My mother and I were home alone. I knew he was coming for me. I wanted to hide from him, but what was more important at the time was hiding my mother and trying to get her out of his way. I locked the doors, fastened the windows, and checked and secured each and every room—he wasn’t there. But I could still feel him coming; my whole body shivered with fear and dreadful anticipation. My heart raced, pounding harder than ever before. I knew I was bound to come face to face with this demon.
I blacked out for a moment then opened my eyes to find him crouching on top of me; a hideous human-like creature of great height and strength. His skin was of a blackish, ashy color and had a rough yet slimy texture. He had sharp claws, and enormous wings with clipped edges sprang from his scarred back.
“I told you I’d find you!” he said with his gruff voice.
I was paralyzed with the inevitability of the situation, and I couldn’t utter a word. I looked at the corner of the room to find my mother lying there; he knocked her out as if she was a mere obstacle in his way. Thankfully, he had no interest in taking her life.
I lay there, motionless, and unable to understand his ramblings…I lay there watching his monstrous face addressing me as malice, anger beaming out of his eyes. It wasn’t long before he started skinning me alive. I could see the sadistic pleasure of the process in his crocked grin…I could feel his every slow move and I could feel my skin slowly parting my flesh and peeling off my back. The pain was excruciating and overwhelming, but I couldn’t scream. They say that pain in dreams always jerks the person awake. They always say that pain is like an alert signal in dreams that acts as a sudden jolt, forcing the body to wakefulness and consciousness…but I didn’t wake up!
Written by Enjy Ashour.
Cover photo by Enjy Ashour.