Borrowed nightmares.

He sat down to write and lit a cigarette.
A man stepped into the room from a dark corner.

“Still looking?” the man said, smiling.

“I want a deal,” he replied without looking up from the page. He continued, stretching his arm to offer the cigarette. “I need to borrow your pen for this story.”

The man took it and paused as the tip of the cigarette lit in the quiet room.

“I gave up looking, but I’m tired of the lies. Same deal as always, and I’ll only need it for this story,” he said, breaking the silence.

“I’m intrigued…” said the man, putting the cigarette back to his lips. With the same hand, he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a black pen with a silver spiral running from the tip to the top.

The man smiled and placed it on the desk. “It’s yours for this story.”

He offered a fresh cigarette. The man lit it with the one that was almost finished and reached for the pen.

The pen felt warm to the touch, and a tingle ran down his spine the first time it touched the page.

The man smiled, letting out a cloud of smoke.

“Before the next new moon,” he began, “you will have admitted that it was a lie. It’ll be the only way to end the nightmares.”

The pen felt warm but comfortable. He felt a rush filling his body.

“Every night, you’ll live your worst fears. When your eyes close and you drift into a deep sleep, it’ll begin. Every fear, as far back as memory serves, will visit. Over and over. You’ll be trapped in this world you created yourself.

“In the darkness of the night. In the depth of sleep. Over and over.

“With only one way to leave this cage — this cage you created in your dreams. Over and over.”

His heart pounded inside his chest as he kept writing.

“You’ll laugh at first. Then, the first night, with the first nightmare, you’ll think it’s a coincidence.

“The second night will be different. Fear when you open your eyes. Awake and afraid that when you close them, you’ll be back.

“And you’ll be right. Behind your eyelids, the nightmares I’ll write will keep you trapped — in the cage you created in your dreams.

“But you’re free to leave. Tell the truth.

“The third night, after losing sleep, eyes shut or open, there will be nightmares. The nightmares I’ll write.

“Before the next new moon, you will need to leave the cage, or it’ll be set in stone. The cage will close, and the nightmares won’t leave.

“Awake or asleep, you can’t run from your fears when they’re in your head.

“Before the new moon.

“Every night. They will repeat. Over and over. Until you tell the truth. Over and over, before the cage is closed.

“Don’t run out of time.”

The man laughed in the corner, almost glowing, his eyes filled with pride.

He placed the pen back on the desk. His whole arm was warm from the heat of it, his heart still pounding.