Lock the door and hide under the bed

Racing across the bedroom, you grab the doorknob, only to discover it doesn't have a lock. You try to slide the dresser in front of the door, but it won't budge. Either Aunt Margie nailed it to the floor, or she keeps bricks in all the drawers.

You drop to the floor and scuttle under the bed, pressing yourself back against the wall. Dust bunnies drift across the hardwood around you, tickling your nose. The loose floorboard in the hall gives a long, loud creak as someone steps on it and you close your eyes, trying to steady your ragged breathing and your pounding heart.

The bedroom door opens and you hold your breath. You open your eyes, peering through the dark room as the door swings inward. The intruder steps into the room, claws leaving pale scratches in the wood floor. You blink and look again. A pair of lizard feet take another step toward you, covered in green-gold scales, with pale, hooked claws on the end of each toe.

This has to be a dream. You close your eyes again and pinch yourself, hard enough to hurt, but when you look again, the feet are still there.

"Where are you?" asks a dry, sibilant voice. "I can smell you in here." The nightmare moves closer. "Come out now and we won't hurt you."