

In the mirror hanging on the wall, he expected to see it. He expected to see something other than his reflection, something other than a slightly-warped, shadowed bust of himself in the dim light; twenty-something, choppy hair, grey-blue eyes tired and scuffled like old marbles. Maybe it would be behind him, standing, hunching, looming, waiting. Whatever it was. His brain was working sluggishly, wading through the murk of sleep, digging through all the possibilities of what that unseen, childhood monster lurking in the shadows looked like: something spindly with large, empty slivers for eyes and a shriveled torso, standing on legs so thin like stilts that it should not have been possible that they could still stand? The idea stuck. They? No, it can't be human.

Or maybe whatever was lurking in the shadows that had swallowed his shady little apartment didn't have any real form. Maybe he would fall asleep every night, sensing something but never be able to get a good look at it except for the glint of a mouthful of teeth like broken glass in grey moonlight. James couldn't figure out what scared him more. The tiniest part of his brain that held stubbornly onto his childishness was the part he almost listened to.You can't see it or hear it but you know its there. You need to leave, you need to leave right this minute you need to get out of this place before it grabs you and drags you through, you need--

James almost did it, left, fled, bolted out the apartment door like his ass was on fire. He almost wanted it to be because he wouldn't be able to justify to his friends leaving his apartment at one in the morning because his brain was playing tricks on him. He wanted to believe that. No matter how much time he gave his eyes to adjust, he couldn't see through the unnatural shadows cloaking his apartment. The reflection of darkness seemed all the more complete through his mirror. The floorboards creaked behind him, and he froze. The makings of a scream stirred in his chest as his legs began to shake, as unstable as watered down Jell-O. Like overcooked noodles, James thought wryly, feeling his knees shake violently. If I fall over I don't think I'll be able to get back up. The thought of falling down and being at the mercy of whatever was lurking in his apartment fueled the fear in him.

His fingers groped for something to defend himself, a weapon that wasn't there. He was frozen, in a pitch black apartment too new to be built on a street with working lamps. The moonlight fluttering in through his shades wasn't of any help here. The floorboards creaked louder the second time even though James hadn't moved a single inch. Fear paralyzed him. More creaking, growing steadily closer. His mirror grew shaky, the glass rippling like waves. His bed had moved out of range and the apartment had grown with it, expanding, putting the warmth and comfort and safety a football field away and filling the void with the endless, thick darkness. Whatever I think is there, isn't. There is absolutely nothing there.

Oh, come on big boy. You know better than that.

There was definitely something there. It moved silently around James, slipped around him like water against a rock to reassemble at his back and then slip around his right side. His eyes followed the reflection in the mirror even though he still couldn't see what it was, not completely. All he could see were blurs, shadows within shadows, something that slithers around your peripheral and then disappears as soon as you turn your head. Come on. It's here. It's here for you. You've known, all along, that it was just waiting.

No, it--

Waiting for you to drink a little too much one night, sway on your feet, get you really vulnerable and scared, fill your head with--

No... A dumb little tune swept from one corner of his brain to the next. It was something about vampires--or cannibals?--childhood bogeyman lurking under the windowsill. It teased him, stirred around the fear in his chest. The thing crept closer until it was little more than just a hair away. James could barely hear himself think over his panicked breaths, ragged and scratchy from lungs putting too much air out and not taking enough in. Teeth slid out of the shadows, jagged like broken glass. Two white circles blinked open above the gaping maw of glass teeth, eyes as blank as cue balls blinking, staring, drinking him in, drinking his fear in. Foam frothed between sharp teeth, glowing crimson in the shadows. A gaping maw opened up, stretching impossibly wide. Rough, dry skin snapped apart, tearing jagged holes around the thing's jaw. A gnarled hand snaked out of the shadows. The fingers were little more than candle stubs even compared to the nails, which were curved, thick and impossibly long. Its eyes blinked slowly in the darkness. The smile seemed to flicker too, fading in and out of the shadows around it. The rest of a body began to take shape then, slithering out of the shadows, out of thin air. Ribs stacked against taut grey skin, the empty, yawning valley of a chest dropped into a stomach as flat and as thin as a chopping board. The creature grew taller, rising on legs like stilts, thin and wobbly and surreal, drawn right out of James' mind and towering over his head. The mouth opened up as wide as it could, teeth trickling with red foam that dripped onto James' forehead and rolled down his arms. He could feel the warmth of-- Blo --sticking in his hair and drying against his cheek. It smelled coppery and too much like-- BLOOD --and it felt like warm water. James tracked the eyes-like-marbles as they rose above his head until he couldn't see them anymore and-- BLOOD --was dripping into his hair and trickling down his face, water down a windowpane. For a brief moment he saw its gangly body illuminated in dim red light that shone from just above his eyes, bending down towards him, shards of teeth frothing with-- BLOOD --and wiggling back and forth in their sockets like they were trying to escape. Claws snatched at his clothes, digging for his ankles, torso, tearing, trying to drag him away, lift him up, swallow him whole. Searing wet heat touched his face, glass shards poking and then puncturing his cheek, claws dug into his wrists and drew-- BLOO-- He screamed himself into oblivion.







-- a/n first story?

if you have made it to this note, thank you? seriously? this is the beginning of the first story I've published to wattpad in about...five years. wow, that is a lot of rust.

if you liked what you read please consider dropping a vote or leaving a comment. not only will constructive feedback (feedback in general) be super helpful, but letting me know your thoughts will let me know if I need to improve and that (maybe) someone out there likes what I've written.

thanks again,

covlaye

