From Within Trilogy: Book of Perdition

Chapter Six: Outside the Comfort Zone

I was walking barefoot in my pajamas toward a large apartment complex. There was a blue awning hanging over the revolving door. A pudgy stout doorman dressed in a navy blue uniform stood at a desk inside the entrance. I heard a phone at his desk ringing. He answered it. "Yes, sir, I can check that for you." He hung up the phone stepping away into a door behind the desk. Suddenly, a tall, dark-haired man whizzed by me in a blur, going through the entrance, straight past the desk. He went into the stairwell. My instincts pushed me to follow the dark stranger.

Against my better judgment, I darted past the entrance into the stairwell trailing him. I could hear quick heavy footsteps smacking against the concrete stairs above me. I placed my bare feet on the cold, dirty steps feeling the tiny pieces of dirt smudge into the soles of my feet. The familiar remnants of a potent sulfur smell gagged the air around me. I pursued him up to the 20th floor, never losing my breath from the climb. I peeked out from the stairwell window. I scanned the floor, looking for him. He had paused in front of an apartment a few doors away. He took a cautious look around before entering it. I opened the stairwell door making its hinges squeak loudly. I paused, making sure nothing approached me, then let it click close behind me. I tiptoed down the rough, blue carpeted hallway towards the apartment he entered. It was left unlocked and partially open. I tapped it, opening it lightly to make enough space for me to squeeze in silently.

I spotted the man as soon as I had entered, and I froze, sure that he had seen me. He shifted away from me, and my body relaxed. He let out a strange maniacal laugh as he moved a panel away from the white tiled fireplace. He reached in, pulling out a thick flesh-colored leather-bound book. He brought it to his lips, kissing it. The lights suddenly switched on. A woman let out a startled gasp. Oddly, I could not see either of their faces. They did not seem to acknowledge my presence as if I was a ghost. I started focusing on their facial features, but nothing I did seemed to change my vision. The man snapped his fingers while laughing. A growling sound arose in the room as something came creeping in the shadows behind her. The woman was oblivious to the ominous figure approaching her.

The shadow-like creature transformed into a humanized form. I had no trouble seeing this thing. It had charred skin that hung off places on its body, exposing ivory-colored bone. Its eyes were deep black empty sockets. The triangular mouth oozed with a thick, inky substance. I tried to scream, yet nothing was coming out. I pushed myself against the nearest wall. The blurred man put his hands up to surrender in a joking manner. Then he turned his head toward me, tilting it from side to side in slow motion. He pressed a finger to his lips and whispered, "I don't think we are alone."

I woke up in a panic. My heart thudded furiously in my chest as if it were going to explode in my throat. I took several breaths through my nose and out the mouth to combat the terror I was experiencing. I let my tired eyes focus on the motionless lump that was Aimee sleeping peacefully. Her squeal had transformed into a loud puff of air. Our room still glowed with an orange tinge acknowledging I should be asleep. I rubbed my eyes with trembling hands as sweat pooled above my eyebrows. I peeked at the digital clock shining at 3:01 am. My stomach churned several times. I pressed two fingers to my lips holding back the sick feeling in my throat. I took more slow, deep breaths through my nose to fight off sudden nausea. I slid out of my bed and headed to the bathroom. I leaned over the sink, looking at my pale, fragile reflection. The dark circles under my eyes were going to need a spot of extra cover-up tomorrow. I splashed some cold water on my face letting the water run down my neck. It puddled on the shirt's collar creating a two-toned appearance.

The chill in the water soothed the sickness to a more tolerable level. I put the toilet seat cover down for a place to sit while I waited for the restlessness to settle. The humming sound of the bathroom vent was weirdly calming amongst the other sounds of life around me. I swore I was losing it. These strange, vivid nightmares are like nothing I had ever experienced. I rubbed my temples, attempting to ease the stress. I rinsed a facecloth under the cold water placing it behind my neck. It was the best home-taught remedy I had in my arsenal for nausea. Once the illness subsided, I headed back to bed.