I See Shadows

Blood? BLOOD?!

Blood was on your bed when you woke up, your hair practically soaking it up. Your pillow covered in dried, and new blood all coming from your nose in a rapid pace, gushing out like a rushing river.

So, what's the first logical thing you did the moment you saw it? You panicked, jumping up from your bed, holding you hand under your nostrils - your hair sticking to your face - and flung open the door with a slam and ran to the open door of the bathroom, holding your head over the sink, watching as the porcelain was decorated with red rain.

Again, with the bloody noses that started appearing a week ago- what is with the bloody noses?! Come on, you don't like this! Not one bit . . . it reminded you too much of . . . too much of your shadow's hunger.

You gathered water in your hands and splashed it onto your face, watching as the water in your hands turned pink. The blood created clouds in the water, it was . . . disturbing to say the least. Morbid even.

When you looked up from the mirror, away from the blood, you saw a tall, white, blank-faced (literally no face!) entity in a suit behind you, tendrils coming from its back, all reaching towards you. When you turned around quickly, it wasn't there. It wasn't there! It wasn't there?!

You gasped and looked around rapidly, eyes scanning every nook and cranny, every light and shadow. You cautiously and slowly moved from the bathroom, your shadow following you and peered down the hallway. Nothing.

Then you hurried to your bedroom and slammed the door shut, looking around - still nothing - and then to your bed where the blood still was, absorbing into the bedding.

With quick glances around the room - more nothing - you waited with a quick heartbeat that warned of danger that still may be nearby. Waited and waited and waited, until it finally calmed and you moved over to the bed, deciding that maybe you were suffering from blood loss with the amount of blood on your pillow and sheets.

Another quick glance - just to make sure - you walked over to your bed and grabbed the pillow. Unexpectedly, as you reached over, your shadow falling on the blood, it was absorbed into the darkness. Into the shadow.

Pausing, you stared at where the blood once was, a shiver crawling down your spine, imagining a sharp-toothed grin smiling up at you as a bloodied tongue brushed over the teeth, a silent threat.

Your shadow was hungry. . .

You shivered again and moved away from the bloody mess, deciding it was time to focus on other things, like breakfast and not this- this- this situation!

Placing a hand on your cheek- it was sticky, why was it sticky? You pulled it away and shuddered, oh, right, the blood.

It was time to take a shower! Get a fresh start for the morning!

You sniffed your clothes . . . and maybe wash your clothes too . . . is there a community washing area for clothes here? Probably? You'll have to look around, maybe even talk to the nurse or therapist . . . on second thought maybe not the therapist, they might try to encourage you to have a session with them.

You can still remember the 'therapy' from the mental hospital. If you could even call it that. It was mostly accusing words and threats of taking your food away or leaving you in a dark room.

First, a shower! Yeah! Then uhh, then grab some new clothes and wash your old ones and uhhh, maybe go to the state park nearby or go shopping? Get some food- wait no, you have no money at the moment. . .

You're definitely not going to the therapist to talk about your problems. Definitely not happening.

. . . Anyways! Shower time! Shower time! Hopefully there's warm water because at the mental hospital the water there was cold as ice in the middle of a snowstorm! Hell, you're pretty sure you were this close to getting a cold, or even worse, hypothermia!