Nicemare
and The Insecure Writers' Support Group First Wednesday!
Welcome again to A Weekly Dose of Fiction! The idea for this story came when I mispronounced the word, nightmare, so that it came out nicemare. That sent one of my friends into a fit of laughter. Well, if it was that funny, I thought, then it was worthy of a story. This is what came of that mispronunciation. I have to do it in parts because I’m still writing it.
Nicemare
Part 1
Ben Shearer hadn’t slept in days—not real sleep. A few minutes here and there, jolted awake by terror, by the dry taste of fear in his mouth, by the memory of pounding footsteps behind him. A normal person might fear growing old or being in an accident. Ben feared closing his eyes.
Because whenever he did—whenever exhaustion finally conquered willpower—it came for him.
Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
These nightmares had started subtly just after his promotion. First, he had a series of bad dreams that made him toss and turn, and then he’d been jolted to full awareness. Night after night, a dark figure chased him through a labyrinth of streets that bent and folded, confusing him and hampering his escape. At the beginning of each terrible dream, the footsteps behind him matched his stride, then quickened their pace, threatening to overtake him. He never saw the figure—he only felt its presence. As the weeks wore on, the creature drew closer, and Ben woke screaming every night.
At first, he fought back with logic. Sleep disorders were common. Stress was common. So he went to doctors. A parade of them. They ran scans and bloodwork and asked long lists of questions.
“Ben,” one neurologist finally said, tapping a pen against a clipboard, “you’re healthy. In fact, your only real problem is that you don’t sleep.”
If only it were that simple, he thought.
Finally, he reached out for other kinds of help. Priests sprinkled holy water over him. A shaman burned sage and muttered incantations. A hypnotist probed his childhood for buried trauma. Nothing worked.
And then one day at work, exhausted and not thinking clearly, the entire fabric of his life unraveled.
He was paid handsomely to advise wealthy clients on investments, and he’d once been the rising star of Maxwell and Compton. But that day, he made a catastrophic mistake. He entered a trade incorrectly for the firm’s largest client. Millions vanished. There were no second chances in his industry.
He was fired.
Uh oh. Poor Ben. I need to figure out just how much trouble he’ll be in and how or if I can get him out of it. Part 2 next week! And now for The First Wednesday Post.
The awesome co-hosts for the January 7 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
January 7 question - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn’t get done in 2025?
Yep! I’ll see a new book published by Evernight Teen. I had hoped it would come out in 2025, but the publisher was busy, and so I had to be patient. That’s okay. It’s something to look forward to this year.
Outside of that, I’ll just keep posting a short story on each Wednesday here on Substack unless, of course, I can’t come up with something. Then I’ll punt!
Happy 2026!
All of my books are available on AMAZON and other booksellers.
Hey, don't invest if you can't afford to lose your investment. Unfair to Ben.
Ah, you leave us hanging. Congratulations on your upcoming release.