“Argh…. unh….”
He groans as the corkscrews are twisted, their points aiming for his liver and kidneys. In a nightmare, it is the awareness of what is happening rather than the act itself that brings agony.
Paralyzed, nonetheless Mo is able to wake up – to pitch black. Was there a power outage?
Bathed in sweat, Mo feels for the bedside flashlight and places his hand on a cold slimy tongue.
His shadow says, “Dinner isn’t served just yet.”
Mo rolls away from the raspy voice and finds he’s not on his bed as he falls and clunks hard on what feels like wet, smooth stone. He begins to crawl away to his shadow’s laughter.
“Fear tenderizes the meat!”
He will die – or worse – here.
F*ck that, he decides. Bright light floods down.
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.
[144 words]
Bjorn Rudberg is today’s host of dVerse. Bjorn says:
Your piece of prose can be fiction or autobiographic, but you are only allowed to use 144 words (which means that you need to add maximum137 words that are your own, using the following line from Ms. Maya Angelou’s poem, “Caged Bird:”
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
Tao Talk 
A nightmarish story, Lisa, and so enjoyable! The corkscrew action was a terrifying opening, and the cold slimy tongue was a shock. The prompt line works well as the ending too.
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Thank you, Kim!
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Ha…isn’t it great to wake up from a nightmare in the end. love that he finds the lightswitch before he’s eaten alive.
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Yes! What’s bad is when you are dreaming within a dream like Mo was.
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Mo’s revenge of light, casting those nightmarish shadows aside. Not only was Mo to be eaten, but driven to intensive fear to tenderize his flesh, the nightmare had it all its own way. Great imagination as always, JadeLi.
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Thanks, Len!
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I adore where we all went with this prompt, all Poe and Lovecraft time. Your nightmare scenario, creating a cannibalistic shadow monster, is very intriguing. But Mo awakes to light and shortness of breath–hurrah.
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Yes, there’s a lot of nightmaring going on with the prompt! I’ll go see what you cooked up right now.
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I’m not sure any of us will sleep well tonight, given these wonderful nightmare tales! Great write.
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lol I hear you! Thanks, Beverly.
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What a marvelously dark turn of events!
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Thanks, Linda.
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OMG he is dynamite. He wouldn’t cower to his nightmare…
Be safe
Much💟love
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Exactly, Gillena! Thanks for reading and your well-wishing ❤
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ouch nightmare terrors … this prompt has opened pandora’s box!
Good one Lisa
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Thanks Kate!
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Oh my gosh, this is crazy creepy! Those corkscrews, my goodness …
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It’s all Bjorn’s fault!
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Revenge! (K)
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Oy, Well, here’s to light!
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Amen!
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Wow! Nightmare for sure!
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That opening was pretty horrifying, Lisa. I’m glad he found the light switch – I’m not sure I could have managed much more.
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He was actually still dreaming and decided within the dream enough was enough so “turned the light on” to get rid of the bogey.
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That is a great nightmare!
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Thanks Max. A PSA for anyone in a nightmare, that they have control of it if they choose to.
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I wouldn’t want to have such images in my sleep. Haha. But glad he wakes up in the end
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I wouldn’t either! He’s actually still within the dream when “the light comes on.”
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waah. I am running fast for him! such a vivid opening, Lisa!
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I’m reading Chuck Palahniuk’s new book, full of writing tips, and I decided to try out a couple of them in this story. Thanks Chuck!
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oh wow! that’s great. what’s the book’s title?
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“Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything was Different”
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yay! will take note of this. thank you!
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You are very welcome.
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What a nightmare! I’m glad he found the light!
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Me too!
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