User blog:MrTyeDye/The Nightmare House: Epilogue

Previous Chapters:

(Lori)

(Leni)

(Luna)

(Luan)

(Lynn)

(Lucy)

(Lana)

(Lola)

(Lisa)

(Lily)

(Lincoln)

"Get away! Don't hurt me! Leave me alone!"

Lincoln thrashed about, struggling against the grip of what he thought was Lana's monstrous imposter. The next thing he heard, however, was the sharply whispered voice of his eldest sister.

"Lincoln, shhh! It's okay! It's only me!"

The reassuring words caused Lincoln's heart rate to decelerate, and his feelings panic petered out. After taking a moment to stop thrashing and take some deep breaths, he cautiously opened his eyes to find himself, mercifully, out of the basement. He was back in his bed, with a worried-looking Lori looking over him at his bedside.

"Lor...Lori?"

Lori lifted her hand off his shoulder and started running her fingers through his hair. "You were just having a nightmare. A pretty bad one, from the looks of it."

Lincoln looked over at Lori, and the memory of seeing her cadaverous, zombie-like form trapped inside the glass came rushing back. As much as he tried to remind himself that none of it actually happened, in the moment it just felt so... real. So vivid. He couldn't help but feel like he was seconds away from losing her forever. With tears welling up in his eyes, he sprung out of bed and threw his arms around Lori, burying his face in her busom.

"Shhh," whispered Lori, stroking his back. "It's okay, Lincoln. I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

A minute or two passed as Lincoln embraced his big sister, taking her soothing, reassuring words to heart. Lori wasn't the cuddliest of the Loud sisters, but Lincoln could always count on her being there for him when he needed her. That said, in this specific instance it was hard to imagine how she could have been there when he needed her, which occurred to him as soon as he calmed down from the fright.

"Hold on..."

Lincoln let go of Lori and backed a bit away from her, making eye contact. He gave himself a moment to wipe his cheeks dry before posing his question. "How'd you know I was having a nightmare?"

"Oh, I overheard you whimpering while I was in the hallway."

"Okay, followup question; what were you doing up in the middle of the night?"

Lori's eyes wandered off to the side. "Well, you're not going to believe this, but I had a nightmare too."

"You did?" asked Lincoln. "About what?"

"I-I'd rather not say," Lori said, her voice trembling just a bit. "But get this; when I woke up, I saw that Luna, Lucy, Lola and Lana had all crawled into bed with me. And when I looked over at Leni, I saw Luan, Lynn, Lisa and Lily bunking with her."

Lincoln raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. "Did everyone have a nightmare?"

"What are the odds, right?" Lori asked with a chuckle. "Anyway, we decided that we're all gonna sleep together downstairs in the living room. And I'll get up early next morning and make us all some french toast. How's that sound?"

A quivering smile appeared on Lincoln's face. "Sounds great."

Lori took Lincoln by the hand, helped him up off of his bed, and led him out of his room with her arm around his shoulder. As they walked, Lincoln wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her snuggled close to him. Once they got downstairs, he saw his other nine sisters cuddled together under a sea of blankets - the twins on the easy chair, and everyone else on the couch. Lincoln was greeted with a sleepy wave from some of the sisters who hadn't already gone back to sleep. He was taken aback, however, when one sister wriggled herself out of the cuddle puddle, stood up, stumbled over and gave him a hug.

Lynn.

The young athlete squeezed him tight, muttering incoherently and pressing her face into his shoulder. Lincoln was a bit confused, but decided not to object once he felt a couple of stray tears trickling down his back. He let her drag him back to the couch, and the two of them claimed a spot on the right side, with her spooning him.

"I love you, Lincoln," she whispered, pecking him on the cheek. "Don't ever forget that."

With those parting words, the two of them drifted back off to sleep, reassured that even after the torment they were sent through, they still had each other in the end.

And that concludes our venture into the Nightmare House.

As we've seen, a nightmare is a creature with near-limitless potential. Without the boundaries of reality in place, it can subject its victim to any torment imaginable, no matter how improbable, illogical or unfathomable. But I say near limitless, because there is one thing that a nightmare cannot do, and that is last forever. It can place you in the most hopeless, inescapably perilous position conceivable, and you'll still wake up just as safe and sound as you were before you went to sleep.

So tonight, if you find yourself dreading what haunting visions may await you when you lay yourself to sleep, remember this; eventually, you will wake up.

But maybe lay off the deep dish Hawaiian pizza if you want to stay on the safe side.