Sympathy For the Devil

10

I tossed and turned until my covers became a tangled mess, trapping my cold legs. I groaned as I rubbed at my face. A line of drool was wiped away as I tugged on the covers. I felt cold all over. My body was shivering uncontrollably until I could no longer sleep. The scarred marking on my wrist from that douche nozzle on the subway hummed a faint blue. I scratched at the marking again, but it did nothing to remove it. Each scratch wrinkled my skin until my skin bounced back again and the scar sprung up and made my skin look agitatedly puffy like a bee sting.

I tore the covers off of me as I drifted through the bleak darkness trying not to hit my dresser on the way out the door that had an overflowing of wrinkly clothes jutting out of it's mouth. I really needed to clean my room one of these days. It was a chaotic mess.

My legs moved without conscious direction as I stumbled forward on wobbly footfalls. The bedroom blurred around me like a watercolor painting. Failinis' gentle stir caught my attention, but his worried eyes seemed distant, unreal. I murmured, "Sorry buddy," as I continued moving forward. My voice sounded robotic as if I wasn't the one speaking at all. I'm too exhausted to be up this late. My feet carried me to the kitchen, the wooden floorboards chilly beneath my bare feet. The floorboards creaked and groaned as I stepped on a few of the loosened boards.

Failinis let out a piercing whine from my bedroom. I attempted to look back at my room, but my head was forced forward roughly.

My hand drifted toward the faucet, turning it on without thinking. Water flowed like liquid silver, filling the silence. I cupped my hands, letting the cool liquid wash over my face.

The water dribbled off of my chin and into the empty white dish pan in the sink.

I couldn't feel the water colliding with my face. It seemed to slip through my body as if I was a ghost. My hands were pins and needles. I felt nothing.

The numbness spread, enveloping my arms and legs. My vision blurred, as if gazing through frosted glass. The faucet's hum grew louder, vibrating through my hollow body.

I turned the faucet on scalding temperatures. I wanted to feel the heat, but my fingers remained clenched on the knob as if my actions were not being controlled by me, but by an unforeseen force. Then it began to hit me all at once; this wasn't real at all. I was dreaming. This was just a realistic dream. I did read that a side effect of my new medication was vivid dreams. That must be it. This was just an uber realistic vivid dream.

Relief washed over me as I convinced myself it was just a dream. The kitchen's eerie atmosphere began to dissipate, replaced by a sense of detachment.

I watched myself turn off the faucet, water ceasing its melodic flow. Failinis' whines softened, his eyes still fixed on me. His eyes almost looked more human than animal at this point. They were no longer just black, but the irises were lit up in a warm golden hue as he moved over to Luke's sleeping side. Luke, who was lightly snoring on the couch, stirred slightly as Failinis lightly nibbled on his exposed hand.

"Follow," a whispery voice echoed within. The voice sounded alluring and light as air.

Without resistance, I followed as my legs commanded me to.

We glided through the darkened hallway, passing the kitchen. Failinis paused at the front door, blocking the way.

"Move buddy," I spoke softly as I tried to scoot him away from the door.

Failinis' gaze locked onto mine, his golden irises gleaming intensely. He didn't budge. His fur seemed to shimmer, as if infused with moonlight.

"Outside," the whispery voice urged, its melodic tone weaving through my mind like silken threads.