Dark Dice BONUS STORY: Nightmares (March 17, 2026)

Main Theme / Purpose

This bonus episode of Dark Dice delivers a standalone horror story titled “Nightmares,” co-written by Travis Vengroff and K.A. Statz. In lieu of a regular episode, the creators present a deeply unsettling tale centered on a maintenance worker’s struggle with a debilitating sleeping disorder and the encroachment of an otherworldly nightmare into his waking life. The narrative is framed as a personal letter and a series of journal entries, exploring the terror of blurred boundaries between reality and dream.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Episode Introduction & Context

• Timestamp [00:00]
  The episode opens with producer Travis Vengroff apologizing for a delay in regular programming, citing a commitment to quality:

  “I could put on an episode today, but I don’t want to rush it and I don’t want it to sound okay. I want it to sound great and I want more time.” (A, 00:16)

• He introduces the bonus story, explaining its origins and recent reworking:

  “We redid it literally this week or last week... This version is the English version, the updated version. If you like the scary stuff that Stats and I put together... this story should make you smile and keep you satiated for your entertainment for the next two weeks.” (A, 01:14)

2. Tales from the Tower: Setting the Scene

• Timestamp [02:29]
  The story adopts a dystopian, corporate horror tone, presented as a broadcast to the citizens:

  “Welcome citizens to Tales from the Tower. As your media director, it is my privilege to inform you that the following stories will contain content some listeners will certainly find disturbing.” (B, 02:29)

• Local tragedy and rumors are addressed, reinforcing the somber, controlled setting.

3. The Letter from a Roommate: Prelude to Horror

• Timestamp [04:22]

• The narrator describes his roommate, Alias, a maintenance worker afflicted by a rare sleeping disorder. His unhygienic habits and mental lapses worsen:

  “He started making dangerous mistakes, bringing various chemicals from work home... showing up for the wrong shift... completely disregarding important messages.” (C, 07:26)

• The incident of finding Alias’s clean apartment triggers suspicion and the temptation to pry into his left-behind datapad.

4. Alias’s Journal: Descent into Nightmares

a. Early Journal Entries

• Timestamp [09:03]
  Alias describes his attempts, at the suggestion of Dr. Mallon, to use journaling as a tool to differentiate reality from dreams:

  “If I write down what’s happening, I may be able to organize what’s reality and what’s taking place. When I’m stuck in my dreams, Dr. Mallon feels as though I’m losing grip on my understanding of waking life.” (D, 09:18)

b. The First Encounter

• Timestamp [12:18-18:00]
  Alias recounts a harrowing incident during a maintenance job, marked by disorientation and the sudden appearance of a monstrous, grinning figure reflected in a water tank:

  “In the reflection of the glass, I could distinctly discern a wide, toothy pearlescent grin centimeters from my ear. Nearly toppling over myself, I spun... Surprised and relieved to find the hall empty.” (D, 15:01)

• The figure—pale, veined, mouth filled with flatten teeth, with red dots for eyes—emerges as the pursuer in his recurring nightmares, always just at the edge of catching him.

c. The Dream World’s Threats

• Timestamp [18:00-31:00]
  The nightmare escalates: countless arms extend from the monster as he chases Alias through decaying corridors, everything corroding under its touch. Alias seeks a mysterious “end” which manifests as a childhood desk—a safe haven that, upon reaching, always wakes him up:

  “It never stepped or pursued me on foot... But those arms were never ending in their pursuit.” (D, 18:55)
  “The end is not a specific object or location, but a goal... As I approach this goal, I can feel the safety within my grasp.” (D, 22:41)

d. Erosion of Reality

• Timestamp [31:00-36:45]
  Alias’s condition grows worse: episodes of lost time, work mistakes, and glimpses of the dream entity intrude into waking hours. On a train, he’s confronted by the monster amidst a crowd whose faces melt and rot:

  “When I looked up again through the throngs of chattering citizens and flashing advertisements, there he stood at the back of the car, facing me, smiling. I was not asleep. I couldn't have been." (D, 32:55)
  “By my ear I heard the crack of knuckles, and from my periphery a bony finger grazed the metal post before me. It could reach me. I was too slow.” (D, 34:36)

e. The Final Entry

• Timestamp [36:45]
  The journal concludes, abruptly, after Alias stays awake for days only to relapse into sleep:

  “The 22nd day of the 4th month of the year 703. I fell asleep. Everything is fine. It is such a beautiful day.” (D, 36:45)

5. Aftermath: The Roommate’s Reflection

• Timestamp [37:28]
  The letter-writer comments on Alias’s sudden and dramatic transformation:

  “Since writing this, his whole mood has changed. He even cleans up after himself. ... He seems so happy, always smiling.” (C, 37:38)

  • The ambiguous, unsettling suggestion: Has the entity truly been banished, or has Alias changed in a more sinister way?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Creative Struggle:
  “Writing while sleep deprived is silly sometimes and I wasn’t a great sound designer.” (A, 00:54)

• The Central Horror Figure:
  “I could distinctly discern a wide, toothy pearlescent grin centimeters from my ear... a tall, gaunt figure whose shadowed visage was unknown to me but for its stretching grin and small red parallel dots.” (D, 15:01)

• On Losing Reality:
  “I can no longer remember what’s a dream and what’s reality. The border’s too faded to see.” (D, 09:31)

• Unsettling Resolution:
  “In retrospect, he has been like a different person these last few weeks. He seems so happy, always smiling.” (C, 37:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00-02:28 – Producer’s apology, episode context, and story intro
• 02:29-04:22 – Dystopian broadcast framing and daily news
• 04:23-09:03 – Letter from the roommate and setup of Alias’s condition
• 09:04-12:15 – Alias’s early journal entries and struggles with memory
• 12:16-31:00 – Succession of disturbing journal entries and core nightmare sequences
• 31:01-36:45 – Dream intruding into reality, climactic train nightmare
• 36:46-37:27 – Final journal entry, abrupt and eerie
• 37:28-38:07 – Roommate’s closing reflection and ambiguous, unnerving conclusion

Tone, Language, and Atmosphere

• The episode’s voice is intimate, confessional, and steeped in psychological horror from the start, with a slow transition into outright surreal, nightmarish terror.
• Dialogue and narration present the dystopian world with resigned, bureaucratic detachment, giving the horror a chillingly mundane context.
• The sense of ambiguity and unease lingers, culminating in a classically macabre, open-ended conclusion.

This atmospheric tale stands alone as a meditation on sleep deprivation, mental instability, and the insidiousness of monsters born from the borderlands of the mind—a fittingly grim interlude for Dark Dice fans.