Out In The Dark

[Niobe 'Nightmare' Martin]

” Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away
Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children
The Time's Come To Play
Here In My Garden Of Shadows

Follow Sweet Children, I'll Show Thee The Way
Through All The Pain And The Sorrows
Weep Not Poor Children
For Life Is This Way
Murdering Beauty And Passions”

# ‘Come Little Children’ – by Erutan

The camera swivels around in a slow sweeping semi circle, surveying the darkened forest before it. The only lighting that can be detected is from the full moon shining above the area, giving this little forest an even creepier feel than usual. The trees that are here however are large sprawling ones; the leaves still clinging to the branches in an attempt to turn their non-existent noses at the arrival of the fall season, which is shortly around the corner as evident by the slight chill in the air. Birds that still linger can be heard cawing in the distance, and a few have taken up residence in the branches of the trees here, their beady eyes peering down at the ground below and at the visitors that have decided to wander into this place so suddenly on this night. You can hear music playing and an older female singing along to the lyrics of the song, and you can hear children laughing happily as well, some even joining along in the song. The camera catches movement just ahead and rushes forward to see what it was, finally catching up with Niobe herself followed by a small group of children who are laughing and trying to sing along with the song.

Niobe is dressed simply in a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, and is carrying a small silver boombox in both hands in front of her as she skips through the trees, singing sweetly along with the song. Although in this environment the singing coupled with the singing of the children makes everything seem a bit more eerie and creepier than usual. Niobe doesn’t seem to mind however and keeps on going, completely oblivious to the camera following her movements through the trees. Even the children don’t seem to care that there’s someone else following them, they’re more interested in the pretty lady singing and playing with them. Niobe twirls in place and then resumes weaving through the trees with an effortless grace. One would wonder what in the world she’s doing out in such a place at this time of night when she could be shacked up in some comfy, warm hotel room with the TV to keep her company. To which Niobe would just laugh and beckon them to follow, perhaps finding themselves caught up in the merriment that was being generated.

Or maybe she was just getting in the spirit of Halloween.

Who knew.

She suddenly came to a stop around a blazing campfire with a few logs set up in a circle, and various items to create s’mores lying nearby. Niobe motions them forward without her as they yell in excitement and sit down, getting to work on roasting marshmallows. She watches for a few minutes, then sets down the boombox and slips away behind one of the trees, letting out a sigh.

”At least the kids are happy for the time being. Don’t worry about them too much, just some neighborhood kids I decided to take out on a bit of a late night campfire deal. They won’t come looking for me until the s’mores are ready. Then they’ll probably want me to tell scary stories around the fire. Halloween is coming up soon, you know, gotta get into the spirit of things. Didn’t you have this kind of fun when you were a child, hmm? I did.

But anyway, let’s get to the more important business at hand. Like this match that we have together. You seem like one of these impatient types that doesn’t like to waste a lot of time in waiting. That’s good, because I don’t like to waste time in waiting. I always like getting things done right away as soon as possible. Which is why I can’t wait to crawl into that ring with you…very very soon. The excitement in the air is so thick that you can taste it. Are you excited as I am to get into that ring with me as I am? I hope so. Their better be some kind of fire burning under you to get you motivated, otherwise what’s the point.

I like facing off against new people, you know. It’s like walking into the unknown, heading down an unmarked path, not knowing what or whom is going to be at the end. What I’m hoping however is when I walk down this path, is you will be standing there waiting for me, waiting to have this match. We’re going to give the crowd a real good show, something that they can be proud of seeing, something for their money’s worth. It would be a shame for me to…oh…I don’t know…hit you with the Phantasm Horror and end it before it even began and pick up another victory.

I know what your thinking too. That match wasn’t yours to win anyway, you had your feet on the ropes, you had Madison out there to help you, blah blah blah. Just another example of how you can’t get the job done by yourself. You always have to have someone help you out because you can’t get it done all on your own. And you know what I say to all of that? Who gives a shit, right? It’s all been said before, over and over, by not just you but by several others and at this point it’s getting really, really annoying. I am perfectly capable of handling myself out there. Madison just decided to come out and…view the show from a more better perspective. He got involved on his own accord, and that’s all I want to say about it. But we did give that guy a good beating didn’t we? Just another example of the influence of The Black Hand. You mess with one, you mess with the rest of us. We get what we want, no matter what and if you don’t like it tough.

You’ll be dealt with like the rest of these people that have tried to stop us and failed."

Niobe peeks out from behind the tree, seeing the kids laughing and talking, getting a bit restless. She knew that soon they would start yelling for her, so she was going to have to wrap this up and get back to them.

”I question your silence up to this point, my dear. Haven’t heard a word from you. I wonder if you’ve abandoned your dreams of glory and gold, and walked away from this match. Will you not be at the end of the path to meet me when I get there? Will you have chickened out even before your destiny gets there? Shameful. One should always meet a challenge head on. Which is what I plan to do tonight with you. Under the dome in this great country, there will be a great match and an even terrible nightmare when it’s over. If this is how you respond to challenges, then this won’t take very long. But should you choose to respond to me, know this. I will not make this easy for you whatsoever, and what happened last week with my…friend…will be a shadow in comparison to what I do to you. The touch of our group is a terrible and frightening thing indeed so I hope you are ready for it, and for me. Oh and if you were wondering, no one is going to be out at ringside with me this time. But like I’ve said before over and over. If any of them choose to come out and view the match ringside, that is on their shoulders, not mine. The support will feel good, and the win will be even sweeter. Tommy will appreciate it, which will make the….nevermind. That’s a thought best saved for later.

So where does our path end, you wonder. It ends in that ring, with me getting another victory over you, no matter how I have to do it. But I guarantee a win for myself and for The Black Hand tonight, and that is for certain. You are a tough man with a brilliant career ahead of you, I’m sure but your dreams of stardom and gold end with me because I’m going to steal those dreams and walk away with my head held high as my nightmare spreads even further.”

Niobe smirks and waves good bye in a taunting manner, as she hears the kids yelling for her. She giggles and skips out from behind the tree, rejoining them sitting around the fire. You can hear her thanking one of the kids for the s’more as they beg her to tell them a story.

”Well, there once was an evil man named Joseph….”

The camera focuses in slowly on the fire, as the scene fades to black.