Page 39 of Secrets That Bind Us
“Am I still grounded?”
“ThreeF-bombs, Sav. I could have forgiven one due to you expressing your anger, but…” I trail off.
Her shoulders slump forward in resignation. “Okay.”
Okay.
I know better than to fall asleep on my back in this house.
It always starts with a numbing sensation in my fingertips. The image of a blurry, tall, skinny silhouette just outside my door frame that I keep open in case my children call out to me in the middle of the night. I can feel it watching me as it twitches, getting down on all fours, limbs longer than the average human, as it crosses my threshold.
Heart thumping wildly, I try to calm my breathing, have my brain alert my muscles to start working, and to move so I can get away. But it never works. I shiver internally when my sleep paralysis demon disappears behind my footboard, only to feel the mattress dip under its weight when it ever-so-slowly crawls up my feet, claws digging into my shins.
I close my eyes and scream for help, but it’s muffled by tight lips, still seeping drool from when I was asleep.
I can feel its weight as it slides upward, but there’s a noise above me – avoice– murmuring quickly, whispering a secret. A warning.
The urge to pee is severe.
I hate this dream. I hate this dream.
Wake up, Verity.
My eyes look for the voice as this thing keeps inching upwards, sniffing me.
I catch a hooded figure above, bending over me– but how can that be? My headboard is against the wall.
My room is void of any sound except this fucking voice.
I scream internally again.
The thing makes headway, and it’s up to my middle now, taunting. It has no eyes, but I can tell it’s watching me, feeding off my fear like an incubus.
And down my blanket goes, inch by inch– from my breasts, then under, I hate this next part.
“Dontgointothebasementdontgointothebasementdontgointothebasement.”
What is it saying?
I try to concentrate, feeling sweat on my brow and bile rising.
I realize I could die like this – choking on my own vomit. All while my children are sleeping upstairs. I struggle against the invisible chains weighing me down.
“Dontgointothebasementdontgointothebasementdontgointothebasement.” The figure above me whispers.
Please!
Can’t it hear me?
It’s louder, and I can feel the anger in the hooded figure’s urgency. But the claws from my demon rake down my stomach.
“Dontgointothebasementdontgointothebasementdontgointothebasement.”
I fight, begging my brain to please help me move. A scraping noise on the floor above my ceiling. Aclink. I shiver. I know that clink. It’s my father’s belt buckle hitting the floor before he– Alarms ring in my head as I start to getfeeling back in my fingertips, right as the demon’s claws plunge into my belly. I open my mouth to scream but the scream isn’t mine.
“MOMMYYYYYYYYYY!”
“MOOOOOOMMMM!”
