Nightmare

Boo.

A crack.
The snicker-snap of broken bones,

pounding that hides behind your eyes and throat:

the knowledge that there is no escape,

not from this.

The creeping up your back,

down your legs,

isn't just a figment.

There is no running,

hiding.

No looking up

or back.

You know what you'll see

and that terrifies you far more

than actually seeing it. 

What, now?

You're scared?

Of course you're scared.

There's nothing here but fear and terror

and everything that goes bump in the night.

This land isn't a land.

It's a churning, milling,

torn-up pile of screams and agony,

festering within itself,

producing the most solidified aspects

of human fear that has ever been given breath.

Or hasn't. 

They'll eat you dead.

They'll eat you alive.

They don't care if your heart is beating.

As long as you're afraid. 

The second you step foot in their territory,

you are fair game, 

and they won't let you leave

with your limbs in tact.

And at the head of it all,

sitting on his spire

with all of terror at his feet,

is the creature that runs it all:

the black-cloaked, impervious figure

that embodies everything

you've ever been afraid of.

He'll never lure you into his land.

He doesn't need to.

Sooner or later, your fears and guilt

will catch up to you, 

and you'll get snared in his clutches.

How long? Long enough.

Everything here is just long enough

to leave you broken and breathless.

In pieces on the floor.

You come to realize it was all a dream. 

But it doesn't feel like just a dream.

It will haunt you

until your mind gives you

the sweet bliss of forgetfulness.

This isn't just another dream.

This place, its lord,

the ravenous, teeth-bearing fear

that prowls from one end of this kingdom

to the other...

This is fear,

pure and simple.

This is Nightmare