Alyssa watched Chad collapse and screamed. Her feet locked up, and she couldn't move. Not now! she thought as her mind was emptied and her knees gave out.
Alyssa woke up on the floor, alone. She looked all around, but no one was there. She wanted Chad. She wanted Jane. She wanted anyone, so long as it meant she wasn't alone. She pulled her knees to her chest and tucked her head in. And then she did something she wasn't proud of. She began to cry.
When her tears stopped, the nausea began. It's like it was waiting until she showed weakness, smelling for fear. Unless this was an entirely new one, which meant she'd had the other one while unconscious....
All thought was erased from her mind as the attack hit. She vomited. She shook and screamed and wished for it all to end. And when it finally did, another one began. And another, and another, until she was lying on the floor, dehydrated, half-delirious, and screaming. When she finally realized the screams were coming from her, she tried to stop. She was shaking like a leaf in the wind, terrified, out-of-her-mind, and exhausted. She finally stopped screaming and began to cry again. She couldn't handle much more of this.
When her tears stopped, she looked up. And what she saw started the screaming all over again. She saw a thousand horrors, things of her nightmares, crawling toward her, cornering her in. She was being surrounded by zombies, snakes, spiders, bullies, math teachers. She shook as they tormented her, but didn't try to fight them. She knew it was pointless; how could you fight something that wasn't really there?
She continued to scream and cry, tearing at her hair, her eyes glinting crazily as she stared at the figments of her delirious imagination. She curled into a ball as they beat her. She shuddered, still screaming. The shadows had come out to play.
YOU ARE READING
Shadows of the Mind
Mystery / ThrillerA wacky experiment. Split personalities. What will happen?