Take Care

Running, running, inhale, exhale. I can't understand exactly why, but there is this gut-wrenching feeling that I have to get away. I don't know what will happen if I stop, but I am not too keen to find out. The city is bustling with Saturday night chaos in secret corners where adults fill the void with cheap highs and sleazy vices.

Inhale, exhale. I swear I should've just gone home when it was still early. The last message I got from her when I told her I went out with my friends was "OK Take care". That was four hours ago. Mom is going to kill me.

In the alley, my rushed footsteps echoed amidst the dull sounds of the city. I can feel the sobriety finally catching up as cold sweat drips down my neck. I have a feeling that’s not the only thing that’s going to catch up to me. The offbeat of one or two steps is convincing me I’m right. Someone’s behind me.

There is a corner a few blocks away. I know I can make it. Almost there. I just need to turn this corner and - in the corner of my eye, I can see various stark white arms circling around me twisting, sporadically.

I froze as I hit the floor, locked in a cold vice grip. I hadn’t realized the thing had been screaming all this time through the loud thumps of my heart beating in my ears. But now it was evidently screaming into them, daring, begging for my attention.

I am such an idiot. Turning my vision by fractions to see the creature - no hair, no eyes, no ears, just a wide gaping hole of darkness that seemed to go on forever. It was the only thing I could see, hear, and feel. I wet my pants. It wouldn’t stop screaming. Soon I felt innumerable appendages run through my hair, stopping at my back and digging into my flesh. I can’t scream. I can’t move. I am going to die in this dark, dank alley alone with this thing. No, no, no. Somebody help me! Mom! Mom, please -

“Wake up!”

I know I’m awake. I can hear my mom yelling in my ear. I can’t move or open my eyes. I’m panicking. I shoot up and am immediately enveloped in her welcoming arms. Closing my eyes, I feel safe. She pats the small of my back once, feeling a dull pain wash through me. Wow, my head hurts.

She stands up telling me that if I come home in the crack of dawn again, she would ground me for a month. Who knows what would have happened if she took my nightlife away from me? Walking away and saying something like “cook for yourself” and “defrosted bacon”. I dismiss the alarming thoughts of how I got home and last night’s nightmare.

She busies herself with packing her purse, her back clad in the sterile white of her uniform, in the corner of my eye as I bee-line for the bacon and take a frying pan. “Look, I’m going back to the hospital. Injured people have been popping up with weird bruises and large puncture wounds. It’s dangerous out. You take care, okay? Rest.” I nod as if I’m paying attention to her through my grogginess and the second of the bacon sizzling in front of me.

She soon leaves the kitchen with a “Love you, kid!” and I am left alone to bother with whatever. I turned off the stove and placed a steaming plate of bacon on the dining table, and sat.

What happened last night? I tried picturing my dream and instantly regret it. Okay, no. Inhale, exhale. Where’s my inhaler? I need water. I reach out for a glass that’s half empty on the table.

Inhale, exhale. That’s not me anymore. I stopped my ministrations, looked back, and saw nothing. I didn’t hear the door shut. Is mom trying to scare me about the thing she said? I realized I didn’t get to see her face at all this morning.

Something hit my hand. It was the glass of water. I got up from my chair and bolted for the door. I grabbed the hatch and was about to twist it when it got to me. That same feeling from the dream. I shut my eyes and desperately willed it away. It threw me against a wall, screaming. Falling picture frames and glass broke around me as I fell harshly to the ground. Still refusing to open my eyes, I felt it move closer.

I sat up and pushed myself against the wall, wishing I would just melt into it. It snaked its arms around my shoulder, trapping me in a horrifying embrace, and dragged me back to my room in mere seconds, landing on my bed. I opened my eyes, staring at a far wall, feeling constricted. When had I started crying? Everything hurt. I felt bile rise in my throat. And everything went black.

Someone was screaming. I was screaming. Someone was shaking me from behind. I opened my eyes and felt arms around me. I buried my face into my pillow and sobbed, feeling the warmth escape me. “It’s okay, kid. It was just a bad dream,” my mom cooed.

I am losing my mind.

My phone lit up beside me on my bed. Showing a preview of a new message.

“Kid, I’m omw from work, pa. Sorry I haven’t been home since Friday.” - Mom.