Night Terrors

The flashbacks hit her like ice cold water and she forced herself out of that particular dream. There was no way in hell that Lisa was going to let that dead man control her life.He raped her, and he paid for it, and life was good now.

Still, the slimy, cold, drunken hands reached for her, and she beat them off, trying to focus on a better dreamscape. She had just begun having the ability to control her dreams, and she wasn’t about to lose it.

The hands still reached for her, as if out of a portal. She had tried everything – surrounding herself in flowers, in white light, in a blank, wheat field template with nothing but the wind around her and the sun above her.

Lisa was getting pissed off as she batted the hands away and tried to change her scenery again. Pretty soon she was going to pull out a chainsaw and cut the hands off. Then little bleeding stumps would be the only things trying to touch her. She could deal with that blood.

“Back off, or this goes into you!” Lisa screamed at the hands, backing up to bend over and pick up the knife she had materialized on the ground. As she bent over, momentarily turning her back to the hands, she felt a cold one on her shoulder. She whipped around, wildly swinging the knife with a force she had never managed to use before. She watched a finger get sliced off and backed up more as very real, very warm blood spurted out onto her hand.

She watched the man step through the portal, just as if he had died only minutes earlier –dried blood plastered on to his ears from his three story fall out of her window, glass shards embedded in his body. She screamed and flung the knife, hearing a dull thud as it embedded into the dead man’s chest. He fell, hatred glaring out of his eyes.

“Is she okay?” Lisa opened her eyes to see two or three monks gathered around her.

“She’s fine!” She heard someone – the one she had named Andrew, she thought – yell from across the room.

“What... ?” Lisa groggily croaked at them, and the faces separated to give her some room to sit up.

“Where did you get the knife?” The oldest one, the one she named ‘grandfather’, asked her with concern. She looked at him confused.

“What?”

“The knife.” He insisted. They refused to move to give her a look at what happened. “You stabbed one of us.”

“What?” Lisa asked, concerned. She struggled to rise out of her bed, but the men held her down.

“Calm down.” Another one of the monks said sharply to the oldest. “She didn’t know what she was doing. Very obviously, look at her. She is terrified.”

“You’re right. Lisa, can you look at me?” The older monk calmed his vocal tone and looked at her kindly, with a small, seemingly unforced smile. She could tell he wanted answers to whatever the hell had happened. “Good girl. Now, what’s the first thing you remember?”

“All of you... in my face. Asking if I was okay.” She said, unsure of herself.

“Do you remember anything about a knife?”

“I was having a bad dream. A man who... hurt me, he was coming after me. I cut a finger off.Then I stabbed him when he lunged at me. That’s... that’s all I can remember from that.Was I shouting?”

“I think you screamed, yes.” The older monk nodded. He sat down next to her. “Now, the most important question. Did you have a knife in here at any time, even though weapons are forbidden here?”

“No. I follow the rules. Why would I have a knife?” She looked at him confused.

“Well, you somehow managed to stab one of our brothers.” The monk looked perplexed.

“May I come in?” A startlingly female voice came from the doorway. Lisa recognized the voice.

“By all means.” The older monk gestured for her to enter through the doorway and into Lisa’s cordoned off bedroom.

“Care for your brother.” Ari directed the monks away to the stabbed man. She sat down next to Lisa. “Bad dream, right?”

Lisa, still perplexed, and shaking in confusion, nodded. Had she actually stabbed another man? She was a danger to others. She should be locked away.

“Hey, don’t cry, Lisa. You’re a little too young, and a little too strong. That’s all. Okay? The brother is fine, no worries.” Ari winked at her. “These guys here are used to odd occurrences. Many of them have had similar experiences. They know they should never try to impede on someone’s sleep if I have brought them here, and I gave them special warning with you.”

“What did I do?” Lisa asked her, gripping her hand.

“You seemed to have a bad dream and ended up stabbing one of the brothers in the shoulder. That’s all.” Ari said. “Now, you just hang tight here while I clean up his shoulder.I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay.” Lisa said, trying to force her breathing to calm down. First she had murdered a man, and now she had nearly done it again. Who had she stabbed, anyway?

“He’s fine.” Ari announced to the brothers. “Let me in, and I will fix it. Go on, move.” Lisa could see the crowd being pushed away from the man lying on the floor. Was it her favorite? Ben? Or another? Who had tried to wake her up? Why?

The older monk returned to her side, smiling. She looked up at him and sniffled, and he reached down to touch her shoulder gently. She tried not to flinch, and may have actually succeeded.

“Don’t worry. I’m sorry for being angry earlier. This was not your fault by any means.” He rubbed her shoulder gently. “Do you need a tissue?”

“No, I’m fine.” Lisa announced, rubbing her slobber and snot on the sleeve of her nightshirt. She was definitely not okay.

“Hey, this has happened before, alright?” The older monk before her almost seemed...  human. Male. Comforting.

“When?”

“A few years ago. Our youngest brother choked one of ours to the point of unconsciousness when he was being woken up.” The older monk smiled. “Ari came and helped both of them.We never had another incident.”

“But... the reason I came here was so that I wouldn’t be a danger to anyone. And here, I nearly killed one of my teachers.” Lisa protested, crying a little more. “Maybe I should just become a hermit.”

“Come now, life is not as interesting when you’re alone.” The monk smiled. “Plus, this is just a step along the path of mastery. We all go through trials before we reach our full potential.”

“Do you... do you think I’ll ever be able to control myself?” Lisa asked in between large ungainly sniffles.

“Of course, if you are willing. Now see,” The monk pointed at Ari who was standing. “He is all better. Ari always makes it better.”

“I didn’t know you... teachers... knew about Ari’s other side.” Lisa said. She was told that the monks were ignorant of her abilities.

“We respect all of those who honor, teach, and have gifts that exceed the average ability.”He winked at her. “But we do not speak of these things, in honor of those abilities. Your abilities,” He gave her a pointed look, “Are yours alone. Speaking of these abilities will diminish their power. So hold them close to your heart, as you do your own name.”

“Yes, sir.” Lisa agreed, wiping her eyes again on her shirt. Ari was returning to her, and she swallowed pitifully.

“All better. No worries. If it happens again, we might have to consider other training methods, but you are fine. Everyone loses control and does things in their dreams that they would not, otherwise. Just keep in mind.” Ari drew closer to her. “Your abilities are strong, and so you should not underestimate them. If you do, these things can happen, and I can’t always reverse them.”

“I... I know.” Lisa swallowed.

“Do you want to spend a day away from here? Go home, and spend some time with your family? I can take you, and you might feel more comfortable with these teachers of yours.”

“That would be great. Did I stab Ben?”

“Which one is Ben?” Ari asked her, and Lisa responded.

“The one closest to me in age. The youngest.”

Ari nodded, then winked at her. She pulled her in for a hug and then released her, holding her at shoulders’ length.

“Listen you. Just a hint, but if you have a crush on someone, stabbing them is usually not the way to show it.”

“I don’t!” Lisa protested, and Ari smiled at her. “Why don’t we get you dressed, get these monks out of here, and go out shopping.”

“Okay.” Lisa dried her eyes for the final time. That was one hell of a wake up call.

“Everyone out! The girl needs to dress!” Ari yelled at the monks and they all shuffled out.Lisa got up out of the bed, half dressed and rushed over to the one she referred to as Ben before he walked out.

“I’m sorry.” She said ashamed, and he looked down at her and laughed.

“Its not a problem. I’ve done much worse to people.” He said, hugging her.

“The thing is... ” Lisa said, looking into his eyes and trying not to cry again. “So have I.”

“We all have secrets. Take the day off. We’ll be here, and all is already forgiven. Alright, kiddo?”

“Okay.” She squeezed him and watched as he walked out of her room and she shut the door behind him.

“Now that particular show of affection... ” Ari said, “Perfect.”

“He called me kiddo.” Lisa grumbled, and Ari laughed.

“Age never matters in a relationship. My husband is four hundred years older than me.Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so.” Lisa said, beginning the arduous task of finding clothes to wear.

Previous Chapter: The Meeting of Father And Son
Next Chapter: The Workshop
Go Home: Go To Title Page