warning for body horror bad dreams
Marian's dreams had been wretched.
In them the Sheriff whipped Will Stutely over and over and over, and Marian had to listen to her friend scream in agony. But the sheriff didn't stop whipping, and more and more skin and flesh and sinew began coming away, until something began reaching its way out through Will's back with horrible tiny grabbing hands. Bloody and shapeless, baby hands with sharp little fingernails, the thing hit the floor with a wet sound and began dragging itself towards Marian, trapped in her cage.
It mewled without a mouth.
Now it was Marian's turn to scream, as the mess of flesh slid closer. The sheriff leaned in against the bars to taunt her, but it wasn't the sheriff. It was Robin's face looking down at her with disgust.
"Isn't this who you are, Marian?" he asked her with a low voice. "Some disgusting little toy for the enemy? We always knew it about you. I always saw it."
She heard movement from further away, and the prison around her shifted and then, suddenly, was gone. Marian opened her eyes to different lighting and the Sheriff sitting in front of her.
Marian groaned, blinking rapidly. "You drugged me," she accused, and her mouth felt dry, her lips chapped.