The Masquerade

Chapter I

I am not sure what series of events brought me here. I am in such a daze of confusion in which I can not decipher my surroundings, I try to surpass this feeling of disorientation which ultimately frustrates me. I check everything around me to look for any sign of something familiar. I think I am on the street where my sister lives. This brings me a little bit of comfort even though the road seemed very dark as the street lamps flickered eerily. The spastic flickering of the lights were messing with my eyes, making them blurry, ultimately making me even more disoriented. The lamps put out enough light so that I could only see a few feet in front of me. As I kept walking, fear and anxiety started to overwhelm me. The hair on my body started to stand up and my neck began to feel hot as if someone were watching me. I started to walk faster when I felt a hot breath on the back of my neck. I turned around abruptly only for there to be no one. I stood there in the middle of the road for a few minutes contemplating whether or not I was hallucinating or just being paranoid. I eventually got the courage to start walking again. Building the courage to walk while I was petrified was one of the most difficult things I did. Each step felt like I was battling quicksand and the more I walked, the more I descended into madness. My feet kept feeling heavier and heavier with each step as the walk continued. I began to notice every single breath and the sharp, edgy rocks on the road that dug into my Converse. Built-up feelings kept deterring me from walking any further, but I pushed onward to my destination.

A loud crash made me stop dead in my tracks. An old metal garbage can had fallen over and was rolling around. Its abrupt sound reverberated off of the empty street. Following the trash can, there was the stomach-churning sound of air being sucked in like a vacuum with excessive chewing and gulping noises. I was stuck in that spot frozen by fear. The ominous noise went on for a long time. All I could do was stand there like an idiot. I became even more petrified and lost in thought that I didn't even realize that it was silent again. My heavy breathing broke the silence until I realized that the breaths weren't mine anymore. I kept looking around frantically to find the source of the hot and sticky air that I kept feeling behind me. I caught a pair of red, slanted, cat-like eyes staring back at me. I couldn't breathe, how long had this mysterious creature been watching me? I panicked and tried to scream for help but kept choking on my own air. Every time I tried to speak, it felt like someone was pouring water down my throat to drown out my words. The unknown creature reached out with its slimy, sharp claws and wrapped them around my throat until blood started trickling out. I thrashed and kicked my scrawny legs but I was no match for this thing. It kept squeezing harder and harder until I opened my eyes frantically, gasping for air in the dark. I was covered in my own sweat and tears. I quickly grabbed my throat, but there was no indication of anything wrong with me physically. The familiar scent of my dad's sandalwood incense flooded my nose. I was in my own bed, in my own home. A wave of relief washed over me. I thought to myself, "If I don't stop lucid dreaming, it's going to give me a heart attack."