Night Rider

Superheroes Have Nightmares Too

... Years earlier ...

Barbara was too excited to fall asleep. Mattel was getting donuts for them in the morning, and they were going to surprise him with the dance routine. They had worked on it until they wore themselves out. Well, Barbara had worn herself out. Yasmin spent too much time in the base's gym to be worn out by dancing. She kept having more ideas of what they could add for extra flare. Yasmin had been asleep beside her for the last thirty minutes. She had a long night the night before. They could dress up for the routine. Mattel could record it. They could wake up early and wait in their opening pose for Mattel to walk in on them. Yasmin could start the music. He would be so surprised. They'd watch the video so many times.

Yasmin turned over in her sleeping bag. Hoping she was awake so that Barbara could share her ideas with her, she turned to her, but Yasmin was obviously still asleep. She was breathing harder than Barbara would have expected. Barbara pulled the sleeping bag over her own head. She replayed the day over in her mind. Dinner, ice cream, movie, the dance routine, the stupid story they made up. After about the third time, she finally got sleepy. Two times she slipped into a dream. Right when her hand slid off the sleeping bag and onto the floor, Yasmin screamed.

Barbara sat up, heart leaping in her chest. Yasmin was kicking in her sleeping bag, face distorted in the dark. She was shouting, "NO, No, no!" Over and over again. Barbara pulled the sheets up over her chest, breathing hard. She had no idea what to do.

"Help! Please!"

She was frozen still. Maybe Mattel had heard. Maybe he would be down soon, and he could stop Yasmin from screaming. Yasmin paused briefly. There were tears on her cheeks. Barbara shifted forward hesitantly. "Mini? Mini. Mini, wake up." She reached a hand out for her. That's when she screamed as if she had been stabbed. Barbara jumped. It had so much genuine pain, Barbara checked behind her in fear. She could see no one in the dark. Finally, she reached out and shook Yasmin. Yasmin didn't respond at first, and then when Barbara squeezed harder. Yasmin's eye's flared open, and she grabbed Barbara's arm. Barbara instinctively pulled away, but Yasmin's grip was very strong. She let go when she realized who it was.

"What happened?" Barbara asked.

Yasmin shook as she wiped the tears from her eyes, but they kept coming.

"He found me. He came into this room and grabbed me. And through that door," she pointed to the door to the hallway, "was the chair and the table just like the video."

The glowing outline of the door hadn't seemed scary before. It did now. Barbara wrapped her arms around herself. "You scared me."

"What do you mean?"

"You were screaming."

"He was hurting me."

Barbara looked at her friend. "I'm sorry."

"I thought I could really feel it. He had the same bat. It was already bloody before he started hitting me, like he had just used it on Knight." Her eyes were bright in the dark, "He had tied me up. I couldn't move. It was so scary. His smile..." Yasmin shivered.

"He's not really gonna find you," Barbara said with assurance. "Mattel watches you. You're just a kid. You've never done anything to him. He just said that to scare you."

As Yasmin looked at her, tears began to well up and roll down her face again.

"You don't really think so, Mini?"

Her voice was a whisper, "He promised."

"You're so strong. You'll just keep working out and fighting. He can never get you if you can take him." 

"Night was strong, too."

"But Night wasn't hiding. He can't find you if you're hiding."

"But what if he does?"

Barbara blinked, she began picking at her nails. Yasmin was crying into her hands now. Barbara didn't know what to do. She felt so bad. She didn't want Yasmin to be so scared. She didn't want her to start screaming again. She tried to imagine the dream, what it was that Yasmin so feared. It scared her, too. She didn't want to get hurt. She didn't want Yasmin to get hurt. For the first time, she understood a little bit of what haunted her best friend. She suddenly felt very small. The room felt very big, and dark, and filled with things hiding in the shadows. Mattel seemed very far away. The Night felt very absent. She felt entirely helpless. Helpless to defend herself, helpless to protect her friend. The dance routine felt very silly now. Maybe it always had been.

"Don't cry, Mini," she said very quietly.

But Yasmin didn't stop for several minutes. Finally, when she was only sniffling, she lay back down next to her. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Are you going to have another bad dream?"

"I don't know. They happen a lot."

"Maybe if you just think about good things, they won't happen again."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, my friend in school said that whatever you think about when you're falling asleep is what you dream about."

"Does it work?"

"Maybe. We can try."

"What are you gonna think about?"

Barbie thought for a moment. "A cow ballerina."

Yasmin giggled. Barbara was glad she had made her laugh. But it was a lie. All she would be thinking about as she eventually fell asleep was that door.