Waking Nightmare

Stacey jolted upright in bed, her heart pounding in her chest, breath coming in ragged gasps. The soft glow of the moon filtered through her curtains, casting long shadows across the room. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. She reached for the lamp on her nightstand, fumbling with the switch until the small bulb flickered to life, casting the room in a dim, yellow glow. She was in her bedroom, the same one she had grown up in, surrounded by her familiar posters and cassette tapes. Safe.

But the dream... it had been so real.

She could still feel the damp chill of the sanitarium, the way the walls had seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, almost as if the building itself were alive. And then there was The Watcher, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light, staring down at her from the top of the stairs.

"You thought you could escape me," he had whispered, his voice dripping with malice. "But I am always watching."

Stacey shuddered at the memory, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. It had been three weeks since she, Tina, and Jake had escaped the sanitarium, and yet every night, the dreams came. At first, they had been fleeting — just flashes of the dark hallways and shadowy figures. But as time passed, the dreams grew stronger, more vivid. Now, they were more than just nightmares. She could *feel* the building in her dreams, smell the rotting wood and decaying stone. And worst of all, she could hear The Watcher's voice, calling to her, pulling her back.

The sound of creaking floorboards outside her door made her jump, her heart racing again. Her mother was probably up, checking on her. Stacey glanced at the clock beside her bed. It was almost four in the morning, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again. Not after what she had just seen.

Throwing off the covers, she stood and tiptoed across the room, careful not to make a sound as she slipped out into the hallway. The old wooden floor creaked beneath her feet, but the house was still. She hesitated outside her parents' bedroom, listening to the soft snores coming from the other side of the door. They couldn't know about the dreams. They wouldn't understand.

Instead, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water. Her hand shook as she brought it to her lips, the cool liquid doing little to ease the tight knot of fear in her chest. She had to talk to Tina and Jake about this. They were experiencing the same thing — the same haunting dreams, the same terror every time they closed their eyes.

She couldn't do this alone anymore.

The next day, Stacey rode her bike to the park, where she and her friends often met up after school. The late summer sun was bright in the sky, but it did nothing to lift the strange, heavy tension that had settled over her. As she pedaled down the cracked sidewalk, the feeling of being watched never left her. Every shadow seemed to stretch just a little too long, every dark corner held a presence that she couldn't shake. Even in the daylight, she couldn't escape the feeling that The Watcher was nearby, lurking just out of sight.

When she arrived, Tina was already sitting on the swings, slowly rocking back and forth. Jake stood by the slide, staring off into the distance. Both of them looked as exhausted as she felt.

Tina glanced up as Stacey approached. "You had the dream again, didn't you?" Her voice was soft, but it was laced with fear.

Stacey nodded as she set her bike down in the grass. "It's getting worse," she admitted. "Last night… it was like I was back there. Like I never left."

Jake finally turned to face them, his eyes bloodshot. "Same here," he said hoarsely. "I can't sleep anymore. Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that place. And The Watcher… he's there. Waiting for us."

Stacey sat down on the swing next to Tina, her hands gripping the cold metal chains. "We're all having the same dream," she said, her voice trembling. "It's not just in our heads. It's real. He's still with us."

Tina nodded, her expression grim. "I've been waking up with bruises. Scratches. Like something's been… touching me while I sleep." She glanced down at her arm, where a faint red mark snaked across her skin. "I can feel him. It's like we're still connected to the sanitarium. Like we never really left."

Stacey shivered at the thought. She had woken up more than once with the sensation of cold fingers brushing against her skin, but she had convinced herself it was just her imagination. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Jake paced in front of them, his steps agitated. "We can't keep doing this," he said, his voice growing more desperate. "I'm losing my mind. I can't tell what's real anymore. I woke up last night and I thought I saw him — standing at the foot of my bed, just staring at me. But when I blinked, he was gone."

Stacey's stomach turned at the thought. "What do we do?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "We burned the place down. We destroyed it. But somehow… it's still here. In our dreams. In our heads."

Tina looked up at her, fear and uncertainty etched into her features. "We have to go back," she said quietly.

Jake stopped pacing, his face twisted in disbelief. "Back?" he echoed. "Are you insane? We barely made it out alive the first time."

"I know," Tina said, her voice trembling. "But if we don't… this will never end. He'll keep coming for us. Every night, he gets stronger. He's feeding off our fear, and it's only a matter of time before he finds a way to cross over for good. We have to stop him before it's too late."

Stacey felt a lump form in her throat. The thought of going back to the sanitarium made her skin crawl, but Tina was right. Whatever was happening to them, it wasn't going to stop on its own. They were bound to that place, and The Watcher still had a hold on them. If they didn't sever that connection, he would consume them, piece by piece, until there was nothing left.

"We need to find someone who knows about… this kind of thing," Stacey said. "Someone who can help us break the connection. There has to be someone who knows about hauntings or spirits. Maybe an old priest or an exorcist."

Tina frowned. "In this town? People here don't believe in that stuff. We'd have to go somewhere bigger. Maybe the city?"

Jake looked between them both, his expression torn between fear and resignation. "And what if they can't help? What if we're stuck like this forever?"

Stacey swallowed hard. "Then we go back," she said, her voice firm despite the fear gnawing at her. "We go back to the sanitarium, and we finish this ourselves. Once and for all."

Tina nodded, though her hands were shaking. Jake hesitated, but after a long moment, he sighed and rubbed his face. "If that's what it takes," he said quietly. "I can't live like this. None of us can."

The three of them sat in silence for a while, the sounds of the park — kids laughing, a distant dog barking — drifting around them. But even in the bright light of day, Stacey couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them. She turned her head ever so slightly, her gaze scanning the trees at the edge of the park.

For just a split second, she thought she saw him. A tall figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, standing among the shadows. Watching. Waiting.

Stacey blinked, and he was gone.

But she knew it wasn't her imagination. The Watcher was still with them. And if they didn't stop him soon, he would never let them go.

The sanitarium wasn't finished with them yet.

And deep down, Stacey knew — neither was The Watcher.