Night Terrors Read Online Free PDF Page A

and I groan aloud. I’m fortunate that it’s not worse. It’s only because the car was moving so slowly through the thick mud that I didn’t go right through the glass. A dream this may be but seatbelts are still my friend. I’m reminded once more of Dante’s warning that it’s possible to get hurt, and pull back to look at the others.
    Archie is slumped over the wheel, his fingers twitching. I turn back and check on the models, even though they’re nothing more than figments of his imagination. They’ve gone, leaving not so much as an indentation in the seats.
    I shake Archie. He mutters something but I can’t catch the words. He will be fine. It’s only Travellers, who possess a conscious awareness of their ability to pass through dreams, who can be physically affected in the real world. It doesn’t dampen my concern, however. There was a hauntingly similar change of pace in the ski dream too.
    Abandoning Archie for the time being, I blink out of the cracked windshield. The environment outside seems exactly as it was before. Whatever the strange dark shape was, there’s no sign of it now. All the same, my curiosity is piqued.
    I use my shoulder to force open the passenger door and get out, my feet squelching in the gloopy earth. Something hot and wet is trickling down my forehead. When I realise it’s blood, I curse and hold the cuff of my sleeve against the wound. I dread to think what I’ll look like when I wake up.
    I edge a few steps forward. Maybe the shape was nothing more than a mare, flitting in from the Dreamlands to cause havoc. For all I know it may even have been my old pal, Pegasus. Beyond the dark undergrowth and heavy trees, however, there’s nothing to be seen. I stand stock-still for a moment or two, cocking my head and listening hard, then I shake it off. I’m jumping to conclusions. I’m hardly an expert in the minefield of the subconscious. This is probably all perfectly natural.
    Making the decision to try and wake Archie, I pivot. Not a moment too soon; something flies towards me out of nowhere. I glimpse long dark claws and a vast body that seems to be a cloud of black just before I throw back my head and force myself away at speed.
    There’s a roar of what could be thunder and then I’m panting and falling forward onto a familiar lino-covered floor. It’s my own kitchen but I’m still not awake. I squint at the table and see my mother seated next to the Queen of Hearts. Both of them are holding playing cards. Shit. I will myself away again once more. I most definitely don’t want to see what’s going on in my mum’s head.
    I find myself in an alley. I look around quickly, double-checking that there’s nothing to be wary of, then push back against the far wall. My forehead is still throbbing but at least the bleeding seems to have stopped. I rub my eyes. What the hell was that thing? It didn’t feel like it was part of the dream; there was a sense of wrongness about the creature and, without a single action or thought or my part, it knew that I was there. Usually, unless I consciously make my presence known, dreamers are oblivious to me.
    Despite my desire to avoid Ashley at all costs, I need to get to the Dreamlands. In Dante’s absence, someone there will be able to explain what that black creature was.
    Staggering to my feet, I hear a noise to my left. Alarm fills me again but I start to relax when I see who it is,. Adam. Of course. He was the last person I touched today. That means his dreams will be the last ones I experience of the day.  He smiles slowly in my direction, causing me to frown. Can he see me? Then I realise he’s looking at something over my shoulder.
    I should snap myself out of here but I can’t help turning round to see what’s there. When I do, I blink in shock. Wearing some kind of atrociously frilly pink negligee is the unmistakable form of me. I swing my head back to Adam then back to my dream self. This is so not right. I’m in Adam’s dream