A Solid Grip

I can imagine the boys jumping around all excited and peeking out the windows when they hear the recurring sound of the bushes outside rustling and the scrapping near the exit doors. Every night the knocking on the walls, the sounds of things being shuffled around outside, all of it made my heart race in the middle of the night. Seeing the door handle turn slowly every hour made my stomach churn. 'Knock knock knock,' a quiet knocking came from a door behind me, I wander towards it, my mind absorbed by my thoughts and scenarios. Suddenly I freeze, aren't I supposed to be alone? 'Knock.. knock… knock….' The knocking continued, getting louder and more hurried, my heart raced. One second, ten seconds, thirty seconds, a minute, nothing. Absolutely nothing happened for a full minute then the next second there's knocking on all the windows around me, pounding on the door in front of me. My head spins as the knocking on the windows turns into pounding. My breath hitches, my eyes fluttering shut as I stumble backwards. 'CRASH,' my eyes shoot open, my legs trembling as my eyes dart around the room, "What was that?" My voice shuddered as I sloppily run over to a small room nearby, shutting the door and locking it. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, my back to the door as I try to breathe quietly, failing miserably. 'Click,' my hand shoots up to my mouth as I turn and press my ear to the door. Quiet thumping goes right by the door, I immediately shuffle away from the door until my back presses into the corner on the other side of the room.

Beyond terrified, I stayed in that room for several days, only facing my fear after finding and reading a book I found in one of the cabinets. After reading it and understanding the effect different things like human interaction and sleep deprivation has on your mental health, I decided it was time to confront my fears. Confidently bounding up to the door, I take a deep breath and hold it as I unlock the door. My hand trembles as I grab the door knob, I swallowed my fear and swung open the door. I stood there for a moment, getting the mental courage to continue, I hesitantly stepped out of the room. Once I took a look around the room, my body eased, nothing was broken or damaged. I went back over to my couch and sat down, melting into it as I sighed, overjoyed at my ability to get past the mental gymnastics I faced. I fell asleep near instantly when I sat down, the lack of sleep these past few days was driving me crazy. Just as I'm about to drift off to sleep, I feel something wrap around my ankle. It's rough and wet with something dense. My sleepy eyes open briefly to a twelve inch long, blue hand covered in a fresh, scarlet red blood.