It's midnight. The moon is high in the star-studded sky, watching over the slumbering world, guarding it for the night. However, not everyone can find rest and peace when they close their eyes. Some are haunted by that which resides somewhere within the shadows of their minds. Which is what's happening to one girl, the protagonist of this story.

Claire, a 15-year-old girl, isn't able to fall asleep. It's been going on for about a month now. Why? Is she excited about something? Perhaps she's thinking about school, her friends, or her crush? If only it were something so innocent. No, what occupies her mind is less than innocent.

As soon as claire lays down in her bed, praying and wishing desperately for at least one night without it, an ominous voice speaks to her. A familiar one, at least to her. And many others before her.

'here it is, again. ' claire sighed, resigning herself to another sleepless night. Was there any reason to hope for a different outcome?

The voice started off as it usually does when addressing claire.

"come to me, little lamb. " let's paint this whole world in shades of red! Don't be afraid; no harm will come your way as long as you're with me. "

"little lamb, " it calls her. A nickname that might've been sweet under less dangerous circumstances.

Claire doesn't know how this whole situation started. One night, just as she was on the verge of falling asleep, there was a strange sound coming from outside of her window. She thought she was dreaming, so she didn't pay much attention. A fatal mistake it would turn out to be.

Not long after that, it started talking to her while she was still awake at night, preparing to go to bed.

At first, it was only a voice claire heardfrom time to time, never catching sight of anything strange in her room, no matter how hard she searched for it the next day. Deep down, claire knew it wouldn't show itself in daylight. She refers to the voice as it, because she has a sneaking suspicion that it's not a regular person she's dealing with.

"who are you? " claire asked in the beginning. She might as well try to figure out what's going on.

"i'm your worst nightmare, but it doesn't have to be that way. Be a good little girl and join me. Your life would be much easier. " the voice answered after a while.

"join you? " and do what? " claire had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer to this question and that her situation might take a wrong turn from here, depending on her reply.

"become like me. Terrorize people at night with me. You see, i'm rather lonely, so i'm looking for a... Partner in crime, so to speak. What do you say, little lamb? "

"no! I don't want to! What you're doing is bad; i want no part in it! Now get lost and don't ever come back here again! " claire replied angrily, before turning on her side to, maybe, try to fall asleep.

Little did claire know, this was only the beginning of her descent into darkness. By refusing to do what she was told, she made a very powerful and deadly enemy.

After that, the voice started haunting claire's dreams every single night, calling for her, tempting her. I scared her. It had no intention of stopping until it got what it wanted.

The only reprieve she got from her own personal hell was in the morning, when she went to school, and throughout the day. Once the sun started setting, claire could sensethe change in the air. She starts shivering, her breath quickens, and her heart starts beating fast.

It wasn't as though she hadn't tried reasoning with the voice.

"what do you want from me? Why are you doing this? Why can't you leave me alone? " claire tried desperately to get it to stop.

"you know what i want, sweet little lamb of mine. Be my partner in crime. Let's kill tonight! It's no use trying to ignore me; i'll never leave you alone. You're my new toy to play with! We'll have so much fun, you'll see. "

claire could detect the bloodlust, since the voice never tried to hide it. She could almost smell it in the air, the metallic scent of blood choking her. Terrified, claire tries to block that voice, to not listen to those gruesome words, but she hasn't been very successful so far.

Her nights are sleepless, her fear creeping in. There's no escaping it; she has been caught. She can't ignore it, just as it told her.

She's losing sleep. The dark bags under her eyes look more like bruises, which she covers with make-up, but she can't cover everything. Claire isn't sure she can take more of this torture anymore.

Sometimes, claire can detect red eyes watching her from the darkness of her room, a sinister smile in place. If she so much as blinks, it's gone, making her question her sanity. Oh so slowly, madness and terror start taking a hold of her.

What could claire do, give in? Beg for it to leave her alone? To scream for help? At this point, what could she do? If she told her parents, chances are they wouldn't believe her, writing it off as something silly. Or something bad might happen to them, and she couldn't allow that.

Her friends would thinkshe's imagining things and would probably tease her to no end.

If only she could find someone to help her! An exorcist or a medium, anyone with any sort of knowledge and power to get this... Whatever it is away from her!

Oh, but that won't do. Claire's mind wasn't hers anymore. Her thoughts weren't a private matter. Whenever she thought about asking someone for help, the voice would say:

"no one would believe you! They'd think you'd just had a bad dream! What will you do, i wonder? I could just kill them. Kill everyone you love and make you watch! Oh, how cute your face would be! "

the voice threatens claire, talking about killing people like it's a normal thing to do. And somehow, she had no doubt it would do it. So she kept quiet, for everyone's sake.

The voice would mostly talk, describing in great, nauseating detail its past victims and how they met their tragic end. There's so much pride in the tone of its voice that it's sickening.

"aww, do you feel sorry for them? That's so adorable! You're one of my favorite so far, helpless and weak to defend yourself! They were as well, but something about your fear, your desperation, is delicious! So hard to resist! I think i know what'll make it even more so! "

the shrill laughter hurt claire's ears, making her head throb.

'please, someone... Anyone. Help me or let me die! ' claire begged for a miracle or salvation. Nothing happened, unfortunately.

Her nightmare continues; every night is the same. She'd go to bed, knowing what to expect by now, and sweet oblivion is not it.

It went on and on and on. Night after miserable, dreamless night...

Until one night, claire finally snapped.

It was only a matter of time. No one could put up with itfor very long and keep their sanity intact.

The final blow were the visions. Visions of red, unending red. Crimson coloring claire's sight, screams of pain and anguish playing their terrifying symphony.

She had never seen these visions before. This was a new tactic, one meant to break her, without hope of ever putting claire back together again.

Claire's eyes snapped open, a crazed look in them. A soft laugh came out of her mouth as she slowly sat up in her bed.

Claire started mumbling to herself, her words inaudible.

"... Ill, haha, yes, i'll... I'll d-do it... Hahaha" claire raised her head slowly. The light coming through the window shined on her face, revealing a completely different look.

A menacing one. The person sitting there wasn't claire anymore. Appearance-wise, that's still her. Her personality, though, took a turn for the worse.

Her eyes had now turned deep red, glowing in the dark. Blood trailed out of her eyes and down her face, staining her clothes. Yet, claire wasn't bothered by it in the least. In fact, she licked it off, closing her eyes in enjoyment.

"hmm, tasty. I want more, so much more. Must have it. " claire spoke, her words coming out a bit slurred, like she was drunk.

Standing up, claire started walking towards the door. Her steps were quiet and light; not a single floorboard creaked under her weight. Her parents were sound asleep in a room across the hall, unaware of the danger lurking in their home. Unaware of their fate.

What's going on with claire? Why are her eyes red and bleeding? She started acting strange all of a sudden.

Turning left, claire could be found in the kitchen, rummaging through the drawer where silverware was. She pulled out a sharp kitchen knife, the blade glinting in the moonlight. She raised it in theair, looking at her reflection, her wild eyes staring back at her. Grinning in delight, she started moving towards her parents' room.

The game begins. May there be more bloodshed.

An eerie silence fell upon the house. Outside, clouds started gathering, obscuring the moon. Heavy rain started pouring suddenly, which was very strange considering the clear sky not even an hour ago.

It's convenient, don't you think so? The downpour drowned out the screams and shouts coming from inside claire's house, along with her maniacal laughter that could make your skin crawl.

Afterwards, there was only silence inside. Outside, rain continued to fall, undisturbed by the events that took place. The rain seemed like a bad omen, which turned out to be true.

No one will ever know exactly what happened to claire and her parents.

The police will find two mutilated bodies lying on the bedroom floor. They wouldn't find claire anywhere, no trace left that could lead to her whereabouts.

Well, that's not entirely true, because someone did know what happened. The only witness to the tragic end of claire's parents' lives.

It was the same one who started it all by pushing claire over the point of no return. The one who watched it all from the shadows in amusement.

This being is feeding off of stolen dreams, invading the victim's mind by talking to them, or creating nightmares that keep the victim awake until eventually they turn into the same being...

The insomnia demon.

A black cloud of smoke could be seen on the roof of claire's house. Red eyes looked up at the dark sky with a deranged smile.

"i better go look for my little lamb. Or should i say, my little beast? "

it disappeared after that, leaving no trace of its existence behind.