Mind over Matter

Hey guys! So this is a short story I made for English, I want to get some opinions on it!! It's a my-first-attempt-at-a-horror-fic. See if you can guess what it's about! Sorry if it's not very long... Enjoy x

It had been three, no four, days since I have had a proper 9 hour plus sleep. So far I've been awake for 96 hours. With maybe a few hours in between where I have managed to get in a snooze whilst still feeling my legs. You see friend, I'm hiding from the monster.

What monster? You’d say, if you were real. Well, my friend, it’s the monster who comes and finds me when I sleep.

Oh, don’t be silly! You’d laugh. I’m trying not to, I really am, but when it happens my body will not move.Not when I’m asleep at least.

Now you’s look at me questioningly. I would stare back and my sleep deprived brain would try it’s hardest to explain what I mean.

Insomnia? You’d ask. No, friend. Much scarier. For I can sleep, well my body can at least. The only problem is it won’t wake up.

Let me tell you that when I fall asleep, my body and mind drift off into a peaceful slumber, that is until my mind wakes up.

Every time it happens I feel trapped inside myself. I can’t move, talk, and in extreme cases, I cannot breathe. Even though I know what will happen if I open my eyes, my mind goes into a frenzy and the poor thing panics and my automatic reaction is too open my eyes. It is a frightful sight. Two pale hands grip onto my window ledge, like they’re hanging there. I close my eyes, trying to fight the temptation to open them again because I know that if I do it will be worse.

‘Maybe I will wake up this time.’ I try to tell myself, short of breath. So once more I open my eyes, praying to God I will see morning. No such luck. Instead I see the hands closer, gripping onto my bed sheets. The thin fingers and cracked nails hang onto the edge of my bed, daring me to close my eyes so it can creep forth once more.

Unwisely, I close my eyes and squeeze them tight, since they are the only thing I can move, no matter how hard I try. My throat feels tight and I wish for consciousness. My eyes drift open for what I can hope is the last time.

If they could I’m sure my eyes would’ve watered. I see a small woman with long, scraggly perched on my chest, limiting my already short breath.

The woman wears a wide grin with rows of sharp white teeth. They glow in the dark and her lips look tight, she is smiling too wide.

‘Inhuman’, I tell myself. Dark purple shadows sit just beneath her pitch black eyes. The demon’s grin widens and she leans forward. Raising a frail hand.

My body is upright, like every other time this happens friend. My voice emits a high pitched scream, the same one I had been holding onto in my nightmare.

Do you see now friend, why I cannot sleep? I am afraid of the demon paralyzing my body and leaving only my mind to fight for my life.