Parasomnia

By Éric Desmarais

At the Aux-Anges institute, nestled in the woods outside of North Bay, they study and treat parasomnias, or sleep disorders. Ashley suffers from night terrors, Terrance sleepwalks, Kiri sleep-eats, and Paul sets fires; they are there for treatment. Adelaide took the job as a counselor to discover why she still has an imaginary friend. When they discover the secret hideout of an old club called the Dreamers, they are shocked to find that the five of them are connected through more than just the Institute.

"Parasomnia has a great plot and a diverse cast of well-rounded characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it!" – Caro Fréchette, author of the Family by Choice series

"Éric Desmarais is a master of characterization. He creates unique, quirky and believable characters who I hope to meet again." – Sue Taylor-Davidson, author of To Pluck A Crow

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renaissance Press
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393611974

Éric Desmarais

Éric has had an eclectic career which ranges from casino dealer to canal boat captain to radio station DJ. Since 2009, he's worked as a desktop publisher for the federal government. During his off time, he works as a freelance typesetter for various Canadian-based authors and publishers, roasts gourmet flavoured coffee, runs several pen-and-paper role-playing games, writes, and helps run JenEric-Designs.ca (Home of the TravellingTARDIS.com).He lives in Ottawa, Ontario with his author wife, daughter, and son. Visit him at www.EricDesmarais.ca.

Book preview

Table of Contents

1. Ashley

2. Adelaide

3. Kiri

4. Terrance

5. Paul

6. Kiri

7. Adelaide

8. Ashley

9. Terrance

10. Paul

11. Kitty

12. Kiri

13. Ashley

14. Terrance

15. Adelaide

16. Kiri

17. Paul

18. Ashley

19. Kitty

20. Kane

21. Terrance / Tara

22. Paul

23. Kiri

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About Renaissance Press

Parasomnia

Éric Desmarais

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RenaissanceBookPress.com

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to any events, institutions, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and unintentional.

PARASOMNIA ©2017 by Éric Desmarais. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact Renaissance Press.

First edition.

Cover art and design by Caroline Fréchette and Éric Desmarais.

Typesetting and interior design by Éric Desmarais.

Edited by Caroline Fréchette, Myryam Ladouceur, Vicki Martin

and Jen Desmarais.

Legal deposit, Library and Archives Canada, September 2017.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-987963-20-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-987963-21-2

Renaissance Press

http://renaissancebookpress.com

[e-mail]

For my wife who has never for one moment doubted me.

Thank you and I love you!

Parasomnia (Noun)

Any of several sleep disorders characterized by abnormal or unusual behaviour of the nervous system during any of the stages of sleep.

Collins English Dictionary 2017

1. Ashley

Some love stories end in pain, thought Ashley, but that would never be the case with her and James. They met on the first day of high school, two awkward geeks thrown together because of bullying. She hated her body, her braces, and, most of all, her unmanageable brown curls. He was so tiny that she could look down at the back of his head when she hugged him.

The bullies and the teasing may have put them in the same place, but it was the school band that got them talking. She liked to joke that she fell in love with him when he played the Imperial March on his trumpet for the first time. She’d shown him up by playing the Star Trek theme on her cello from across the room.

Despite the fact that they had the same friends, were in the same clubs, and obviously liked each other, it took her over a year to work up the nerve to ask him out. They spent the next two years experiencing everything together.

Both of them grew: he had a few growth spurts and started running on the track team, and she developed more feminine curves, as her mother would say. To Ashley, her form was a little too curved, or so she thought until she came to Aux Anges. James liked to say that she looked like Vanessa Hudgens.

The two of them went from persecuted geeks to the school’s power-couple. Both of them being on the newspaper and every club/committee they could helped their popularity, but forming a rock band put them over the top.

Things were good until their senior year, when her night terrors got worse. The doctors had originally diagnosed her with epilepsy. They said that real night terrors were more intense and involved screaming, while all she did was thrash around a little.

From the age of four, she had been given epilepsy pills, which had the side effect of muting her dreams. They had accidentally helped with her night terrors, until the type of medicine had been discontinued the summer of her senior year. The new medicine didn’t have the same side effects and didn’t stop the terrors. Not only did she start having them again, but now she could remember the horrible things she dreamt.

To avoid the horrible dreams, she’d stay up at night, but then she started falling asleep at school. The less sleep she got, the more her thrashing became violent, the more she hurt people around her.

It was the week of the Fall Formal dance and Ashley had decided to seduce James. She knew her parents were out of town and she’d wanted him for a long time. They had done plenty together but, in her mind, they were already old. Their friends had had sex multiple times and never stopped talking about it.

Like everything in her life, Ashley approached sex obsessively and methodically. She read all the articles she could find online about the biology of sex. It was pretty gross, she thought, but then so was kissing if she really thought about it. But kissing felt amazing.

Once she understood the biology of sex, she read as much as she could on safe sex. She’d been told her entire life, by books, movies, and television, that sex was dangerous and she had to be careful. She thought that she couldn’t get the pill or the morning-after pill without her parents; she found out later that she could have and the doctor would have kept it confidential. Since she thought she couldn’t get the pill, she decided to buy condoms. She was amazed at the number of tutorials online for putting on a condom properly. She found even more information on the British Columbia Health website.

Watching web videos and reading online was the easy part, buying the condoms was harder. She didn’t learn until after she’d bought them that she could get free condoms from health clinics or her school’s nurse.

Making sure to take a bus into another neighbourhood, Ashley circled the pharmacy several times before working up the courage to go in. She knew she wasn’t doing anything wrong or illegal, but she was embarrassed.

Once inside the store, she looked at the magazines and nervously laughed when she saw every second one promising sex techniques that would make him scream. She assumed they were exaggerating, but she picked one up that promised a world changing oral technique.

Deciding to stop procrastinating, she walked to the aisle called Family Planning. The sheer number of products was intimidating. Four different brands of condoms, a dozen varieties, and then there were the extra stuff around: lubes, creams, condoms with lube, or cheap toys.

Just standing in front of all of it made her face warm up. She was convinced that her naturally brown, tanned skin was now bright red, the way her mother’s turned when she drank. She also felt like everyone was watching her. She suddenly wished she’d done this during the day instead of the evening. It wasn’t late, but the sun was going down.

There was one brand she’d heard of before. She took the variety pack and wrapped the magazine around the box. Instead of running to the cash like she’d planned, she looked at the toys again. They were mostly too expensive for her to consider but some of them looked interesting.

With her head swimming and the heat from her face spreading down to the rest of her body, she felt that she needed to calm down a little. She sat in the chair that had blood pressure monitor, the same chair that seemed to be in every pharmacy, and pressed the button. She started to breathe in and out slowly to calm herself.

As the machine started to squeeze her arm, she started to relax a little. Her nerves gave way to excitement. She couldn’t wait to be with James, it was going to be wonderful. All the websites said that the first time was awkward and uncomfortable but it would be different for her and James. She had done and would continue to do plenty of research. She was determined to make it memorable.

The thought of her and James aroused her and when the machine beeped, it scared her a little. All her nervousness about buying the condoms came back. She read the numbers three times and forgot them each time.

There was nothing she wanted more than to get out of there as soon as she could. Picking up the magazine with the condoms in it, she rushed towards the cash in the front. In her hurry, she bumped into two guys who looked like they were in their twenties. She dropped the magazine and the condoms.

Oh hey. Ni Hao, baby, one of the guys said. He was tall, pale, and was wearing a college jacket.

Holy shit dude, the little chink is buying condoms. The other guy said. He was an average white boy in every way.

Bending down to pick up her things, Ashley said, I’m not Asian. People continuously confused her for someone with Asian heritage. Her mother was half native but didn’t know which tribe and her father was a French Hispanic mix. Ashley had darker skin than either of her parents. James called it caramel.

The tall boy said, So sorry, and kicked the condoms down the aisle, laughing.

The two boys walked away, but Ashley felt they were still watching her. Her nerves turned to fear; she didn’t like the way they looked at her.

When she got to the cash, the cashier passed the items, never looking up from the novel she was reading. Taking the bag, she stuffed it into her backpack and rushed to the bus stop, keeping her eyes down the whole time.

The bus passed by just as she left the store. Instead of running for a bus she couldn’t catch, she walked slowly to the stop. She could tell someone was watching her and it felt malicious.

Ashley was still scared; she didn’t feel safe. The wait for the next bus felt like hours instead of the five minutes her cell told her. Since her cell was already out, she checked her email. It killed a little time, but she couldn’t help but pace awkwardly at the bus stop.

Hey sexy, yelled two voices simultaneously. It was the two guys from the pharmacy. They were walking towards her.

We have an idea what you could do with those, hollered the one that looked average in every way. Any doubt as to what they wanted disappeared and her whole body shook in fear.

The boys sauntered over, confident in their right to do whatever they wanted. Ashley found it hard to look away until there was a sharp pain in her hand. She looked down to see that she had been digging her nails into her palm and it was bleeding. The sight of her own blood made her feel dizzy. When she looked up, the guys had disappeared and the bus was arriving.

Getting on the bus, she felt infinitely safer but confused as to where the men had gone and what had happened. She couldn’t remember.

Every night in her dreams afterwards, the men outside the pharmacy often had a leading role. In the dream, the bus never arrived and they came towards her, catcalling. When they got close, she panicked, trying to decide if she should run or hope for the bus to arrive soon. Her indecision decided for her when they got close and stood on either side of her.

Hey sexy girl. Want practise with those? the tall one said as he reached out and grabbed her arm.

Joe, I think she likes it rough. The other one grabbed her breast and squeezed.

Panic faded as she got angry. She batted the boy’s hand away and the other one grabbed her by the throat. No. Stop fighting us and just let it happen, the big one growled as he squeezed her throat.

The smell of autumn rushed into her nose along with the musty scent of cigarettes that was coming off the boy. Anger coursed through every part of her body, making it sing with anticipated violence, giving her strength.

A primal, angry scream escaped her mouth as she put both hands on the boy’s arm. She squeezed until he let go of her throat. She let go of him and smiled. He moved towards her again and she punched him in the throat.

As scary as the two men were, what she did to them next and how much she liked it was infinitely more terrifying. The things she did to the boys were bestial and, when she thought of it later, it made her want to vomit.

She always woke with a start. Never screaming, but horrified at the joy she felt and the vague taste of blood in her mouth.

During her dream, she had ripped through her sheets, and feathers from her pillow were everywhere. Worse still, it was the first time she noticed that she had hurt herself. Both her palms had fresh bleeding nail marks and she had deep scratches on her stomach and thighs. That’s when she started trimming her fingernails short.

It had been a few weeks since the incident with the condoms and Ashley was getting ready for the formal. She had gone shopping with her mother and they had bought a beautiful purple strapless dress, corseted, with a puffy skirt. It made Ashley feel like a princess. The only downside was that it was designed with a taller person in mind and she felt that she had to wear heels with it. She normally hated wearing heels, but they did find a pair that matched the purple of the dress perfectly.

Other than the condoms, she had one other thing that she insisted on buying for the special night. She was much less embarrassed at the underwear store than the pharmacy; everyone was shopping for the same thing and she’d been there a few times with her mother and older sister.

In school, she had heard girls say that wearing black underwear on a date meant you were planning on having sex. She and James had laughed about that several times, especially since she didn’t own any. She decided on a lacy strapless black bra and underwear pair that had silver stars and moons on them. She thought they were sexy and, more importantly, made her feel sexy.

Sitting on her bed after a shower, Ashley looked at her outfit and her stomach suddenly felt odd. It was hard to tell if it was butterflies, indigestion, or if she was hungry.

Trying her best to ignore her rebellious stomach, she went about getting ready. She didn’t normally wear makeup, and was happy she could do it before she put on her dress. She’d seen girls in homeroom put on all sorts of makeup in under ten minutes, but she was lucky if it took her less than a half hour. She was thankful that the dress’s zipper was low enough that she didn’t have to put it on over her head.

Before she put on the dress, she made sure to take out the box of condoms that she’d hidden in an old suitcase in the back of her closet and put it in her bedside table.

James picked her up in his father’s car and even came to the door. Her parents, who had gone on vacation for the weekend, had insisted that she take pictures for them. She didn’t mind; it was going to be a night they’d both want to remember.

There was something disappointing about formal dances. They all had a special theme but they fell terribly short of anything on television or in the movies. In real life, it was always the same gym with cheesy decorations, too many streamers, and deafening music.

The theme this year was fairy tales. The room was filled with glitter-covered fairies, dragons, and castles.

Drinks were sold by the can or bottle. Punch bowls hadn’t been used in decades to avoid people putting alcohol into them. Ashley had been terribly disappointed her first dance when she realized no one knew how to really dance; they mostly just swayed with the music.

It was understandable that no one knew how to dance. It wasn’t taught in gym and wasn’t easy. James had insisted they take a ballroom class together at the community centre. They had a lot of fun but they were horrible at it. He had two left feet and she had trouble letting him lead.

That night at the Fall Formal, they had decided they’d try to dance one dance properly, even if it was just a simple foxtrot.

The night went by quickly and before either of them knew, all the couples were swaying to the last dance. Most of the girls had taken their shoes off a half hour into the dance. It was time to head home.

All the preparation, all the stress, and all the dancing hit her hard. She almost fell asleep in the car, but opened her window to let in the fresh air and keep her awake.

Once at the house, James parked the car. Do you want to come in? Ashley asked in what she hoped was a coy voice.

Um, my parents expect me home soon. He looked torn, not wanting to leave her.

The excitement of what she was planning woke her up. She put her hand on his leg and kissed him passionately. It was uncomfortable in the car but it got his attention. Please, she whispered in his ear.

Winking at him, she stepped out of the car. It didn’t take him long to follow.

Once in the house, she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him towards her bedroom. Once inside, she kissed him deeply, in a way she never had before. Unsure what to do with her tongue, she tried massaging his tongue with hers. It felt nice but odd. She continued to kiss him while moving them towards the bed, stumbling and falling onto it.

Pushing herself off the bed, she looked at him and smiled. All her nervousness and fatigue were gone. She knew what she wanted and she thought it was the right thing.

I love you, James, she said.

His reply came quickly with no hesitation, I love you, too. They had said the words before, but tonight it seemed bigger, more important.

Reaching behind her, she pulled on the laces that held up her corseted dress and let it fall. She had purposely left her heels on, despite how much they hurt. The dress didn’t fall off as nicely as she’d hoped but with a little wiggling and pushing down, it fell around her feet.

If she could have filmed James’s face, she would have watched it every night. His face went from loving to confusion, to realization, and finally to lust.

The black underwear had been such a running gag with their group of friends that he understood right away. Wow, you look beautiful. He paused, looking her over in an exaggerated motion. Are you sure? he asked.

Yes. Now get over here and help me out of these.

The next ten minutes were filled with passionate kisses, awkward fumbling, and giggling. For the first time she could remember, his outfit was difficult to take off. He’d taken his jacket off at the door but he still had the rest of his three-piece suit. It would have been hard to gauge who had more trouble: her with his dress pants that had a hidden button or him with her bra.

Eventually, after a lot of playful laughter, they were both naked on her bed. She tried the trick from the magazine and it didn’t work as well as they described.

When they were finally ready for the act itself, she reached for the night table and pulled out the box of condoms. Do you have a preference? she asked.

Shrugging, he pointed to one that promised to give her extra pleasure. He was so sweet, she thought.

He reached for the condom and she pushed him down onto the bed. She hadn’t done all the research to let him make a mistake. She carefully opened it up and put it on him, pinching the tip and rolling it all the way down.

Again, he tried to get up but she pushed him back onto the bed. She got onto the bed and straddled him, barely avoiding pressing her knee into his stomach. She bent over and kissed him some more. Still kissing him, she reached down and tried to direct him into her. After more laughter and fumbling, along with much needed spit to lubricate, she finally negotiated him into her.

It felt wonderful and confusing all at once. It felt bigger than she expected; she’d never had more than a few fingers, and it panicked her a little. From instinct, he started to thrust gently and it sent shivers of pleasure coursing through her body.

If she were asked to describe it now, she’d say it was beautiful but over too quickly. He helped make sure she was satisfied after, which made her happy. At the time, she thought it was just another reason to keep practising.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the warmth of his body and his half mumbled, I love you.

If the evening was permanently recorded in her mind, the morning was a haze. Ashley remembered waking up to screams, but she couldn’t remember if they were hers or James’s. There was blood. A lot of blood.

That’s all she could remember until she woke up to her mother and father in the hospital. They said that she had had an episode and hurt James.

Before, her nightmares were of things chasing her, monsters disguised as people, but after that night, she dreamt of only one monster: herself. She dreamt of killing her family, her friends, and James. She dreamt about hurting James more than anything.

She screamed in her nightmares now. Thinking about them made her look towards her bed. It was comfortable and normal, except for the heavy-duty straps on either side. They were there to stop her from hurting herself or others.

The judge had looked doubtful when the psychiatrists had said she was sick and hadn’t tried to hurt James on purpose. She looked less doubtful after seeing the pictures of what Ashley had done to herself before they started strapping her down.

P

Looking out from her third-story room, she could see the frozen river in the distance, and at night she could see the most beautiful sky. When she was lucky, moose or other animals would run around the forest outside, leaving tracks in the soft snow that fell from November to March.

The building was once a private school. There was a track, a large soccer field, stables, and docks on the river for canoes or kayaks, all of which the patients still used regularly in summer. Something about outdoor therapy, the doctors said. Ashley thought they didn’t want the place to look like they weren’t using all the facilities, especially when the parents and guardians who paid the bills showed up.

The wood panelling in the halls and classrooms was ornate and the opposite of what she thought an institute should look like. It should be all white walls, sterile quarters, and that sickly antiseptic smell. Aux Anges was none of that, except the smell, and that was only in the west wing with the patients who couldn’t take care of themselves.

All Ashley could smell in her room was her Captain America cologne, Patriot, and her books. The cologne was the brand that James wore for special occasions. He had given it to her for the last birthday she’d celebrated at home. He said it smelled better on her than on him. It had always seemed funny to her that his cologne smelled good on her and like decomposing fruit on him. Body chemistry can be strange.

A car was coming up the long driveway. It wasn’t hard to notice a black Sedan on the long, white road that they called a driveway. The road wasn’t paved and was a little over four kilometers long. It had been a cold week, with temperatures hovering around negative twenty Celsius. The heat from the car’s exhaust, combined with the fresh snow on the road, made the car look like it was creating a storm behind it.

The swirling snow and exhaust mesmerized Ashley, helping her forget. She could have gone down to see who was coming. It was late afternoon, which meant unless a guardian was visiting, it was probably a new patient. He or she would be number one hundred and twenty-one.

There was no rush: if it was a visitor, she’d hear all about it at dinner, and if it was a new patient, she’d be introduced tonight or tomorrow morning. It wasn’t like her old school in Vancouver; here, everyone knew each other. Thinking about her old school made her again think of James.

A knock at her bedroom door brought her out of her thoughts. Standing in the doorway was Doctor Campbell, the head doctor. He was tall and thin with greying hair. He had small, round, dark-coloured glasses that contrasted with his bluish white skin. She always thought he looked more like a librarian or English teacher than a psychiatrist.

Hello Ashley, how are you doing today? the doctor asked.

She stood up from the bench next to the window and tugged on her sweater. She always wore form fitting sweaters at the Institute; it was always cold and, unless the sweater hugged her, she felt gushes of air and hated it.

I’m OK, she said shyly.

Standing next to the doctor was a tall man with shaggy blond hair. He was cute; nothing compared to James, but he was definitely cute. His honest blue eyes looked down at her. There was something sad in those eyes. That was good, she preferred the patients that came in looking sad. Those that looked angry were often violent.

This is Paul. Paul, this is Ashley. The doctor introduced them and she stepped forward to shake his hand. He stuck out his hand but it was covered in gauze; she shook it gently, afraid to hurt him.

So, Paul, what’s your superpower? Ashley asked.

Seeing Paul’s confusion, the doctor added, The patients call their various sleep disorders superpowers.

Nodding, Paul looked awkward. Seeing he wasn’t comfortable, Ashley said, It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me. I’m getting too used to life here. I shouldn’t have asked so early.

Looking relieved, Paul said, Thanks. He nodded at her and they moved on.

Sitting back down at the window, she put her feet on the bench and hugged her legs. She absentmindedly scratched at the device on her ankle. It was a locked, waterproof device that alerted the police if she left the Aux Anges grounds.

Both the Institute and the ankle bracelet were court ordered. The results of a wonderful night turned into a recurring nightmare. The Fall Formal had gone well for the most part, but the end had been horrible. Ashley spent more time thinking about it than the doctors said she should.

They weren’t allowed computers at the Institute, but they could get mail the old-fashioned way. Her parents wrote to her once a week. Ashley waited every day, looking out the window, hoping to get mail from James.

Letter from your parents, Ash, said Michael, smiling. He was a nurse at the hospital and the only person Ashley knew that could smile that wide without looking creepy. There was something genuinely friendly in his dark brown eyes and puffed black cheeks. She didn’t like to admit it, but she found Michael attractive. He was only a few years older than her and he was cute. Every time she thought about it, she felt she was betraying James. Not only by liking another person, but because Michael and James were complete opposites. James was now tall, gangly, with a runner’s body; Michael was just a little taller than her and he was muscled with the build of someone who worked out for the fun of it.

Anything from... she started.

Giving her the letter, he shook his head. He gave her a sad smile and left to deliver the rest of the mail.

Glancing at the bed again, Ashley suddenly felt tired. She slapped herself softly on the face and decided to go down to the common room.

As she passed by the bed, she put the letter from her parents on it and punched the mattress. She instantly felt guilty. There was something she never told Doctor Campbell or anyone else.

In the dream where she was hurting people, it felt good. Better than anything she’d experienced before, and she always woke up aroused. It terrified her and disgusted her at the same time.

2. Adelaide

It isn’t uncommon for children to bring their imaginary friends with them into adolescence, nor is it uncommon for adults to have imaginary friends.