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The Eyes

   A chilling breeze buffeted my freckled face and swept through my short, icy white hair, sending a dense wave of goosebumps as the air's cold tounge wrapped itself around me. The dark, empty atmosphere was unnerving and desolate, for there no walls and no ceiling in the misty darkness. The wind was stuffy and dry, filling my lungs with sickly air that made me gag as it dried my throat and mouth. The floor felt hollow and loose, like it could crumble beneath my icy toes and send me plummeting into eternity. It was a dreamland, and it wasn't a welcoming one.

          But the loose and empty space had a certain density to it, pushing on me like a strong gravity, like I wasn't alone. As if someone was observing me; I twisted my head around, but saw nothing beyond the misty, eternal blackness. Still, the reality made my soul lurch with fear. I took an uneven step back and scanned the space cautiously; something caught my eye. I spun my head to the left, where there was an unnatural build-up of mist, which seemed to descend from oblivion and drape the brittle earth below; I halted, paralyzed. My eyes followed the flowing matter as it washed slowly towards me, warping around my toes. I hesitated at the sight of the mist, but settled as it slipped farther away, slow and docile. Then a thick, inky liquid followed it, rolling along and piling up at my feet; it was oozy, warm; a tingling feeling crept from my toes to my shins and made it's way up to my knees as the liquid stuck to me like hot tar. My sense of security slipped away before I even knew it was there.

           My eyes still fixated at the ground and the inky substance, "What kind of dream is this?" my brain pondered. I could feel the furious, cold air on my back as it rushed past me; it seemed as if it constantly changing direction. There was nothing I could do but stand and wait, and I didn't have to wait for long.

        It started out extremely quiet, a low, soft huff--like a breath. It continued, but I could feel it becoming louder after each draw of air. With my head still tipped to the floor, I lifted my eyes. About twenty feet away, cloaked in darkness, was a tall shadowy figure, and two beady white eyes, drenched in a milky glaze. As a flush of wind passed the figure and carried itself to me, I was gifted a pounding stench of rotting flesh. It corrode my throat, but I refused the gag-- I had a more threatening situation to deal with.

      I remained still as stone for minutes on end, forcing back every breath my lungs called for. From the corner of my eye, I spied the inky substance which by now had increased to a steady, unpleasant stream. A numming feeling had begun in my heels, and as I stood, the buzz that inched up my legs had reached my waist, and it burned, it was excruciating, I could not move my toes, and I could feel the sensory escaping from my lower body after each second passed. I had to escape the liquid somehow or I would become stuck here, unable to operate my legs.

     Hastliy I began to lift my left foot, but it dragged through like thick quicksand and refused to budge only a bit before sinking back. I tugged at it relentlessly, and it began to release after tireless work. I whimpered as I saw that the areas which the liquid had contacted, about six inches up my leg, my skin had turned a sickly purple-black hue. Just above I grapsed it and tugged with all my adrenaline powered might. Finally, it released, and I slingshot back and fell to the cold brittle floor. The imprint of the poison liquid cut my nerves with an excruciating pain, and I lay paralyzed as the substance bubbled up around me; grabbing at my shoulders and back.

       "No, no no no." I gasped, lifting myself painfully. I stood up and bent over, my heels burning with each pound I settled upon it.

         Rrrwrrwrwrrgh...

    My stomach dropped. I realized the figure had been spying me for as long as I struggled through the tar like a bumbling idiot. The growl was faint, but it echoed hauntingly across the atmosphere. My attention focused on the phantom, eyes wide and my hair standing on end.

           Grrrhhh... I could feel it shuffling slowly in the darkness.

       And just like that, in the blink of an eye, without thought, I bolted. The sticky substance gripped onto my feet as I shot through the dry air, dispersing in wild directions. Behind me I heard the phantom let out a furious screech as the floor rumbled violently. I continued, but the fizzing in my legs slowed me with each stride I managed to take. I guess my subconscious plan was to catch "it" off guard and hopefully get to a safe distance before the thing even knew I had tried to get away.

       But suddenly, my thoughts became scattered, and the situation felt less and less dire and more like a simple thought. Then it registered in my mind; dream. I let out a heavy sigh and opened my eyes.