“If the nightmare is now bound to the physical plane like us, it should be affected by our weapons.”
They came to the edge of the staircase and the house was dead with silence. Cher silently made her way up the stairs and stepped with the point of her foot. Scarlett followed behind when she misstepped. The creak was amplified with the quietness of the house and they froze. Their hearts stopped as a shriek sounded from one of the halls. Bangs and scratches ensued as Scarlett and Cher bounded up the stairs with no care to the noise. They were already heard.
Running down a hall that overlooked the floor below, they caught sight of the nightmare racing up the stairs. It climbed on all fours and destroyed anything in its path.
Scarlett and Cher sprinted for the room beside the master’s bedroom. Cher shoved the door open and quickly closed it behind Scarlett. They locked it and ran for the dresser beside it. With a shove, it planted itself directly in front of the door.
Scarlett was barely able to breathe as she frantically glanced for things to throw in front of the door. The nightmare crashed against a wall before harshly banging on the door. Cher wasted no time and rushed over to the painting that hid the armory. She hastily inserted the code as the pounding increased.
“COME ON! COME ON!” Cher yelled in frustration as the wall began to part. Neither of them remembered it being this slow. It finally opened and a flush of relief flooded Cher and Scarlett.
At the same time, the door to the room splintered and gave way.
Thirty-Three
Cher reached for Scarlett’s shoulder to pull her into the room but was a second too late.
A searing heat traveled up Scarlett’s leg as she fell to the ground. An agonizing scream left her lips and she was dragged towards the door.
“SCARLETT!”
Scarlett glanced down and saw the nightmare’s hooked tail going through her left calf. It steadily dragged her away from the armory and she squeezed her eyes shut as she became paralyzed with pain. The curved hook nicked bone and impaled the meaty part of her left calf. Throbs pulsated from Scarlett’s leg as tears poured down her face. She tried grabbing onto something but the yank on her leg weakened the feeling in her hands.
A booming bang resounded through the room and made Scarlett’s head pound. Her ears stung from the stabbing ring that entered and she weakly covered them as she lowered her head to the ground. She wasn’t being dragged anymore. Another bang occurred and Scarlett opened her eyes to an empty broken doorway. Muck covered the walls and Scarlett’s impaled leg. Its hooked tail was going through her, but that was it. A tail with no Nightmare attached to it.
Scarlett shakily turned her head to her mother who stood at the armor room’s entrance with a shotgun in hand.
Cher quickly put it down and rushed to her daughter’s side. Scarlett felt hands loop under her pits and drag her backward. Her head fell back and she saw the roof changed from a tanned ceiling to a dark brown leather one. Her father liked the luxurious style and the thought brought a weak smile to her lips. He was now her light in the darkness.
‘Light… The light!’
Scarlett’s eyes widened as an idea dawned on her as her mother shut the entrance to the armory. It was a thick door, the nightmare wouldn’t be able to get in easily if it came back.
“Mom.”
Cher didn’t hear her feeble call. She ran around opening cabinets and pulling out knives and guns. “For all the weapons your father had, he didn’t think to put a first aid kit in here.”
She let out a choked laugh and grabbed a throw pillow that laid underneath a knife. She cut it and stretched the fabric while making her way towards Scarlett. Lowering herself beside the injured calf, Cher gave her a weak smile before moving her leg. Scarlett harshly bit her lip and sobbed from the pain that erupted. Cher tried to work quickly and tied the cloth around the wound's openings where blood was pouring from.
“I’m so sorry Scar,” Cher whispered as Scarlett released another wave of tears. “There, there, I’m done.”
She lightly patted Scarlett’s leg and rested it back on the ground. Her mother continually chanted ‘I’m sorry’ as she took in Scarlett’s state. Her skin drastically paled and her leg was torn. Dry blood caked the top of her head and drips of it lined her scratched face.
Scarlett’s breathing slowed and she shook her head to bring herself back to her mother. “Mom.”
Cher shushed her. “Don’t speak, baby, you’ll be alright. Hold on okay.”
“Mom!” Scarlett’s scratchy voice stalled her mother’s worrying. “Light. In Ever Realm, the nightmares died because we used light, the bracelets. Regular light doesn’t do anything to them, but what about fire?”
Cher’s eyes widened at what Scarlett was implying and murmured to herself. “The light that’ll burn through the darkness, not just shine.”
Cher grabbed knives, strapped two guns to her side, and carried the shotgun on hand. “I’m going to be right back, okay. Just hold on Scarlett.”
She lifted Scarlett and propped her against the wall and placed another pillow under her leg to elevate it. Cher leaned forward and softly kissed her on the head. “I love you, my princess.”
Scarlett’s eyelids lowered as if attached to bricks and her forehead lined with blood and sweat. The last she saw was her mother’s brown eyes before she got up and walked away.
∞
Gasoline…
Its pungent smell assaulted Scarlett’s nose as she came to.
Blinding light shined on her and she blinked a few times to see that it was the sun shining through a window.
There were no windows in the armory.
She groaned as her body was moved. Scarlett drowsily looked up and her mother’s hair tickled her face.
“Shh, shh, not right now Scarlett.” Cher had a new gash that crossed her face and she frantically swiveled her head in all directions. The nightmare was still there. Her mother’s right eye was red and swelling and her nightgown was practically no longer on her; save for the threads that hardly hung on the sides.
‘What happened?’
Scarlett couldn’t feel her left foot. She moved her gaze to her leg to see the aftermath of the nightmare. Bone shone whitely against the bloody gashes and the nightmare’s hook still stuck out from her leg which was twisted sideways.
She couldn’t feel her entire leg. The dragging stopped and Scarlett watched her with half-opened eyelids.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
“I’ve barricaded most of the entrances and the thing to set it all ablaze will be the nightmare, it’ll burn down with the home.” Cher’s tears mixed with the blood and grime on her face. “It’s time to burn it all away.”
Scarlett saw her mother’s lower lip quiver as her nose flared. She’d gotten that trait from her. Father couldn’t no matter how much he’d tried and would spread them with his fingers. He knew it’d get a laugh out of his girls.
Scarlett reminded her mother of the memory and tears freely fell from her eyes. Heartache tore at both their insides. No matter the physical pain, it was the damage inside that hurt them most.
“I’m so scared.” Cher sat between Scarlett and the wall and hugged Scarlett between her legs. They were tucked into a corner with a level view of their staircase and the hall below it.