I was in the corridor of a stadium or conference center---you know those places with tall, wide halls that wrap around the main auditorium but are sometimes used as rooms themselves for trade shows, job fairs, conferences, etc. This particular corridor was bustling with people walking in all directions, doing different things. Some people were moving large stage props; some people were sitting at booths; some people were pushing around carts of food; some people were just walking.
A woman approached me and told me that she had made a deal with a demon and needed my help. For some reason, I agreed to help her--even though, you know, she was a total stranger and clearly stupid for making a deal with a demon. So she took me to the demon so we could discuss the terms of their agreement. He was an extraordinarily beautiful man: blonde hair (I'm not particularly partial to blondies, but when they're beautiful, they're beautiful), big blue eyes, chiseled jaw... you know. I asked the demon, "What is this deal you made with this woman? What does she have to do for you?" He replied, "Every day, at 11 am and 11 pm sharp, she has to bring me a hot, delicious meal of sea bass, asparagus, and potatoes au gratin, with a nice chianti. And you should know that since you are helping her with this, you are bound to it yourself." I felt incredulous: "Seriously?! That's it?! That's the deal she made?! Uh, ok..."
When the woman and I walked away from the demon, I was like, "First of all, why did you make that deal, and secondly, why do you need my help? There are caterers walking all over this building who are carrying around whole carts of food. You don't even have to cook!" So she went her merry way and I did my own thing, and every time it got to be almost 11 o'clock I'd just go to a passing food cart and pick up a plate of sea bass, asparagus, and potatoes au gratin, as well as a glass of chianti, and would take it to the demon.
Eventually I got tired of having to do this twice a day, so one time when I brought the demon his dinner I asked him, "What are the consequences you laid out for this woman if she doesn't comply? What will happen if we don't bring you your food?" He looked at me threateningly and said, "I will be very hungry, and very angry." Again, I felt incredulous: "Seriously?! Those are the consequences?! Well fuck this, then! You go ahead and be hungry and angry, dude. That is not even remotely scary to me." The demon replied, "Oh, I will terrify you. You will be terrified. Not now, perhaps, but it will happen soon." Undaunted, I walked away from him and started looking for a way to leave the conference center or stadium or wherever I was.
Suddenly I was at home. My home was a huge, sparsely furnished house with concrete floors stained a dark brown and the walls and doors were all windows, save for the narrow dark wood beams between the windows and framing the doors. All of the windows around the house, though, were covered in dark brown vinyl blinds that were mostly but not completely closed, so I had the unnerving feeling that people could see into the house but I could not see out. It was also nighttime, which enhanced that feeling. The dining room of the house, which created an open L-shape with the living room, had a massive dark brown table that was filled with paper bags that had meat in it for all the members of our wild game co-op, and people were coming in and out of the house to pick up their co-op orders in a steady stream. "Good," I thought, "There's always at least one person here, so I'm not left alone." All of the co-op members were wearing these neon orange reflective vests, like traffic cops or crossing guards.
The last person to come get his co-op bag was my friend Nick, and he and I were chatting for a while. I could tell he wanted to stay and hang out, and I didn't want him to leave, either, because I was afraid of being left alone in the house, but I didn't want him to think that I was trying to seduce him, so I started slowly walking him to the door and wrapping up the conversation. When he said goodbye and walked out the door, my heart sank and I being to feel this inexplicable fear creeping in. I could see his orange vest through the small slits in the blinds walking along the south wall of the house, and as it disappeared from view I felt deflated and sad and wished I could call him back. But then I saw the orange vest coming back up the south wall, and I was so excited and happy that I ran to the front door right as the orange vest reached it as well. It wasn't Nick, though. A different demon from the one I had been taking food to, this one ugly and disfigured and with red eyes, broke through the glass of my front door and lunged at me through the blinds.
I woke myself up by bolting upright in bed with a loud gasp. My heart was racing, my legs felt like butter, and I was shaking all over. My immediate thought was, "Well played, demon. That actually did terrify me." And then I realized, "DUH, Emily! The demon isn't real! It was a dream!"
