I was startled awake by the sound of screaming in the distance,
reverberating around me, caging me in,
accompanied by loud sobs of dread.
As I jolted in a sitting position,
I tried to look around in a panic, but everything seemed blurry,
"I can't see!" I tried to scream desperately,
but my voice seemed to die the moment it left my mouth as I clawed at my throat in frustration.
My heartbeat seemed to pulse through my whole body,
sending jolts of prickling pain through me.
I aggressively tried to rub at my eyes with shaky hands unsuccessfully as I heard the sound of footsteps approaching in the distance.
There was only one thing that seemed to repeat in the walls of my empty mind like a broken record
'please don't! please don't! please don't!'
and it seemed to only get louder, ringing in my ears.
I shook uncontrollably as I looked down at my bloody hands in horror and realization.
"No!" I chanted maniacally while I rubbed at my arms and white gown stained in crimson
"so much blood! No, no!".
It was everywhere, pooled on the floor around me.
I felt nauseated as the strong metallic smell hit my nostrils,
I could taste it on my tongue.
I blinked repeatedly as I scooted to the corner of the room,
a failed attempt at making myself seem smaller.
I searched around in a panic,
finding myself in an empty space,
the blue painted the infinite walls and floor in frigidity,
creating total isolation.
'You are dreaming'
the realization caused a wave of dread to wash over be, coating me in panic.
This unfortunate knowledge appeared to only heighten the vividity of this reality.
'Not again' I mumbled meekly with pain as my heart clawed at my chest.
The feeling of desperation and terror seemed to radiate from my body,
I felt helpless and exhausted.
In the moment of total surrender,
I dropped to the floor and hugged my knees to my chest,
watching the door right in front of me with lifeless eyes.
The door would open any moment now and the masked man would emerge from the darkness,
his shadow looming over my head like a noose.
With nothing but a malicious grin visible on his face he would stalk towards me predatorily as the lights start to flicker.
Then he would point to a spot and losing all control over my body my head would automatically turn on its own and stare in horror at the body.
The body covered with a white sheet, completely hid the identity of the person and as I sobbed into my arms shaking my head the man would remove his mask, revealing his identity.
It was different every single time, sometimes it would be Bill,
other times it would be my abusive ex-boyfriend but most of the times he was faceless.
Then he would stalk closer to the body and place his bloody hands on the cover,
staining the sheet as he would slowly pull it off.
It would be then that I would force myself awake yet the memory, so vivid,
would haunt me in my waking hours.
I didn't understand how a nightmare,
completely disconnected from reality appeared so lifelike.
Wiping at my blurry eyes I whimpered in agony,
clenching a hand over my chest,
the weight of my heart pushed against my lungs suffocating me further and further with every beat.
The sound of the footsteps was at the door now and so I began counting 3, 2, 1...…