The Dreams

By Matthew R. Fleming

Waking up in an unknown forest with four strangers, James has an unsettling feeling that the group is not alone. As tension mounts and he finds himself questioning the motives and loyalty of his companions, one of the group members disappears, leaving only a pool of blood behind. It soon becomes clear that something very large and unnatural is in the deep secret places of the forest. And it knows they are there . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew R. Fleming
• Release date: Oct 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370155385

Matthew R. Fleming

Matthew R. Fleming lives in northern Illinois with his wife, three dogs, and six cats. He is an avid animal lover and participates in animal fostering. Matthew received a bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University. A Stephen King fan from an early age, Matthew discovered a love for all things horror. He now spends his time caring for his animals, interacting with readers, and working on new book ideas.

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THE DREAMS

Matthew R. Fleming

Matthew R. Fleming Author

Gurnee, Illinois

Copyright © 2017 by Matthew R. Fleming

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

Matthew R. Fleming/Matthew R. Fleming Author

PO Box 385

Gurnee, Illinois 60031-0889

www.matthewrfleming.com

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Book Layout © 2017 BookDesignTemplates.com

Cover Design © 2017 Damonza.com

The Dreams/ Matthew R. Fleming. — First edition

ISBN 13: 978-1370155385

"Matthew Fleming creates a gripping and compelling story with The Dreams. From the opening moment when the characters wake up cold and shivering – we are captured until the very end. Mindfully suspenseful."

-Michael Coulombe,

Screenwriter of Axe and also Eden Falls with Martin Rogers and the writer of the original Friday the 13th, Victor Miller.

"Great writers of horror find a way to prey on our deepest fears, bringing them to the surface in our nightmares. Matthew Fleming’s debut novel is aptly named for accomplishing the goals of all horror writers. Your dreams will not be the same after you experience the terror of The Dreams."

-Bob Howard,

Author of The Infected Dead series

A chilling story of cat and mouse. Read this exciting novel of divide and conquer. Who will be the ultimate winner? The horrid mythical creatures or the strangers united in their fear and desire to survive?

-N.M. McGregor,

Author of West End Montana

"A fresh new voice in horror. Matthew Fleming’s novel The Dreams is a striking debut full of tension, suspense, and creepy imagery that will keep you up at night!"

-Luke P. Narlee,

Author of Guest Bed

"Riveting. Not cliché. Born to write, Matthew R. Fleming has created a story which immerses you in the characters’ struggles so completely, it chills you to the bone. Even if you loathe the character you can’t get them out of your head.

The ending had me speechless.

I want more from Matthew R. Fleming!"

-Sahar Nika,

Author of Shalamrood, Mountain of Jinn

"Holy Christ on a cracker. I generally don’t read horror, as I can’t get into it. But from the first page of The Dreams, Mr. Fleming grabs you by the throat and doesn’t stop. I couldn’t stop reading and I’ll be seeing this in my nightmares for weeks. Thank you?"

-Jyssica Schwartz,

Author of Write. Get Paid. Repeat.

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Dedicated to my dog, Otto. May he finally find peace.

So this is where we part, My Friend, and you'll run on, around the bend.

―Jim Willis, i loved you best.

CONTENTS

AWAKENING

THE SILENCE

THE APPEARANCE

DARK GIANTS

DISTRUST

DISTURBING DREAMS

A GRUESOME ENCOUNTER

THE GRANDMOTHER’S TALE

THE DARKER PATH

DEEP WATER

ARROWHEAD

PUT TO THE TEST

BONES

PREPARATIONS

THE CHARNEL HOUSE

THE CELLAR

ANCIENT FOLKLORE

THE PILLAR AWAKENS

FLIGHT FROM DEATH

DISTURBING THOUGHTS

AN EXCHANGE

THE BATTLE

FROSTBITE

THE SACRAFICE

REVIVAL

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER ONE

AWAKENING

The ground was cold and hard. Sparse dry blades of grass were scattered throughout the trees as if holding fast to the last hope of life in the bleak and dank forest. Insects crawled through the hard dirt and fallen leaves, looking for food and shelter. A slight breeze rustled the tops of the trees, giving the darkness a quiet music of its own.

In a small clearing deep in the forest, a group of five people lay unconscious on the ground in a small circle. Their feet were at the center of the circle, and they were lying on their backs facing the darkness above them.

A deep cold came slowly over the clearing and turned the shallow breaths of the five people into visible vapor. A woman on the ground shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to guard against the cold as she slept. Nothing moved but the slight rustle of the treetops as the woman became still again.

The cold suddenly withdrew from the clearing, and Emily awoke with a piercing shriek and an icy shiver in her bones. A fast rush of memories of a nightmare, which she could not fully remember, flashed through her mind. She wondered if it had been her scream that had woken her or someone else’s. Emily pushed herself up onto one elbow, her heart pounding in her ears. Her arm dug into a tree root on the ground causing her to sit up all the way. What the hell? she whispered out loud.

Looking around, Emily noticed four shapes around her on the ground. Each one seemed to be slowly moving and making noise. Emily’s eyes had begun to get more accustomed to the darkness, and she realized that the shapes were four other people. One woman and three men.

One of the men suddenly sat up and put a hand on his bald head and rubbed it a little with a confused look on his face. He looked around the group as the shadows hid his expression, and his gaze fell upon Emily, which caused the man to jump slightly where he sat.

What’s going on? shouted the bald man in a deep, loud voice as he looked at Emily. How did I get here?

I’m not sure, stuttered Emily. I, I just woke up here. I can’t remember anything. Who the hell are you? Her voice broke as she shouted back.

The man looked suspiciously at Emily but said nothing. The man’s eyes darted from Emily to the forest and back to the other members just waking up. He looked like he was getting ready to run. One of the other men in the group sat bolt upright, startling the two who were already sitting up.

What’s going on? shouted the other man in a demanding voice. Emily noticed right away that he was wearing forest-green cargo pants, and he wore black boots, which had a mirror shine to them. Darkness obscured the rest of his clothing and features.

I don’t fucking know! Emily said.

Oh my God! Did one of you bring me here? said the other woman in a high-pitched voice. She had jumped up and was glaring down at the members of the strange group. What the hell do you people want from me?

The third man had now sat up and was looking wildly back and forth between the other members of the group. The man cut into the arguing to figure out what was going on. Would you all stop yelling so I can figure out what the hell is going on! I’m James. I don’t remember how I got here! Does anyone know what the fuck is going on? said James in a rush of words as he tried to calm the arguing and figure out why people were shouting and how he had gotten in this forest.

Did you guys bring me out here? asked the blonde woman again in an angry tone.

I didn’t bring you out here! shouted the bald man as he got to his feet. He was short and stocky, more on the heavy side if Emily had to guess.

The blonde woman’s eyes widened as she backed away from the bald man. She came to a jarring halt as her back hit something hard behind her, making her jump and yell out loud. As she turned around, she realized that she had backed into a tree. They encircled the clearing at even intervals. Before she could notice anything further, she heard someone start yelling very close to her, and she spun around.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! yelled James as he stood up and rushed in between the bald man and the blonde woman. Let’s try to figure out what is going on before we kill each other.

The bald man glared at James as he stood between him and the blonde woman. Suddenly, he nodded at James and took a step back.

You’re right, said the bald man. I don’t know what is going on. But I think at least someone here does.

Maybe you’re right, replied James. But we aren’t going to figure that out arguing with each other in the darkness.

The man with the shiny boots had been studying the trees around the group as the discussion and accusations flew back and forth around him. He noticed the tree the blonde woman had backed into was old and gnarled and all of the trees were spaced evenly apart. His eyes came to rest on a tree on the other side of the man named James that seemed to be out of place. The tree was directly between two other trees, breaking up the even spacing. He continued to search the tree line as his mind returned to the out of place tree.

As the people around James stared about in confusion and fear, he suddenly caught the motion of something massive in the trees to his left. It seemed to James that there was something just outside of his vision in the darkness that was dwarfing even the mighty trees of the forest. Abruptly, the night around the trees became so dark that it was hard to make out the trees at the edge of the clearing. When he looked left, nothing was there. The darkness had retreated just as suddenly and returned the forest to its normal state of early morning dimness.

I think we should find someplace else to talk, said James.

The man with the shiny boots noticed that James was looking at the place in the trees where he thought he had seen the out-of-place tree. He could no longer see that tree, and the spacing was even again. The man wondered if James had noticed the same thing or if the darkness was playing tricks with his mind.

Why? What are we hiding from? asked the blonde woman.

I think there was something just outside the tree line just now, said James.

Yeah, I felt like there was something here with us that woke me up. Then as I woke up, I felt cold and worried, agreed Emily.

It seems like you two are letting the forest scare you. We should stay put and see if someone comes to get us, said the blonde woman.

No, I think James is right. I don’t think we should wait around here. I’m Paul, said the man with the shiny boots as he stood up. Everyone stopped and looked at him. He looked around at the group as if he was surveying them.

Paul walked to the edge of the clearing where he had seen the out-of-place tree earlier and circled the edge. He stopped every two feet to squat down and look at something before getting up and moving again. After several minutes, he came back to the group. Something very large was standing just outside the tree line on the far side of the clearing, Paul said.

How do you know? asked the blonde woman.

I’m a forest ranger. I’ve been in forests for more than twenty years, and I can tell you that something big was standing over there, near that bent tree, Paul explained.

What is that supposed to mean? You can tell where a person has been? the blonde woman asked as she placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.

Whatever was there was too heavy to be a person. And the footprint is far too large. And yes, I can, he replied.

James looked over at Emily who, he saw, was looking at him. She shook her head and looked back at the blonde woman. James had a feeling that Emily thought the woman had started something with the ranger that she couldn’t finish.

Why don’t you go look lady? said the forest ranger. He began cleaning under his fingernails as he looked down at them. He didn’t even look up when he spoke to the blonde woman. He acted as if everything in the world was normal and he was asking her to check the weather.

My name, hissed the blonde woman, is Amber, not lady.

Amber didn’t move. She was glaring at the ranger, but her mind began to wander. She was vaguely aware of the bald man speaking. He was asking something about the footprints and introducing himself as Michael.

Amber was talking to a coworker at a company picnic. She was having a good time and was laughing. The sun was shining on the group, and it was a mild day in August. Amber had just turned around to get herself another drink when a coworker who had been trying to get a date with her walked up. Instantly, her mood soured as he tried to make small talk with her, and she continued to try to excuse herself from his presence. Amber decided to walk past him, and he reached out to grab her arm and stop her. The next thing Amber remembered was the man rolling on the ground. She had not even remembered kneeing him in the balls—

Michael walked past Amber, and she was yanked back into the present. She noticed that his eyes had become wide, and his mouth hung slightly open as he stared at something on the ground beyond the clearing.

Michael looked down at the ground and couldn’t believe his eyes. Two large footprints were in the leaves between two trees. They looked as if two large shoes had made them. They had no real pattern but had the shape of large ovals. The trees were about six feet apart at the trunk, but each footprint was right next to each tree. This made the stance of whatever had made the footprints at least five feet across.

As Michael looked down at one of the footprints, he realized that it was at least three feet long and almost a foot wide. He looked back at Paul, who was still cleaning his fingernails and not paying any attention to the rest of the group. Michael then looked wide-eyed at James and shook his head.

James and Emily walked over, and their jaws dropped as they looked down at the ground.

Maybe it’s two different people’s footprints, and they dragged their feet— started Emily. But she was cut off before she could finish the sentence.

It can’t be two different people, said Paul as he walked up behind them. Look at the leaves. They are pressed down. None of them were pulled away from the dirt below them, meaning nobody dragged their feet here. We would see a lot more uncovered dirt and less leaf coverage if that was the case. Besides, look out there, Paul pointed into the dark forest.

The group looked into the forest and could see a fading trail of similar depressions in the leaf bed moving away from the clearing with what looked like a gap of ten to fifteen feet in between each impression. Amber walked up with her arms folded across her chest, frowning, and said nothing.

Does anyone remember anything about how they got into this forest? asked Paul.

No. My memory is all fuzzy. I can’t remember much besides being out driving home from work, replied James.

Yeah, me neither, said Michael. All I remember was being on a construction site at work. After that I woke up here like the rest of you.

All I remember is sitting at home reading on the couch, Emily said thoughtfully.

Surprisingly enough, the last thing I remember was being in a forest. I’m a forest ranger so that isn’t the strangest thing to remember. After that, I can’t say what happened.

Yeah, my mind is a blank. Amber said as she frowned and crossed her arms.

Anyone have anything on them, like a phone or a watch? Michael asked.

Everyone checked their pockets and looked around the group suspiciously.

Where the fuck is my phone? Amber demanded of the group.

Yeah, mine’s gone too, along with my watch, said Paul.

I’ve got some change in my pocket from lunch, but my phone and my watch are missing, James added.

I don't have my phone. I wasn't using it when I was on the couch, and I rarely wear a watch, said Emily.

Whoever brought us here must have taken them, Paul said with a confused look on his face.

Emily just stood in the clearing looking at the rest of the group and shook her head saying nothing. She looked out into the forest as a chill came over her and the rest of the group as they followed her gaze.

As the five of them stood there looking out into the forest, an unspoken fear washed over them. They realized they were in a strange place, with people they barely knew, and something very large and unnatural was in the deep secret places of the forest. And it knew they were there too.

CHAPTER TWO

THE SILENCE

The group of five marched through the forest in silence. The sun was just coming up and slowly starting to filter its rays down through the tree tops, providing a small amount of light and warmth to the five travelers. James had been unconscious on the forest floor no more than two hours earlier but was awake and leading the small group. Emily followed him as she nervously brushed her short brunette hair behind her ear every so often. Behind her, Michael’s stocky frame ambled through the overgrown path as he carved a wider space for Amber, who was directly behind him. Trailing them by ten feet or so was Paul, his tall dark frame melding with the darkness of the forest.

After realizing they were not alone, James had continued to insist that the group move to a higher vantage point and attempt to get a better view of the surrounding area. He wanted to make a more informed decision about what to do next depending on the terrain they had to deal with. Amber and Michael had disagreed with him but were voted down three to two.

Michael had agreed with Amber and wanted to keep the group in the relative safety of the clearing instead of moving into a forest that they knew very little about. After about an hour of debate, it was decided to move out of the clearing to discover a higher vantage point after it was put to a vote.

We are never going to get anything done if we stand here and argue all day, Paul had said.

That’s fine with me! Amber had stated in a heated tone, wanting no part of going into the forest. We need to stay and wait until we start remembering how we got here or someone comes to find us.

The sun would be coming up in about an hour, and James could understand Amber’s hesitation to enter the forest. Waiting until morning would afford them the ability to wait until things became clearer with daylight. But he also knew how he had felt an hour ago when he had woken up and discovered that something had left monstrous footprints without making a sound in the leaves near where he had been sleeping.

Look, I just don’t think we should stay here given the fact that we know something came here just over an hour ago and ran off as we woke up. I want to put some distance between myself and whatever was here. Plus, we need to try and get a better idea of where we are. We can’t do that from this clearing, James had said, looking to Emily for help.

I agree with James for what it’s worth. This place is giving me the creeps, said Emily. She was remembering the feeling she had when she had woken up. The nightmare she felt was lurking at the back of her mind would not surface to help her identify why she had woken up with a loud shriek. Emily still was not sure if it had been her voice that had woken her or another’s.

Michael had cut in. I don’t know why we would leave the relative safety of this clearing to go marching through a forest we know next to nothing about. He had started pacing back and forth as he spoke to them looking at the ground and cupping his hands behind his back. I mean we don’t know anything yet, and we are jumping to decisions about walking into a dark forest that may or may not have something dangerous in it.

Paul had what looked like a permanent frown etched into his face. We have been arguing for an hour. If we stay here, whatever was watching us sleep might come back. I would rather not be here when it comes back until we know more about what it is.

Let’s put it to a vote then and get on with it! yelled Emily. I’m scared out of my mind that whatever made those tracks will come back while we are arguing.

All right, all right! shouted James. With a show of hands, who wants to leave the clearing and go look for a better vantage point to see what is out there?

Emily’s hand shot up, and she gave James a quick wink. Paul’s hand went up slowly as he looked at Michael and Amber.

I don’t have a problem leaving the clearing, said Michael. I just don’t want to leave if someone might be coming back for us or looking for us.

We could leave markers to help us get back if we knew more about the thing that visited us this morning, said Paul. But we don’t. And I am not going to leave a trail to follow if we don’t know if there is something in the forest or not.

And so it was agreed that the party would leave in the opposite direction of the footprints to reduce the likelihood of running into whatever was in the forest.

As James came over the top of a hill, he spotted a worn path heading in a direction that seemed more uphill than down. It appeared to have been made from decades of animal traffic rather than human hands. It had tall grass shooting up irregularly in patches, making it hard to find at times. Few trees could be found upon the actual path. However, it still seemed to disappear into the forest and reappear without warning in the overgrowth.

The branches of the trees hung over the path and stung the group members in the face as the branches were bent back and snapped forward like small whips with their passing. Standing at the center of the path, the group members could look up the hill for hundreds of yards into the forest and see small shards of light raining down from the canopy as the morning grew late.

The ground on the path was mostly comprised of tan rocks and dirt, which made it easy to see when it was not overgrown with the tall grass. The group noticed that the grass was particularly thick and, at times, would cut their exposed skin when they brushed against it.

James stopped for a moment and realized he could hear his stomach grumbling. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten before waking up in the forest six hours earlier. He also felt that his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth, and his lips were dry. Up to this point, they had