The door had been left open, the window was closed and a small candle lit the small bedroom, lying in her bed was a naked man of thirty-seven years with dark colored eyes and pale white skin. She could of sworn that his lips were blue, blue with death. Three cuts lay on his body, two of them lay on his breasts and one was around his navel. He sat up straight, beckoned for her to come closer, his mouth slid open and she saw yellow-brown teeth and a ruby red tongue.
"Come to me." he said coldly.
Her legs moved, even though she felt numb, and she walked towards the bed. The covers were slightly pulled down, showing more than what she wanted to see. Gentle fingers, cold and raw, touched her body. Looking down she saw that she was undressed, she had been wearing a cotton pink shirt and blue jeans before. The man pulled her in, and she felt the chilly blue lips part on one of her small dainty breasts.
Angela Irene woke up in the coldest sweat she could imagine, her bed was wet with her sweat and she was shivering from head to foot. The dream, it was the third time that she had had such a dream. Why she would be dreaming such things were beyond her. She worked in a department store, payed her bills on time and stayed out of trouble. She sometimes went to the downtown bar, to get a drink, but she didn't allow for herself to get cocky.
"So, what was the dream this time?" Katherine Snider asked. Katherine was a stringy blonde with shiny blue eyes, her outfit was the same as Angela's, a white dress with a red embroidered David's Department Store pin on her left breast. She was wearing white tennis shoes, as was Angela.
"Same old thing." Angela sighed.
"Maybe your dreams are trying to tell you something." Charles Hitttinger suggested. Charles was a red necked man with blue eyes and brown hair. He was wearing a white button shirt and pants with white tennis shoes.
"To get my life together," Angela giggled. "yeah right."
Angela's red hair was in a French braid, it brought out her green eyes which flashed whenever she was angry or excited. Since her apartment was right across the street she didn't have a car. She did have a bike, which was in need of repairs. Her job payed her well, well enough that she had a hundred dollars extra every month to play with. She usually used it for books, she loved reading. She was gonna use her next paycheck on a puzzle box that a shy old Asian man had on the corner of Western Street.
"What are you gonna do after work tonight?" Katherine asked.
"I'm gonna collect my check and go out." Angela sighed, she was having trouble with the cash register.
"You're going out?" Charles exclaimed.
"No, I'm going out to town." Angela explained.
"Something you want to buy?" Katherine said slyly. "Like a book?"
"Nope, like a puzzle box." Angela said.
"A puzzle box?" Charles questioningly repeated.
"Yeah." Angela said, she left it at that.
Half an hour later Angela walked into her apartment. She undressed herself of her white dress and shoes, took a refreshing shower then collected her special couch bag. It was a brown bag with gold beads hanging, the strap was a lighter shade of brown and black with an elaborate design of gold beads. Locking the door behind her, she walked down the stairs and out the front door. New York's starry sky shined down on her like a smile.
"What is your pleasure ma'am?" asked the Asian man.
"The box, how much?" Angela asked.
The box was colored brown and gold with black etchings on each of the four sides. It was a small box, no bigger than a medium sized tomato. The box had caught her attention days ago, the shine of the gold had made her eyes grow with wanting. The man had seen her looking at the box, and had sent her a wide smile, he had also beckoned for her to come closer. She hadn't, because she had been to scared and she didn't have the money to buy it with.
"The box is yours for a hundred and twenty dollars." the Asian man coughed.
Angela dug into her bag and took out a small money purse. She counted out a hundred and twenty dollars and slammed it on the table. The man smiled, his yellow teeth made her shiver in fear. He slid the box towards her, it tottered at the edge of the table, and she caught it. The man collected the money and stood up, he stretched his hand towards her and she grasped it. His handshake was rough.
"May your wishes come true tonight." the man said.
Skipping home, Angela toyed with her new purchase. When she walked into her apartment the first thing Angela noticed was that it was really cold. Rubbing her shoulders, she walked over to the thermostat and changed it from seventy degrees to seventy-five. The apartment warmed up slightly, but she didn't notice. Placing the box on the table, she sat and marveled at it. Rubbing her fingers along the edges, she felt her heart beat faster. The circle went in after she touched it, the box opened and changed. Her eyes took all of this in but she didn't move. She was transfixed, hypnotized, she wasn't able to feel or talk.
Angela woke up three hours later with a splitting headache. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her apartment, the floor underneath her wasn't carpet. It now felt like rock. Opening her eyes a little more she saw shadows, shadows on the rock walls. Sitting herself up, she rubbed her eyes and looked up. Standing around her were four people, all clad in leather. She slowly pulled herself to her feet, they trembled slightly and she almost fell.
"The box, you opened it and we came." said one of the leather clad people. Angela noticed that the person that had spoken looked a little like the man in her dream. He had dark black eyes and had pins sticking up out of his head. He was wearing a leather cassock, and had three wounds to his chest and stomach.
"Who are you?" Angela asked.
"Demons to some, angels to others," said the pinned man.
"We are what nightmares come true." said a woman, the woman was wearing a leather dress and had three wounds to each side of her stomach and her throat was stretched open. She talked in a whispery tone, hypnotic, the same as the pinned man.
"Is this a dream?" Angela asked herself. "Because if it is, this is the fifth time I've seen you."
"Your dreams have called you to the box," said the pinned man. "now they will become real."