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I continue staring at the screen, expecting him to bombard me with another series of texts, but none come.
Maybe his body finally gave out on his evil brain and he fell asleep or—
The lights go out.
My heartbeat skyrockets and I grab my phone in a tight grip as I study my surroundings.
All I find is black and more black.
Pitch-black darkness spreads around me, smothering my skin with a coat of the monster’s sticky scale-like skin.
No.
No…
This can’t be happening. Why would the lights go off?
Don’t tell me the monster has finally come for me…?
I will my leg to move. My best option is to run to Maya’s room, but I can’t even stand up.
Terror comes in different shades. Mine has always manifested in turning completely frozen.
Maybe I don’t want to leave the room, because I’d go to Maya first. A part of me vehemently refuses to get my sister involved in this.
What if he targets her this time and scars her for life like he did me?
No. I’d kill him before he touches her, or I’d die trying.
Still, I can’t move.
So I screw my eyes shut. If I pretend not to see anything, maybe this will pass. Like the thousands of nightmares I’ve survived over the past decade.
His breath reverberates in the corners of the room and wraps an invisible noose around my neck.
My fingers tighten on the phone. I can’t call the police, because this isn’t real. And I can’t call Mom, Dad, or Niko, because I’ll look like the unhinged, paranoid version of myself and they’ll be the ones to lock me in an asylum.
I let the phone fall to the side of the bed so I’m not tempted to do that and pull my knees to my chest, then hide my face in my crossed arms.
This isn’t real. It’s only my mind playing tricks on me.
I chant even as tears sting the corners of my eyes and sweat covers my brow and upper lip.
My entire body trembles under the sheer pressure of my own thoughts. My mind chooses this moment to tune in on memories I’ve tried to erase, to no avail.
I’m trapped in a small dark and humid place. Blood drips through the cracks like a haunting song, and empty eyes stare at me the whole time.
A distorted voice whispers in my ear, “This isn’t over.”
I can still feel his rancid breath against my nape, shoulder, and ears. Like a deadly lullaby, he keeps whispering those words again and again.
And again…
“I clearly warned you to keep your windows closed, no?”
The overpowering emotions of terror slowly wither into colorful bursts of…confusion? Excitement?
Both?
