Blink

Imagine being stuck in a dream where you're not the main character, only to find that it's a nightmare. This is the perspective of this story. As you watch unspeaking, unable to help, you will understand...

The warmth of your bed pulls you ever closer to the blissful peace which is sleep. You nuzzle your head closer into the pillow, only to find that it has become too warm. Flipping it over, you now lay your head onto the cool fabric that encases your thoughts. The blood flowing through your veins slows along with your heart rate, and with one last conscious sigh, your eyes succumb to exhaustion. Closing slowly, the darkness of your room is somewhat made less threatening, and you fall asleep. Muscles relax, breathing steadies. Sleep. So peaceful.
As one set of eyes close, another one opens and you begin to dream. From a perspective of a high angle camera shot you see a small girl about the age of seven asleep. Her bed lies between two other beds, all of them small with a copper framing behind the pillows. On the two beds next to her lay a boy and a girl, twins. The steady rising and settling of their forms as they breathe captures your attention. It's all so quiet and tranquil. Within a blink of an eye, the scene changes. The youngest girl has rolled over onto her side, but as you peer at the other beds, they appear vacant. A sound. A strange noise.
It appears to be originating from behind a water heater in the corner of the room. You don't remember seeing this before, but now that you look at it, you tell your subconscious that it must've always been there. A tall metallic cylinder that's infected with rust. The copper orange stippled down the sides like veins, and it slightly dusted off in waves as the machine stirred and turned on. The contraption is held down by large metal bolts penetrating into the cool wooden floor. The rust has also established a home here. Growing after years of humidity created water droplets on the sickly grey metal. Your fixation on the old heater is broken when the noise returns. It was a low abstract sound. You had to listen harder, and in doing so, you screw your eyes shut in concentration. It sounds like... You can't place it. Try again. Eyes shut harder to the point where you feel a deep ache behind your eye sockets. Scratching? No, dragging. The sound resembles the echo of something large being dragged on a concrete floor. Then another sound contrasts the low, deep noise. It's faint, but high pitched. The closest thing you can relate it to is a child hiding laughter under their breath.
The pain behind your eyes gets stronger, it feels like tiny daggers stabbing into your brain. Relax. You're closing your eyes too hard. Open them. Your eyelids lift slowly and the pain dissipates and your pupils dilate at the sudden change in light. Squinting to lessen the brightness, you realize a lamp was turned on. Blink.
Looking back at the beds, you notice all three empty. A glimpse of movement draws you in. Looking left, or was it right, you're still disoriented from the light, you see the little girl standing in the middle of the room. Her eyes are looking sleepily at that wretched water heater. You don't remember it having a small crack in the metal. She then turns her head towards the bed so slow that you could almost hear the vertebrae in her spine creaking. Her eyes slowly glaze over with dampness. Tears welling up, she hiccups. Drip... drip... Tears fall and stain her cheeks making lines in the dust on her face. Another hiccup. Her quivering body shook harder with every second when staring at the two vacant beds next to hers. She shook once more, it was quite violent and looked as if she would break from the power, when suddenly she froze. Fear plastering her face as all the blood in her complexion retreated to the safety of her heart. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. The noise was back. Was it ever gone?
Both you and the girl focus all your hearing on the noise, putting all your focus into your ears and heightening your hearing as much as possible. It's so faint of a noise that when it is suddenly shattered by the shrieking laughter of a young child, an infant even, it is deafening. The sound startles the girl and she tries to step back, but her legs are stiff from stress and she trips over her own feet. Lying on the floor, the child starts breathing rapidly. Her breaths too fast to get much air. You try to reach out to comfort her, but your body is locked in the bindings of your mind. This is the first time you realize what role you play in this story, an unconsenting prisoner of your thoughts forced to be an audience of this dream.
Snapped out of your thoughts yet again by the girl's frantic movements, you watch as she runs out of the small room. Following her like a balloon tied to her wrist, you see her running and crying down a hallway too long to be real. The dim lights cast shadows on the walls as she tries to reach the end. The girl has to halt when she came to an old rickety door that was once a very long time ago painted cerulean blue. She stops too fast though and stumbles into the door. As she hits it, tiny flecks of faded paint sprinkle onto her head. She brushes them onto the floor, composes herself, and turns the knob.
The sounds of sleep slips through the doorway as she walks in. The room is humid and held a single large bed. The sound of sheets crinkling and soft breathing echo off it, and two large shapes shift under the covers. The small girl, now looking quite frail, walks cautiously over to the bed. As she nears, her breath hitches and you realized she is trying not to cry. Coming to a stop, she places a tiny hand on the closest lump covered in thin sheets. Her light skin tone blends with the creamy white fabric. She shakes the shape lightly and it emotes a small sigh. She shakes again. No response. Once more, and the lump moves and the sheets fall off revealing a woman in her late forties. The woman sits up and opens her eyes to reveal the small white and hazel orbs. Still clouded with sleep, she rubs them and yawns. You hear a small sound, and realize it's the child beginning to cry. She tugs at the mother and tries to hide her tears. The mom pulls the girl up onto her lap. "I see you", she whispers to the child. You could have sworn that it seemed threatening, but she seemed so kind and gentle. The child quickly wipes away her tear, but her stature changes into one of defense. She curls away from her mother. The mom grabs her wrist and tightens her hold. "What's wrong?", she asks kindly. The child meekly replies, " Their beds are empty." Not exactly questioning, more interrogative, the mom asks who? The girl replies, but your hearing dims and gets fuzzy and clouded. You hear the giggling again, but fainter. You turn your head in that direction, abandoning your gaze on the mom and girl. "You're lying! Go back to bed and get out!", the mom yells.
Snapping your head back in the direction of the sound, you are yanked away by the invisible tie to the girl as she runs back down the hall. You watch that cerulean door fade off into the shadows and then you blink.
When you open your eyes, you're back in the girl's room. No! You don't want to be here again. This is where the bad things happen. You try to reach out. To grab the girl and pull her away from here, but the invisible binds on your body tighten and constrict you. You can't breathe. Panic... panic attack. You are experiencing a panic attack. Hold your breath, 1... 2... 3... relax. Air fills your lungs as the binds loosen. The girl is asleep again. Her bed creaks slightly when she moves, and you watch her breathing slow. Blink.
The room melts away and the scene changes again. You're in a different room now, the girl is sitting down at a table. Her chair is slightly too large for her body and she has to lean towards the table to reach her food. As she nudges her untouched breakfast, you turn your attention to her mother and father. They sit unspeaking, staring at the empty seats. Two chairs at the old wooden table look solemn and lonely as their owners fail to appear. The entire scene feels depressing, you think. Then, the girl pushes away her plate of now lukewarm food and looks up at her parents. "I was telling the truth, don't you see that?", she whispers wearily under her breath. The father speaks for the first time and in a nonchalant voice says, "So what if they're missing." The girl's head drops and hangs in defeat. Why were her parents ignoring the missing siblings?! Why didn't they care. You feel your form shudder in anger as you try to scream out to the parents that they should care. Silence. Your lungs and throat burn. The family hears none of your screams or yells. They remain deaf to your presence. You want to get away from this situation so yet again, you screw your eyes shut.
When your eyes open, you realize that you have grown accustomed to the feeling of changing surroundings. You now look back into that dreaded room where the children are sent to sleep. The day has long passed and the faint chirping of crickets is noticeably present. The girl sits on her bed, lost in thought. Her quavering body is unable to hide her fear as she stares at the shadow behind the water heater. Yellow mucus-like ooze has formed around the base of the heater. As you look at it, you feel dizzy and the darkness of the shadow is deeper than you've ever seen. It's unsettling. It is quite obvious that the girl has the same uneasiness. She stirs, her foot twitches. She lowers one toe onto the cold hardwood. Then another one makes contact. Eventually, both feet are placed sturdily on the floor. She quivers once more and stands up. A finger twitches in anticipation. She builds up as much courage as her small build can hold. One foot moves after the other, the soft padding of her feet making a faint sound. Pit... pat... pit... pat.... Stopping one last time, she closes her eyes and listens. You follow suit, but all you hear is the shallowness of your own breath. With one last gulp of air, the girl abandons her fears and doubts and walks to the shadow behind the rusted contraption. Staring into the dark, she extends one hand. A small yelp emerges from her lips as her hand fails to make contact with a wall. You look on with disbelief as your unknowing guide pulls you into the shadows.
Darkness. All you can see for miles, feet, inches, it's hard to tell how far the expanse of the room stretches, is nothing. You don't even know if it is a room. Somehow that seems more of a comfortable thought. It is so dark and vacant of any light that you check to see if your eyes are in fact open. Blink. This time, the scene doesn't change, or if it did, you can't tell. The girl pulls you back out of your own head and you focus on her rapid breathing. She's hyperventilating, her body failing to provide enough oxygen to fuel her panic. Her breath hitches, and you hear the sound of the child falling. She fainted. You try and try to see any indication of her presence, but you are met with fruitless efforts. Is she alive?
For the first time being in the presence of this child you feel utterly alone. What can you do? You scream. Nothing. Try again, this time you feel something in your throat tear. Agonizing pain washes over your invisible body, and you wish that you could just black out from the pain. No such luck. Hold your breath. Twenty seconds tick by... fifty... You begin to feel lightheaded. Suddenly, you feel air rush down into your lungs. What happened? You were startled by a noise, a rustling. There was also a light. You look down to find the girl you have watched for about a day lying in a fetal position. A small circle of light splayed around her. She looks younger in this light. Too young for this life.
Her eyes are open now as she inspects the ring of light around her. The ground below her is hard and rough. It appeared to be tinted a dark grey from dampness. Further inspection would have revealed the ground to be concrete, but you stopped looking at it. The girl looks forward into the abyss of black, void of any coloration. Her cheeks suddenly flushed a shade of crimson red and she looks as if she wants to hide. Embarrassment or fear drove her to stand back up. Her body wobbles as her blood flow catches up with her movements and she steadies herself. Not knowing which way she originated from, she does what any child would do when left with multiple choices. You watch as the child spins around slowly so as to not get dizzy and chants the sing song like rhyme of Eeny Meeny Miney Mo. "And you are it!" She cries into the dark. A faint echo bouncing off of something in the void. Her arm extends out of the little circle of sight and her hand and finger are engulfed in black. She retracts her arm back to the safety and familiarity of her side and takes a step in the chosen direction. Blink.
At first you believe that nothing has changed. But then you happen to peer at the light around her bare feet. The cool damp concrete has been replaced with vile smelling mulch. It sucks at her feet as she walks, the ground making a sickening popping noise every time she lifts a leg. Every once in awhile, the ground will produce a dark colored bubble of filth. Then there's the smell. It wafts around you in almost visible waves and makes your eyes water. You feel tiny veins creep closer to the surface of your eyes as they become bloodshot. Your stomach turns and it feels like somebody has poured acid into your nose. Drops of snot are sent out to battle the invisible acid. It burns your nose even more. The snot dries out all the skin around your two nostrils and you feel your delicate skin crack. Cough... gag... sniff. The girl has tears streaming down her face from the smell and her nose is bleeding slightly. Tiny rivulets of ruby blood fall through her hands as she desperately tries to stop it. She is so preoccupied with saving her precious blood that she forgets to pay attention to where she steps. She lifts her foot. Pop.. and trips over something solid. Her face smashing against the disgusting phlegm like substance on the floor. Sitting up quickly, she sucks in a gulp of air and turns around.
When she looks at that solid object on the floor, she chokes on her own air. A gurgled shriek escapes her throats and she collapses once more. Sitting in a prayer position, she sobs over a ragged form. No, two forms. You squint trying to see what they are and manage to spot a mangled arm. Then a torso. Finally a head. The two bodies lay parallel with each other and have their limbs entangled. Cuts, slashes, and bite marks litter their tiny bodies. Black, dried blood covers them like a shawl. The faces were the worst part. You have to look at it in tiny glimpses because they are so devastating to see. The skin on their face has been painfully ripped and torn off so that all that shows is empty sockets and black oozing flesh. Even with all this carnage trying to disguise their bodies, you know. The girl knows too. These two corpses were once the fully intact forms of two twins. A boy and a girl.
Their placement on the floor reveals to you that they had died in each other's arms. They were alive when they were ripped and destroyed. Their arms hugged protectively around each other and even through the blood and flesh on their face, you can see lines where tears fell down their scalped cheeks, out of the sunken sockets. They died blind and in agony. They died together.
A heart breaking wail rings through the dark. Rust colored powder sprinkles down from the cloaked ceiling. You look down slowly at the girl and feel a tear roll down your cheek. The girl is making a noise that she should never have to create. She flings her head up at the black sky, closes her eyes, and screams in agony. She had to hold herself steady with her hands, her cries too powerful for her to produce. This... this is the worst part of your time with this girl. You don't even know her name and yet you want to scoop her up and hold her. You want to protect her, comfort her, hide her from this world. Even though you know it won't work, you fight and struggle against your invisible prison. You reach your arms out trying desperately to get to her. Reaching until your arms cry and your muscles scream. A whimper escapes your lips. Reach further. The pain in your arms burns up into your shoulders and back. Too much. Too far. You stop reaching out, your arms falling loosely by your sides. Blink.
When your eyes open, the first thing you notice is the sound of feet squelching in the mucky ground. Looking down, you see the child running at a speed only possible with fear fueling it. Wracked with adrenaline, the girl runs away for her twin siblings' corpses. Then you hear why. Shrieking laughter rings out like thunder all around the girl. Harsh giggles send chills down your spine and you shiver. The popping sounds of the child's footsteps suddenly change into crunching. The contrast between the noises startles you and you look down at the girl's bare feet.
The girl so wracked with fear that she doesn't notice the change in texture and sound. She keeps running and as her exposed soles make contact with the rugged floor, tiny scrapes and cuts form. You see the girl wince every time she steps. The corners of her eyes crinkle and are damp with tears and a faint hissing emits from her lips. Her feet are covered in blood now from the copious cuts. Some of them are too deep and sputter blood at random. Finally, she stops running. She can't take the pain anymore. Catching her breath, she closes her eyes and drops her hands to her knees. You watch as her torso expands and contracts, her spine poking out on every intake. Her shirt sticks tightly to her skin with sweat. Opening her eyes, she looks down at the ground. Watching, you see her have a second of realization. Her eyes widen and she tries to scream, but her throat only produces a guttural caw. She moans and spins around. Her feet lay on the bodies of thousands of people, some of them fresher than others. It makes you gag and every time you see the corpse of a child, your heart beats faster and harder. Your stomach forces bile into your throat and you feel very nauseous. You can't take it anymore, you're going to be sick. Blink.
Swallowing down the stomach acid and sick, your eyelids lift and your corneas burn at the sudden presence of light. Bile fighting its way back up, you stare in awe at the amount of bodies lain before you and the girl. She loses the battle against her stomach, arches her back, and dry heaves. No food in her body was able to come up. Miles and miles of bodies stretch out into the darkness. You look up and see nothing, but you can hear drops of water echoing somewhere above. The pitter patter of the water is an unfitting pentameter for the gruesome scene. You turn your head back to the girl. She has regained her strength but lost her color. She stared at something just out of your line of sight. She shakes violently as fear engulfes her in practically visible waves. You try to turn your head, to see what is so frightening, but your head is locked in place. It feels like you are paralysed, only a small wave of feeling washing over you. It feels like when a limb falls asleep, tiny pinpricks, running over your skin in waves. Your breathing hitches in fear as you fight against your own body. You can't move. Pin pricks. Fear puts tears in your eyes blinding you. You can't help it. Blink.
You now see a different scene. The child for the first time no longer in view. You can hear her ragged breathing to the left of you. In front of you, a pile of bloody bodies lays at most five feet away. Twitch. No. Not a pile. It bulges like a pulsating heart on its last beats of life. Slow, agonizingly slow. Bu...dum. Bu...dum. The thing has no shape. It's an amalgamated pile of flesh. Then you hear the noises it makes. It begins with a faint wheeze that resembled a child having an asthma attack. Your heart beats faster, too fast. Slow down. You must take control of your heart. You can't seem to stop the rapid palpitations and your head begins to feel fuzzy. Slowly, the creature begins to turn and an elongated skeletal arm emerges. Still covered in dried blood and gore it grips the rotting floor. Too fast. Your sight gets dimmer and darkness eats away at your vision. You hear a familiar sound ring out from the amalgamation. A faint giggle similar to that of a child hiding laughter under its breath. Blink.
You can see the girl now, but something's wrong. Her eyes have been infected with a sickly yellow glaze. Her pupils too dilated for her eyes and mucus yellow veins criss crossing over them. Her mouth is agape and tensed into the shape of someone screaming. No sound comes out of her mouth. Her lips are stretched too much and tiny cuts begin to form. Small drops of blood start to pool in her mouth. You watch her mouth and throat fill with blood and yet again you try to fight off the paralysis. Try to reach for her. Too much blood. Too much. She chokes on it and a spray of beautiful sanguine red falls onto the floor. Cough...Gurgle... Drip... The girl collapses into a heap and her eyes don't close. Her chest doesn't rise and fall anymore. The color drains from her youthful face, turning her a pale blue. She looks almost peaceful there. No more fear. No more pain. Nothing...
Finally, you can start to feel your toes, your fingers, your limbs loosen. You sluggishly try to pry your face away from the girl's body. But you can't manage to. The face of the girl you had been physically and mentally attached to has changed. Her body just another tile on the floor. She is lost. You can't save her... you never could. Wheeze... giggle... You turn you attention to the creature that killed the child and her siblings. It lifts up in its full disgusting glory. Three human spines held together by tendons line it's back. Muscles spider web across its body. Ribs stick out like spikes and blood trickles from every pore. The creature is facing away from you, but you are frozen with fear anyways. Slowly it turns. First it's body, then it's crooked neck. you can't handle it any longer. You try to close your eyes. Try to blink the creature out of existence. Blink. It's face begins to become visible. No! Blink again. It turns more. Blink... skin is sewed onto its face. Blink. You scream. Your breathing weakens. Blink. Your heart slows. Blink. You can't escape. The creature looks at you directly in the eyes. Two eyes. Bloody and unseeing. You scream again, trying to turn your head or close your eyes. The creature continues staring at you, a crooked seam going up half of its face. The patchwork skin contrasts each other. A boy.... and a girl. The twins faces stare at you, webbed with dark veins and etched in blood. The thing contorts the faces and smiles at you. Blink
Air, real air. Your eyes snap open, you are in the dark again. A room full of a familiar scent greets you. Pillows crinkle under your head, now damp with tears and sweat. Blink
Darkness still affects your mind and every once in awhile and when everything is quiet, you can hear the faint giggle of a child hiding laughter under their breath.
Blink.