Word count 854

                            

                                                           Day 1

The nightmares started shortly after we inherited a fortune from my in-laws.  I would go to sleep and immediately go into a dream in which my late in-laws tortured me.  Before the first dreams, I had started to adjust to a life of leisure and luxury, but it didn’t last long.  These were not like normal nightmares, they were completely realistic.  I heard all of the words spoken by me and my tormenters.  I felt all of the pain inflicted on me.  To try to make sense of it, I wrote all of it down.

The first night I was just continuously insulted by my former father-in-law Grayson Jennings.  His remarks are imprinted in my brain:

“You miserable pig, what makes you think that you could possibly deserve my daughter.  If she hadn’t gone slumming with bad boys, she never would have gotten pregnant, and ended up married to you.  After that, you had her get an abortion which caused her to be infertile.  She’ll never have a chance to have a baby with a real man, now that you ruined her life.  What do you have going for you, a little muscle and a glib line?  Once she was stuck with you, you treated her like dirt.  Maybe you never left any marks, but you didn’t mind twisting her arm a little, maybe slapping her from time to time.  She was so ashamed, Mandy and I could not talk her into leaving you.”

 “Too bad old man.  She’s stuck with me, I’ve got your money and you are dead”, sleeping me said.

“There are worse things than being dead, as you will find out”, responded dream Grayson.

The first night could be chalked up to guilt or an upset stomach, but it seemed that dead Grayson knew things that he should not have known.  I wasn’t too upset; I thought it was a onetime thing.

                                                              Day 2

It started with my late mother-in-law Mandy.

“It is so funny that your name is Duke.  You are about the furthest from royalty imaginable.  Were you even able to get our daughter Jessie pregnant, or was that one of your friends when she was drunk.  I know that all of the sluts that you hang out with wouldn’t get in bed with you if they weren’t drunk or high.  You don’t have manhood, you have boyhood.  Are you stupid enough to think that all of the quack doctors with their pills and surgery will do you any good?”

I had no response.

                                                            Day 3

In the morning, I started to be really worried, because I hadn’t actually called any doctors yet, but I had been looking at ads on the internet.  My jaw was really sore, and I didn’t know why.  I hadn’t been physically abused in my dream – yet.

Strangely, Jessie hadn’t noticed any disturbance during my sleep.

When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.  At night my in-laws didn’t talk, they tag-teamed me.  I was unable to respond to their kicks, elbows, slaps.  All I could do was yell at them to stop, but they acted as if I had said nothing, they just kept hitting me.

After the beginning of the dream torture, Jessie noticed bruises and welts all over my body.  She thought I had hurt myself sleepwalking, and there was no way I would tell her the truth.

                                                            Days 4 – 10

Some nights I would wake up bleeding, sometimes I would have contusions, I never knew what would happen, but it was always bad.  I can tell you, take the verbal torture, words don’t hurt like fists do.  Pliers and knives are worse than fists.

They know my worst fears.  One night they are all friendly and we go for a walk.  It was a beautiful day.  We come to a cliff and I am slowly pushed to the edge and then thrown down.  I scream all the way to the bottom.  After a little time in extreme agony I wake up sore in every part of my body.

Another night started friendly, at a picnic.  We were having barbeque.  Just before we started eating, Grayson squirted me with lighter fluid and threw a match on me.  As I went up in flames, everyone laughed.

                                                        Day 11

I gave up and went to a doctor who guaranteed that he could stop my dreams.  He prescribed six different pills.  He wanted to tell me about the side effects, but all I could hear was “No more dreams.” 

                                                       Day 12

Dreamless sleep is great.  I’m back to my old life.  I’ve just got a minor tremor in my left arm, probably the side effect doc talked about.  I can live with that after what I’ve been through.

                                                      Day 13    

I’ve got to fill out some forms and am having a little trouble remembering my social security number.  No biggie, I’ll just look it up.

                                                      Day 14

cant anymore pretend.  Stumbel, no reemebre.  Say doc med stuf.  Nitmare or zomby.  Take zomby.  Not last much.  Wish no burn Grayson house.

Appeared in Jitter Press, Yellow Mama, Sirens Call, and The Stray Branch. Has a “Nightmare On Elm Street” vibe. Has anyone mentioned that it is hard to be original?