My darkest hour

After a long day of work, I finally walked into my room, changed into my pajamas and went back to the kitchen to have something to eat before going to bed. From there, I could see Anger sleeping peacefully at her bed, undisturbed by my noise, used to my nightly routine. I ignored her as I poured some milk into a cup and grabbed a toast with some strawberry jam. I sighed as I saw my reflection on the oven, tired and untidy. I shook my head and sat by the counter.

The night was very calm and dark. I could almost say, surprisingly so, for a night with a Full Moon, but there may have been many clouds blocking it.

I finished my toast and milk, washed my dishes and went on with my night. I walked back into my room and turned on my side table lamp. I had been reading a short story compilation lately, one each night, as a way to lull myself into sleep, but the past few ones had failed to grab me, and made me consider change genres altogether, and so, with a romance novel that was recommended by a coworker, I slipped under the covers and started to read.

The pace was relaxing, the setting was comfy, and the character dynamic was sweet. It felt like a hug, and it managed to lull me a little. When I finished the chapter, and returned the book to the side table, I noticed something. I could barely see outside the light of the lamp.

The closet door was slightly open, I couldn’t remember if I actually closed it but somehow, when everything was as dark as it was, that disturbed me a little. As soon as I got up to close it, I could feel something weird behind me. I turned immediately, but couldn’t see anything at all. I went back to my bed, scared to turn the light of the lamp off.

I sat there, without moving. There was absolute silence in my apartment, which felt inexplicably eerie. I got under the covers and turnt to the side, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I spent a good five minutes trying to get my nerves in check. I tried picturing the couple from the book, but I could not focus on them. Only the darkness existed in my mind, my focus being on the oppressive silence. I even tried to read a few more chapters from the book to try and distract my brain, but I could not shake off this feeling that something was somehow wrong.

I checked my cellphone to see what time it was. It was out of battery. Bad night to forget my charger at my desk. I could go look for it, but that would mean going out of my bed, and the idea seemed crazy

So, I sat on the bed and started to analyse everything. I was alone, Anger was asleep outside of my room and if she wasn’t upset, then I probably shouldn’t be either. Too many horror movies could do that to your brain.

I turnt to my side, closed my eyes hard, and tried to force myself to sleep by not thinking too much. And it may have been working, until I heard a noise. A very distinctive one. My door was opening. The creak was clear. I started feeling really nervous, cold sweat down my spine.As much as I wanted to check the door, verify if I had imagined it, I was frozen in place. And the creaking kept going

I closed my eyes harder, trying to convince myself I was just imagining noises and that I was about to fall asleep. But I could slowly feel a dark presence start to fill the room. A feeling that I couldn’t ignore any longer. I sat down on my bed, and glanced over at the now slightly open door.

My room was…empty. No one was in front of my bed, but the cold feeling was still there

I looked around, straight at the darkness, looking for something, until I finally decided to look down. A wave of relief took over me. There, watching me from beside my bed, was Anger. My cute little pup was just looking up at me by the edge of the mat I have in front of my bed

As soon as she noticed me watching her, she jumped into my bed, and crawled into my arms, taking my fears away. It may be dark, but at least I am not alone

I sighed and relaxed. I curled under my covers with Anger next to me. I finally started to fade away into a sleepless dream

And then, a sound made me shiver from head to toe. A snore, coming from the living, where Anger’s bed was. And immediately, the door shut with a crash.

I froze in bed, feeling how whatever thing that was in the bed with me started to move, the sound of bones cracking next to me filling the previous oppressive silence. And as much as I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything. I tried to scream, but something was pressing against my mouth. A crushing weight pushed me into my bed.

The last thing I saw before losing myself into the darkness was a pair of red yellowish eyes in front of my face and sharp white teeth…