Chapter 1
Awakening in the middle of the night I sluggishly look around my freezing void of a room, the only light emanating from my digital clock as it reads in blue “2:47”. There is no smell, just the feeling of cold biting around my nose and forehead. I hear a ‘tap, tap, tapping’ sound for a brief moment until it stops, then restarts “ugh might be the bath taps again”. Slipping out of bed into the freezing black void, I plod around looking for the light switch, slowly moving my hands around, feeling around for a wall. My left hand palm gently pressed itself against a cold, hard, smooth surface, and I begin to feel around for something switch like, the cold beginning to bite into my skin. The tips of my hand jam into something just at chest height, casually I shift them up onto the surface until they slide over something round. Almost instinctively, my fingers gently turn the object clockwise until everything is illuminated. Turning left I open the door casually and head left once more to a generic wooden door with a simple round handle, which when turned opens with ease, revealing yet another wall of darkness. Pulling on the string to the right and letting it go eradicates the darkness, illuminating the room. Looking over to the bath, I pull the curtain back and see zero evidence of water leaking from the tap, the tub is bone dry, even as I press my hand around the drain. Checking the sink reveals much of the same, so it seems appropriate to return my tired self back to the room, returning things as they were before my inspection.
Crawling back into bed I slip my headband on and wrap myself up tight like a pigs blanket, the covers still feeling slightly warm from earlier. I close my eyelids and rest my mind. I feel something briefly touch my face, something cold and heavy, it felt like a hand. Awakening as my chest began to thump alongside the tightening of the senses, I swing my head around looking for what it could have been, but so far nothing. I roll over onto my side to face the wall and shove a spare pillow on top my head, cocooning myself in fabric. Once more closing the eye lids into a realm of peacefulness, all seems quite, but there is still a lingering feeling. A feeling that I am not alone in this room, however I cannot explain who or what it may be, thus I shove myself closer to the wall and pretend this little space is safe.
I hear some whispering coming from somewhere, echoing through the room, worming its way into my thoughts. I try to ignore the whispering, however it becomes more dominant the more I try to ignore it. They make no sense, no I cannot make it out to be my tongue, not can I make out the nature of the whispering. All I want is peace, but the whispering is ceaseless, truly relentless until once more I pry my eyelids open, slowly turn my head round and see nothing but the usual void. The whispering silences, as if nothing was here. I feel my heart pound against my chest, the sensation of fright begins to creep up on me with each passing moment. The room no longer silent and still, starts twisting and contorting, the atmosphere heaving with activity as if excited by something. In my mind I debate turning the light on for the night, for turning it on seems to scare off whatever is creeping me out. I think to my self "now may be the best time to turn it on. I just want sleep, I just want peace".
Slowly and sluggishly I begin to unwrap myself from the cocoon of bed covers, but as the cover roll is unwrapped, something catches my eye by the window, not behind it, no.........in here. At first it seems like just a red dot and i just think "maybe it's my imagination."
The red dot disappears into the darkness, and I hurriedly throw the covers off myself, lobbing myself from the bed, stumbling to the light switch, throwing my arm around in search for it as my heart pounds relentlessly. The feeling fear courses through me. "Come on, come on, where is it".
Eventually my hand grabs onto something knob like, and twists it instinctively, flooding my world with a yellow light. I stand by the light, looking around myself thinking "thank the heavens normality has been restored".
The room returns to a quiet calm as I sit down on the bed, and once more slip back under the sheets, covering my eyes with my headband. I lay back down once more, slowly breathing in and out, in and out, in......and......out. I slip into a world of peace and quiet without a trace of whatever was bothering me.
At first my dream begins in what looks to be an old industrial estate at night, partially collapsed buildings, chimneys and what looks like a rail track, lit up by moonlight. One particular structure is a mish mash of pipes, and ball shaped entities, all converging onto the back of a single great wall. Somewhere out in the blackness I see a ghostly figure, which at first I cannot make out, but slowly it approaches revealing itself like someone walking out of fog. The entity begins to slowly reveal a humanoid shape, and a whisper echoes in my ear "I'm coming to eat you, your flesh looks tasty. When I get to you I will drag you to my slaughter house, skin and boil you alive".
Without hesitation I make a run for it into the darkness, taking to my feet as fast as my feet dare carry me, my heart pounding relentlessly, the fear burying itself deep in my mind screaming "don't look back, keep running".
I fall flat into something which feels sticky and oozy, dragging me down deeper into it like quicksand or a bog. I panic and thrash with all my might throwing myself forward, just doing anything.........anything to escape. I feel my feet hit against something deep under, followed by a tugging force dragging me under into a moment of suffocating darkness. I kick it relentlessly, throwing all my strength into overthrowing it, until finally I am free once more. Returning to the surface letting out a deep gasp, pulling in all the air I can into my lungs. Finally touching hard ground, grabbing at it, using all my remaining strength, pushing myself to the limit until finally I break free of this bog. Crawling out of the slimy, sticky mess I roll onto on the ground. I lie here sprawled out, completely drained of all energy, of all life, just feeling empty and exhausted. I Look up to the beautiful glowing moon savoring its light, for all of its beautiful glory to see such a thing, to escape from death and live.
Lying here in this horrid world, it seems so peaceful for a brief moment as the moon bathes me in all of its beautiful baby blue light, and the world around me settles into a calm stillness. However I see something creep its way into my view, which looks like a red orb, then without warning the air is forced out my lungs and I feel a powerful strangulation chocking me, making it impossible to breath. I fight and flail, but nothing comes of it as the horrible sensation of chocking continues, terror and anguish fill, forcing me into a world of torment as time seems to slow to a dead crawl. The image of a blood red skull with its mouth wide open seers its self onto my vision, its eyes peering deep into my very soul. I feel raw terror freezing me still, I want to shut my eyes and pretend it doesn't exist, but no matter what I do I can't, until, until I awake and gasp with all my might, forcing air into my lungs until I feel my chest fill with lovely fresh air. then breath out with a great sigh of relief.
