Chasing Shadows -1

You haunt me.

Sometimes, I catch a fleeting glimpse of you in the mirror. I turn and close my eyes, scrunching them up tightly and it's almost like I feel you behind me - Your breath on my neck; your burning glare drilling into me. I half expect you to materialize out of thin air. My back's to the wall and I feel your hand around my throat, your nails digging in and tearing away at the skin.  You pull back the flesh, casting it aside. The blood-soaked tissue hitting the white tile floor with a sickening splat, blood splattering the flawless white walls. You rip apart my chest, searching for something you know isn't there. You stare at the complicated contortion of blood-stained bone; the mangled remains of what is no longer. Your pupils dialate completely, taking over the whites of your eyes, and suddenly burst into roaring flames. You throw your head back, laughing - The sound rumbling out like an avalanche. Your laughter shakes the walls and breaks the glass. I crumble to the floor, holding my ears and gasping for air. Your laughter is deafening and I open my mouth to scream.

And suddenly, I'm all I hear. My screams of terror and agony bouncing back at me. The white floors and evern whiter walls are all I see, faultless. The house isn't shaking. No glass is broken. I reach for my throat, running my fingers down to my chest and realize it's still in one piece; intact. It's like you were never real.

But that can't be true. You were real! You are real! I jump up from the floor and run, chasing shadows down the hallway. I stop and look around. I see a figure out of the corner of my eye and hear the echo of your voice. I spin quickly and find nothing. Again! There you are! I see you at the foot of the stairs and chase. You have something that's mine, that belongs to me. Or maybe it belongs to you. I race down the stairs, and trip over my own feet. Suddenly, I'm rolling, crashing, and smashing. The darkness starts to creep up on me and pulls me under, but before I'm lost, I see your face. I whisper your name and reach for you as the dark current pulls me under.

• 
• 352 of 2363
•