My Nightmare

My Nightmare
Part 1

Awaken from a deep slumber, I opened my eyes and remained quiet in my bed. I listened to the silence in the surrounding darkness. I heard a whisper calling my name. It seemed to arouse a primal need deep inside that took control. A peculiar feeling overwhelmed my body. It was as if two parts inside me, one good and one evil, were fighting to take control of my destiny. This witchcraft was unknown to me, but I know it now.

I was returning home from a ride in the forest yesterday; I stopped to water my horse for a moment where the path crosses the crooked creek. Then out of nowhere, a wolf attacked me. But it was a man, a wolfman.

Though I was born of a gentle mother, so meek and mild, the air of a predator grew inside me. With each breath, I felt myself changing as my blood surged through my veins, mingling with the sickness in my body.

Sitting up on the edge of my bed, I could hear the night wind calling to me, drawing me out into the darkness. There is no going back. It forced me to go forward into my destiny of the night. As a lamb led to the slaughter, I have not the will to fight what lay in store for me but to accept it with open arms.

A song sang to my soul as I followed the wind as it called. The coldness touches my skin as I make my way across my room. No thoughts were in my mind but to follow the gentle music as it played.

Leaving the comfort of my home, I continue to walk barefoot across the grass-covered with mist. The wind blew my thin cotton gown in the air behind me. Still, the chill did not touch me as I made my way through the darkness, illuminated by the full moon.

As I neared the woods, just beyond my home, the music grew louder. I continued through the woods as if in a trance. A fire flickered through the trees. Meanwhile, a hunger grew within me as I approached closer to the campsite. It was not the wind playing the music; the wind just carried it to me. There was a man by the campfire who played his guitar with grace. The sounds reverberated through my soul as he strummed each string on his guitar.

I emerged from the trees and stood there listening to him as he played each note. He stopped and stared at me as if I were an exquisite dream that had just appeared before his eyes. Maybe it was my long black hair blowing in the wind or my gown that slipped off my shoulder as it glistened in the moonlight. A dream shimmering before his eyes, he thought. He stood up to look at me. I guess to make sure I was a real woman.

The music had stopped, and I was no longer in a trance. The pain took over, and a feeling of hunger grew stronger deep inside. Before I knew it, he opened his mouth to speak. Within a blink of an eye, I was upon him ripping out his throat. It seems I was his worst nightmare disguised as his dream come true. I watched as he fell to the ground at my feet as the life flowed out of him. I did nothing. I remember little after that encounter.

Part 2

I returned to my home and went straight to my chambers. I slipped back into the soft cotton sheets on my bed; I fell into a deep slumber. Dreams came rushing in, repeating over and over of the man by the campfire. In my mind, I could still hear the music the man played on his guitar. When he first saw me standing in the trees, the look on his face seemed so sincere.

Now, this ferociousness that grows deep in my soul has taken over. It must be part of the curse. Closing my eyes, I prayed for sleep, only to rest comfortably.

I tossed and turned in my bed until the early morning. I could feel the warmth of the sun shining through the window with beams of light flowing across my face. I opened my eyes and lay there staring at the ceiling as if paralyzed. Was this all a dream or a nightmare, I thought to myself.

I could hear the birds singing as if they were right there in my room. Each sound intensified, and I felt as if in a trance. I am not sure just how long I laid there until I sat up and looked down at my gown covered in the crimson blood of my first kill. It was not a dream or a nightmare. It happened. My heart raced faster and faster as I realized how disturbed my life had become. I was a killer. The wolfman had left his curse on me.

Slipping out of my gown, I threw it in the fire that was burning low in the fireplace. I went to draw the water from the well, and I could only think about that poor man. What if he had a family waiting for him to return? Forever this is a stain that will be on my heart.

As the pot of water swung over the fireplace, the sound of the water boiling echoed almost immediately.

I never let him even speak. I attacked him and ripped his throat out. Then I just watched him lay there at my feet as his life flowed out. I have become such a vicious creature. Human, but cursed as a wolf. It must be my destiny to kill and leave a trail of dead bodies behind. I filled up my bath with warm water. Then slipped in and laid there for the longest time and tried not to think.

I stood up, grabbed my robe, and walked over by the fireplace to warm myself. Sitting by the fire, I stared at the flames as my gown covered in the blood smoldered slowly in the fire.

Suddenly I could hear footsteps outside approaching my home. Who could pass my way here in the middle of the woods? My house secluded in these woods is far away from civilization. But yet that man was so close, in the woods just beyond the field.

I stood to grab my buckskin trousers that lay across the stately chair by the window. I slipped the trousers on, then my crisp white blouse. As I buttoned my blouse, I could hear voices near my home. I slipped my boots on and grabbed my bustier. Then I tied my bustier as I went to the living quarters of my house and stood by the door.

There was a loud knock on the door. I reached for the door handle and slowly opened the door, and saw two men standing there staring at me. "Mademoiselle, my apologies for the visit so early in the morning. We were not aware that anyone lived in these woods. We were passing by and saw the smoke from your chimney. There has been a terrible animal attack. Did you hear any creatures roaming your grounds last night? We believe there is a wild beast loose in the woods. We found a man this morning with his throat ripped out."

I searched their faces, looking for a sign of emotion. I could hear their hearts racing as they stood there waiting for my reply. "No, I heard nothing."

"You should be careful and stay inside, Mademoiselle. There is some kind of wild animal loose in the woods." Tipping their hats, they turned and walked down the path that led to the woods on the other side of the field.

Part 3

I watched them as they disappeared behind the tall brush that grew alongside the field on the path. Then I could not see them anymore. Closing the door, I leaned against it as it shut firmly. "There is no way they could suspect me. I wonder who this man was that they found. I killed. I still cannot believe what I have become, and I do not understand what is happening. It was all like a dream." Covering my face with my hands, I took a deep breath and then slowly walked back to my sleeping chambers.

I walked over to the fireplace and stood there staring at the fire. My gown was still smoldering in the small flames as the dark gray smoke went up the chimney. The aroma was intoxicating as it tickled my nose. "I must go to the woods and see where they found the man dead. I do not know what I will find, but I have to look around." Quickly I turned and grabbed my cape, headed for the door.

There was a chill in the air as the wind blew lightly, but the winter sun warmed me as I made my way down the path to the woods. I could smell the powerful aroma of blood just ahead as I entered the woods and made my way through the trees following it. I came upon an opening with many things lying around where a campfire had recently burned. The smell of blood was strong, and I looked down at my feet and saw the stain on the ground where the man must have laid dying.

Flashes of memories came flooding back as I remembered the killing. I stood there quietly as if in a trance, reliving every detail in my mind. The music the man played was so soothing and had me mesmerized. I did not know where I was or what I was doing. But once the music stopped, he stood to get a better look at me. The spell the music had me under lifted, then the savage beast that lay deep inside me now was more than I could control. The wolfman curse took over with no control.

I now see how the curse consumed the crazed wolfman that lured me into his life and bit me, leaving me cursed to walk the streets half human and half wolf.