But, in a few moments, they found the trail and hauled themselves up to the cave.

Too tired to talk, they ate a few cookies, unrolled their sleeping bags and crawled into them. Abby fell asleep almost immediately, but Noah lay awake for a time, looking out at the brightening sky and listening to the tide. Finally, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

He dreamt vividly, of his mother and father, Abby and the hoary old couple at the campfire. And then his dreams became strange and horrible, filled with dark passages and strange creatures, dwarfish baboon-like animals with wild, dreadlocked hair and round, black blotches for eyes.

The stench of the creatures, their warm and foul breath, seemed to fill his nostrils.

It was only when Abby screamed that he realized the horrible truth. He was not asleep. They were not alone in the cave. And the nightmare face of one of the creatures was just inches from his own.

Author Bio - Mike Nettleton
Author Bio - Carolyn Rose

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