Behind the Night (Book 1)

                                            

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  Behind the Night

  By Ray Bush

Miranda had been having the same nightmare for the last three weeks now. She’s sitting on a picnic table taking in the beauty of Brownie Lake and the amazing landscape surrounding it. It was a small lake with a stunning green mountain for a backdrop. The sky is blue and the sun is the perfect kind of warm. She loved the mountain atmosphere, the music of the birds was magical. The air smells so fresh and pure and it refreshes Miranda’s soul. Miranda sat this way in that spot more times than she could count, all the small lakes in the nearby mountains was one of the best things about living in the tiny town of Manilla. 

That is when the black dot appeared over the horizon directly across from her. It moved smoothly and gracefully, as it got bigger Miranda saw that it was humanoid shaped with a yellow head. Following him as if being dragged by the essense was a dark storm full of lightning and dangers. Miranda feels movement on her head just before a black snake drops into her vision. She yanks hard to get the snake off of her, it felt like she was pulling her own hair. She reached up to the top of her head, she tried to scream but like so many times in dreams, no sound came out. Her head was covered in long, black, squirming snakes. The feeling was awful, she thinks she would give anything to make it go away. 

The man, she could tell it was a man despite not being able to see his features, glides down the shore and into the water. The water parted wide as if this man were Moses and Brownie Lake was Red Sea. The man was coming closer and she could see that his yellow head was actually a flaming skull like a far to realistic Halloween mask. The water closed behind him but looks darker and somehow looks alive. Lightning continued flashing bright and blue, but just like her scream there was no sound. Miranda never heard anything during this dream after the man appears. Her hair squirmed and Miranda knew how horrible it must be to be a Gorgan. She felt bad for Medusa and her sisters for a lot, she now added a head full of snakes to the list. 

He was almost to her side of the lake now, it was becoming hard to breathe. Miranda was sucking air in quick unrefreshing bursts. Now she was able to see why the water looked alive. The crashing waves behind him were made up of maybe millions but closer to billions, most likely trillions of black widows. She really started gasping for breath when she saw the tsunami sized wave of spiders getting ready to crash into her. When his skull fills her vision and the spiders were inches away from drowning her, Miranda would wake up crying and gasping for air. 

Her husband Drew was such a good guy, he would wake up and hold her. He would stroke her hair and kiss her forehead. He would pull her in close until she stopped shaking and crying. She loved this man. Drew always wished to himself that he could fight this demon for her, he hated seeing Miranda hurting. All he could do was comfort her and pray that these nightmares went away. He even suggested that Miranda talk to a head doctor about these dreams. She didn’t like his wording but she told him that she would think about it. 

After she calmed down Drew drifted back into the land of peaceful dreams. Miranda lay sleepless looking into the complete blackness, she couldn’t sleep with even a sliver of light. Every night the skull man got closer, she hoped the dreams would stop before she found out what happened when he finally reached her. The vibe coming from him was getting darker and far more intense. Miranda decided that she would reach out to a doctor tomorrow, she would do anything to stop the terror. Miranda thought back to try to remember if she went somewhere scary where a demon could attach itself to her. Nothing came to mind, when you are married with three sons your life is basically the same everyday. She couldn’t remember anything out of the ordinary happening. 

Miranda began to cry softly, she was terrified and had no clue what to do. What would happen to Drew and her boys if she lost her mind? That question brought even more tears to her eyes. Drew was a good father so they would be taken care of, but there are just some things a mother can give her son that a father can’t. If she went bat shit crazy then what would happen to her four boys, including her oldest child, Drew. Selfishly she hoped that they would struggle, Miranda needed a little assurance that she was important.

It was 3:33 in the morning when Drew resumed his loud bear like snores. Miranda had no desire to go back to sleep to the flaming skull, the snake hair, and the spider wave. She had a very busy day tomorrow but she would have to finish her to do list while exhausted. Miranda had no idea that a person could have the same exact dream for so many nights in a row. She would continue to stare into the darkness until Drew woke up for the day. She felt like she had been marked for torment by something evil, probably by the skull man. 

Miranda lay on her back facing what would be the ceiling if she were able to see anything. Miranda had a curtain, blinds, and a thick black on her two bedroom windows. Something darker than the night, or maybe it was behind the night, filled her vision. It looked like the silhouette of a person from the shoulders up. She tried to sit up but the thing grabbed both her arms then pinned them to the bed. Its hands moved to her shoulders holding her down while it climbed on her chest, Miranda hated this feeling. Miranda tried to scream but something that was not there covered her mouth. She tried to sit up again but with the thing on her chest and what felt like knees on her biceps, Miranda was unsuccessful. 

Miranda couldn’t believe this was happening. She tried to fling her arms but whatever was on top of her grabbed her wrists and held them to the bed again. She tried to scream but this time the thing blocked it out with its own open mouth. Miranda kicked her feet hard against the bed hoping that she could wake up Drew. With how hard she was struggling she was frustrated that he hadn’t already. Not only did this thing inhale her scream it was also sucking the air in from her lungs. Miranda could feel them deflating, she had never been this scared in her entire life. 

She tried thrusting her hips up and down trying to buck him off like a bull at the rodeo. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either. She tried to roll onto her side, despite being unsuccessful she did free up her mouth. She gasped for air to let out the scream of all screams, but she was not fast enough. The creature or demon covered her mouth with its own. Miranda tried freeing her mouth again by shaking her head back and forth as if she were very passionately disagreeing with something. The creature was able to keep its mouth locked onto hers. Miranda tried kicking like a pissed off horse, she couldn’t believe that Drew was not waking up. 

“Miranda,” the voice in her head was demonic, “I’ve got you, don’t fight me.” She could feel the voice in her throat like the thing was vibrating  her vocal cords. It felt disgusting.

Miranda was in full panic mode now, she found herself hating Drew for not helping her. It felt the thing laid flat against her so it could block her legs with its much stronger legs. The thing had her completely immobilized. Miranda’s stomach tightened from anxiety, she was not going to get away from this thing. 

“Miranda,” it was using her vocal cords again, “I need you to calm down and listen to me.” 

The room lit up and now she could hear multiple demons milling about and shouting. They were coming for her. No matter how hard she fought she could still not open her eyes. She felt so helpless. There is no way this is real, it’s a new part to the nightmare. Miranda hoped hard that it was true, but her heart knew different. The voices in her head were now jumbled and confused to the point that Miranda could no longer understand a single word. She felt at least eight but probably twelve hands grab her and try to restrain her to the bed. Fighting them was much more difficult but she would be damned if she would give up. Who knew what these monsters had planned for her. She fought for her sons and for Drew, they needed her just like she needed Drew right now. Where the hell is he? She wondered. 

Something cold clamped tight around her wrist, Miranda knew that she was in trouble now. The creatures were now fighting her left arm to her right wrist, she screamed loud as she struggled. She began thrashing her arms and legs. Three hands pinned down each arm and something laid over her legs. The same thing that clamped the right wrist now clamped around the left wrist. Miranda tried to cry but her eyes were shut so hard that nothing came out. She tried bucking one last time but it was too late, the demons or maybe just regular monsters had her. Miranda was at their mercy. She felt rope loop around her legs then pulled tight so her feet were touching. Miranda’s mouth was no longer covered so she began screaming like her life depended on it, because it probably did. 

As her scream died out Miranda tried biting at them, her teeth clacked  loudly as she bit the air. The pressure was no longer on her chest so she was able to breathe in and out with short bursts. Something strong grabbed her by the shoulders, another grabbed her calves. The strong hands moved her to another table where her arms, legs, and chest were bound by something flat and thick. She meant to scream again but when she opened her mouth something stuffed a small ball in it then wrapped a band around her head. Miranda had no chance of getting away and her eyes wouldn’t open so she couldn’t even see what was taking her. She felt a quick pin prick in her arm, she calmed almost immediately and almost lost consciousness. Before the dreamland took her, Miranda used all of the will power she could muster to open her eyes. She wished she hadn’t, all she saw was Drew’s worried face. Miranda began to sob softly. 

Was her long time husband a demon in hiding this whole time? That couldn’t be, maybe he had gone somewhere that he shouldn’t have and was followed home by something. He did work construction and who knows what he dug up in his backhoe. That was the only thing that she could think of. She was now floating through her house, Miranda knew the layout even with her eyes locked shut. She was not sure which one gave her the poison bite but she still fought to stay mentally awake. The demon venom had not yet won over her fight to stay alive. 

“Drew!” She tried to scream through the gag, “please baby help me! Please God help me!”

“I’m here darling,” It was his voice, not the demon. Miranda gained hope that she may be ok. “Please baby try to breathe, if you can relax, everything will be ok if you can calm down.”

His voice made her heart sing and her mind scream, the combination came out of her mouth in a maniac wail. She opened her eyes for a split second to a dark sky salt sprinkled with glittering stars. When her eyes closed this time Miranda felt like she had been swallowed by an abyss. Her body was limp, she could not move a single muscle in her entire body. Not even her pinky toe. Her ears were working perfectly, fortunately all the demons seemed to be gone. Now that Miranda heard Drew talking,  she was almost sure that she could hear her three sons talking to each other as well. 

“Where are you taking her?” Drew asked someone that Miranda would never see. Why would they take her anywhere? She belonged here. She knew that an exorcism would have to be performed on her house. Probably her, Drew, and their sons as well. Someone told Drew that they would be taking her to an asylum  for testing. 

“She obviously needs to talk to someone,” that strange someone said, “and take a break from life.

“There’s only one asylum around here,” Drew sounded concerned but a little pissed off as well. “I can’t let you take her there.” 

“I’m sorry sir,” that same someone answered, “but when someone is this out of control and aggressive we don’t have a choice. She would put the hospital staff in danger, those nurses are not trained to deal with a patient like this.” Miranda was scared now, like Drew she knew the stories about the asylum. Hell everyone within a fifty mile radius knew at least five stories about that place. She believed most of them. 

“I’m following the ambulance,” Drew was not asking, but she could hear the worry in his voice. 

“I don’t think you can,” someone answered the not question, “The asylum doesn’t allow visitors for a week or something like that.” 

“I changed my mind,” Drew said, “You can’t take her there.” There was a moment of silence then Drew said, “Unstrap her, me and my boys will take care of her.” 

“You mean like you took care of her tonight,” Miranda knew that had made Drew furious now.

“Listen,” She hated when Drew aimed that tone at her, but when he was shooting it at someone else it was kinda hot. “I can hold her down by myself, I got her under control before you even got here. So I say it again, unstrap my wife.”

“I can’t do that sir,” Someone answered but she was again sure that Drew had not asked a question. “She is a danger to you and these fine young men. What kind of officer would I be if I left this sick woman here and she hurt your boys. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“Yeah,” even in her limp state Miranda could feel the anger radiating from her husband. “You don’t seem to be listening, You aren’t taking my wife anywhere.” She didn’t have to see to know that her boys stepped to their dad’s side. 

“Come over here boys,” the someone called to others a good distance away. “I think these guys think they know how to do our job.” 

“You can call whoever you want,” Miranda wished she could speak or at least see Drew’s blazing eyes. “I’m not letting you take her anywhere.” Miranda could hear jingling that had to be a cop wearing much more equipment than he needed to do their jobs. “Hey kid,” Drew addressed someone else, “I’ll give you a thousand dollars to unstrap her right now.”

“You better calm down sir,” this was a different someone, he sounded like he had more authority. “We are taking her and there is not a thing you can do about it. So unless you want to join her, I suggest you calm your ass down.”

Miranda heard the dull thud that she thought sounded like a hard punch to the chin. That was immediately followed by a jumble of commotion. There was scuffling, Drew and her sons were yelling to let her go, she had never been more proud. Then came a sound that she hated, one of the someone’s shot one of her family with a taser. She guessed that it was Drew, he was the biggest and the strongest. Also he was probably the one that threw the first punch. Her sons burst out with loud screams of protest. Next came the sounds of impact, she guessed hands and whatever billy clubs cops used now days were pounding  her family. The scuffling was quick, it was already coming to an end. Miranda was sad, she knew how things worked. The side with the most or best weapons usually came out the victor. 

“Put them all in cuffs,” The first someone said, “if they love this crazy bitch so much they can go with her.” Miranda fought her eyes open one last time in time to see double doors swing shut. Darkness finally took her.

“Good morning Miranda,” A handsome man said in a kind voice. “How are you feeling?” When Miranda said nothing he went on, ‘My name is Nat and I have the pleasure of being your doctor. Welcome to Asylum 77.”