Incubus

3

Chapter Three

The forest passed by in a dark green blur. Celia pushed vigorously on the pedals of her grandmother's bicycle, sending herself speeding down the narrow path.

She clutched the handles in a death grip to keep her hands from shaking. Haunted from the dream, she could still feel the claw dragging down her soft skin, almost deep enough to draw blood.

Celia had gotten ready for work in a confused haze, barely aware of what she was doing. Throwing on her simple tshirt and jeans, she hadn't even bothered to put on makeup.

Fast forward twenty minutes, and she still hadn't gotten her bearings. She struggled to push the dream-- if it was a dream-- out of her head. Alas, it was no to avail.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her anxious soul. She inhaled the earthy scent of the forest, feeling the soothing breeze as she rode down the path.

When she opened her eyes again, she did not expect to see the man standing ahead of her on the path.

But she did.

She screamed, wheels skidding on the road beneath her as she tried to avoid hitting him.

Unfortunately, gravity wasn't on her side, as she felt the bike falling sideways.

Just before she crashed, she caught a glimpse of his glowing red eyes.

Celia crashed to the ground harshly, her hipbone colliding painfully with the hard surface of the road. Groaning, she slowly untangled herself from the bicycle and crawled to her bloodied knees.

Looking up, she expected to see the man who had caused her to crash. But much to her dismay, the road ahead of her was empty.

She sat there on her knees, staring in shock at the empty space where the man-- no, entity, had been.

In her shock, she barely heard the car driving on the road behind her. A car door slammed open and footsteps walked towards her, but she could only look at the empty space in front of her, where the red-eyed shadow should've been. Am I going insane?

"Are you okay?" A feminine voice asked concernedly, forcing her to tear her eyes away.

She met the worried green gaze of Valerie, another girl who worked at the diner. Her Volkswagen was parked a few yards away from them. She must've been on her way to work when she saw Celia's predicament.

"The man..." Celia began, struggling to form words.

"There was a man." She finally said, looking with wide eyes back at the path.

"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked, looking at Celia like she'd grown two heads.

"He was standing right there! And now he's gone!" Celia began scrambling to her feet in panic.

An unwanted idea presented itself in her mind. The sleep paralysis... the man with red eyes... There's no other explanation!

"First the dream, and now this. The spell worked!" She exclaimed in a frenzy.

"I need to return the book-- No... I need to burn it," Celia mumbled tugging her bike up.

"Celia, what did you do?" Valerie asked fearfully. She already knew of Celia's hobbies so she didn't need an explanation.

Celia locked gazes with her red haired friend, pursing her lips.

"I summoned a demon."

A/N
Happy Halloween 🎃