Take Over

Chapter 17

Third Person P.O.V

Keith had a sinking feeling in his full stomach. First, he had fallen asleep faster than usual, even with Lance's petting. Second, his usually vivid and cruel dreams were all blurry and scrambled. And thirdly...he couldn't move.

It wasn't like the cocoon he made when he was under his comforter, it was more like he couldn't wiggle his toes, everything was stuck in place with thick glue. Trying to calm himself down, Keith took deep breaths before realizing that even though his eyes were closed, he could see directly behind himself, generally all over the fort. He tried to come to a rational cause about what was happening, Keith wracked his brain and when he hypothesized it was sleep paralysis his stomach dropped.

"This is supposed to be scary..." Keith thought as he looked around. His gaze froze when he came across something. He could've sworn he had been alone, but something was standing in front of him.

Its large horns seemed endless, casting infinite shadows along the walls. It looked human, but Keith could see the small differences. The horns, the slight point of its teeth, the tail that swished behind it, all adding to the fear coursing through him. The body was indistinguishable, its color matching the shadows and no shape that Keith could ascertain, it must be from a hellish dimension of the universe. It reminded him of the Galra.

Keith would've shaken with fear if he could move, the amount of fear and the pounding in his ears making him hyper-aware. He started screaming, trying to get one of them to wake up and save him but no sound came from his lips. He tried with every ounce of willpower in him, focusing his fear and strength into every limb as he tried to move anything, a finger, a toe even. Nothing budged.

The monster began moving towards Keith, keeping its focus on him and not the two bodies at his side. Using his newfound 360-vision, he saw Pidge begin to stir, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looked at Keith and he tried to signal for help, but her sleepiness was making her blind. She furrowed her brows, something was wrong with Keith.

Quickly grabbing her glasses, Pidge got a better sight of the boy. His breathing was erratic and came in short bursts, his sweat drenching him through his shirt. She debated if he was having a bad dream or not, coming to the decision to wake him up. She reached a hand out to him and froze.

Keith began twitching, first it was just a small jerk of his chin but the movement soon turned to a full body spasm. His arm violently seized and his chest rose and fell so quickly it concerned Pidge. Pidge placed a hand on Keith's small shoulder and she wondered how much he was eating lately. She pushed the thought away for now and shook the boy.

Keith gasped as he shot up, clutching his shirt as he tried to figure out how to breathe again. He pushed the air back into his lungs but his head buzzed with his frantic thoughts.

"Keith, okay?" Pidge asked, trying to cut through Keith's thoughts.

Is it gone?

Did it get me?

Where'd it go?

Will it come back?

"Keith, are you okay?" Pidge's voice cut through his thoughts easily this time, ringing clear into his ear. He looked up and met his eyes with Pidge's.

Pidge's brown eyes pierced into Keith's dull yellow ones, logically thinking about what had happened to him. His yellow eyes swam and grew darker as he delved back into his thoughts, not worrying about what he'd tell Pidge is she asked again.

Keith was too afraid for it to have been a simple nightmare. Could it have been a memory? A vivid image of his cold and cruel imagination? Or was it sleep paralysis?