The city was asleep, like a baby covered in a blanket of darkness, not knowing a hunter walked among them. He moved like a shadow, so quiet, his senses listening to the soft whispers of sleeping minds. He could feel their fear, like a dark cloud hanging over them, their terror like a trapped bird, their helplessness like a boat without a sail. He knew what scared them most, each dream a different story of fear, and he knew which nightmare has to be silenced.
In a fancy room, Sarah was dreaming. In her dream, a figure suddenly appeared,
His face was hidden as he bent down, looking at the floor like a shy child. He held out a shiny wedding ring. "Will you marry me?" he asked softly. Then, he looked up, his smile a mess of teeth on his face.
The name "Tero" flashed in Sarah's mind. She screamed, "Tero! No!" and ran like a little mouse trying to get away from a cat. Tero's ugly hand reached out, trying to catch her. She ran faster and faster until she was at the top of a long stairs. Her thoughts were fighting: Should I jump, or will he eat me? Just as Tero's hand almost touched her, he pushed her hard. She fell down fast, like a stone falling from a tall building. The wind howled in her ears as the ground came closer and closer, ready to end her life.
A huge wave of fear crashed over her, and she woke up with a jolt, her heart pounding like a drum. "No, it was just a dream!" she told herself, not knowing Tero had seen her. He had watched her fall in the dream, felt her fear like a sweet taste, and knew her dream was a doorway, a doorway to his world where fear, terror, and death are rulers.
Suddenly, Tero's creepy senses zoomed in on a small, messy room. A young man named Dan was trapped in a nightmare. He was stuck inside a burning building. Flames licked his skin softly at first, then smoke sneaked into his nose, exploring his lungs like a landlord checking his property. Soon, pain made itself at home in his lungs. His eyes watched as the fire ate away at him, piece by piece, until only his bones remained, like a skeleton telling a scary story.
"Help!" he screamed, but his voice was lost in the fire's roar. He woke up in a sweat, the smell of smoke still in his nose. Tero had seen his burning dream.
This is more than just a bad dream, Tero thought. It's a warning, a look into a future that must not happen. And the dreamer, he must be silenced too.
Then, Tero's scary eyes fixed on a hospital room. An old man named Thomas was dreaming of spiders. Thousands of them crawled all over him. Their hairy legs tickled his skin in a horrible way. Thomas's pale skin turned into a spider web, and their sharp teeth began to bite him. His skin became their battleground, each spider fighting for the best bite.
He tried to push them away, but they were everywhere, biting him again and again.
He woke up with a scream, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind. Tero felt the awful fear the spiders had caused.
This dream, it will plant seeds of fear in others, Tero realized. It must be stopped.
Tero understood. He saw how the fear in the dreams connected like invisible threads, showing their true, hidden meanings. He knew which dreamers held danger, whose dreams had to be cut short.
He waited for the perfect moment, and he knew exactly where each of them was.
Early the next morning, Sarah pulled open her curtains. She gasped. Tero stood right there, his messy face holding the same scary smile from her nightmare.
Sarah stared at him, her mind racing. How? she wondered.
But before she could speak a word, his cold, sharp eyes locked onto hers. There was no kindness in them, only a silent command: Don't think. Don't question.
He didn't need to talk. Sarah saw the truth in his gaze: her fall, the deep darkness, the doorway between life and death.
A chilling understanding washed over her. Deep down, she knew this was her end. Sarah crumpled to the ground, her body still, her eyes wide with terror. Then, only silence remained.
Dan was rushing to work, trying not to miss his bus, when a hand suddenly grabbed his arm. He turned, surprised and a little irritated, to see the stranger. "Can I help you?" he asked, wanting to get going. In a flash, fire erupted all over Tero's scary body. The flames ate at his skin slowly, and pieces of his burning flesh began to drop to the ground.
Instantly, Dan remembered his terrible dream, the one he was already trying to forget. A sudden chill went through him. He saw the flames reflected in Tero's eyes, the burning building, the smoke filling his own nose in his memory. Fear squeezed his heart. He knew, without a single doubt, that this scary figure had come for him. Dan's breath grew short, and he clutched his chest. "Ugh, what's happening?" Smoke stung his nose, making him cough hard. He fell to his knees, his face twisted in pain. "It burns!" Then, silence.
Thomas, still trembling from his awful dream, was shocked to see Tero standing in his hospital room. Seeing the raw fear in their eyes, Tero thought to himself, "I chose right."
Thomas, his heart still pounding from the nightmare, looked up and saw Tero in the doorway. He tried to speak, to call out, but no sound came. He saw the spiders crawling on Tero's shoulders, their sharp teeth glistening. The icy fear returned, the horrible feeling of their hairy legs on his skin. A sad certainty washed over him; he couldn't escape.
Thomas's body shook uncontrollably. "Get them off! Get them off me!" he screamed, his eyes wide with terror. He felt creepy crawlies all over. "Spiders! So many spiders!" His cries echoed down the quiet hallway. Was anyone listening?
In the shadows, a figure stood perfectly still, his presence a silent question mark in the unfolding nightmare. Had Tero's hunt been observed? Was there another player in this terrifying game of dreams and death? And what would happen when this mysterious watcher finally stepped out of the darkness?