The dim, flickering light bulbs and the long, twisted hallways were all too familiar to me. It was the same place that I kept visiting over and over again. Only this time, something was different. The murky shadows in every corner seemed to try harder and harder to envelop me in their darkness. The light seeping through the exit made it seem so close, yet I knew that in here, nothing was ever that simple. I quickly chose a path, rounded the first corner, the next, and the next, until the exit was a mere twenty feet away. As I ran around the last corner, I felt a boom. In the blink of an eye, I was surrounded by five deformed creatures, their faces riddled with blood and scars. I had no idea who or what they were, but they were as spine-chilling as zombies. This never happened before. It had always ended the same way: I would run through the golden light at the end of the maze, and it would all be over.

My screams were loud and piercing as the marred creatures closed in on me. I got up, and assumed a fighting stance to scare them off. Didn’t matter. They continued their slow progression towards me, until I ran at one and knocked it to the ground. I punched another in the face, rendering it “unconscious”. I thought they would be easy to overcome, but that all changed when my arms were pinned back as one of the creatures produced a long, shiny knife. Each vicious tooth of the serrated blade magnified my terror. I was kicking, shrieking, and trying to pull myself free, but it was useless. Seemingly in slow motion, the long knife headed towards my stomach, as I simultaneously began to cry desperate tears. I felt the sharp spikes rip open my skin, and then BAM, my eyes shot open. I had heard a noise that sounded like the slow, steady creak of a wooden door, and awoke to find myself in a puddle of sweat.

My shirt drenched, I was breathing heavily. Alex looked over, “Had the dream again?”
“Yea,” I mumbled, tearing off my top. “Sorry I woke you again, bro. I’m going down to get a drink. Go back to sleep.”

I dragged myself to the stairs, the muddled dream still running through my head. The nightmare had been the same for months, but tonight something seemed amiss. The sound I had heard as the dream was ending, just before I woke, was gnawing at me.

As I descended the stairs, I felt a slight breeze graze my bare chest. Longing for a cold beverage, I ignored it and kept walking.

C-R-E-A-K.

This time the noise seemed louder. Shaking my head, I wondered if I my mind was just playing tricks on me.

I opened the refrigerator, letting the cold air sweep over my sweltering body, and grabbed the chocolate milk. As I lifted the jug to my lips to take a swig, something caught my eye; it was a tooth of the serrated blade glistening in the moonlight. The milk jug fell to the floor as I let loose a blood curdling scream…