An Ill Wind Cometh

It is amazing what you will write when you're under the influence of a lot of Black Sabbath music. Here is an excerpt from the upcoming book.

Over the next few days they moved everything they wanted into their new master bedroom. The fresh coat of paint looked great. Together they brought the mattress and box spring up the flight of stairs. It proved to be an exercise in persistence and patience. The dresser was even worse since it was so heavy. He got on the bottom end and she was at the top. After managing to drop it several times and a lot of sweaty strain they finally succeeded.

The first night they slept in the bedroom the couple had some horrifying dreams. In his reverie, Karl entered into a place that was surrounded by a dense, smoke like fog. He stood there, his eyes searching around, trying to figure out where he was. Nothing was recognizable with all of the haze. To his surprise, a pair of hands reaches out of the whitish soup and quickly moved towards his throat. Just as they were about to reach him, they became transparent, then wispy and disappeared into nothingness. Agitated, he tossed and turned.

He found himself in the murk again as he returned into his nightmares. To his horror, a woman covered in bloody gore steps out. Part of a cheek was a ragged hole and he could view her blackened teeth. Her arms were missing chunks of flesh. Drips of crimson fell from her chin and hands and seemed to be absorbed by the mist. She began to pass by Karl in a slow procession. Then she stopped, and turned towards him, flashing what was once a beautiful smile. A pair of well-manicured hands reached out from behind her. He wasn’t sure if they were the same ones or not. They grasped her by her throat and shook her violently. Flames burst up around her as Karl stood watching helplessly until she turned black and flakes of soot showered off. As they fell, they were absorbed into the expanse of murkiness at their feet.

Then, a dark figure of a man, who was wearing a black trench coat, strode out of the fog. Measured steps brought him closer to where Karl stood, filled with fright. He wanted to run, but couldn’t, frozen in place. The man held a knife out front of him. Its sharpened steel glinted in the softened pale light. The blade was swept back and then slashed through the air, slicing open his stomach. His entrails poured out of the gash. Karl jerked awake screaming as he slapped at his abdomen to make sure everything was still in one piece. His terror stricken eyes searched his body and his surroundings.

While Karl was trying to calm down, on the verge of screaming, Sharon was visited by her very own nightmares. Her legs and arms were jerking in her sleep. She found herself in a very dark place, her senses heightened. Being unable to see anything, she couldn’t tell where she was. Her fingers eagerly explored her close confines. Her touch discerned that she was enclosed within three rough brick walls and a wooden door. She tried to find a door knob, but there wasn’t one. Her fingernail was caught in a splinter and tore loose.

With palpable fear she began pounding on the door. She screamed for someone, anyone to let her out. In the small space the sound reflected back and boomed. Then, the door opened and light flooded in which blinded her. A pair of rough hands grabbed her and forced her down into sitting position. Over her head a large cloth bag was pulled. She was pushed over, onto her side, her kicks ineffectual. The canvas absorbed her cries as she felt her feet get shoved in. She felt herself getting dragged across the floor and then slowly down the stairs. Overwhelmed, she awoke to her own shrieking incoherence and hyper ventilations.

His own terror ebbed, and he in a few minutes, became sentient of his wife’s agitation. In an attempt to calm her, Karl reached over and took her in his arms. Tenderly holding her, giving her reassurance allowed him to begin fully calming down. Obviously, she had a very disturbing experience also and he hoped it wasn’t the same one that he had. Carefully, he scooted closer so that he could more effectively wrap his arms around her. He watched the vein on her neck pulsing in time with her staccato breaths. Whispering in her ear he attempted to ease her fears. “Hey, calm down. It’s all right, everything is okay babe.”