Headache

Chapter 1

I sat at my desk, staring intently into the paper, rereading the short length of story I had written. Talking into account every syllable and word, making sure my punctuation and capitalization was absolutely perfect.

"She thrashed in the water, struggling to surface, and her eyes widened in fear as she realized that she would never make it in time."

"Perfect." I said aloud, leaning back in my chair and truly allowing myself to admire my handiwork. Was that enough for today?

No! That was barely a paragraph. What was I  thinking? I tapped my pen against my lip, wondering what the unnamed character would do next.

Finally; I say forward, letting my pen guide me.

I surfaced to see this:

"She felt the hands clawing at her arms and her legs, pulling her down, down, down. An only blackness Grew at the edges of her vision. Slowly, she stopped being able to struggle. She just let herself sink...

Until she woke up in a cold sweat. "

Yes, this would do. I stood up with the sound of scraping chair legs. But as soon as my back straightened, pain shot through my temples. It wasn't that bad, but it didn't stop, just constant pain.

I sighed. I had been getting a lot of migraines lately, and had no idea why. Glancing my watch, I was a bit shocked to see 7:16 PM. Really? I had been writing that long?

I trudged into the bathroom and took my migraine medicine, then headed to bed.

***
I struggled, trying to force my numb limbs out of the grasp of cold fingers. My eyes were wide, allowing the murky water into my eyes, but I didn't care. Vision wasn't very useful if I was dead. I pulled my arms and legs again, drying to struggle to the surface of the water, looking up in desperation at the light above me. Blackness creeped up the edges of my vision, and I felt a peacefulness of mind draw me closer t the darkness. I stopped struggling and let the hands pull be under...

I woke up with a scream, eyes wide and heart pounding. I looked around wildly, hands gripping the sheets as if they were the lifeline that would have saved me from the cold waters.

But there was no water.

No hands.

No drowning.

My breathing slowed, and I realized that it was a dream. I closed my eyes for a moment, then glanced at my clock for a moment. Really? 3:00 in the morning. I frustratedly buried myself in my blankets, forcing my unwilling eyes shut.