The Shadows

Nightmares and Shadows

The shadows danced in the corners of my mind. Wretched creatures. Haunting me in the darkest hours of the night. Without faces, they hovered in silence with their menacing glare. Reaching out with their ethereal hands to wake me from my slumber. Fading into the walls or disappearing into the night. They travelled with me, wherever I went, regardless of the city or event.

But they only came out if I was alone.

3:00 a.m., Anywhere, USA

It was their witching hour. They crept in through the walls, refusing to enter through the doors.

Hovering. Standing over me. Staring at me as I slept. Never speaking.

I faded into a dreamless sleep hours earlier, but as I entered my dreams, the shadows waited for me. Who knows where my dreams were taking me, but the peaceful night disappeared as the shadows started to roam.

Unable to move, I screamed for them to flee from me. The words were trapped within me. I rocked back and forth to wake myself. Twisted sheets. Pounding heart. Fear built like a rocket ship, waiting to blast off into the sky.

Forcing myself awake, I pushed them back to the netherworld from whence they came.

Propping my pillow up, I placed my weary head down and immediately fell asleep again. Within minutes, another shadow emerged. Through the darkness, I saw his shadow knife. Raising his arm, he hovered over me, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Helpless in sleep's stronghold, I groaned, unable to find my words. Hopeless. My screams were futile.

I struggled until I sat up, panting. Alone, I could hear the beating of my heart, pounding in my chest. Adrenaline gave me an unwanted rush. Sleep would remain elusive until I could break the cycle of these unwanted creatures.

5:00 a.m., Anywhere, USA

I needed to sleep, but I feared their return. Flipping through the pages of the novel on my nightstand, I tried to read, but my eyes grew heavy, and I gave in to my exhaustion.

There was banging in the distance. The shadows were close. I needed to stop them from coming. "Noooooooo! Go away!"

My mumbled protestations went unheeded. I watched as he climbed through a door that didn't exist when I was awake. I knew this wasn't real, but I couldn't shake the horror as he neared. My hotel room had shifted. Rearranged. He approached my bed and watched as I begged him to leave me alone.

I felt his weight on the bed. He was going to touch me. What if he killed me?

Could this be the end?

My screams echoed through the room.

Once again, I woke up panting to the morning sounds.

Someone walked down the hallway. The elevator pinged in the distance. Sirens wailed. The city was starting to wake up.

7:00 a.m., Anywhere, USA

Sleep deprived, I hit the snooze alarm and cringed. I was exhausted. The night was over, but I survived.

The shadows needed to go away. But how could I stop them? They'd visited my dreams since I was a small child. At first, they were not malevolent, but they changed through the years to become the menacing creatures that invaded my nights, destroyed my sleep, and frayed my nerves.

They needed to go!

The Next Night

Every bone in my body was exhausted. I didn't have the fight left to deal with the shadows, so I barricaded the door with a heavy chair. I grabbed that novel and read until my eyes refused to stay open. Sleep took control, and I slept through the night.

The shadows stayed away.

And the Next Night

They stayed away, again!

The Night Terrors

They stopped! Simply blocking the door, my night terrors stopped.

I felt empowered. I won. I found a solution.

It really was that simple.

The Realization

The shadows haunted me when I didn't feel safe. They never visited when I was home, secure in familiar surroundings with my family.

A new city. A new hotel. Traveling alone. These were the triggers.

The End of the Shadows

I wish I could tell you that when I travel now, I sleep through the night, but I can't. Sleep and I have a tenuous relationship, but at least I'm not waking up in cold sweats in fear of the shadow standing next to me.

A few months ago, on a business trip, I rented a room at a popular hotel chain in a major city. I almost panicked when I realized the rooms were set up like mini apartments and the door was outside. Anyone could walk up to the door.

As I settled in, I knew the shadows could haunt my dreams if I didn't do something. Before bed, I rearranged the furniture, blocking the sliding glass and the outside doors. It was the best I could do.

My dreams were not interrupted by the shadows.

Turning the Shadows into the Schatten

Imagine giving your nightmares a life of their own. Spin a world into existence. Take the fright out of their storyline and turn them into their own race. Enter the Schatten from the depths of my imagination, I created King Stefan (aka. The Darkness), King William, Queen Idalia, Emmeline, Katriona, and many other characters to live in their shadow world, where they must fight the darkness trying to invade their souls.

• Emmeline's innocence was stolen by the Darkness for nefarious purposes.
• Katriona, strong and wild, refused to bow down to the ways of the Schatten, tormenting her mate as she struggled with her fate.
• Idalia was born to fell a king, but she was his fated mate. Would she betray her Father for true love's kiss? Or would he banish her and fracture her soul?

I've woven their powers into the story, shadows that lurk in the darkness and travel unnoticed by mere humans until they reveal themselves. There is more to their magic that I wove into their stories.

But don't break the rules, or you might be banished from the Hinterlands forever!