8.

A man dressed in all black clothing enters a confessional booth in an old church of a small peaceful community. The shutter is pulled back. There is an unusual and distinct scent present which goes unquestioned.

'Forgive me father for I have sinned, it's been a long time since my last confession, forgive me also for my choice of words, when I say I have sinned I really mean I am about to sin, for when I set my mind to do something it is as good as done', with that the man took out a gun, attaches a silencer and fires one shot into the booth next to him killing the priest inside.

It wasn't long before the priest's body would be discovered, his blood had oozed out from the confessional onto the church floor and had been met with the screams of an elderly parishioner who would be so shaken. She'd be unable to answer any queries put to her for some time to come. Imagine my reaction to this story as I read it in the local newspaper, especially when I discover that the priest in question was the same tall, slim grey-haired man from the dream I hadn't long awaken from.

Had he entered my dreams? And if so, how did he do this? What did he know? Was there something he was trying to tell me? Those in the church at the time of the priest's death could only agree on one thing, and that was that the last person to leave the confessional was dressed in black.

So many thoughts are running through my mind. Thoughts of that coma I was supposedly in, if I ever was in a coma, is it possible I am still in that coma? Am I living inside a dream? Do Dream Demons actually exist and if so, are they messing with my head right now? And are they making me see and believe what they want me to see and believe.

And this place with which I had returned to, an abandoned hospital, the bench outside it and the large old oak tree close to that bench. Is this place an artificial virtual reality? I can only watch everything, believe nothing and beware it all, for wherever I am, whatever I see, I must be careful, for my life will always be on the line.

Out walking through a park, alone with my thoughts running through my head, feeling good that I had yet to see anything odd or strange during this walk ... all the while half expecting for something odd or strange to happen at the same time. So consumed with my thoughts, it took me some time to realize that there was nobody within my sight, this is not right, there isn't even anyone around by the kid's playground area. This is odd, very odd indeed.

The breeze begins to pick up and the park leaves begin to twirl in the wind, they funnel upward within an invisible grasp. The merry-go-round in the playground starts to spin all by itself, picking up speed with each passing second until it steadies at a fast pace. The swings are swinging with no one on them.

A smell begins to arise, and right away I know I am in for something quite unique, something or someone is about to make a entrance of sorts. This smell, it is a scent that I can only describe as damp, burning rust kind of smell. It grows in strength with every passing second until it becomes quite overpowering. I know I am being watched, it feels more like I am being stalked, by something more than just a shadow, someone more than just human, a combination of human and shadow, a combination of human and demon.

It is early afternoon, or so I am being led to believe, as obviously it still is fairly bright out. The Dream Demons from before only work in darkness, but this one, however close it is, I can feel it ... him. Perhaps it takes pleasure in allowing me to detect it before it can fully arrive, or form.

If I can take anything of any of this as being any way real then they hate light, right? I feel as if I now somehow have some sort of an adversary, the only reason why I have not yet been taken or killed is that it is toying with me or wants a challenge, an opponent to almost confide in, in some weird kind of manner.

I know that whatever is happening, whatever is going on that this adversary or whatever it is, it is near, so near that it is right behind me and when I turn, it, this whatever it is, has gone already leaving behind a flash of dark smoke and as that dark smoke dissipates, so does that damp burning, rusted smell. Initial contact teased and put off. It may want an adversary of its own, this humanized demon, if that is what had come to me, and it may have chosen me, a kind of Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes, so if I have been chosen then I am ready for the challenge, I will take it on and I will defeat it.

The brief contact gone, I am thrust back into reality, that is if I had even been away from it. I am no longer alone in the park; it is filled with people walking their dogs or exercising on a fine day and parents with their kids in the playground filling the area with joyful sounds, all this being everything anyone could expect to see in an everyday park.

9.

It wouldn't be long before I would get to properly meet this human demon. He has even given himself a name, Rufus. Back once again by the bench outside the empty hospital. I am sitting on that bench looking over towards that rather large old oak tree, being not all so far away, thinking about that priest killed in a confessional booth and as to if I could have done something to have prevented his death. Realistically, if I can use such a word, there was nothing I could have done.

Rufus just appears from behind the tree, walks towards me and sits. I don't know how I know his name, maybe it was just something that he placed in my thoughts, for it is in there without an official introduction being made, and he is joined by that damp and burning rusted scent I had come across back in the park. Even in this dream world my senses are active.

The bright sky turns dull, the pleasant bright and warm dream world atmosphere turns into a piercing chill, I zip up my jacket and put my hands in my pockets as my breath freezes before me, knowing that there is nothing I can really do to make myself warm as I am not really here. All this is no more than an illusion. I become extremely uneasy as shadows begin to move behind me and fly overhead. They arrived almost with the instant the sky turned dull.

This being, this entity, looks as ordinary as any person can with the exception that he ... it ... oozes something sinister. He looks a little older than what I am which is something quite ridiculous I'd imagine as I'd bet that this creature posing as a man is actually something quite ancient. Short brown hair, thick brown moustache, a father figure-wise man kind of look. This right here, is a meeting. A white flag in operation not in surrender, but in a moment of peace, cease fire, this is a fact finder mission, a statemen possibly of intent.

A conversation with Rufus begins.

'Don't worry; they won't do anything to you.'

'Do you control them?' I calmly ask referring to the shadow creatures, deciding not to pay them any further visual attention.

'No, not really but I can prevent them from harming you.'

'And why would you do that?'

'Because I can. And you know ... the moment that is in there here and now, and so on ...'

There is a pause as my uneasiness has me looking all around and the intensity of the shadow like demon movement increases and the dullness in the sky grows darker. I also feel as if Rufus is holding back, and not being totally honest with me, it is more like he is checking me out more than anything else.

'Relax,' he tells me. 'You are amongst friends here, there is nothing to fear.'

My arms and legs tighten to the point where I can no longer move them, I am becoming very agitated. Is this a show of power?

'What is happening to me?'

'Just relax, now, we've talked about this before.'

'Before what? We've never talked before. I don't know you. You're not like the others.'

'You know I am not like the others.'

I become unable to speak; I couldn't even close my mouth. It is as if I am biting down on something that isn't there. Three pulses once again hit me, but this time they came with intense pain to my head. I attempt to let out a roar, but I can't. Rufus looks directly at me, and his eyes turn a dark red colour. Another set of three pulses hit before I pass out. Cease fire over, I'd have guessed if I weren't passed out.