Stygian

I open my eyes.

But I don't.

There is no difference between the backs of my lids and whatever the world before me has become. I hear whispers, murmurs. Soft beeps and mechanical whirls. Spreading my arms out, I feel around until I grasp something solid at my sides. Railing. I must be in a hospital bed.

There is someone else in the room I must be occupying. I know, because I can hear them breathing. The deep in-and-out, the subtle rasping; it's my father. He must have seen my arms flailing around like a mad man.

"Oliver. You've been in an accident," he says.

"You're blind now," he says.

I don't want to believe him, but my memory is coming back to me and I have no choice.

Me and my friends were being dumb, y'know? Typical teen shenanigans. My best friend, Marty, pulled out a firecracker as we sat around the bonfire at the abandoned lot by the cemetery.

"How about a round of intense hot potato?"

Everyone else cheered, their brains inebriated from the alcohol and eyes swollen from the pot, but I didn't like this plan. Marty always made fun of me for being too 'cautious'. He was taunting me while I made eye-contact with Debra, the girl who I've had my heart set on for years. Nodding, and taking a deep breath, the game began. Marty promised the firecracker was a dud as it was passed around the circle. No one was really paying any attention to the fuse; there was no sense of danger for them. So, when it was tossed to me, I made the mistake of catching Debra's eye again before I tried to reach up and catch it. The last thing I saw was the sparks glowing in her iris' before everything went red. It felt like someone had hit me in the head with a burning baseball bat. I remember crumpling to the ground before my conscious faded away.

I want to scream till my voice goes hoarse and my throat scratchy, but I know I must remain calm.

"The doctor said it'll take some time for you to get adjusted. He said it's normal for people who have recently lost their sight to see things, so if you begin to have hallucinations, just remember, they aren't real and cannot harm you."

I nod at the direction of my fathers voice, then stop, the pain becoming unbearable.

"Alright son, I'm gonna head home. You rest well, okay?"

"Yes," I say through cracked lips.

It's night? I couldn't tell. The fact makes me feel off-kilter.

I want to say good-bye, or beg him to stay, but the foot-falls of his heavy work boots are already dissipating into the background noise.

I don't know how much time passes, but I can't fall asleep. The buzz of the hospital has grown mostly quiet, and almost peaceful, but my mind is wide awake.

I bring my hands up to my face, flex my fingers before my eyes, but nothing changes. Dropping my hands, I jump and brace myself against the hospital bed.

In the distance of my non-vision, there is a white shape. indistinguishable, at first, but starting to appear more human.

It's probably just a hallucination...right?

But it's not, at least that's what every essence of my being is screaming.

My breathing becomes more shallow as it draws nearer and nearer.

It doesn't have any features, just shadows barely indicating where each joint and limb meets.

My heart rate quickens, the machine i'm assuming is attached to my wrist beginning to beep more prominently.

Now, it appears to be standing no more than ten feet away. I try to shift my head, to will the thing to disappear, but it remains rooted to it's place.

Suddenly, two black holes appear on what i'm guessing is the entity's face, giving me two, slow, reptilian blinks. A mouth appears, gaping, the jaw dripping like paint until it hits the floor. It lets out the loudest, most spine-tingling shriek I've ever heard. That's when I know I'm a goner.

I scream, praying someone, anyone, will hear me. That's when the creature pounces.

It pulls the blanket off my legs, leaving them exposed and cold, before it's wide mouth envelops them. It's a sharp and searing pain; tears leap into my eyes and run down my still aching face.

Finally, I hear voices and footsteps drawing closer. I know they can't see the demon, or whatever it is, but it's too late. My consciousness is slipping again, and this time I know I won't regain it. The hospital staff talks over the sounds of the monster as I watch it eat me, piece by piece tearing away my body.

"He's going into cardiac arrest, doctor."

No, I want to tell them. I'm not.

But I'm already gone.