It Was Probably Nothing


 * I’m rather nocturnal; I’ve never thought that the day was any better than the night. In fact, there are less people around at night; that makes it much better. I usually don’t sleep until 3AM. I’ve never been the first person in my house to get out of bed. When it’s night, I like to chat online, read books, and play video games. Of course, being a nocturnal person doesn’t come without its jump or two. Things always go bump in the night around me. I live in an old apartment building; the plumbing always screech and the floors and ceiling always creek. Then, there are the shadows which are created by the lights of the city on the trees and buildings outside my window. I’ve seen enormous figures; grotesque creatures watching me in the shadows at night. Tricks of the light, tricks of my mind; with only specks of light to see, my brain forces some kind of image to create itself.


 * So, I thought it was nothing on the night that I saw a woman standing in the corner of my bedroom. I’m an only child, my bedroom isn’t open to anybody else and I don’t share it with people. So, it was odd when I looked up and in the corner of my bedroom, there was a woman dressed in black. She was thin, incredibly thin, the type of shape that supermodels would call too thin. Her hair was long, black, and it ran all the way down to the floor. She was dressed in a black gown. She was as tall as the room, her head touched the ceiling, and her face was hidden by shadows. I shrugged at her and turned back to a videogame I was playing. It was probably nothing; I hate the way the shadows make my eyes see strange things.


 * That night, once I was too tired to keep playing games, I turned off my computer. I didn’t see anything in the corner of the room as I went to bed. I took off all of my clothes and rolled into bed with a sigh. Slowly, I began to lose consciousness and darkness took me. I strayed into worlds with only color and light; my demons and fears played with my mind while I could not see them or care about them.


 * Then, I was slowly soothed out of my slumber by my hair. It felt weird to say the least, the back of my head felt numb. My whole body was paralyzed, I couldn’t see anything in the darkness. This was normal, though, the human body eases into a type of gentle paralyzation to help keep it from waking up or sleepwalking. I tried to ignore the weird sensation of numbness and relax. I really wanted to sleep; something about this night had made me more tired than usual. Somebody with such a weird way of sleeping like me often forgets how many days without sleep they usually go. So, I really needed some rest.


 * Slowly, I began to relax again. My muscles lost their tension and my body was no longer paralyzed. Still, I didn’t move, I wanted to sleep. Eyes closed I felt my neck begin to ache for no reason. Then, the numb sensation on the back of my head started again. This time, my hair was being tugged gently by something under my head. It was weird, but I didn't care.


 * “Too sleepy. Don’t care. My scalp will relax again soon enough.” I thought, not daring to speak. I didn’t want to move a muscle, I wanted to sleep a few hours.


 * Still, the tugging didn’t stop. My hair was being pulled, I could feel that it wasn’t just my skin. It was somebody yanking on my hair as much as they could. Finally, I was too upset by the strange sensation. I quickly sat up. Behind me, I felt fingers running up my head as I sat up. Then, I heard the sound of something dragging itself up my pillow and away from me. I quickly jumped out of my bed and with a cry of anguish ran to the light switch. I turned the bedroom lights on and placed my back against the door. Nothing. There was nothing on my bed, nobody in my room. The back of my head still felt numb, but there was nothing in my room. With a groan, I crawled back into bed. This time, I left the light on.


 * The next morning, when I woke up, I scanned my bed again. By my pillow, I saw something grotesque. Hair, a pile of hair running down the sides of my pillow. This wasn’t normal. I thought it was nothing after a few minutes, though. Maybe, I was just being really lazy with how often I had been cleaning my bed. Hair falls off of at a rate of about 100 hairs a day. This was much more than 100 hairs, but it could be several nights worth. Instead of worrying, I quickly threw my pillow and bed sheets into the washer then took a shower.


 * Exhausted the next night, I stripped and snuggled into freshly washed sheets that night. I lay on my back, playing on my tablet computer. The bed was so clean and warm, I didn’t want to stay out of it. So, at around 3AM, I finally turned off my tablet with a yawn. I curled up and held my soft clean pillow close. Slipping out of consciousness, I began to fall into a deep slumber. My brain, exhausted again, forced me into a soft paralyzation. I slowly fell asleep; time and space meant nothing to me as the clock ticked on.


 * Then, I could feel the tugging, again. It lured me back out of my sleep. This time it was gentle, though, as if it were nothing more than a breeze coming from my pillow. It made no sense, but for at least ten minutes I tried to think that it was nothing. Then, it grew more anxious, like it was hungry. The tugging began to make the back of my head numb again. I let out a soft whimper and closed my eyes. Then, I started to sit up, hoping to not hear or see anything.
 * Suddenly, I felt a hand clench around the back of my head and yank me down. I tried to scream, but then another hand slammed over my mouth. I could taste blood as the hand smashed my teeth against my lips. I shrieked and yelled, but I couldn’t hear myself. The hand was yanking chunks of my hair out. Then, it stopped. After just a second, my pillow was yanked out from under me. It was slammed over my face. I began to think that I was going to be killed by asphyxiation. Writhing and kicking, I tried to push the hands off of me. They were too strong, though.


 * As I began to gag for air, the pillow was pulled away from my face. However, I didn’t breathe when the pillow was yanked away, though. I just kept my eyes open, my body still, and didn’t make a sound. One hand was still clamped over my mouth. Looming over me, watching me, stood a woman in black. In the shadows, her face was hidden. Her black hair was laid out all around me. Her arms were grotesquely thin, but painfully strong. Her enormous, teen foot, body seemed to twist around me affectionately. Then, I realized where her other hand was. It was on my chest, her thin, bony fingers sliding down the front of my body. I began to scream and kick. Her body was so cold. It was so cold; it burned the skin that it ran along.


 * If anybody paying attention wants to survive, please don’t go near the shadows. She’s such a slow mover, but when she strikes she’ll do it with all of her strength. When you start to see her shadow cast upon a building outside your window or in a corner of your room, run! Don’t rest, don’t relax, don’t let her get close to you. Please, you don’t want to go through what she does to me. I haven’t slept in weeks, now, and it’s going to kill me soon. It hurts; everything hurts. Don’t let the darkness get close to you, please! She hides her ugly skinny body in it! Always keep an eye on the shadows, even if it’s probably nothing.


 * by Candy BoyQueen