Nightmare descriptions

1. Emil Shain was a young Roma boy living in Germany during the start of World War 2. He and his entire family were swept up and taken to a concentration camp, and Emil witnessed the atrocities that went on there, only barely surviving after his entire family was lost. Though he fled to the United States after the war and managed to lead a somewhat normal life afterwards, he continued to struggle with the pain, a pain that often manifested itself into anger.  His Nightmare is an embodiment of that rage against having his life stolen from him, taking the very weapons that slaughtered his people and using them for himself.

2. Jacob Collins was a farmboy in Kansas, with a simple, promising life ahead of him until the fertile land gave way to dust. If that wasn't enough, he started to slip away into mental illness. Not knowing what to do with the poor, hallucinating boy, his family shut him away for what they thought was his own protection. Day after day he was trapped in the room, with only the sound of his own mind and the screams of the slaughtered jackrabbits outside to look forward to. Miraculously he survived, but even afterwards was let to a life where he was caught in a world that, much like his family, was unprepared to truly help him.

3. Tyri Anastas was born wrong. As she grew older her body twisted into something uncomfortable and grotesque to her. For many years she wondered why she felt this way. No one else seemed to notice that there was any problems with her. She finally came to the realization that she was never meant to be what they thought she was. She grew out her hair, changed her clothing, and finally felt the breath of fresh air when she was living as the girl she was meant to be. But her family looked the other way, told her that they accepted her "sexuality" and that she didn't have to pretend to be a girl to make them happy. She tried to explain, but they looked the other way, ignoring her words. The newly-emerged butterfly was stuck down by a pin, trapped by expectations and nonacceptance.

4. Engel Vogel was born to a family that didn't really want him. His mother was young and uncaring, never really treating the boy like a child. His father was much worse, taking a great deal of pleasure in making him feel worthless as soon as Engel was able to understand the feeling and withholding food from him. Engel did eventually manage to be taken away from the situation, but even as he was placed with a foster family, the damage was already done. He was treated very well but didn't know how to handle being treated like a child for once, and the guilt manifested itself into severe anxiety and bulimia.

5. Grace Alexander was a young wife and mother-to-be. Pregnant with her first child, she was happy and ready to begin her new life. Late into the pregnancy, however, she got into a very bad accident, leading to the child being stillborn. This one event was very traumatizing for Grace, and she grew obsessed with the little girl she lost until it started to creep into every aspect of her life.

6. Fritz Almsteadt was a young medical prodigy living in Germany that had been adopted by his uncle at a young age after his mother died in childbirth. His uncle was very much a military man, and when the War began he quickly wanted to capitalize on his nephew's skills. Too young to have much of a choice, Fritz was pressured into greater and greater atrocities in support of something he knew was wrong, but was too scared to object to. Years later he lived wracked with guilt, constantly confronted by the very people he once tormented, having to live with the constant reminder that he was once a monster.