SLEEPLESS

Genre: Horror

 

 

 

SLEEPLESS

By Randy Romero

 

The sky lit up outside Selina Carver’s bedroom windows, and right on cue, the rain followed, beating down against her roof like a snare drum. Autumn leaves rustled in the wind outside her open windows. She got up and closed them. Then she shut her curtains so she wouldn’t have to see the thunder and lightning.

On that stormy autumn night, sleep eluded her. As an insomniac, Selina had more than her share of sleepless nights. She had given up on over the counter remedies. She had tried a plethora of nighttime sleep aids, everything from liquids to pills and gel capsules. But none of them seemed to work for her.

She tossed and turned in her queen size bed, trying to find the most comfortable position. She was just starting to get comfortable when she realized how warm she was with the windows closed. She pulled her quilt down and rolled onto her right side.

But in a few minutes, she was cold again and covered herself back up. Then she flipped her warm pillows over to the cool side. She tossed and turned again, ending up on her left side, now facing the long, narrow mirror affixed to her closet door.

She gasped when she saw it. She bit her lip to stifle a scream, hard enough to draw blood.

In the reflection of the mirror, under her bed, she could just make out a nose and a mouth. The nose was long and crooked. But the mouth disturbed her the most. It was grinning widely and showing its sharp teeth. All jagged and crooked and filed down. It was like staring into the mouth of a shark.

Then she saw it eyes, green and glowing like a cat’s eyes.

When she was a little girl, Selina stayed up past her bedtime and watched A Nightmare on Elm Street without her parent’s permission. She was afraid to sleep for a week after that. Her parents warned her not to do it again. But she couldn’t help herself and watched Halloween on television one night after she went trick-or-treating. She spent the next month checking her closet and under her bed every night for Michael Myers.

But as an adult, those movies didn’t faze Selina. Michael and Freddy and Jason didn’t scare her anymore. And she was way too old to be checking under her bed for imaginary boogeymen. But this thing hiding under her bed was not imaginary.

She had to get down the stairs and out the front door. But first she had to get out of bed before that thing could grab her. If she was quick enough, she could make it from the bed to the door before it even had a chance to budge. But she only had one shot at this.

On the count of three, she said silently. One…two…three!

She rolled to the edge and sprinted from her bed. She made it to her bedroom door as the thing started crawling out from underneath, claws digging into the hardwood floor. She dashed through the hallway and flew down the staircase. She twisted the top lock on the front door, then the bottom lock. She grabbed the doorknob and thrust the door open. Then she ran faster than she ever ran in her life.

She ran to the end of the block, the Henderson residence. She knew Mr. and Mrs. Henderson would be home, and she knew Mr. Henderson always stayed up late watching television. She pounded her fists against the door in a frenzy. Old Mr. Henderson hobbled from the living room to the front door and let her in. Henderson let her sit and catch her breath while he called 911.

911 notified the local authorities and two police officers searched Selina’s house from top to bottom. They checked every room, they looked in the attic, searched the basement. They even checked the bathroom. And at Selina’s request, they took a peek under the bed, and found nothing.

But there were unmistakable claw marks left behind in the hardwood floors.

“The house is clear,” the younger officer said to Selina.

“I’m telling you, whatever it was, it was right here. Look at the marks on the floor. I’m not making this up. You’ve got to believe me.”

“We believe you,” the younger officer said. “But we searched the whole house. Whoever, or whatever was here, is long gone. They must’ve gotten spooked when you ran and they probably took off. But just to be safe, my partner and I are going to sit outside tonight and make sure they don’t come back. I’m Officer Briggs. This is my partner, Officer Robinson. If you need anything, call our precinct directly and have them radio us.” He gave her a card with the number to call. “Keep your cell phone handy just in case. We’ll be right outside.”

Selina crawled back into bed. This was going to be another sleepless night. But she shut the lights and turned the TV on, hoping maybe she could get just a few hours of rest. She felt much safer having the officers parked outside her house all night.

She rolled onto her side and noticed that the closet door was slightly ajar. She got up slowly, quietly. She felt like she was a little kid again, checking her closet for Michael Myers.

There’s nothing there, she told herself. The cops probably left the closet door open when they searched the house. But she had to be sure.

She crept to the closet and opened the door all the way. She peered in and saw two green eyes staring back at her. Then she saw its long, hideous nose. The last thing she saw was its teeth.