Wake up and Smell the Fear

This is a short horror-type story I originally wrote at school, but decided to improve and transfer to here since I liked the idea so much! Hope you enjoy, Liv <3

              _________________^----------^________________

It had been hours since I fell asleep, but I was waking up for the fifth time. The burning sun beat down, the surface under me was smooth and hot and I staggered as I got up, a wave of vertigo washing over me. Metal echoed under my feet. I gulped in a breath of air. I stood on the flat roof of a skyscraper. Closing my eyes for a second, I tried to forget how close to the edge I was and get my heartrate down; my anxiety had made me well practised at that. Opening my eyes, I looked around, pacing myself and spreading my feet so I wouldn't fall over. I was so high up, I felt like I was moving even though the air was still; I didn't recognise my surroundings at all. Just like the last time.  

A second later, there was a deafening, splintering, crashing explosion from the opposite end of the roof and i was on the floor again, arms thrown over my head to protect myself as much as possible. Terrified, I froze, not daring to look up until I heard a sonorous thud from the site of the explosion. From the gaping hole at the other end of the roof, a huge rottweiler dog, teeth bared, saliva dripping, eyes red, tail straight up growled. It wasn't your average dog. it was the size of a small pony. I gazed, petrified, into those hypnotising eyes, breathing hard but regularly, slow but close to hyperventilating as the beast stalked towards me with deliberated steps, not taking its eyes away from mine.

I didn't move until it was just ten metres away; i couldn't.  I took one tentative step backwards, closer to the edge. The rottweiler paused, an almost mischeivous look in its evil eye, and ran, full pelt, straight at me. it rushed forth, barking and growling, and planted its feet directly onto the middle of my chest. I did a sharp intake of breath and couldn't help but take one more step backwards, the edge looming ever closer. I screwed my eyes shut, one foot was dangling ominously in space as the dog snapped at me, covering me in saliva. i managed to stay, wobbling, balanced on the edge until the rottweiler slowed and stopped, looking down at me. There was one second where my brain wildly hoped that it had calmed down and was going o help me back onto the roof, safe at last.

No such luck.

It grinned a doggy grin down at me, its red eyes flaming, and pushed.

Such little effort from it, but that moment changed my whole world. I was falling, buffeted by a sudden wind, screaming, my lungs burning, my arms windmilling by my sides and my legs flailing, trying desperately to slow myself down just the smallest bit, but I was just fallig faster and faster and the ground rushed up towards me and no-one was noticing and I braced myself for the impact... My eyes fluttered closed drowsily.

Flump.

 I Opened my eyes. Birds were singing around me, and the floor beneath was spongy and smelt slightly musty, like fungus or moss. Blinking and slowing my breathing down yet again, I sat up and looked around nervously. There didn't seem to be anything out there... Yet. 

The forest was not quite silent, the whisperings of the leaves and the sound of birdsong filled my ears, bringing me to a place of relative security, and while I knew this was a dream, I couldn't help but wish that this was the end of... Whatever this horrifying ordeal was. 

As I sat there with my eyes closed, breathing in the clean air and soaking in the peace, I became dreadfully aware of myself and the surroundings as the noises of the forest subsided into a pregnant silence. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight out like pins from a pincushion. A minute rustling of leaves over my left shoulder made me aware that there was something standing- or lurking- right behind me. I opened my eyes and began to turn, tilting onto my hands and knees and turning, standing up at the same time so that as I came face-to-face with the thing I had reached at my full height of 5'8". I raised my head and looked directly into the black eyes of a humanoid creature. Shocked at the sight of it, I noticed its blue skin and a flattish nose, it stood at roughly 4'3", although I wasn't calculating accurately as my brain had frozen slightly and was working in overdrive to figure out a fight or flight plan in order to combat my new adversary. Its hair was lank and greyish-black, hanging to its shoulders and it had a hunkered-down posture, large shoeless feet and was wearing what looked like a kind of smock, although it was rather dirty so it may have been something else entirely. The creature's black eyes were heavily lidded and it stared at me how a psychopath might stare into the eyes of the next person on their hit list; hungrily. 

I wasn't expecting what came next. Much like a frog, though the thing didn't seem at all amphibian, its legs seemed to unfurl and it sprang, unfolding all of its limbs, straightening up and gracefully sailing over my head. it hit the ground and spun around, turning immediately like a rally car on a hairpin bend and shot straight towards my chest; I crouched just in time and it overshot, cartwheeling over my head and coming to a stop on its feet, facing the other way. It shook its head in what I took to be surprise, and so I wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to sprint as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I ran full pelt for twenty-two seconds (counting helped to calm me down) before the creature caught up to me. It leaped like an ugly ballerina and landed in front of me, I almost crashed into it as I turned around to go back but it was too fast. One swipe to the ankles from an elongated, blue-skinned hand and I was flat on my face for the umpteenth time.  I scrambled up and got myself into a fighting stance that I had seen in films and read in my favourite action novels, and waited for it to make the next move. There was no point in running; If it leapt, it would push me to the floor with no effort at all, so I took a step forward and socked it right in the nose. I don't really know what I expected it to do, but in the heat of the moment my confused, adrenaline-filled self assumed the creature would be hurt or at least fall back a step. Once again; no such luck.

The creatures skin was thick, more akin to an elephants hide than human skin, and my clenched fist merely angered it, bouncing off with barely an impact. It snarled a throaty growl that ended in a strange, shrieking wail, and galloped, using all four limbs like a monkey on the ground, stretching out its hand and pinning me to the soft earth by my neck. Its long hands and thick nails encased my throat and pressed down, hard. The last thing I remembered before I fell unconscious was "I don't want to die"...

I woke up, sweating, and breathing hard. I looked around, my heart beating an erratic rhythm against my chest, wondering what hellish nightmare dimension I had appeared in this time... But I was back home. In my own bed... I was definitely awake, no dream would be this accurate, surely? This wasn't another dream!

As I gradually became less suspicious of my surroundings and situation, I became aware of a loud, irregular buzzing sound from outside. It sounded like a bee, but amplified a hundred times. I swung my legs out of bed, recoiling at the cold wooden floorboards, and padded out of my room, through the kitchen, and was suddenly hit with a wave of Deja Vu, though I couldn't think why. I reached the front door and the buzzing was louder... I fumbled with a bunch f keys, finally managing to unlock the door and it swung open after I cranked the stiff handle a few times. 

I was greeted by a plain, matte-black metal mask with indentations where the eyes should be. My mouth dropped wide in shock, and my eyes roved over the body. The person wore a fluid, black catsuit and a matching belt was slung almost lazily around the hips, filled with several guns and countless knives and daggers. They posed with their right knee bent and the foot tucked behind their left ankle casually, right hand on hip and left hand holding something balanced on their shoulder...

In that moment, I felt two things; immeasurable fear, and horrified realisation of what was to come. The figure with the chainsaw had been the horror of the very first dream.

These dreams weren't nightmares.

They were warnings.

Something was out to get me.

The End

Written by slothreader12 ,  or you can call me Liv 😉

Tell me your thoughts on this story! Too scary? Not scary enough? Not enough description? I value your opinion! Comment or message, and please vote or follow if you think this book/user deserves it! Thanks for reading 🖤💜💙

1607 words