The Loop

Wake up. Bathroom. Lean over sink and brush my teeth. I rise and take a look in the mirror. Startled out of sleep.

Last thing I remember of the dream is seeing a deformed, burned, ugly face insted of mine. Just thinking about it gives me chills... Anyway. I get up from my bed and head to the bathroom. Start brushing my teeth, leaning over the sink. I finish brushing and rise, wiping my face with a towel while looking at myself in the mirror. I open the bathroom door and the face is there in the dark hallway, right in front of the narrow gap I cracked open in the door.

I wake up again. 'What the fuck is happening?'. I look at the clock- 5:19am. It's still dark. I turn on the lamp next to my bed and sit at the end of my bed, looking downward. Suddenly I feel overwhelmed with dread, my eyes open widely and my head, on its own, turns towards the window- the face is there, pushed against the glass from the outer side, grinning...

I wake up again, gasping, sweaty. I look at the clock- 5:14am. Still dark. I am unwilling to move, I just want to get back to sleep. I turn on my side, facing the wall. 'Fuck!' The face is there, emerging from the wall.

Awoke once more. I start feeling uncomfortable, panic consumes me. I look at the clock. It's 5:09am. I feel like throwing up. I sit in bed with my eyes closed. I start pinching myself in order to wake up, my eyes still closed. 'Nothing happens, I must be awake then'. I open my eyes just to see the face a couple of inches in front of mine.

Warmness.

I sit up in the bed, startled out of sleep again. No trace of him. I pissed myself. I get up in order to clean up and change. 'Am I awoke for real now?'. I open my wardrobe and get new pants. Head to bathroom through the hallway, passing by a mirror. I catch a sight of my reflection in the mirror with my peripheral vision. Again that nasty feeling, my eyes open widely and my head turns on itself in direction of the mirror. The face was there... again.

I open my eyes. I'm in bed. Look at the clock- 4:59am. 'This is not normal' I get up and run to the door of my house. Overwhelmed with feelings of dread, panic, insecurity. 'This is madness' I open the front door only to find out that behind the door there is a mirror immage of my house. He was standing there, behind the door. Humanoid shaped body, all black and gooey. Narrow neck and then... the face...

I sit up in bed, opening my eyes. Lost track of how many times I woke up. Clock says it's 1:04am. 'This can't be true. I was up until after 2:00am'. I get up, run into the kitchen. Open a drawer and get a knife. The moment I turn around he's there... once more.

Bright light runs into my eyes as I am opening them. I look around- it's a white room with bright lamps on the ceiling. I lay in a bed, completely white. With effort I focus my eyesight to see a woman in a white overall. 'This is a hospital'. The nurse looks at me, writing something on her papers. Then turns to a bed next to mine, leans over it. Writes something on her papers and the proceeds to leave the room. I look around the room, it really was a hospital. 'How did I get here?' I turn my head to my right. On the bed next to mine lies a person all in bandages. His whole head in bandages. None of his skin on his entire body is visible. He lies on his back, his head pointed forward, towards the ceiling. As if realising that I'm looking at him, he sits up in the bed. I am frozen in my place, can't move, can't look away. He starts unwrapping his head and in this moment I realise what I am about to see. Thoughts quickly go through my mind 'Fuck, that's him. Again? How much more? Fuck!'. The moment a little of his skin becomes visible between the bandages...

My sight meets letters. I lift my head up. 'Haha, I fell asleep on the keyboard.' I look at the bottom right corner of the screen- 5:25am. 'Think I will move to my bed for the rest of my sleep. That fucking nightmare, gonna be thinking about nice stuff now.' I get up, brush my teeth, go back to my room. I lay in the bed, go under the blankets and start dosing off immediately. I get this nasty feeling that I am falling through the bed right before you fall asleep. I look at the clock- 5:28...

5:29...

