Chapter 1
Lost in legend is the myth that if you see someone die who is possessed by a demon, the demon lets go of that person’s soul and attaches itself to yours. I didn’t believe in it, but I was wrong. I was so wrong.
One night I was walking home from the station. It had been a long day; I was tired and all I wanted to do was get home and chill out. I had my headphones on and I was rolling a cigarette when it happened. With a rush of force that nearly knocked me over, this guy crashed into the ground not five feet in front of me. He must have jumped from a window four or five floors up as he just crumpled as he hit the ground, instantly dead. I fell backwards in shock and scrabbled to get away from him, unable to look away from his dead eyes that were glassing over as they stared through me. It was horrible. I snatched at the air trying to breathe, and were it not for a guy who had been behind me pulling me back and to my feet I’m sure I would have passed out. By the time I had calmed down, waited for and given my details to the police and got home, it was the early hours of the morning. I went in, lay exhausted on my bed and immediately fell asleep.
This is going to sound weird, but when I woke up in the morning I was staring at the ceiling – I mean I was lying on my bed with my eyes open, just staring upwards; but still asleep. I sat up on the bed and rubbed my eyes; God only knows how long I’d been lying there like that as they were so dry and itchy. I got up, had a shower, drank some coffee and got ready for work. It was only at that point that I remembered what had happened the night before and, deciding that I couldn’t face walking down the road to the station just yet, rang in sick and went back to bed. I kept rubbing my right eye; whilst the left had sorted itself out the right was really itchy. I hoped that if I went back to bed it would feel better when I woke up.
A few hours later I woke up with a jolt; once again I’d been lying on my back, eyes open, staring up at the ceiling. Before I could think I heard it - something off to the right of me was moving by the side of the bed. I was terrified and too scared to move. What if it’s a burglar, a murderer or a crazy animal? My half-awake mind was spinning, desperately trying to fire itself alert to keep itself alive. Then I saw it. A dark jagged shape was leaning on the side of my bed, glaring at me. It wasn’t a solid shape I could focus on, it was almost like it was a hole, sucking in light and warmth from the world around it and I couldn’t look away; like it had grabbed hold of my soul. At first I felt it’s menacing stare burning me like someone holding an ice cube to the side of my head, but as I started to focus it seemed to realise it had been seen and dived down to the floor. It was like a weight had been lifted from me and I leapt up, furious. I was going to grab whatever the fuck it was and I was going to fucking kill it. I was so angry as I fell onto the floor and threw the bed up into the air, ready to fight for my life. There was nothing there. Suddenly afraid I scanned the room frantically, desperately looking to see where it had gone. I ran wildly from room to room; searching cupboards, overturning furniture and emptying wardrobes trying to find whatever had been watching me.
I searched for an hour and found nothing. Forlorn and exhausted I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, again rubbing my now itching eye. I splashed cold water on my face, feeling the shock wrest me back to normality. When I opened my eyes again I froze – in the corner of my eye behind me I saw it again. It must have been eight feet tall, this heavy dark shape sucking all the warmth from the room. I could see its horrible white eyes watching me, and it was as if they were smiling menacingly at me. Instantly it slammed the door and I spun round, sprinted to it and threw it open. Again, nothing. I ran from room to room, screaming like a mad man looking for whatever it was, not thinking what I planned to do should I find it. Another thirty minutes searching and again I’d found nothing, and no sign of anything. I collapsed against a wall, exhausted. ‘I need some air’ I thought to myself.
If I thought that leaving the house would make me feel better, I was wrong. It was grey and raining outside, but even so as I walked that terrible shadow was stalking me. From the corner of my eye I would see it flicker up and down the walls of buildings, stretch thirty feet across the ground behind me, knocking over piles of rubbish or rattling railings. And each time I turned to face it, to catch a glimpse of my pursuer it was gone. Just my own shadow. I couldn’t go home, so I kept walking. I was getting angry because my eye was so itchy; it was disrupting my thoughts occupying my mind like toothache, unable to focus on anything, even whatever that creature was.
It got worse. As time wore on (I lost track of how long I’d been out, but in one brief lucid moment I was startled to realise that I needed a shave), I started to see the creature on people’s faces. One time I saw it behind me menacingly, crouched and preparing to pounce at me. Suddenly overcome with an anger that seemed to descend on me each time I saw it I through myself around and lunged at it screaming, only to find that I’d grabbed hold of a woman who was obviously terrified. People started shouting so I ran, as fast as I could manage. I must have run for hours, and every time I looked behind me I saw that horrible dark creature, its burning white eyes grinning back at me.
Here’s what I thinks happened. That guy who jumped out the window was being followed by the creature, and decided jumping was the only way to get to safety. Because I was there, its attached itself to me somehow and no matter how far I run or how much time goes by it wont let go. I was startled to find that when I looked at a paper I found one night that I left my house nearly three weeks ago, but I don’t remember sleeping. All the time its been following me, getting closer, poking and scratching at me; all the time wearing me down. I barely noticed that I stink of sweat and piss, and when I once caught a glimpse of myself in a windows reflection and saw I was filthy and a mess. It would have been enough to wrench me back to sanity had I not also seen the creature lurking behind a fence, and at once I found myself chasing after it, stumbling and scrabbling through rotting rubbish trying to catch it.
So here I am, on this roof, recording my story on my phone. I don’t know why, I hope no one listens to it. It’s not even my phone I…..oh god I think I mugged someone for it. I……….I don’t remember. Even now as I look down at the streets below me, I can see the creature watching me. It’s over there behind those air conditioning units, waiting. I don’t think it knows that I’ve figured out how to get away, otherwise it would grab me away from the edge; but I have. There’s a guy coming down the street now so I’m going to have to do it now, so I suppose these are going to be my last words – the thought that has been going through my head, over and over, in someone elses voice, perhaps it’s the creatures voice I can here I don’t know…….damn my eye itches……….yeah those words that I can here are ‘Don’t fear the monster hiding under your bed, be scared of the monster inside your head’
Ok bye.
