Spiral

Concern

A week and a half had passed before Syler could see Lauren again. He knew it was only because she had left to see family, but for some reason it made him anxious, as if everything was his own fault. He felt it was because of his thoughts, or his lust. He didn't tell anyone about it, as he found it shameful to lust towards another, as he was taught when he was young, but he knew it was natural. He knew that thoughts like that were part of every human's brain. Syler knew he wasn't normal, but he also knew he wasn't that insane, at least not yet.

The week passed normally really. He had work most days, and he hated every second of it. His dreams weren't insanely panic inducing to him, but as they usually did, they caused him massive anxiety anyway. He knew that they were just dreams. He knew very well that they were, but he couldn't shake the thought that they weren't. Syler saw glimpses of the hooded creature's face every couple of nights. It reminded him a lot of his own, but he only saw select parts of it, so he tried not to assume anything. He was just so out of it really. His body wasn't taking well to the effects of puking, which he seemed to be doing more often as of late. Syler had ordered a large pizza the night before. He ate the whole thing and then puked it up again. He didn't know why he would do that, but it made him feel calm in a sense. He felt relieved after the whole ordeal. It made his brain ease out a little, and his dreams lessened their intensity that night. It made him think about how he'd truly cope. He wasn't able to talk to Lauren, which meant he was truly alone for the most part. Zane seemed to be out a lot, but Syler knew it was because he worked long shifts usually, something Syler didn't have the patience for.

Syler clenched his fists tightly, his breathing was heavy and his heart seemed to be pounding out of his chest. He was startled by the shadows in the room. They had surrounded him. The long noses were near Syler's body and it made Syler panic. He couldn't move again, as if he was paralyzed and bound to his bed. He attempted to move his hand, just to unclench it, as the clenching was causing cramping, but he couldn't. He felt this sense of impending doom as he watched the hooded figure in the corner of the room. He watched it feed on a body. It seemed to be pulling the life force of the body out in the form of white beads, which reminded Syler of the maggots. The hooded creature leaned over the face of the body, and as the creature pulled out the life force, it's eyes grew a deeper red as it pulled the energy from the body.

Once the hooded creature finished it's nightly feeding, it stood up. Leaving the body on the floor, the body was left with grey skin and deadened eyes, as if it had fully died out. The hooded figure lurked in the corner, its' eyes never left Syler's widened eyes. He started to regain mobility again, and the shadows disappeared from his room. The only thing that remained was the uneasy feeling in Syler's stomach. He turned on the lamp by his bedside and sighed. His heart was still racing, but his brain calmed down once he realized it was another episode of sleep paralysis and his dreams had not somehow collapsed in on his reality.

Syler sat up, his body was trembling all the way through. He took deep breaths to try and calm down the trembling. It wasn't comfortable to him, the trembling just made his body hurt in a sense. He looked at his phone to check the time. 4:45 am. He then saw that he had gotten a text from Lauren, who told him she was back, and had the chance to visit him the next day, as she still had to unpack. Syler smiled at his phone. Lauren was the only one who would make him happy. She gave him a purpose through this whole thing. The longer he was apart from her, the worse the dreams become and the worse he became. Syler felt so attached to her even though he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't think of much else while she was on his mind.

Syler got up from his bed, his legs still shaking violently, but he forced himself to walk towards the window. He opened it to air out the humid room. It smelt like his sweat again. He felt disgusting when it did, as he knew it was all his own doing. Syler put his hair up in a bun, as the slight dampness was causing him discomfort, and he didn't like the feeling at all.