make some strange sounds when I get that frightened. Whimpers I’m not even aware of making. And these noises wake her up.

Thank God. I can’t even imagine what would become of me if I had to lie there, watching that robe creep toward me and not have her wake up.

Forcing my eyes away from that terrible, red robe, I can finally manage to tell her I’m just having another bad dream. Unfortunately, I have many of them. She tells me to roll over, then she’ll scratch my back until I fall back to sleep. God, I love that woman. I told Pat my nightmares were the by-product of my service during Viet Nam.

The truth is, I’ve always been like this.