Daddy Longlegs

"Was this house in your family for long?" Claire asked.

"I think my grandparents are the ones that bought it. They didn't own the farm, just the house. According to my Aunt, Grandpa was a part-time farmhand, a part-time mill worker, and a full-time drunk."

The mention of farmland reminded Claire of her conversation with the old man who pulled her car out of the ditch all of those years ago.

"He told me that everyone had a scarecrow," Claire said. She picked up an old photograph from the workbench and dusted it off. It was similar to the pictures that she found online. A faded black and white shot of creepy expressionless children posed in front of a scarecrow.

"Who told you that everyone had a scarecrow?" Kate asked.

"The old man with the tow truck. He laughed at me when I told him that I got scared by one. He said that all of the houses in the area had scarecrows and that they have been up since he could remember. He said that it was because they hadn't sold the land to the corporations. If they sold out, the scarecrows would have been torn down. There is no need for them. They just use chemicals these days."

Claire held up the photo that she found for Kate. "Do you see anything familiar?"

"The kids?" Kate asked.

"No. The scarecrow. The old suit. That big white sack for a head. He doesn't have a face."

"Holy shit!" Kate blurted. "Do you think it's Daddy Longlegs?"

"I don't know, Kate. Maybe you saw it when you were young, even if you don't remember. If the scarecrow made an impression on you, your nightmare could have taken its form. It certainly made an impression on me."

Claire and Kate were fixated on the photo. There was no way of knowing when the it was taken, but it was clearly an artifact from a time before either of them were born.

"Do you think it is possible that your mother took down the scarecrow?" Claire asked.

"I have no idea. But what if she did?"

"Well, then we have our story," Claire said, cryptically. She set the photo back on the bench.

"What do you mean?"

"We need to write the alternate ending to our dream. This is how I help people conquer their recurring nightmares. To write an alternate ending you have to have a story. Your mother took down a scarecrow that has always been there, releasing the demon from his coffin. He came to her that night in her dreams, frightening her into a heart attack. He came for you when you moved back into the house. He found me through you. The only way we can stop him is to put that scarecrow back in its place on the cross."

"Whoa!" Kate blurted. "Do you think it's all true?"

"Kate, I don't believe in magic or voodoo. I don't even believe in god. What I do believe is what I have seen. I have helped my clients stop their nightmares by changing the endings of their dreams. I think we found what we have been looking for. We have an ending that closes the loop a gives us resolution. That is how we fight back. When we go to sleep tonight, we are going to have a plan. We are going to put that fucker back on the cross where he belongs and he will never bother us again."

"But what if my mom really did take down the scarecrow? What of everything you're saying is real?"

"Is there anywhere around here that you think she might have hidden it?"

"I don't think so. We already searched the whole house. Wait...the storm cellar!"

"Please show me," Claire insisted.

They hurried up the stairs and then out the front door. Kate showed Claire to the old storm cellar on the side of the house. It had dented sheet metal doors and the handles were locked together by a rusty chain with a padlock.

"I never found the key. Maybe we can pry it open with something?" Kate suggested. "I think there was a crowbar down in the basement."

"Wait," Claire said with a hand on Kate's shoulder. "If we break into the cellar and we don't find anything, we'll ruin our story. This is a nightmare that we are dealing with. Trust me. The story is more important than the truth. When we are dreaming, we will find him down there because that is what we believe."

"Okay, I trust you," Kate said.

"Let's go inside and prepare."

Claire and Kate sat side-by-side at the kitchen table behind Claire's laptop, writing out their story. They snacked on chocolate and almonds and cheddar cheese, Claire's favorite trifecta of tryptophan-rich foods that can convert to serotonin, causing vivid dreams.

"Normally, I would walk my patients through the alternate ending in a hypnotic trance, but that is too risky for us. We already know that Daddy Longlegs can find us there. The best that we can do is review the story over and over again. It has to be one hundred percent clear in our heads," Claire explained.

"Okay, I'm ready when you are," Kate said.

"Let's start with the backstory and then we'll go through the dream."

Kate proceeded to recite the backstory that they had invented.

"Possum Prairie has always been cursed and abandoned prairie land. Even the Native Americans avoided it. When the first settlers began building up houses here, they were haunted by demons in their sleep. Eventually, their bodies would become possessed."

"Good," Claire encouraged. "And they resolved this how?"

"They brought in an old world exorcist. He had them build the fake men out of hay and suits and grain sacks. He was able to exorcise the demons from their hosts and trap them in the scarecrows. They put them up on crosses, where they still live to this day."

"Excellent. Now let's walk through the dream."

"We are sleeping together in my bed. Daddy comes for us like he always does. I break my sleep paralysis and I get away while he is focused on you."

"Why does he choose me?"

"You tap into the subconscious through your work. You are a bridge between the subconscious world and the real world. He thinks he can use you to cross over to our side. Also, you're more afraid of him than I am at this point and he thrives on fear."

"That is correct, unfortunately. What will you do when you escape?"

"I will go into the basement and get a hammer and nails. I'll pry open the doors on the storm cellar, get the scarecrow, and nail it up on the cross."

"The end," Claire announced.

"What if it doesn't work?" Kate asked.

"It doesn't always work the first time. The important thing is progress. We are fighting back within the dream. This changes everything. We are no longer helpless victims. Sometimes even a slight alteration to the pattern is all that it takes to destroy a recurring dream for good."

"I love it. It's like we are turning a nightmare into an adventure."

"Yes, that is the point. My patients confront their worst fears by turning it into a game. Are you ready to play?"

"Let's play!"

Kate turned off the bedroom light and climbed under the covers next to Claire. She was still wearing Claire's t-shirt and pair of comfortable underwear. They snuggled up next to each other and shared excited smiles.

"I feel like a highschooler again. Like we are having a slumber party and playing Bloody Mary," Claire said.

"What's Bloody Mary? I want to play. It sounds fun!" Kate said.

"Ah...let's not go there. I prefer to battle one monster at a time."

Claire yawned and ran her hand up Kate's arm to the sleeve of her shirt. "I thought you slept naked? That's what you told me in your hypnosis session, remember?"

"Nah. I just made that up," Kate confessed with a giggle. "I just thought it would be fun to take my clothes off in front of you."

"That is very inappropriate, Kate," Claire scolded.

"I know. I'm a bad girl."

"Remind me to give you a spanking in the morning."

"I would love that," Kate replied.

Claire could feel her eyes getting heavy. She hadn't pulled an all-nighter since she was in college. The previous sleepless night and exhausting hotel fuck-fest was finally catching up with her. Before she dozed off, she checked in on what might be the most important detail of their plan.

"Kate, are you still awake?"

"Barely."

"Do you remember what to do if you are in danger?"

"I'll make myself cough until I wake up."

"That's right," Claire said with a yawn. "Cough, and cough, and cough..."

Claire woke up to find that she was alone in her bedroom. She started to panic as the details set in. Her antique mirror-topped dresser. The dark walnut door and the detailed bronze door knob. It was unmistakably her bedroom, all the way back in Davenport. Kate was nowhere to be found. Claire heard the approaching footsteps in her hallway.

"Kate!! Where are you?!" Claire yelled out. Her thoughts were amplified and echoing off of the walls.

"Kate! You have to fall asleep! I'm here alone!"

"You aren't alone," the whisper assured her.

The doorknob turned and Claire froze up. The panic took over. She forgot about her toes and her fingers and lay there helplessly as the door swung open.

"Claire! Claire!" Kate kept screaming as she lay frozen in her bed. Kate was all alone in her farmhouse bedroom, reliving the horror of her recurring nightmare. Claire was missing. They split off in their separate dreams and nothing was going to plan.

"Wiggle your toes," Kate remembered. She focused on her energy on her toes and tried to ignore the looming figure that was approaching the foot of her bed. Kate could feel her feet coming alive. She started kicking wildly. Her back was still firmly attached to the bed. Daddy Longlegs leaned in to get close to her face, impervious to Kate's kicking feet.

"Stay away!" Kate screamed. Daddy bent forward and positioned his head inches in front of her face. He was trying to show her something. The surface of Daddy's head seemed to gloss over in wild moving patterns.

"Stop! Stop!" she begged until her voice was muffled by his skin. His head engulfed her entire face. Kate's vision gradually cleared up to reveal a woman alone on her bed. It was Claire. Kate could feel Claire's fear and hear her cries for help. Kate was looking down at Claire's suffering from Daddy's point of view.

"Stop!" Kate begged. "Take me! You can have me! Just leave her alone!"

Kate's begging only increased the volume of Claire's screams in her eardrums. Kate was lost inside of Daddy's head and watching helplessly as he pulled Claire's bedcovers off of her body. Daddy extended his fingers like ropes in four directions, binding Claire by her wrists and ankles. He lifted her off the bed and held her up into the air like a puppet.

"Stop! Don't touch her!" Kate begged.

Claire looked up at Daddy Longlegs in horror too see that his face was forming into the shape of Kate's. It was like Kate was trapped inside a wall of latex and trying to push her face through it.

Kate couldn't fight any longer. She was starting to run out of air. She remembered her emergency button. Kate sucked in as much breath as possible and coughed as loud as she could. She coughed until she ran out of air and reloaded with another deep breath. A final loud cough jolted her awake.

Kate sat up in her bed to the sound of thunder. Pouring rain was splashing violently against her bedroom window panes. Claire was still sleeping at Kate's side and her eyes were twitching under her eyelids.

"Wake up!" Kate begged her. She shook Claire by the shoulders. She grabbed the cup of water that they had placed strategically at the bedside and dumped it on Claire's face. Claire just lay there with a fearful expression, unable to awaken from the nightmare.

Kate pulled Claire out of bed and dragged her towards the stairs. She carefully descended, scaling one step at a time and hugging Claire's upper body while Claire's limp legs dragged across the steps. She set Claire down in the living room and tried to flip on the lights with no luck. The power was out.

Kate collected both of their phones to try and call 911 only to find that they were powered down and useless. Even her landline phone was dead. With Claire's nightmare still in progress, the entire house seemed to be caught in a cruel technological vacuum.

Kate fell to her knees next to Claire, who was still unconscious and sprawled out an on the living room floor.

"Claire, can you hear me!" Kate screamed. "You have to wake up! The plan isn't working! Cough and wake up! Cough and wake up!"

Claire was still paralyzed with fear and unable to break her limbs free from Daddy's grasp. She remembered to cough and sucked in a deep breath. A long gray finger extended towards her and wrapped around her head like a vine. Before Claire could get out a cough the finger had wrapped around in layers, covering her mouth and squeezing her head with persistent pressure.

Kate dragged Claire's body out the front door and into the storm. They were instantly soaked under sheets of falling rain. Kate shoved Claire into the passenger side seat of her car and ran around to the driver's side to start the car. She turned her key and heard nothing. No engine struggling to crank. Not even a click. She slammed her hand on the car horn over and over again, hoping that far away neighbors would hear it over the crashing thunder.

Kate gave up on the horn and put her hand on Claire's chest to feel her rapidly beating heart. Claire breaths were short and fast, like she was having panic attack.

"Wake up, Claire! Wake up!" Kate begged with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kate looked at her hand and counted her fingers to make sure it wasn't all just a terrible dream. Every time she counted, all five fingers were there in all of their intricate detail. She lowered her hand to see the storm cellar through the car windshield. It was her last, desperate hope.

"Stay with me Claire. Our plan might still work. I'm going to do it for real."

Kate left Claire in the car and ran into the house to collect her tools: crowbar, hammer, nails, and chair that she could use as a step stool. She threw the tools into a mop bucket and kicked open the front screen door. She laid everything out by the cornfield near the scarecrow's cross and ran over to the cellar with the crowbar and hammer.

Kate swung the crowbar through the rain and slammed the cellar chain and padlock over and over again until the palms of her hands was starting to bleed. She decided to attack the cellar door from the hinges instead, hammering the crowbar into the crevice and prying at a rusty hinge with all of her strength. The hinge popped out and Kate moved up to the next one and it was even easier to pry away.

Kate pulled away the door and climbed down onto the wet stone steps into the cellar. This is the moment that it dawned on her that she was barefoot and wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties. There was no time to change. She stepped down the stairs and into the pitch black of the storm cellar.

With the cellar door pried open, Kate's only source of light was coming from the unpredictable flashes of lightning. Her only hope of finding anything was to blindly reach around with her hands and wait for the next bolt.

Kate took a step forward and tripped over something immediately. She felt the gravity drop as her body teetered helplessly towards the ground. Kate put her forearms in front of her face and thudded against the concrete floor. A jolt of stinging pain shot through her elbows and forearms.

Kate reached around from the floor and grazed her hands something that felt like soft fabric. Flashes of lightening illuminated the cellar for a microsecond at time showing Kate that she was lying face to face with the scarecrow. She was looking back at a worn, lifeless gray sack filled with hay. It was creased and warped in a way that made it appear to be smiling back at her.

Kate got up onto her knees and the continued bursts of lightning illuminated the nineteenth century wool suit. The sleeves and pant legs were stuffed with tree branches and twigs were poking out at the ends like fingers and toes.

"You're coming with me!" Kate declared.

She pulled up the scarecrow by the jacket and threw it over her shoulder. It was heavier than she expected and she nearly fell back under its weight. Kate marched forward, up the wet slippery stairs and out into the yard with her hostage. She ran the scarecrow over to the field near the wooden cross.

Kate tried to shove her chair through the corn stalks and then decided to drop it in favor of the crowbar. She dove into the field, smashing and slicing and toppling an army stalks out of her way. After she cleared a path, Kate returned for the scarecrow and dragged it over to the cross by the legs.

Kate dug into the bucket to feel around for the nails, which were already submerged under inches of rainwater. She climbed up on the chair and nailed a one of the jacket sleeves to the cross until scarecrow was dangling by a single arm. Kate proceeded to nail one of the pant legs to the center beam of cross and dug back into the bucket for another nail.

"Two down, two to go," Kate encouraged herself.

Claire's body was twitching and convulsing in the car seat. She was lost in Daddy's big white head which was swirling with lumps like it was a sack full of rats. Something big and slimy was growing and sliding up Claire's inner thigh as Daddy held her in place.

Suddenly, the pressure eased around Claire's head. One of Daddy's arms dissolved before her eyes and the fingers dissolved with it. Her wrist and head became unbound and she looked away from Daddy to free herself from his trance.

Claire's ankles were still bound by Daddy's fingers and she could feel him spreading them wide. The growing appendage between her thighs pressed up against her ass and she yelped in surprise.

"I am going inside, Claire."

She ignored the slimy member that was trying to stretch out her sensitive hole and force its way inside of ass. Claire focused on her escape. She sucked in air until she couldn't take any more and unleashed a fit of heavy coughs.

Claire came to in the driver's side seat and swung her arms wildly, smacking them into the dashboard and against the window glass. Her hand was shaking as it reached for the door handle and she fell out of the car onto the wet gravel.

"Kate! Where are you?!" she yelled out. It took her a full minute to realize where she was. The house was off in the distance, completely dark and blurred by falling rain. Claire got to her feet and spotted Kate out in the corn field, hoisting up the last dangling arm of the scarecrow against the cross and holding a hammer in the other hand.

Claire ran up behind Kate and watched in horror as the twigs began to grow and sprawl out of the jacket sleeves. The scarecrow's twig fingers grew into thick branches and started to wrap themselves around Kate's body.

"Kate, get down! Get away from that thing!" Claire screamed.

It was too late. Kate was already wrapped up in jagged tree branches and they were ripping her shirt to pieces as they entangled her body. Kate dropped the hammer into the field as the scarecrow shook the cross violently, attempting to free its other limbs.

"There's one more arm! You have to nail it down! Kate yelled. Tree branches from the scarecrows pant legs started circling up Kate's thighs like a snakes and inched their way towards her crotch.

Claire picked up the hammer from the ground and looked up at Kate in panicked confusion.

"The bucket! The nails are in the bucket!" Kate screamed. The branches wrapped around Kate's jaw and in between her teeth like a gag.

Claire grabbed a handful of nails and climbed onto the chair. She stuck a nail into a piece of the jacket sleeve and swung with all of her strength. The scarecrow shook its arm and the nail went flying to the ground. Claire missed the nail entirely and slammed the hammer against the cross. She felt all of the nails falling from the palm of her hand. She clung on to a single nail and watched helplessly as the others fell to the ground.