Free Irresistible Fear by A. Meredith Walters Page B

medication. The tiny white pills sat in the brown bottle on her bedside table. She looked at them, they seemed to taunt her.
    She was so worried about becoming an addict like her mother. She knew that had been her resistance to any sort of a sleep aid. Her eyes felt so heavy, her limbs seemed to weigh 100 lbs. She could barely move. She lay down on her bed, staring at her ceiling. She wanted to sleep so badly. She needed to sleep. People couldn’t function on the minimal amount of rest she was getting. Dr. Hammond was right; no wonder she was paranoid and feeling like crap.
    Emily lay there on her bed for awhile, trying to stay awake, scared to go to sleep. She hated the nighttime. She dreaded sleep, as much as she longed for it. Her nightmares terrified her, made her feel so small and so helpless.
    Emily rolled over onto her side, staring at the tiny bottle of pills. Finally, she made the decision. She got up and went to the bathroom. She changed into her favorite pair of pajamas and filled a glass with water, returning to her bedroom. She snapped the pad lock on her door into place. She returned to her bed and snuggled down under the covers. Then without giving the opportunity to talk herself out of it, she opened the medicine bottle and shook a pill onto the palm of her hand. In one smooth movement, she popped it into her mouth and swallowed it with a gulp of water.
    There, she had done it. She lay back on her pillow and waited for the oblivion of sleep.

 
                 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
    “I thought you would never come Emily.”  At the sound of her name, she started.  She was sitting in the caverns where she worked.  It was almost entirely black, except for a light that shown from the floor of the cave.  Normally this was a comforting place for her.  Not this time, not while being here in her dreams.  And especially knowing that she wasn’t alone. 
    She wanted to stand up, to move, but she couldn’t.  She could feel the cold hard rock beneath her. It was damp and made her feel chilly.  “Trouble getting to sleep?.”  The voice asked softly; his deep timbre like a caress.  Goose flesh broke out across her skin.  She wished she could see whoever was talking to her.  Her eyes peered into the shadows, straining to see something.  She also waited in dreaded anticipation for the nightmare to truly begin.  What would wait for her this time?  Corpses in varying stages of decay?    Disembowled animals?   Zombies trying to eat her brains?
    “You just need to stop worrying. Relax Emily.”  The voice said playfully. Emily jumped, or at least she would have if she could freaking move.  The obvious question to ask at this point would be ‘who are you?’ or ‘what are you?’  But she didn’t ask any of those questions.  She sat quietly for a time, listening to the water drip from the ceiling and hit the rock. “Am I going to actually get to see you this time? Or will this be the same song and dance?” She asked sarcastically.
    The sound of rich laughter filled the silence. It made her insides shiver in anticipation. “You want to see me?” He asked. He seemed to be teasing her. Emily rolled her eyes, feeling more at ease with the direction of this conversation. “Well, I'd like to know whose hanging out in my dreams every night.” She answered.
    Suddenly, everything went black and she was plunged into complete darkness. This was one of her worst fears; being stuck down in the caves in the dark, no way to get back to the surface. Her panic took hold and her breathing became shallow and irregular. The easy confidence she had felt a moment ago was lost.
     “Stop it, damn it!” Emily didn’t know what else to do. The fear was a very real thing and it was strangling her. She could feel the chill and smell the earthiness of damp rock.  She tried to turn her head but again found she was completely immobile. 
    “Why can’t I move?”  She kept trying to move her