Essais - Essays

W_NDER IN THE NIGHT

They say it's difficult to enter one's mind. But Awake felt like his brains had been turned inside out. That thing was still following him. He could feel it. He was walking in the middle of the road; every time he passed by a mirror or a shop's windows, he could feel its breath. He could feel its heat.

"HEY! HELP ME GODDAMMIT!" He screamed, waving his arms at the automobile coming straight at him.

The car did not slow down. Awake had an instinctive gesture, which made him jump to the side of the road once the car had almost reached his position, in the middle of the road.

Only his left foot was hit. But it was hurt badly. Awake gave a middle finger to the automobilist who continued his race against God-knows-who and crawled to the nearest wall –he checked a few times that there weren't any windows-, he finally sat, his back against the building.

He looked at his foot. It was bent into a really weird angle.

"Jesus Christ..." He cautiously pulled off his left shoe, and started massaging his harmed member; it did nothing but aggravate the pain.

He resigned himself to put his feet back on the ground, and looked around him. The street seemed darker than before, if that was in any way possible. He felt the thing, the creature, -what could he call it for Christ's sake! - was closer than before. He could not let it come inside of his brain like last time. He pulled out a syringe from his pocket and put it on the ground. He took the piece of cloth from his pocket; it was soaked in blood. He had to do it right this time, or it would only make things worse. The creature was getting closer.

He tied the piece of cloth to his left arm, right above his elbow; he waited for a few seconds to feel the familiar itch which coursed through his veins. He gave a few taps with his right hand on the spot where he was about to do the injection. He felt like he was shivering with every single part of his body. With meticulous gesture, he lifted the syringe off the ground, and held it a few seconds above his arms, the needle only a few millimeters from the injection point. He gazed quickly at his left. He had a few seconds to spare. He took a deep breath. It's gonna be okay. He inserted the needle slowly into his arm, until it was at the right spot. He pressed with his thumb on the top of the instrument and started injecting the liquid. When he had finished, he removed the syringe as slowly and expertly as he put it in, and threw it on the floor. He wouldn't need it anymore. He looked on both sides of the road; the presence was vanishing slowly.

He won. He relaxed each and every one of his muscles. He was barely feeling the pain in his left foot anymore. A feeling of warmth and comfort surged throughout his body. He was feeling good. Too good. A feeling of insecurity overwhelmed him; the creature was still there, somewhere, only slowed down by the injection: he had gained a few minutes, nothing more. He tried to lift himself from the ground, but the street started spinning around him; his foot didn't hurt him, but it betrayed him. He fell right back on the floor. He was feeling cold. He must have not taken enough of it, it must be. He stretched his arm to reach for the syringe; maybe there was some left? His vision was blurry. Goosebumps covered his back as he felt a cold presence in his spine. It was there. It had found him. He closed his eyes, his fist clenching onto thin air. He felt the cold bite of the creature in his neck. He had a final spasm, exhaling his final breath.

It was over. It got him. Finally.