![]() I awoke staring into blackness, it took a while for me to realise what was wrong. ![]() The light spilling into the room comforted me and I curled up underneath the covers away from the cold. I listened to their door close and sighed, maybe there was nothing after all. I lay like this for a few hours, partially dozing off when I heard the sound of the TV go silent and movement signalling that my parents were heading for bed. The room was getting cold again but I refused to go under the covers, the light from the door partially illuminated the room and banishing the darkness giving me courage. I could hear the TV and murmurs of my parents which gave me some comfort, at least they weren’t too far away. I climbed into bed and made sure that my door was ajar and the landing light was left on. ![]() All too soon my plate was cleared and I was sent up to bed with a warning about no TV if I let it happen again. I ate supper as slowly as I could in order to prolong the time it took for me to have to go into that room again. I was told I was going to have supper and then get an early night so that it wouldn’t happen again, much to my disdain. They had told her about me sleeping during lessons and she wasn’t all too happy. I went inside and was instantly cornered by my mother who’d had a phone call from school earlier on. Seeing the lights from the windows was comforting, it was already getting dark and I really didn’t want to be walking alone at night. I went down for breakfast dreading the day of school that lay ahead of me in my tired state.įorty minutes later and I was walking down the driveway. I tried to tell her about what had happened the previous night and she initially seemed concerned, but that was mostly due to the bags under my eyes and lack of sleep than some kind of “make believe monster”. It wasn’t until my mother came in to wake me up for school that I braved leaving the safety of my bed sheets. It was silent now, but I refused to get out from under the covers. I must have dozed off at some point, even amidst the sheer terror that I was feeling that night, because I couldn’t remember that horrible breathing stopping. Minutes dragged on and after seemingly hours daylight began to creep into the room. I lay trembling listening to the quickened pace of the breathing. The voice had been inhuman, utterly devoid of any emotion. How could I have thought it soothing before? It was a horrible choked noise, sounding more like a death rattle now than the quiet creaking of before. The horrible thing that was hanging above me was breathing. The creaking had once again started slightly faster this time, and with a jolt I suddenly realised what it was. Lying completely still, my heart was racing. A grating scratching sound like teeth grinding on a bone uttered the words: Just as I thought the noise had stopped for good I heard something that chilled my insides, even in the warmth of my bed. I lay there holding my breath trying to catch any hint of the creaks again. I still didn’t want to leave the warmth of the covers so I turned my head to try and listen to get a better idea of what it was.Īs I moved my head the sound abruptly stopped. Although slightly muffled by my blankets, the sound seemed to be coming from directly above me as if I had some ancient creaking fan on the ceiling. Listening intently I realised another thing, the sounds didn’t seem to be coming from the direction of the window. I’d asked my parents to change bedroom but they said they needed the space in the other rooms and my brother definitely wasn’t swapping his, he had the warmest room in the house next to the boiler. I’d inspected the windows thoroughly a few days before fruitlessly trying to plug up any gaps that might be letting the cool air in. ![]() My eyes suddenly shot open, my old house had shutters that would sometimes creak in the wind but this new one didn’t. I settled back into the pillows and listened to the noise, it was almost soothing in a way. I shut my eyes once more, it was simply the shutters on the windows creaking in the wind. I strained my ears and caught a very faint creaking sound, almost rhythmic in its regularity. ![]() We had recently moved house and although we were settling in quite well the cold was something we all had to adjust to, especially with winter slowly creeping in.Īs I gazed blearily into the dark blankets I started wondering what had awoken me, for I had been sleeping peacefully until just this moment. I’d grown accustomed to sleeping with my head completely underneath due to the extreme coldness in my bedroom. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |