Darkness

Today is the last day of my life, and tomorrow I will start anew.
The darkness of my room threatens to engulf me, and drag me to the dark place. I do not close my eyes. If I must sleep, I will not go down without a fight. I turn on the lights. I get out a book. I jump up and down to wake myself up. I slap my face and splash myself with water. Fear takes what sleep cannot.
     I am not afraid of sleep. I am not afraid of the dark. I am afraid of the possibilities that lay in front of me, but that I cannot see. They are endless, and I know none. I hear the snores coming from my parents room mocking me. They do not understand my fear. I lay down, exhaustion weighing on me.
     I hear the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, it terrifies me. I do not know what I hear, it is a supernatural sound that comes from nowhere and everywhere at once. I cannot find the source, I cannot hide. I move my body in hopes of dispelling this sound, this feeling in my ears. I get up, go to the bathroom, the sound fades away. I am free.
     On my bed, I look up and see the cracks in the ceiling, the walls, the window panels. There are living things in those dark cracks, I see them move and slither like a snake. Through the night I see more moving things. I see armies in my closet, fighting for territory, soldiers laying down their lives for a cause I do not understand. I see Teddy, with his dead marble eyes staring hungrily at me. He does not move, but he watches me, and I watch him. I see a tall figure in the darkest corner, waiting for me to close my eyes, I do not. I challenge him to a battle of wills, the winner shall survive. I do not blink, with the darkness of shut eyes also comes certain death.
     I listen to the fan in my room, the whir of its blades, the rusty sounds of its old soul. A demon hound barks in the distance, trying to find me and hunt down my soul. The sound of traffic in the near distance, a crash, a death. I listen closely, with my head under the covers. THUMP THUMP THUMP the sound comes. The sound from which I cannot hide. My heart races with fear, knowing that the sound is coming for me. It must be the sound of the reaper's steps. THUMP THUMP THUMP, he grows nearer. I cannot see the cause of this sound, it is everywhere and nowhere at once. The shadow in the corner lurks forward. It is a terrifying sight. Not a man, not a woman, a thing walks towards me. THUMP THUMP THUMP, it is looking down on me now, and I can see it clearly. A being with no eyes peers down onto me, its mouth covered by pale skin, forever silent. Its skin looks to be covered in ice, looking at it makes me shiver. It reaches down to me with its skinny pale fingers. When its fingers touch my body, I cannot move, I am frozen in place and time. Then, as the creature levels its head with mine, I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes. It puts its finger up to its skinned-over mouth, and in my mind, it speaks to me, saying one word: "Hush".
     As fear overcomes me, I accept my fate, and in fear, I close my eyes.
Expecting death, I am surprised that nothing comes. I wait, I listen, I hear no footsteps, it must still be looking at me. Fearfully, I slowly open my eyes, and nothing is there. No creature is in my room to harvest my soul and end my life. Teddy looks at me with his dead eyes, mocking me.