I wake up in a sweat from a reoccurring nightmare and panic has a strong grasp on me. It takes me a minute to regain my normal breathing pattern. I’m conscious of the fact that I am awake but I can still feel his presence lingering, as if he’s purposely taunting me from my nightmare. Finally, my alarm clock sounds and I begin my everyday routine for work.
I work in an office so I feel safe, secure, surrounded by many bodies throughout the day. It’s only after work that I dread, coming home to an empty apartment building where laughter and cherished moments are now nothing but a memory. I was in a 5 year relationship but we drifted apart and he moved out. Now I am in disarray, I see shadowy figures follow my every step. I usually keep the lights on so I don’t have to deal with them.
There’s one shadow in particular shaped like a man that seeps into my dreams, chasing after me like the madman that he is. Today at work something felt off, you know that chill that you get after watching a scary movie? It was something to that effect except this time I felt it throughout the day. Work is over but the day is not yet over with. I went home and I could see a shadow in the distance in my bedroom. It’s almost as if he’s greeting me home. The room is a mess, it’s not a shadow anymore, it’s a person and he’s going to kill me if I don’t give him money that I don’t have.
I reach for the door and begin to run down my apartment hallway but he catches up with me… It’s too late, he stabs me and all I can see is a shadowy figure standing over me as my life begins to fade.