In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

Nightmares - Holli

The night after the barbecue, I had a nightmare. The house was dark, and I heard howling. Not the sort of howling you're accustomed to hearing, of the wind, but that of a wolf. I poked my head out from under my soft comforter to see my door swing open with a stereotypical creak, like in old horror movies. I debated for a moment, unsure if I should stay under the covers. Dog men didn't howl, did they? I don't think I had even heard them bark, let alone howl.

A long moment of debate later, I crawled out from the warmth of my covers and investigated what blew my door open. The floor was cold and creaky, which was odd. Wasn't it carpet when I went to bed? Each footstep seemed to threaten breaking the oddly wood floors. It was dark, shadows taller than I was loomed across the walls.

I rounded up the stairs when I heard the howl. Merle must be in his room. I climbed the stairs, but each step I took seemed to make the next twice as tall. Soon, I was scaling walls more than going up a flight of stairs.

Eventually, I reached the top of the flight and saw a hall that seemed a mile long. At the end, I saw the light of Merle's room. What was he doing up? Did he hear the howl too?

"Merle?" I all but whispered his name. It was as if I had remained silent. I took a few steps towards the cracked door, repeating his name louder and louder until I was all but screaming .

"Merle!" Still nothing. I continued forward, taking what felt like hundreds of steps until I reached the door. The light was a faint yellow color, flickering as if there was a fireplace in the room. It was open just a crack, and I pressed on it to hear a deafening creak, a thousand times louder than my bedroom door.

Inside, I saw Merle. He was hunched over, teeth snarled. His clothes were torn and his fur ragged. He looked like a horror movie were wolf, as if he might eat me at any moment. He whipped his head towards me, making me jump. He looked as if his teeth were covered in blood. I screamed but nothing came out of my mouth as he jumped towards me.

~~~

"Holli." I nearly screamed when I woke up from the nightmare.

Every other morning with Merle, I had woken up on my own. I didn't even see The dog-man until I came out of the room. In front of my bed kneeled Grene. He was saying my name, stroking my hair. My fear after that nightmare must've been evident, Grene drew back his hand when I saw him.

It didn't take long for me to realize it was a dream, but I was still anxious while Grene left and sent my dog-man in. Merle had my clothes ready, but seemed concerned for a moment when he brought them to me.

All dressed, I followed him out. Grene had started breakfast. It smelled as delicious as always. Merle chatted along with the other alien, watching me intently as I yawned and woke myself from the haze of sleep. I was just glad that I lived with a dog-man and not a werewolf. He eventually kneeled and placed a hand on my cheek, Grene didn't seem as concerned.

The breakfast was eggs and alien meat, with the usual juice. I enjoyed it Immensely. Merle fed me a few spoonfuls of my eggs, which I was beginning to like. The small bites from the strange fork I usually used were obnoxious.

Merle and Grene chatted while they ate, Merle showing real concern and Grene far less so. I didn't worry myself too much over it, though I did my best to seem extra happy for him while I ate. I didn't like to think what he would do if he thought I were ill.

Published 4/7/19