Eve woke up in tremors of sweat. Her mother with disheveled hair burst through the door in a red nightgown.

“Evey, wake up sweetie.” Her mother cooed as she stroked the matted tendrils of Eve’s ebony waves.
“I saw it again mom.” Eve sobbed.  “It won’t go away.”
“Darling, my sweet little angel, I promise you just had a bad dream. Just go back to sleep.”
Eve waited until her mother shut her bedroom door before throwing off the damp covers and stepping onto the chilled floor. Immediately, a pair of slimy dark hands wrapped themselves around Eve’s ankles and before she could scream they yanked her to the floor. Eve panicked  looking for the mysterious figure that had assaulted her. She tried to pull away and break the figures grip. However, the figure continued to drag her underneath the bed.
“STOP, let me go! PLEASE!”
“Eve.” The figure snarled. “ You know I can’t leave. Ever since I was released.”
“NO!” Eve kicked the shapeless figure under the bed, which released its grip. Eve struggled to run but managed to escape her room. She bolted upright in bed. Her face was covered with sweat and fear.
Eve thought to herself, not another one. Why do I keep having these goddamn dreams? Released? From where? She shoved off her paisley bedsheets and went to look at herself in the mirror. Why don’t I look sleep deprived? My subconscious was literally struggling with itself. Why does that figure keep visiting?
Eve trudged downstairs to the smell of bacon and pancakes.
“Good Morning mom! How was your night shift?”
“You know the same ‘ole.” Eve’s mother said with a tired grin. “How did you rest?”
“Great mom. I got a ton of sleep.” Lied Eve so her mother wouldn’t worry.
“That’s good to hear darling. So tonight I get off at about twelve in the morning do you want me to bring anything home?”
“Sure, grab whatever appeals to you.” Chirped Eve.
***
Eve sat patiently on their tweed sofa as she clicked  through the TV channels. Finally, Eve settled on a channel that claimed to know everything regarding dreams and reality. A plump lady shuffled onto the talkshow with a crouched back as if she was harboring a deep pain. The talk show hostess welcomed the woman as a succubus survivor.
“So, Moren. When did the visits start?” Inquired the TV  hostess much like a psychiatrist.
“Well..uh...it started young. I thought they were just nightmares repeating themselves. I thought my subconscious was going crazy.”
“Why did you think that Moren?”
“Wouldn’t you if the bad guy in your dream was someone you loved?”
“Well, I guess I would. That’s a fair point.”
“To start off the…thing...was nice...I guess you could say. It asked me all kinds of questions and seemed really interested in who I was.”
“A charismatic apparition.” Chucked the tv host, “if you will.”
Eve grew wide eyed with recognition as the TV show began to melt into white noise. This woman, Moren, seems to know something about her dreams. Her visitor must be some sort of succubus. The dreams had only occurred for a couple of weeks. Yet in the beginning they were fun rem-sleep adventures. Her visitor would play games and help her with makeup. They were like best friends until six days ago. Her visitor wanted to play cops and robbers. Her visitor wanted to be the cop so she could tie Eve and lock her up in a closet for hours….at least until Eve awoke.
“Go on.” Urged the hostess as Moren sat sobbing and clutching herself. “This may release your succubus.”
“My visitorrrr..r..r… got more and more mean. It started getting aggressive and playing cr...ueelll tricks on me.”
“Moren, when has it visited last.”
“It appeared last night...I thought I banished it when I was in college. But my attempt failed....”
“Attempt? Would you mind telling our viewers what you attempted?”
“I trie...triedd killing myself.”
Moreen tried offing herself? Why? Why did she feel the need to end her life? Eve speculated that Morens visitor became too malicious. Maybe her succubus interactions translated into reality? Why else…
“MOREN, NO!”
“I can’t live with my visitor. I can’t be this paranoid… I can’t!”

Eve heard the loud click of the front door and jolted into a standing position. Who was home?
“Hi honey! I got gyros. That greek restaurant was the only place open this late, other than that nasty pizza parlor that has a c***roach problem. How ya doin’?”
Eve stood stunned for a moment lost in her stupor of enlightenment.
“Honey? You home?”
“Yeah mom! I’m in the family room!” Shouted Eve as her mother wandered in holding a greasy brown paper bag with greek letters sharped onto the side.
“What is that garbage you are watching? Is that lady trying to jump out of a window?  You know most TV shows are a hoax right? They just tryna get high ratings.”
“Yeah mom...I know. What do you wanna watch instead?”
***
It was nearly two in the morning when Eve climbed into her plush bed. Eve grabbed a book haphazardly lying on her bedside titled Grendel; a necessary read to pass english. It was about a misunderstood monster who was struggling with depression. Before long Eve slipped into a quiet slumber while the novel rested on her chest.
“Wakey, wakey eggs ‘n bakey.” Cooed a raspy voice.
Eve snapped her eyes open and attempted to sit upright. She couldn’t move.
“We’re gonna play a real fun game tonight, Eve. Its called interrogation and you’re the bad guy!” Eve couldn’t find where her visitor was standing. It was as if the voice was sounding through the walls. All Eve could make out in her darkened room was her dresser and desk, nothing out of the blue.
“So, here’s your character. You’re some super bad terrorist that blew up a school and I want to figure out who you’re working for. It’ll be something just like the movies.”
“Um, what if...we..pl..play a card game?” Squeaked Eve. “Or read something, you know like we used to?”
“You want to play a f***ing card game Eve? I thought you were better than that.” A shadow began to step forward from a corner in Eve’s room. It glided next to Eve who was completely still like she was strapped down with ethereal harnesses. “Aw, how cute you do your homework.” Said the shadow as it reached for Grendel which was laying on Eve’s chest. “You, know I always related to the monster. I’ve always struggled with people misunderstanding my intentions.” The shadow slowly began to rip pages from the novel.
S***, thought Eve. I need to wake up. This is psychotic. What is my visitor going to do to me? Pull out teeth?
“I thought we’d start with some foreplay.” Said the shadow as a glinting object materialized in its hands. “I promise it’ll only hurt a little.” Cackled Eve’s visitor.
The shadow moved the glinting object closer to Eve’s face. It became evident the object was an extremely sharp knife. Eve struggled to move her face away from the knife. Alas, the shadow ever so slowly placed the tip on Eve’s upper left cheekbone. It was agonizing as the shadow sliced downward with precision and force. The pain caused subconscious Eve to pass out and wake back in reality.
***
“What the hell happened.” Exclaimed Eve aloud to herself. Eve draped her legs over the side of her bed and cupped her head in her hands. Am I going crazy? Why is my subconscious coming up with this spawn of evil? What is wrong?! Eve felt dampness in her left hand so she removed it from her face. Eve saw a smudge of blood. She stood up and went to the mirror above her dresser. There was a cut on her left cheekbone down to her chin. In the reflection she saw Grendel astray on the floor with pages dispersed about. My visitor is real.
***
Eve was typing faster than she had when she typed her ten page lab report at seven in the morning before its due date first period. Eve was scouring every website that knew what a succubus was. Every website said something different.
“A succubus is a lost soul looking for affection.”
“A succubus is a demonic creature looking to have sex with an unsuspecting victim.”
“A succubus is a figment of your imagination.”
“A succubus is real.”
Eve slammed her head against the keyboard. This research was useless. She could finally feel the fatigue after weeks of dealing with her visitor. Maybe it was because more adrenaline was released from her system and her receptors were completely fried. Eve stayed like that until she heard the ding of two emails.

Hi Eve,

This is Katie’s mother as you know. I just wanted to check in on you today. I know it’s been a year since her death. But I know loss hits hardest when one is home alone (for the majority of the time) during the holidays.

I remember how you, Rose and Katie would ice-skate and drink hot chocolate almost everyday leading up to Christmas. I really miss her, and I know you do to. I will forever be grateful that you two were friends. I know she loves and misses you too.

Love,
Rebecca Grimmwald

The other email was much shorter.
Hi Eve,

I miss Katie and I know you do to. Good luck making it through today.

Love,
Rose

PS. Don’t go killing yourself, alright?

Eve had almost forgotten. Katie killed herself today. Eve had almost forgotten how she and their friend Rose noticed Katie’s psychosis a couple weeks before. Katie went through the same s*** that Eve is going through now.
Eve remembered how Katie showed up to school with cuts and bruises in absurd spots. However, they didn’t really correspond to child abuse. Katie became paranoid and haggard. She was a bag of bones with sunken eye sockets. She looked like hell at her funeral. Maybe Katie had a valid reason. Maybe Katie had a visitor herself and learned that suicide was the only answer? No. That doesn’t sound like the Katie I loved. Katie would have found a way to fight back and dispel her visitor.
The tick-tack clatter of fingers on a keyboard started up again. Eve was determined to find a solution. She happened upon advice on the twenty-fifth page of the Google options:

Succubus: They are subconscious demons you, yourself create. You must fight them. But you must trick them.

_k8Y_SUXUBus_

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Trick them? Eve was not prepared to fall asleep but her exhaustion got the best of her as she sat in front of the computer screen.
“You came back, how sweet.”  Cooed the familiar raspy voice. “ I found a game you may like a lot more than that other one. I realize now that it was not suitable for a sweet little doll like you.” 
“That’s very kind of you.” Whispered Eve as she sat up searching for a shadow in  the blackness of her room.  Finally, the shadow stepped forward from the same corner.
“It’s called hide and seek. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Except the one who gets found has do something’ they really don’t wanna do.”
“Like what? What if I am fine with doing any...anything?”
“We’ll, we’re just gonna have to find out now won’t we?” Giggled the shadow as it stood at the foot of Eve’s bed.
“I’m it  first. I’m gonna count to one-hundred then go and find you alright? Ready! One...two…”
Before Eve could hear her visitor say three she had bolted from her bedroom door. She ran past the living room and stood staring at the stairs down to the basement. It was dark and scary down there. Who knows what Eve’s subconscious could conjure up in there. Well s***. This is the only place with decent hiding spots. I cannot be found and I need to figure out how to wake up.
Eve tip-toed down the creaking stairs into the black abyss. Once her feet landed on the slimy floor of the basement Eve began to feel around. Her eyes began to adjust and shapes began to form. She walked into a piece of thick rope tied to a beam on the ceiling. Perfect. My visitor won’t look up.
“SEVENTY!” Howled the shadow from the confines of Eve’s bedroom.
I better get moving. Eve began to scale the splintery rope. She grunted and groaned using every ounce of energy to hoist herself onto the beam.
“ONE-HUNDRED! READY OR NOT HERE I COME!”
This is terrifying. What is my visitor gonna make me do? Be its servant for eternity? Eve crouched low and hugged the curled rope in her hands. Waiting in utter fear.
The faint creak of the basement stairs alerted Eve of the shadows presence. The shadow had descended the stairs.
“Evey. Where ya at?” Sang the shadow. “I promise I won’t bite.” Eve finally saw a dark silhouette emerge from the stairway.
An idea popped into Eve’s mind. You Must Trick Them, that's what the website had said. All the other websites said you must kill yourself too. Maybe, just maybe suicide is supposed to be the trick? Very quickly Eve tied the rope around her neck.
“Hey! I don’t like playing games with you. You know why? Because you aren’t real!” Shouted Eve as she stood on the ceiling beam.
“Every, no. Don’t you dare jump. We can stay friends. I promise I’ll stop.” Pleaded the shadow in a stern voice.
“You’ll never stop unless I do this. ” Said Eve as she stepped off the beam.
***
Eve never woke up. But her mother did walk down into the basement before work. Eve’s mother saw her daughter's body swinging from the beam with a broken neck.
***
Rose woke up sweating from fear. Something had visited her dreams last night. Something that was evil.