Sweet Dreams

Marv tried to figure out what Jayne was saying, but judging from her facial expressions, the words did not seem kind. So, he just tried to smile and nod, hoping to pacify Jayne for a bit. Marv beckoned her to continue moving. Although he might have seemed like he was in control and knew exactly where he was heading, he really didn’t. Marv just kept hoping to find something, which was difficult with the blizzard only allowing a few meters of visibility.

Better hold Jayne’s hand.

He kept trudging through the snow until a chalet just appeared in front of him. Well, most likely, it wasn’t magic. He tried banging on the door, but no one answered. He looked to Jayne for help, but she shrugged her shoulders. There didn’t seem to be any light coming out of the windows. So, he tried the door, which to his surprise was not locked, and went in.

“Do you know this place?” asked Jayne.

“No, not really, but I thought that if someone’s inside, we can tell them what happened, and surely they wouldn’t let us just freeze to death outside. Otherwise, if no one is here, I don’t see any harm if we camp for a bit. Now, if I could find a light source.”

Without flipping or touching anything, all the lights in the chalet turned on.

“It seems someone is home,” said Marv and yelled, “Hey! We didn’t mean to disturb you; it’s that the weather outside is terrible, and we stumbled upon your cabin hoping we could rest up here for a while.”

No answers came.

“That’s weird,” muttered Marv and tried to make contact again. “Hey! I hope we didn’t scare anybody barging in like this during the evening. It’s just me and my girlfriend Jayne here. I hope I can talk to someone.”

Still, no answers came.

“Well, I guess the house has some kind of automated lighting then because it seems we have the house to ourselves, but just in case, I’ll go look around, and I will be back in a few,” said Marv.

Jayne nodded and plumped down on the sofa.

Marv took a tour of the house but did not find anything of note – it seemed like a standard one-bedroom cabin for enjoying the winter wonders of the mountain. However, the fridge was stocked, which meant that the owner had recently been here. Still, he doubted that the owner would make the trek here tonight with the current weather out there. So, they had the whole chalet for themselves, at least for a while.

He took a few beers from the fridge, a bag of chips from the counter, and left 20 Euros on the table with a small note explaining the situation. He went back to find Jayne, but she wasn’t on the sofa anymore.

“Jayne,” he yelled. “Where are you?”

No answers came, but he heard a creak from the back, and when he turned, he saw her trying to sneak up on him.

“Awhhh... I hoped this time was really it, but that damn floorboard gave it away,” said Jayne.

“Babe… I’m the best at this,” Marv chuckled, “You can’t trick the master. Now can you? Anyway, better luck next time. Also, got us some chips and beer from the kitchen.”

“Won’t they mind?”

“Maybe, but I left them a few Euros and a nice note. Hope they’ll forgive our small purchase. We’ll be out of here before the owner returns anyway. I can’t think they’d try to make it back here with this weather.”

“Yeah, I hope you’re right. So, let’s crash on the sofa and enjoy the crackling fire that you’re going to set up?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Marv gave Jayne the food and drinks and swooped her into his arms.

“You’ve gotten heavier, my lady,” Marv said with a mischievous smile.

“Well, that’s what happens when you carry me everywhere, but now onward, my bright knight. To the sofa!”

They fell to the sofa, laughing, hugging, and kissing.

“I don’t think this is a good place to have sex. The owner could still walk in on us at any time. Better we just talk and drink,” said Jayne.

“Although this saddens me beyond repair, I do agree that there are better times, like right after we get home.”

“That we can agree on.”

They ate, they drank, and they talked the night away before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Marv heard awful screeching and woke up. His heart was racing, and he could feel someone watching him. He tried to wake up Jayne, but she was fast asleep.

Oh… this must be a dream.

He looked around and saw a long white face staring at him with pitch-black eyes. It was crouched on the ceiling like a bat that inquisitively moved its head. Its mouth spread apart more than it should, and a screech came out.

Marv woke up. It was still dark, but the thing was gone, and Jayne was sleeping right next to him. He could feel his pulse slowing down as he calmed himself with deep breathing.

Just a dream.

He snuggled up to spoon Jayne and tried falling back asleep.

He heard labored breathing from his back. He was afraid to turn and look around. So, he just tried to press his eyelids together even more and hugged Jayne tighter. Jayne turned around to him and screamed.

Marv woke up. Jayne was still sleeping, and it had gotten a bit brighter outside. He tried to wake Jayne, but she didn’t notice. He looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. His heart was racing even faster this time, and didn’t seem to want to slow down any time soon.

Still just a dream, just a dream.

He felt his bladder throbbing.

Not now… Can’t this wait?

The bladder answered by turning up the discomfort. Marv stood up and went to the bathroom. He flipped on the lights in the hallway, which was enough not to disturb Jayne, but also enough to calm down Marv.

Just a regular ordinary cabin.

Washing his hands after peeing, he looked up into the mirror and saw the thing again staring back at him. Peering straight into his eyes. It opened its mouth, and rows and rows of sickly teeth looked at him. He screamed and woke up.

The Sun shone brightly onto his eyes. He tried to snuggle closer to Jayne but couldn’t find her on the sofa. Scared, he jumped up.

“Someone seems fresh for so early in the morning, “said Jayne as she walked into the room with two cups of tea in her hands. “I already cleaned up after us. So, let’s just drink the tea and move out.”

“Oh… okay. Good, yeah. Let’s down it and get out of here.”

“Why are you in such a hurry suddenly?”

“I don’t know… Weird dreams.”

“Oh.” Jayne smiled. Her smile widened more than usual, and rotting teeth came out.

“No! NO! NOOO!” Marv yelled, tearing up.

He woke up. It was still dark outside, but Jayne was gone.

He woke up. He woke up. He woke up. He woke up. He woke up. He woke up. He woke up.

“Marv! Marv! Wake up!” Jayne yelled.

He didn’t want to open his eyes as he knew nothing good could come from waking up.

Jayne slapped him.

“Marv, come on! Wake up! I just got reception with my phone again. Our parents are scared and want to know that we’re okay.”

But neither of them had parents anymore. So, he knew and decided not to be scared anymore. He woke up once more, and the thing was staring right at him. He kicked it, and it flew off the sofa. Marv looked for something to grab; he could only find a chair. So, he took it and smashed the thing with it. Again, and again and again. Until there was no more chair to lift, and the thing wasn’t moving.

The door to the cabin opened, and a middle-aged man walked in with a look of horror.

“What are you doing to that poor girl?” the man yelled while trying to find something from his pockets.

“What girl? This is a monster.”

He looked down at the body, but the thing wasn’t lying there. It was Jayne. Jayne’s battered body. He heard a shot and felt his arms go numb as he fell onto the floor. He stared right into the eyes of Jayne, full of disbelief.

He woke up.