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Just a Dream

His dream has become reality. Can they save his life? What about his soul?

By Susan CPublished 5 years ago 18 min read
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The feeling of dread he could not shake. Brian seemed to always be looking over his shoulder, he drove extra careful, checked his windows and doors twice before leaving or going to bed, and kept his doors locked even when he was at home. He has called all of his family to make sure they were ok and checked in on all his friends. Everything seemed to be just fine but he just couldn't shake the feeling something was or about to go very wrong.

Brian had been having dreams lately; very vivid dreams that almost seemed real. At first it had just been a man in a gray suit wagging a finger at him and shaking his head no. Lately though the dreams had become more ominous. The man would still be there only some where in the background he could hear a female screaming and a maniacal laughter. The man would start to come closer and closer, and the closer he got his face would become distorted, and right before the man would get within arms reach Brain would wake up.

Last nights dream was very different and much worse. Even the beginning started much worse. Gray man was there his face already twisted into something unrecognizable only this time there was a tall creature behind him. It was a tall skeletal like creature with long teeth that spread across its entire face. Teeth that were covered in blood and drool, with hollow holes that glowed green where his eye should be. Brian could hear hundred of screams and evil laughter all around him. He was in total darkness except for the gray man and the creature that seemed to be illuminated by unseen light. The creature moved closer rising slowly till it engulfed the gray man and was face to face with Brian. The smell of sulphur was repulsive, and made him sick to his stomach. The sound of the screams faded into the background as the growl of this thing became louder and louder. It was deafening.

Brian was frozen still with fear except for the shivering of his entire body. Whether it was from the fear or the intense cold he didn't know but he couldn't move. He knew without a doubt this thing was a demon and he knew it wanted only one thing. Him. It opened its enormous mouth and moved even closer to Brian's face. The demon almost had his face in its mouth and Brian was about to let out a scream when he jumped awake.

He laid in bed still scared from the dream. He could still smell the sulphur and feel the intense cold. He had a small pain on his left side but thought nothing of it. His body still shivering, he tried to rouse himself awake. He knew now what all those dreams had meant. There was a demon attached to him, it wanted him and he was determined not to let that happen. He had never been a man of God but had went with his parents to church every Sunday till he was 18. He had seen the movies, read the books, and knew that was where he needed to start.

That evening he drove the 2 hours back to his hometown. He got to the church surprised that the same preacher was still there and remembered Brian. He told him what had been going on and the preacher agreed to come out and bless the home but couldn't come till the end of the week. It was only Sunday and Brian worried about being at the house all week without help. The preacher gave him some verses from the Bible to read if he felt anxious or scared and several crosses to hang in his home. On his way home he stopped and bought a new Bible and a necklace with a cross pendant. He put the necklace on right away and held the Bible on his lap the whole way home. He called a few friends and asked them to come for dinner. As soon as he got home he set to work straight away hanging the crosses throughout the house and hung three over his bed since that was where this had all started.

They sat around that night after dinner having a couple of beers and playing some poker. He told them all about what had been going on, they all agreed it was very creepy and he was doing the right thing having the house blessed. As they all left for the night he was already dreading being there by himself. Once they were gone he put the left over food away and cleaned up. He decided to read a few of the verses the preacher had given him before taking a shower. He had read three or four and was beginning to feel better. So he closed the Bible and headed for the bathroom. He spent a little extra time in the shower trying to avoid being anywhere else in the house. The hot water relaxed him and helped his tense muscles. He was still feeling a pain on his side but assumed he must have pulled a muscle and stepped out of the shower. He dressed and was making the way to his room. He suddenly stopped in the door way and his blood ran cold as he looked over his bed. Two of the crosses he had hung were missing the one in the middle was upside down. He knew that this was a very bad sign. He looked for the crosses, they had fallen behind the bed and hung them back up, and fixed the one in the middle. He grabbed his pillows and headed for the couch. There was no way he was sleeping in there tonight. He slept dreamlessly that night.

He woke up with the pain in his side being much worse than it had the night before, he looked down and see blood on his shirt. He lifted his shirt and there were three deep scratches that were bleeding and already looked infected. He started back to his room and could feel the closer he got to the door, the colder it became. As he went to step in he stopped frozen in fear. His room looked like a wild animal had been let loose and destroyed everything. One dresser was on its side the contents emptied out. The mirror that was screwed onto it had been torn off and glass pieces were everywhere. The other dresser was still standing but the drawers had been emptied as well. His bedside table had been thrown across the room and the chair along with it. His entire bed including the mattress had been totally torn apart all that was left was scraps of material. And above his bed the same thing had happened. Two of the crosses were missing and the other was upside down. He turned and bolted for the living room. He contemplated not going in to work that day but had a huge presentation so decided to suck it up and go on in. He didn't dare go back in that room not for one second, but needed to get ready for work.

He decided to instead stop at a local suit shop and buy a few new suits for work. There was no way he was going back in that room till it had been blessed. So he threw a jacket on over his bloody shirt grabbed his wallet, keys, phone, Bible, and laptop, and made his way downtown. The stares he got while shopping were quite hysterical. He could only imagine what people were thinking. He was laughing to himself as he made his purchase and asked to use a fitting room to change in. He pulled of the bloody shirt and the marks looked worse than they had even just that morning. He ripped the pieces of his shirt that weren't bloody and did his best to wrap it around him and use it as a bandage. He finished getting dressed and made his way to work.

He got to work almost an hour before he needed to be there. He arrived before Lexi, his secretary did. In the 5 plus years she had worked for him that had never happened. His door was also shut which was another first. He always had his door open unless he was in a meeting. She knew he had none for that morning so knocked and allowed herself in. She knew immediately something was wrong. He had dark purple circles under his eyes, and he was sweating profusely. Brian didn't just think of Lexi as his secretary; she was also his friend. She was a hard worker, knew his job almost better than he did, and kept his life running smoothly. She sat down as he motioned her over. He told her everything that had been going on and the stood up. He took his jacket off and pulled up his shirt. She gasped aloud and the look in her eyes told him it was as bad as he thought. She didn't really know what to do to help him, but knew he didn't need to be alone and wanted to do all she could to help him. She offered to stay at his place till Wednesday when the preacher could come and help. He took her up on her offer and they started their day.

He had done well to keep everything in the back of his mind all day and focus on work. It was 5:30 when he stepped out of his office and told her he was going to stop and get an air mattress and some dinner for them. He wasn't sleeping in his room and neither was she so he would take the couch and she could have the mattress. She had to stop at home get some stuff for the next couple of days and wanted to go to the drug store to get some bandages and supplies to clean up his scratches. They agreed to meet back at his house. He arrived before she did but didn't have to wait long. She got there just a few minutes later and they walked to the door. He stuck in the key and turned the latch, as he opened the door the cold air escaped from the house sending a shiver down both of their spine. As he stepped in a flipped on the light the house had been trashed. It looked as if someone had broken in only the door was still locked and there were no broken windows from what he could tell. It was when he looked down he stopped in his tracks and terror ran through him. All of the crosses he had purchased were laid out perfectly on the floor in front him and they were upside down. Neither of them needed to say anything to know what the other was thinking. They turned and ran out of the house.

They stopped just outside and talked about what to do. He didn't want to go back to her place and risk this demon coming into her home, but they were for sure not going to stay there. So he decided he would get a hotel room for the next couple of days and stay there. She was determined to go with him, he tried to convince her he would be okay and to go on home but she wouldn't hear of it. They made their way to the hotel, he booked a room till Wednesday and they went upstairs to eat and shower. They had got done eating and he offered her the shower first. He was extremely tired and felt cold and very nauseated. He wondered if he had gotten food poisoning, but Lexi had seemed ok and he asked her about it when she came out of the bathroom, she felt fine. He thought maybe the infected scratches had something to do with it. He went into the bathroom and removed his shirt. He looked into the mirror and was horrified at what he saw. The first three was definitely infected. But there were more, much more. He had scratches on his chest his abdomen and turning around they were all over his back. He called for Lexi and told her not to freak out. He stepped out and she let out a shocked scream as her hands flew to her mouth to muffle the scream. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. He was covered in not only scratches but what looked like deep cuts. They were all bleeding and they looked to be getting worse by the minute. She knew what was happening and she was terrified this demon had attached itself to her friend and was slowly torturing him, trying to take his soul and she was determined to help her friend and save his life. They had to find someone to help now, who knew if he could make it to Wednesday.

He tried to shower but the water hurt all the open wounds on his upper body so he washed what he could and got out quickly. He sat on the bed as Lexi set to work finding bandaging all the cuts a scratches, but it seemed like just as she would get one done another one would appear. Brian was searching his laptop for someone who could help, just as she finished the last one for now, he grabbed his phone and tried to dial the number to a reverend that was listed. All he got was static. Trying several more times he continued to get static. He tried on her cell and the hotel phone but to no avail. Lexi knew it was the demon at work stopping him from making the calls. She memorized the number, and several minutes later said she was going to get drinks and ice.

Once outside she dialed the number going into detail everything that was happening and asked if he could help. The reverend told her he would be there within the hour with two of his colleagues. She gave him the room number and hung up the phone. She go the drinks and ice and went back to the room. She knew she couldn't say anything who knew what this demon would do to him if she said it out loud so she decided to keep her mouth shut and wait for them to arrive. She was calling his name as she walked in the room. She looked at the bed and screamed as the ice and drinks fell to the floor.

She ran over to Brian and fell to the floor beside him. He was now covered in cuts and scratches. From his forehead to his toes he was covered. His bandaged wounds were bleeding out as laid there unmoving. She knew he was alive she could see his chest rising and falling. She could hear his breaths. She tried to wake him but he wouldn't wake up. She could see him twitch every now and then and when he did another scratch or cut would appear. She was scared and sobbing and watching helplessly as her friend was being tortured. She jumped at the sound of the knock on the door. She ran and flung the door open and allowed the men inside. All three were clutching their Bibles. They quickly looked Brian over and instructed Lexi on exactly what was going to be happening. They told her to step aside but not to far, she was not to leave the room and no matter how long it took or how tired she got she was not allowed to stop the prayers once they had started. They were going to have to perform an exorcism and needed her full understanding and commitment to see it through, and she agreed.

One of them handed her a piece of paper with the prayer on it as the other two tied Brians hand a feet to the bed. The reverend said a prayer of protection for them all and the priest placed a cross on Brian's forehead in Holy Water. He started to toss his head around and you could see the agitation building as they started the prayer and the priest threw the water on him. They had just finished the prayer for the third time when his eyes flew open, black as coal. He laughed but not in a voice that was his own. The laugh turned into a cry and he closed his eyes again. He was thrashing around on the bed as they kept going. He eventually opened his eyes again, they were his normal color and he was looking directly at Lexi begging them to stop. She had been told this was a ploy to get them to stop so she kept going along with them. His look turned evil as he began screaming obscenities, you could see fresh cuts forming on Brian's body as he was thrashing about trying to break the ropes that held him to the bed. This seemed to go on for hours. They were all getting tired, their voices becoming hoarse and they were almost out of holy water. Brain stopped thrashing as a growl that started from the pit of his stomach rose from his chest into one last loud scream and his body fell limp. The priest put one last cross of Holy Water on his forehead and they all bowed their head for a final prayer.

Now they would have to wait for him to wake up and see if the exorcism had worked. They all sat around saying nothing. Lexi looked out the window and realized the sun was coming up. It really had been hours since they started. Brian opened his eyes and found Lexi. She dared to go closer, but he looked scared and confused. She could see it had worked the dark purple rings under his eyes were all but gone and his eyes had the same warm look in them that she knew all too well. She went to his side and explained what happened. Thankfully for him the last thing he remembered was feeling like he was going to pass out. He didn't remember the pain of all the cuts though now he was in a lot of pain from all the wounds. The three men were also convinced that it had worked and removed the ropes. They helped him to a sitting position though it was quite painful to lean on anything with the wounds on his back. He asked the reverend about his home. They offered to go and do a blessing on the home and would call Lexi the moment they were finished. As they left Lexi was thinking about what to do next. The bed was covered in blood, they had somehow made it through the night with all the noise without anyone coming to the room, but there was no way to hide this from a cleaning crew. Brian needed new clothes and she needed a lot of bandages and supplies to clean him up.

All he wanted to do was sleep he was exhausted. He told her to take his card get him some new clothes, new bedding, and all the supplies she needed. He told her to get some food, he felt totally famished but she wasn't hungry. She waited till he fell asleep, hung the do not disturb sign on the door and went to get everything. He was still asleep when she came back. She sat on the sofa and thought about everything that had happened. She had never believed in God but she did now. She was wondering about his house when her phone rang. The ringing woke Brian up as she mouthed an apology. She sat there for several minutes without speaking. She finally thanked them for everything wrote down some numbers and hung up the phone.

They had told her that they tried to do a blessing on the home but it did not work so they had to perform and exorcism on the home as well and it had worked. Brian could return to his home. They both smiled as she came over to start dressing his many wounds. He helped with as much as he could and waited on her to finish his back. She helped him get up and get to the couch so she could changed the bed. Thankfully she was able to find bedding that matched perfectly to what had been there previously so everything looked just as it should. She stuffed the bloody bedding in a suitcase and promised to burn it when he was better able to move.

She helped him to finish getting dressed, handed him a ball cap in the hopes it would help conceal some of the scratches on his face. He didn't know how yet but he was going to repay her one day. She had really come through for him and saved his life. He owed her his life. He was still extremely tired but wanted to see his home in the daylight and see if he could feel anything there anymore. They gathered up their luggage and looked around the room, the looked at each other saying nothing and walked out the door. They checked out and Lexi offered to drive him home.

It was a short drive home and as the house came into view something about it seemed different. Its color seemed more vibrant, it looking inviting. They made a slow walk up to the front door. Slow was all he could handle and turned the key. He opened the door and the house was bright, warm and inviting. The men from before had taken it upon themselves to clean up the house, and rehang the crosses. He would have to be sure to thank them in some way as well one day very soon. They walked around and he made the way to his room. He was anxious thinking about what he would see but his bed had been replaced and hanging above it were the three crosses. He started to cry. For the first time in months he felt safe, he felt free, he felt as if maybe he could start to live a normal life again.

He grabbed Lexi by the hand and went to the living room. He needed to sit, or sleep, or cry, or all three he wasn't sure. But he was safe, he was free from the demon, and he was feeling better than he had in a long time.

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About the Creator

Susan C

Kind of weird, kind of akward, kind of dark and twisty, with a touch of sarcasm.

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