“Are you sure you’re going to be ok? I mean, I can stay and help you move in if you’d like.”
Darcy smiled at her Aunt Cara and instead of answering, she leaned over and gave her beloved relative a hug. She’d been living with her aunt ever since her father and the little black bed had disappeared.
The days after the nightmare had been a blur. She’d dialed 911, and when the police had shown up, she was unable to speak. Tears were her only form of communication, and eventually she was led away from the house and placed in the care of close relatives—her Aunt Cara and Uncle Ben.
It had taken several years for Darcy to even acknowledge her father’s disappearance. She refused to talk to anyone about the dreams or the bed. Instead, she simply accepted that she’d been abandoned by both parents.
Unable to be alone in the dark, her aunt outfitted her new bedroom with several nightlights that provided a measure of comfort against the nightmares.
And it worked. Darcy never saw the strange child again.
Time is a miraculous thing, and Darcy’s wounds finally began to heal. Slowly she emerged from her shell and began to trust people little by little. She started to make friends, and despite being withdrawn and shy, people began to take an interest in the odd, beautiful teenager.
She allowed herself to be taken to prom and even shared a kiss with the clumsy basketball player who’d always had a crush on her. The kiss was nice, but she wasn’t interested in giving herself to anyone. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.
Eventually, the college acceptance letters came in the mail, and Darcy chose a school within the same city so that she’d be close to the people she now loved and thought of as surrogate parents.
It was time to start college.
Her aunt helped her get the bags out of the trunk and then, after another emotional hug, got back into the car and drove off, leaving Darcy standing outside of her new dorm with her suitcases.
Darcy sighed and turned around to face her new home. She knew that her room was on the third floor of the building, so she lifted her suitcases and struggled through the front door.
A cute, muscular freshman saw her fumbling with her bags and came over to help. He had wavy brown hair, freckles, and a kindhearted smile. Darcy liked him immediately.
“Hey, do you need some help with that? My name’s Greg.”
Greg seemed nice enough, so she allowed him to help carry her suitcases upstairs. For some reason the elevator wasn’t working, so they both huffed and puffed as they took the stairs.
It was surprisingly fun. The two laughed and joked as they struggled with the steps and the winding stairwell. Darcy smiled as she watched Greg’s muscular arms strain against the weight of her entire closet stuffed into a few bags.
College is definitely going to be fun, she thought.
They finally made it to the third floor and both of them decided to rest for moment.
“Ok,” Greg said, panting. “I think we’re here.”
“Yep,” said Darcy as she pushed open the door to her new room.
Greg stood back, prepared to help her carry the bags into the room. He was thinking that perhaps he might have to take this new, attractive friend out for a pizza and a walk along the campus lake. But no sooner had Darcy pushed the door open when her entire body lurched backward.
Greg wasn’t sure what happened, but the girl—so friendly and effervescent just moments before—was now ashen and in shock.
She turned and raced down the hallway, disappearing into the distance.
Greg stood for a moment, unsure what to do. He was slightly frightened to go inside the room, but figured that whatever it was, he’d be able to handle it.
The gust generated by Darcy’s quick exit had caused the door to swing shut behind her. Greg put down the suitcases carefully, and reached for the door, slowly pushing it open.
When the room came into view, he looked around.
It appeared as if Darcy’s roommate had already moved in. There were suitcases in the middle of the floor and various perfumes had been set up on the nightstand.
But there was nothing else in the room…
…nothing, besides a very ornate and Gothic-looking black bed pushed up against the wall.
Greg thought it was interesting and decided to give it a closer look.
He walked into the room and approached the strange, mysterious bed. As he ran his fingers over the delicate designs, he suddenly felt a chill and turned around quickly, expecting to see someone standing behind him.
There was no one there, and Greg suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Somewhere in the distance a child giggled, and the door to the room slammed shut.
It all happened so fast that no one heard him scream.