Awake

You lie in bed awake, you don’t remember sleeping but hours have passed like minutes so perhaps you did sleep at some point, nonetheless, you lie awake.

You check your phone and the time has not moved since you woke, or you think you woke, you haven’t checked your phone. You have not moved at all.

You look around and in doing so you realize you can’t move but you also see the dark figure in the corner looking at you with hunger eyes, but it has no eyes, it doesn’t have eye sockets, there is no face…where is the figure?

The corners blur, you can’t move but you don’t want to, maybe if you don’t move it will not see you, but it can’t see you it has no eyes, you don’t want to move.

You lie awake again, you look at your phone, the time hasn’t moved, you haven’t moved, the room seems different.

The figure looks at you and smiles, but there is no mouth.

You bolt awake again in bright morning and you slowly look up, you move your hand towards the phone and stop yourself, you look around, there is no figure.

You look at the time and it’s 10 minutes before your alarm so you put the phone down and close your eyes in relief.

You wake up. You sit up in bed and it’s not your bed, you recognize the place and cry, the figure hugs you from behind, his claws digging into your stomach.

You wake up to your alarm and gasp for hair frantically looking around, you’re alone, you’re safe but you still feel his claws every time you move, every time your clothes touch your skin in the wrong way.

You promise yourself you will never fall asleep again and go on about your day like normal like it’s been for the last 12 years.

You swear you’re fine but the figure seems to crawl around the corners of your view.