When you're young, your parents always tell you that there is nothing unsafe about the dark. They tell you that there are no monsters in your wardrobe and nothing under your bed. They try their best to convince you that nothing will crawl through the open door and attack you, yet you are still scared. You still check every nook, every cranny of your room, searching for potential threats that would take advantage of the darkness. You keep a night light to create a pool of light around you that would ward off any creatures. This makes you feel safer, but that fear still settles inside your gut and sticks like glue.
I stopped believing in all that a while ago, of course. So, when I'm woken up in the middle of the night by rusting and find my window open (when I had closed it before I had fallen asleep), I thought nothing of it and fell asleep again.
Until it happened again.
I sat up in bed with a scream, coated in sweat. I sat bolt upright breathing heavily for a few minutes. I don't know what woke me up, but, going by the scream and the fear in my gut, I'm guessing it was a nightmare. I sighed, and wiped the sweat from my brow. Lucky I was living alone. If I wasn't, I would have woken up the whole house. I got ready to settle in my bed again, since it was pitch black in my room the only light coming from my window. Wait, why weren't my curtains drawn? And why was my window open? Again?
I stood on shaky knees. Okay, one time, I can deal with it, but two? In a row? Nope. Can't do it. It may have been a coincidence, but I doubted it , if it was, why did I have the overwhelming feeling that I was being watched? I felt eyes boring into my back, and turned on my heel to find nothing. I was staring at darkness with scared eyes. Scolding myself for being so childish, I made my way to my window and locked it shut, closing the curtains afterwards. When I got back to bed, I heard no movement, felt no eyes on me, so I deemed that I was safe, and snuggled into my pillow.
That was when I felt a hand on my leg.
I screamed again, hurriedly curling up on top of my pillow and grabbing the quilt in bunches. I shook, hazel eyes scanning the room. Nothing. How could that be possible? How could there be nothing?! I had felt it! Fingers, grabbing my leg one by one. I had felt claws. It must have been one of the residents. I think of the residents I know with claws; Bones, Lolly, Ankha, Moe, Tangy... None of them would do this! I'm well liked in this town. They wouldn't scare me like this. Sighing again, I settled in bed, and fell into a nightmarish, restless sleep.
I woke the next day with my stomach tied in a knot. Well, it felt like it anyway. I let out a deep ragged sigh of full out exhaustion and stood. As I got ready, I wondered what I had felt last night, but brushing it off, thinking that it had just been a fluke. However, when I went round Lolly's house, it is right next to mine, and asked her if she saw anyone going in my house last night, she sent me a weird look and said no, no she hadn't. It was hard to sleep last night and then I woke up in the middle of the night again.
I woke up peacefully this time, my eyes opening slowly. I stayed down as I woke up, curled up underneath my quilt. Curtains not drawn. Window open. Someone staring. I narrowed my eyes, sitting up and scanning the room. But, as always nothing. Cold fear gripped me and a shiver went down my spine. I didn't know what to do. This had happened three nights in a row. Three! It couldn't keep happening, could it? I would never sleep again. I would stay up all night like a child, keeping my light on and scanning the room for the creature that uses the dark as its cover. A hand found my arm and pulled.
I screamed, a blood-curdling scream that echoed through my large house. It felt like my arm was being tugged out of it's socket. As I was being pulled, claws digging into my arm, I realized that the hand was indeed a paw, a grey paw. Wait, a grey paw?! No... no, it couldn't be...
I looked down and felt myself being released, released into a hole, but there was not a hole in my floor. This was a deep hole too, so deep there wasn't even a side for my scream to echo against, no end in sight. Wind rushed past my ears and my hair whipped against my face as I fell. I could hear my heart thumping. Falling... Falling... Why couldn't I stop falling? I looked up, it took some effort, as the only direction I knew for certain was down and found myself staring into large deep red eyes. I seemed to sink into them, into the murder and malice. Soon, I was able to make out the rest of the face. Black ears, grey face, black stripes...
“Lolly?” I mutter, my voice barely audible.
And she just smiled, and watched me fall.
Note: I did NOT write this story, I just put it here. Credit goes to MollyMakesMagic on ACC aka My good friend. (I got permission to put it here!)