Something's trying to crawl out of my elbow.
It started as just me trying to get comfy in bed and feeling something in my elbow pull.
That wasn't that unusual. Annoying, sure, but my joints work in stupid ways. Been in an out of physical therapy since I was 12. So one of my joints subluxing when I'm just tossing and turning? Typical.
The next morning I woke up with pain in my elbow if I fully straightened it out. Again, normal. Not as bad as when I pulled something in my hip trying to get out of bed last week. Just stretched it and it was reduced to a dull ache.
But this evening... I don't know. This evening was weird.
I have chronic headaches, because I'm nothing if not a complete disaster. So I got home from work with a headache right next to my left eye. Changed into my pajamas, popped an ibuprofen, pulled down the blackout blinds, and curled up in bed.
Then my elbow started moving. Not in a weird marionette "someone else is controlling my body" way. No. Something *inside* was moving.
THis weird sensation of something pushing up against my skin, then back down. Up, then back down. It was too slow and purposeful to be a muscle spasm but then again what else could it be? So I put my other hand under my elbow so I could pinpoint exactly what was doing the motion. Figured it was probably a tendon. I waited.
Waited.
Then I felt it. Something thin and tubular pressed against my skin, and I swear to god it felt out my hand. There was a softest tingling sensation as my elbow's skin touched my palm. I saw stars before my eyes, but not in the cartoon pain way -- I saw the stars of the Milkyway stretched across an endless sky, calling to me--
I yanked my hand back and sat up quickly, looking around. My head spun a bit from the sudden movement, but I could see that there was nothing going on. I was in my room, no stars calling out. My elbow felt pretty normal, and I was alone, the cat busy eating her dinner upstairs. It was just me, trying to nurse a headache.
Just before I lied back down, the feeling returned. Up, tracing the skin, then back down. Up, tracing the skin, then back down. Each motion made my joint feel a bit sore, which wasn't exactly going to help me sleep, so I got up and went into the bathroom, where light spilled in. Ignoring my throbbing head, I pulled back my sleeve and twisted my arm to be able to view the part of my elbow that had the sensation.
Something dark was beneath my skin, dark enough to make my skin look an unnatural deep blue. It was shimming, little spots dancing on the underside of my skin. The pattern was almost mesmerizing, as if letters were being formed in an unknown, long-lost language. But even though I couldn't read it, I could feel it in my mind, seeking me.
When sunlight hit the thing, it shifted up abruptly, causing me to wince. My skin stretched out unnaturally, as something long and dark and utterly unknown pushed upward, seeking the sun. My skin dazzled in the light and for a brief moment, I swore I saw a single galactic eye staring into my soul and making my head hurt worse, but promising me every glorious sight in the galaxy--
Frantically I ran into my bedroom, tugging at my sleeve. Once I was out of the sun, the *thing* receded, its calling stopped, and my skin returned to normal. God does that stuff stretch. I pulled my sleeve back over and heard my cat meow, no doubt wondering why the hell I was running in and out of the bathroom. When I pulled back my sleeve in the dark, it was still there, but no longer pushing up against my skin. That gaze was still there though.
I don't know why it's staying in my elbow. It's almost pacing in there, but there doesn't seem to be any bruising, and it's only mildly sore. In horror movies this is the type of shit that bites its way out and leaves you bleeding on the floor. It's the type of shit that makes dogs howl and cats hiss, but Ruffles doesn't care at all. She sniffed at it, then rubbed against it... And the *thing* rubbed back, its dazzling eye looking up at her fluffy face. She's staying near me as always and seems utterly normal. I thought animals detected evil?
I can't take any chances. I have the shade down in my room, but none of the rest of my windows have blackout shades. I don't know what to do. It doesn't seem to care about unnatural light, just that one moment with sunlight. I suppose I can always wear long sleeves, but not all clothes are blackout either. Besides, what if it leaves my elbow? It's clearly mobile. Maybe when sunlight hits my face it'll just go up there... And I can't imagine that it would be pleasant for it to escape, even if it appears to have no evil intentions.
What am I saying? How could possessing a strange body and trying to root out of it *not* be evil? I swear this thing is messing with my head. I keep looking at it to confirm it's still there.
I've got five hours until sunrise, and I think it knows that. The motions have become quicker, spiraling up and around my blood vessels and leaving a dying star's kisses on my tendons. Each time I pull up my sleeve it rotates so its eye is looking right up at me. Its gaze is so bright, so deep, so mesmerizing... It promises the knowledge of the universe and endless views of its beauty. It whispers of the sun's endless warmth and the moon's wondrous power. It assures me that no matter what, I'd be enlightened.
I've just taped my sleeve to my wrist so I stop staring at it, but the urge to look again is becoming stronger and stronger. The urge says just to confirm it's still there, but I don't believe it. It's telling me to look at it. It's calling to me. Promising...
I've seen you all help so many people, so maybe you can help me. Maybe someone else has experienced this. Maybe someone can tell me how to get it out, let it go to the sun without taking me with it.
I can't be the first person in the world invaded by this... Thing, can I?
Can I?
