The Thing In The Hood

Part 1

It was dark and cold in my bedroom,  When I rolled
onto my back there was suddenly a  loud tapping; I could not tell where it was coming from. I was too scared to open my eyes; but I do anyway, once open all I could see was a dark hooded figure at the base of my bed. I don't know who it is or if it is even a person. I couldn't move, " what was going on?" I could feel though, I felt the fleece blanket and my cat purring next; to me, I could hear my heartbeat. I could also hear a second heartbeat, I am assuming it was theirs, before long I am sweating then  I'm screaming but I cannot open my mouth. It is the type of scream that only I could hear. I stayed like that laying there for two hours; it wasn't until my alarm went off that I jerked awake. " that couldn't have been a dream" I thought to myself. But  It felt so real that it could not have been. Later that morning I was dissociation like everything and everyone was moving in slow motion. For breakfast I  made some eggs to calm me down, but the smell of the cooking eggs made me nauseous. When I got to school I thought that everything was going to be normal. My day started out normal, I met up with my friends and we went to class. It wasn't until lunchtime that I realized that it was dark and grey outside. "The forecast said 80 and sunny today though," I thought to myself.
"why the sky looks so dark?"  and asked. They just stared intently towards me.
" What are you talking about? It's's sunny with clear skies," replies Annie
" But how? It's all dark and gloomy?" I said with uncertainty in my voice
" Jess? Are you ok?" Asked Annie
" yes Annie, I'm fine"  I snapped back
I felt dizzy and light-headed. Suddenly I dropped my fork and my milk spilled all over the table.
" Jess! What the hell?" Annie exclaimed.
"  I- I- I- don't know" I replied while tears filled my eyes.
For the remainder of the day, I was jumpy. I never once experienced that, not ever. I am almost always aware of my surroundings and am very down to earth during the day. But the fear that I would disappear again fullied my anxiety, I don't understand what is happening or why. When I got home I went to try to get some sleep, maybe the nightmare I had the night before had some residual effects. When I woke up it was dinner time, the smell of home-cooked hamburgers filled my house. As I walked downstairs my mother greeted me with some chamomile Tea, yet she looked concerned.
" did you sleep darling?" she asked as I sat on the couch.
" Yeah, a little bit," I replied softly
After I took a sip from my tea the smell came back, but it was somehow worse, it was a mixture of burnt eggs and rotting fish liver. Because of this, my mood shifted.
    "How did you sleep then? I noticed you were tossing and turning," she said calmly
" I slept fine mom, I just move around a lot when I sleep that's all."  I snapped.
I didn't want to sleep in fear that the thing would come back. I lied down anyway, I never slept just let my eyes rest. But that's the thing about being tired, no matter how hard you try you will eventually fall asleep. I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, I could see myself, my sleeping body lying on my back flat, along with my cat tucked into the crook of my elbow.  For a moment I just stared, I watched as my chest rose and fell. The ever so slight movement of my fingers. After a while, the same smell of fish liver and burning eggs slowly filled my nose; I decided to look around but what I found was horrifying. everything in my room was gone. I walked through my empty room and into the hall.  I started walking down the dark hallway, I felt a tug on my body, I started to run I ran as fast as I could to the door at the end of the hall but with every step, I took the hall got longer. There was a cold air that swooshed past my head. Then the tugging got harder. Now it was more like a pull. It felt as though I had a rope tied around my abdomen pulling me back like a dog. There was an aggressive jolt and I fell to the floor. Then the hallway got smaller, I tried to stand but the rope was keeping me down, I tried yelling but my scream echoed back to me. I heard hollow footsteps approaching me, it was so dark I could not see anything,
    "Hello?" I hollered, there was no answer.
    " Who are you?" I yelled, still no answer
The footsteps kept coming, I  tried to scramble to my feet but the rope just got tighter. Then I saw it, the thing in the hood but this time it was wearing white, and it had this dim glow, it was the only thing in the hallway beside me. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was back in my bedroom, my cat slept peacefully in my elbow and my room was filled with all of my things. I had decided to not tell my mom about the night's events, I just simply got up and got ready for school like nothing happened. I waited for my friends at the front of the building like I always did, I went to class and ate lunch just as I always did. But the smell stayed, it followed me, only I could smell it. After a while, I realized that the smell indicated that it was near. I lived this way for months, having strange dreams where I could see myself and dreams where it would watch me. After a while, I started to notice it in the real world too. It would hide behind dumpsters and around the corners of my school. And yet I was the only one to notice it, people would walk through it with ease. I never dared to get close. Its hollow footsteps constantly echoing in my ears. It used to be haunting but now it's just something I live with. The dreams however were still scary, not being able to move in your own skin and constantly being held hostage in your brain is the most alone feeling in the world. No one would get it, no one would understand. Dream after dream they always stayed the same.