SHORTS

IT FOLLOWED ME

It Followed Me

 

 

            ‘It’ as I like to call it because things this scary don’t have a name. When I was a kid, ‘it’ was that one nightmare I couldn’t get rid of. It followed me into every dream. Its’ had white slender exoskeleton body, Daggers for teeth, and empty sockets where its’ eyes should be that seem to pull on your very soul with one glance, blood soaked its feet and hands. ‘It’ would always breathe heavily so even if you couldn’t see it, you could hear it and trust me, that’s worse. I would stay up with every light in my room on, guarding myself with pillows and blankets so ‘It’ couldn’t get me. Like every childhood nightmare, ‘it’ went away as I grew older and less afraid of things. Eventually, ‘it’ stopped popping up in my dreams, leaving me with only good things to dream about.

            Now, I am in my mid-twenties, I’m married to my beautiful wife, Karen. We live in a good sized home in a good sized neighborhood with our Saint Bernard, Menic. We named him that the day we brought him home because the first thing he did was try to tear up my new shoes. I think it is safe to say, our lives are pretty perfect right now. That is, till one night I woke up, drenched in sweat, panting as if I I had just ran a marathon.

            “What’s wrong, Babe?” Karen asks, half awake. Bits and pieces of the dream I had just had, return to my memory. A white, slender exoskeleton body, blood covered hands and feet, dagger like teeth, and empty sockets where its’ eyes should be that pulled on my very soul with one glance, shoots into my mind as I begin to remember my dream. ’It couldn’t be’ I thought to myself. I flinch as my wife starts rubbing my chest to comfort me, startles me instead. “Nothing, Hun.” Was all I could get out and went back to sleep.

            The rest of the night, I’m stuck in my dream, sitting in a dark room, the only light showing the features of my childhood nightmare. Hours went by and all ‘It’ did was stand there in the light looking at me, breathing heavily. I began to notice that ‘it’ doesn’t quite look the same. It almost looks older as if it had grown since I last dreamt of him. Another hour goes by with only the sound if ‘it’ breathing. “what are you?” I finally ask it. It didn’t even seem to acknowledge my curiosity. “What do you want from me!?” I yell , only to randomly hear Menic barking in the distance. That’s when the first movement from ‘it’ came. It was smiling, not the cheerful kind of smile, the evil ‘get the hell outa there’ kind of smile. It starts bolting towards me, I put my arms up for protection, like that would actually help me. Strangest thing happened, or should I say, didn’t happen. I didn’t feel the sharp claws of ‘It’ rip me to bits, I didn’t feel anything. I open my eyes to see no one there. IT was just me, alone in the never ending darkness with one light still showing the spot that ‘It’ was originally was at but there was a piece of paper in the middle of the lit part of the floor. I crawl towards it and see writing on it. When I look a little closer, It reads, ‘I missed you, old friend.’

            I woke up to a scream that could surely only come from my overly hysterical wife, outside the bedroom. I bolt out of bed and run towards her scream. Once I see her, I wrap my arms around her quivering body and hug her. “Shhhh, baby. What’s wrong?” I ask in my best soothing voice. I can feel her body trembling. She doesn’t respond, just bursts into more tears. I look towards where she had been staring at this whole time and to my utter disbelief, I see out beloved dog, Menic, Ripped to shreds, soaked in his own blood. I gasp. “Oh, God” I mutter and hug my wife again as I begin to feel tears form in my eyes. “Who would do this?” my wife says more to herself while she cries on my chest. I just hold her tighter.