WRITING The Dream Snatcher

[Ashi]

NOTE

Before you read, I feel I must inform you that this short story in no way has any sort of negative connotation behind it in regards to the imagination or creativity. It is a fable, for the contest by Fijoli, completely pretend. I left it pretty basic and tried to be short and to-the-point with it, since I had to fit a short story into only five paragraphs. Most short stories I ever read were at least five pages. As a fable, it has a lesson behind it. The lesson? Don't let your imagination run away with you in fear, because fear is a scary thing that can drive people to scary ends. Enjoy.

"Jamie, I want you in bed no later than ten o'clock, do you hear me? Mikey you make sure he's in bed by ten! No scary movies and no more candy tonight – or you'll have nightmares! You know how your imagination runs away with you so. And Mikey, don't you go scaring your brother." Mom called as she and Dad headed toward the door. "You have mine and Dad's cell numbers if you need to call. Love you boys." She bid the two boys good-night as she and Dad slipped out the door. Mikey watched them leave from the window before he headed to the living room and shoved his younger brother aside on the couch. "Move it, Shrimp!" He said, earning an aggravated whine from Jamie, who argued that his brother wasn't allowed to call him names. "I'm in charge now, so I can call you whatever I want. Now get out of the way of the TV; there's a horror movie marathon coming on." Mikey pushed Jamie away when he made an attempt for the remote.

"Mom said no scary movies!" Jamie protested and tried to snatch the remote again. "Well you can't watch 'em anyway. Go to bed." Mikey said, rolling his eyes and shooing him away. Jamie huffed and stomped his foot. "It's not even nine o'clock yet!" He complained, but his older brother gave him a threatening look, so he scurried away; however, Jamie didn't go to bed. Instead, he hid on the stairs, just within view of the television, and watched the movies over the back of the sofa. If Mikey got up, he went up a few steps and hid around the corner; but as the movie progressed, Jamie stopped paying attention to Mikey. "BOO!" His older brother jumped out from around the corner, making Jamie scream. "I thought I told you to go to bed. You know what happens to kids who don't go to bed, don't you? The Dream Snatcher comes and takes them when they fall asleep. And do you know what it does to them?" He asked; Jamie shook his head. "It… EATS THEM!" Mikey chased Jamie up the stairs and into his room where the little boy hid beneath the covers on his bed. Mikey laughed and turned out the light, shutting the door behind him and taunting "Sweet dreams."

For a while, Jamie dozed, tossing and turning. His dreams were haunted with monsters shrouded in shadows with long claws and sharp teeth. He woke to a noise across the room and sat up in his bed, squinting against the dark in the direction it had come from – the direction of his closet. "M-Mikey? Is that you?" He called, waiting a minute before speaking again. "M-Mom said not to scare me. If you do, I'll tell!" Jamie threatened as the noise came again, louder. The little boy yanked his covers over his head; the doorknob jiggled and the closet door cracked open. All was quiet; the only sound he could hear was that of his own panicked breathing. He dared to peak out from under the edge of the blanket, to see if anyone was there. When he lifted up the covers to look out into his room, he could see by the door a large shadow. It was tall, so tall it had to hunch over not to touch the ceiling. "MIKEYYYYYY!" Jamie wailed beneath his covers. A moment later, the covers were jerked off of him, revealing his brother who was clearly angry. "What're you screaming about? You're supposed to be asleep!" He demanded, tossing the blankets back onto the bed. "Th-the Dream Snatcher! It came from the closet! It was gonna get me!" Jamie rambled in a fright, pointing at the closet door. Mikey sighed and opened the door to the closet. It was empty.

"There's nothing there, now go to sleep." Mikey shut the door and left. Jamie still sat up in his bed, staring at the closet. Mikey hadn't shut the door all the way and it unnerved him. Quickly, he slid out of bed and ran across the room to close it. As he turned around, his eyes fell upon his baseball bat. If the Dream Snatcher came back, he could use his bat to defend himself before it could snatch him away to eat him. He took the bat back to his bed, clinging to it tightly under his covers. Jamie was about to fall back to sleep when he heard the noise again. He laid with his back to the rest of his room, eyes squeezed shut and hands firmly gripping the bat. He heard the door open, soft noises that were likely footsteps coming closer. When he could feel its presence looming over him, Jamie scrambled to his feet, swinging the bat wildly. The bat made contact with a crack and the Dream Snatcher lifted its arms to defend itself from the blows. Jamie kept swinging, screaming all the while. He didn't even hear the Dream Snatcher as it began to scream back, calling out to him "Jamie! Jamie stop! It's me!" After a few more blows, the Dream Snatcher fell to the floor. Jamie looked down at it from where he stood on his bed, slowly climbing down beside it. The Dream Snatcher didn't move, even when he poked it with his bat.

"Mikey? We're home!" There came Mom's call from downstairs. "Mom!" Jamie ran out of his room, dragging the bat behind him to the top of the stairs. Mom came up, frowning at him. "Jamie, why are you still up? I told you to be in bed by ten. It's almost midnight." She scolded. "No, Mom! The Dream Snatcher! He came to get me! He was gonna eat me! But I got him, I got him!" Jamie grabbed his mother's hand and dragged her to his room. "What are you talking about? Jamie there's no such thing as a Dream Snatcher. You watched that Halloween horror movie marathon didn't you? When I expressly told you not to! Where is your brother? Wasn't he watching you at all?" She followed her youngest son to his room, turning on the light. She shrieked at the sight before her. Not any Dream Snatcher, but Mikey lay on the floor in a puddle of blood. He was wearing a black costume with a mask. Mom turned to Jamie and saw the baseball bat had blood on it, putting two and two together. "Jamie, what did you do? Mikey!" She cried, rushing over to Mikey to hold him, sobbing. Dad arrived in the doorway, equally as horrified and upset as Mom. When he asked Jamie why he did it, Jamie answered "I guess I let my imagination run away with me."