Did you ever have one of THOSE nights?

[David]

You know, the kind where you wonder, was it really a dream, or did it really happen? Here’s an excerpt from Chapter Five of THE CURSE OF CONCHOBAR, which depicts a super freaky night.

When Spits Teeth falls asleep, it feels like the longhouse is shaking from the noise he makes. It isn’t just Spits Teeth’s snoring that keeps me awake. It seems like the sound of snoring surrounds me. It should be possible to fall asleep with my fingers pressing my ears closed, but I haven’t been able to manage it so far.

A smoldering anger builds within me. I try to push away thoughts about Spits Teeth shouting at me. I’m not accustomed to being admonished. I repeatedly replay his harsh words in my head. “Is there anything you are good at, boy?” It’s hard to fall asleep when you’re angry.

Then I start to hear chattering. Instead of trying not to hear, now I’m trying to make sense of the change around me. The snoring has stopped. Is it a quiet conversation between two members of the family? I listen intently.

One after another, I hear the various family members talking in their sleep, only I can’t understand a word that anyone is saying. One mumbles. Another grunts in response. It is like they are having a conversation.

The bunks shudder and the walls shake. I want to get away as fast as I can. Unfortunately, I have to carefully crawl across Black Rat Snake’s sleeping body to descend from the elevated bunk. Despite shaking in fear, I’m able to cross my brother’s body without waking him. As I reach the ground, the sounds grow louder. I feel an urgency to get away, yet I have lost control over my body. It is like a nightmare from which I cannot wake.

Previously the strange sleep talking consisted of muted mumblings. It has now elevated to a feverish pitch. They yell and scream at each other, even the ones who normally cower in fear. I stand in the aisle near the hearth fire, and I can see the sleeping family, on both sides of the aisle. I can’t understand how they can sleep through whatever is happening. My head aches, and I feel dizzy.

I wonder if it is them or if it is me. Then I wake up. I recognize that I’ve had a bad dream, yet I’m not completely sure it was all in my imagination.