Nightmares - Short and Sweet before you Sleep Read online

  Johnny

  Johnny was twelve years old, the only boy out of four siblings – the second youngest overall – and quite honestly had always been a little mumma’s boy, turning to his mum whenever he needed anything, and his mother more times than not would be all too happy to oblige his requests.

  Attending intermediate school Johnny always liked to hang around his older sisters, they had the high school friends to whom he thought they were all cute, compared to his little sisters friends who would sit in her room when they came to play dancing around with Ken and Barbie dolls.

  His older sisters on the other hand were trying on clothes, playing with make up and were doing such cooler things. Something that Johnny wanted to be around, secretly hoping that one, or a couple, would want to practice kissing and being the only boy around he would be all too happy to be the one to put his hand up and ‘take one for the team’.

  While Johnny was all for this, and tried any and every excuse possible to be around his older sisters and their friends – to the obvious annoyance of his older two sisters.

  Johnny had overheard his parents talking about his oldest sisters birthday and the fact that she was going to be having a sleep over, it was his sisters seventeenth-birthday party which meant a number of girls around the same age being around, and no doubt being so close to drinking age a fair bit of alcohol being consumed – this was probably his chance to live out his fantasy he had been thinking off for the past few-months.

  “Please let me come,” Johnny began begging his sister soon after he found out about the sleep over that was just a couple of weeks away.

  “No, I don’t want my dorky brother around my friends,” his older sister Amanda said.

  “My friends are sick of your drooling over them, it’s kinda creepy really,” she continued slamming her bedroom door closed.

  Johnny was disappointed his sister wasn’t giving him the time of day, and although many times in the past he had turned to his mother for help and she would somehow convince Amanda to let him do what he wanted to in the first place he knew that this time was different.

  It was her birthday after all, and throughout their entire lives this was a day that belonged to the birthday child and so therefore there was no way mum would be able to help him this time get what he wanted.

  After waiting a couple of days to let the initial tensions die down after they were sent to their bedrooms for the night he snuck out of his room and to Amanda’s door, quietly knocking and hearing Amanda jump out of her bed to come and answer.

  “I know it will be your birthday Amanda,” Johnny started, Amanda’s eyes immediately beginning to roll finding it hard to believe that they were going through this again.

  “But please let me come and hang out just for a little bit please,” Johnny almost begged.

  “Look,” Amanda began her answer.

  “You’re too young to do what we want to do,” Amanda said, short and sweet effectively putting an end to their discussion.

  “No I am not, stop treating me like a baby I am older and more mature than you treat me.” Johnny said, this time a little angry that he was always treated like a baby when it came to doing all of the cool stuff.

  “We are going to be telling ghost stories, scaring each other, you will be scared and crying out for mum,” Amanda said.

  “No I wont,” Johnny retorted.

  “Well come in, let’s find out, let me tell you a Ghost Story,” Amanda said stepping back from her door inviting her younger brother in. Her ulterior motive simply to scare her little brother and prove to him that he couldn’t handle being around her or her friends during her birthday sleep over.

  Johnny made his way into the room, determined to prove his point and win his way into the birthday sleep over invite list.

  Inside the room Amanda turned on her bedside lamp, they sat on top of Amanda’s bed, facing each other as Amanda began setting the scene.

  “You know old man Cook down the road?” Amanda asked quizzingly.

  “Um no.” Johnny said, he had heard the name but didn’t really know much about him or where this story was going exactly.

  “He lives in the house at the end of the street, the one with the high grass and over grown trees,” Amanda continued her story.

  “He never leaves his house, he is never seen, and even worse those who enter his property are never seen,”

  “Old Man Cook works at the morgue, he has no qualifications, and doesn’t get paid, but for ages older people and young children were going missing and no one ever found out why or where they went.” Amanda continued, already Johnny was getting scared – the story was just beginning but he could feel the fear build inside him.

  “It’s only a story, it’s not true,” Johnny continued to say to himself, in an attempt to calm him down.

  “Some of the bodies of those who went missing would turn up months later, disfigured, hard to identify, but most importantly with their liver’s missing.” Amanda continued, breaking Johnny out of his trance.

  “Because Old Man Cook never goes out shopping, receives no deliveries, and everyone who enters his house never leave many believe that to this day Old Man Cook is cutting people open at the morgue and taking their liver, cooking it up and eating it,”

  “That the bodies of missing people, and missing pets are burnt in his fire barrel after he cuts out their livers and eats them for his daily meals,” Amanda continued, she seemed impressed with herself noticing that her younger brother was getting scared.

  Amanda knew she should have stopped there and tell Johnny to go to bed, but she wanted to drive the point home thinking that if she really scared him he would well and truly stay away from her bedroom while she and her friends were having their sleep over.

  “However, it is also said that in the quiet times at the morgue, he roams the streets looking for young children to snatch and take back to his house where he will slowly cut them open and take out their liver,” Amanda continued her story.

  Johnny was really scared now however wanted to prove his point, he just wanted to be around his sisters friend so he attempted the best he could to put on his brave face.

  “He will follow a young kid home, watch the house and see what room was theirs before breaking into the house and grabbing the kid,”

  “No one knows exactly how he gets in, or how he gets out, but he is able to do so without leaving a trace, without leaving a mark that even suggests he was anywhere near there, he is like Santa – just an evil version.

  “Instead of getting inside and leaving something old man Cook is getting inside and taking something, usually a kid all for their liver as he needs to feast on that to continue to live.”

  Johnny was about to say something but Amanda put her fingers to her lips and shushed him, Johnny obliged and looked at her wondering what she was doing, or what she was about to say.

  “Do you hear that?” Amanda asked. Johnny sat quietly, struggling to hear but was pretty sure there wasn’t anything to hear so he shook his head no.

  “There it is again,” Amanda said, “Are you sure you can’t hear it?”

  “It’s so loud,” Amanda put her hands over her ears as if trying to block something out.

  “What is it Amanda?” Johnny asked never before feeling this scared.

  “It’s him, it’s old man Cook,” Amanda replied her face dropping and turning white as if though she had seen a ghost. Johnny panicked and started to gaze around the room.

  “Johnny – I want your liver. I’m at number one.” Amanda said with a weird tone to her voice.

  “Alright Amanda stop!” Johnny said, he had had enough she could have her stupid sleep over.

  “Johnny – I want your liver. I’m at number two.” Amanda said her voice continued to be distorted, the look in her eye was like she had been overtaken by some sort of evil being.

  “Amanda you win, forget it.” Johnny said as he stood from the bed and headed to the door of Amanda’s bedroom. But he
froze in his footsteps, too afraid to open the door to the darkness that awaited him outside.

  Although he knew this was just a stupid ghost story they lived at the third house on the street and according to Amanda’s story he was already at the second house. Johnny stood there in a daze he knew it was a story and so there was nothing to worry about, but he did want his mum.

  Johnny turned to Amanda, about to ask her if she would walk him to his room, but he stopped short of asking when he turned around and she was standing at the foot of her bed and her hair draped over her face, a look that he had never seen her with before.

  “Johnny, I want your liver. I’m at number three.” Amanda said in an almost male demonic voice. Johnny immediately spun around and reached out for the door handle, but before he could put his hand on the handle it started to shake, the rattling as if an earthquake had just hit the house.

  The door jiggling, and banging against itself, Johnny screamed as loud as he could putting his hand on the handle attempting to open it but it was like holding a stick of butter it wouldn’t turn at all and his hand continued to slip off as it continued to rattle under his hand.

  “You kids shut up or I will come up there and tan your backside,” Bruce, the kids father called from downstairs.

  Johnny paid no attention though, he was scared and wanted out of this room, Amanda stood there an evil smile on her face slowly taking steps towards where Johnny stood at her door.

  Johnny began to scream again, banging on the door, dropping to