Seven
I used to be a good boy. I want to be good again, but I don't know if that's possible anymore. Because the only way out is for me to do what Timothy did, what all the others do eventually, and find someone to take my place.
Of course, Timothy didn't get to leave right away. As Weztix said, there's a labor shortage down here. But his reward for recruiting me was to be allowed to go back to the land of the living about ten years after I got here.
That's what I'd like to do someday. After all, I've been down here delivering nightmares for nearly thirty years now. The thing is, being a messenger of darkness and fear is the kind of work that twists a guy.
I'm not the person I used to be.
Even so, I dream of going back to the other side to stay.
It won't be long now. I've found a weakness in the boundary between the worlds. It's not as good as the one under my bed was, at least not yet. But it will be when I'm done with it. A place where someone real, someone living, could pass through into this world.
It's under a bed, of course.
Maybe yours.
The thing is, I'll feel funny about pulling another kid down here to take my place. After all, he or she won't be any happier doing this than I am.
That's why I sent this dream to the person who's writing this story. I figure if I send a warning, if I give kids a fighting chance to save themselves, I won't have to feel so bad when I finally do bring one of them down here.
– End Chapter Seven –
