Deathwaker part 1. nosleep

When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you - Friedrich Nietzsche.

Monsoons had begun. The smell of wet mud and leaves were intoxicating to breathe in. Leon drove home with the windows rolled open, savoring the view outside the speeding car. The skies were overcast but calm. The sunlight was soft and created a pleasant haze that made the colors of the season come alive. The air was cool and thick, whatever remnants of summer heat still lingered had been displaced now. Leon felt liberated today as he drove back home, dusk was approaching. Thunder rumbled above in the heavens. It would probably rain soon.

Leon drove into the bushy property surrounded by the old but steady wooden fence . A small rental house a few ways away from the nearest city. It was cheap because it was isolated and in the middle of nowhere. It lay surrounded by untouched countryside; the weeds, trees, shrubs, grass, the forest. It was a place where the stars shone bright and plentiful at night and the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects could be heard. Occasionally the terrifying howl of a wolf would give Leon goosebumps when he went to take a midnight leak. It was perfect for Leon, perfect for a man of his mental health.

Leon walked inside. Inside his solitary abode. The creaks of wood under his step were a thing of familiarity. He cooked himself a bowl of instant noodles and boiled hotdogs. Then he sat on his bed and turned on his laptop and opened his netflix. He felt good as he watched episodes of Breaking Bad and filled his belly with warm food. Finally the exhaustion caught upto him and he decided to sleep early. So he went into the bathroom and turned on the lights. Before him was the cabinet where all the medication was in. The anti-psychotics, antidepressants and vitamin supplements for his diagnosis of a form of schizophrenia one year ago.

Leon brushed his teeth and popped his medications. He was making good progress since his last incident. The doctor had slowly weaned him off the full dose of his medication. He was only taking a fraction of it now.

A loud and violent sound from downstairs woke him up. The comfort turned into mild panic. Curious and startled Leon grabbed his phone and went towards the source of the sound. As he walked in the darkness of the house, he turned the torch function on his iphone on while simultaneously dialling the local police emergeny number.

Shuffling, scratching. It was close and coming from the kitchen.

An animal. Leon learned and relief flooded his body.

There it was. On the kitchen table. The dark bird perched atop, utensils fallen below. The source of the sound.

Leon investigated scanning around for places through which he could have come in. He found nothing and opened the door towards the backyard.

"Shoo, Shoo" he gestured trying to scare the bird away.

But the bird stood its ground watching calmly with it's beady little eyes. It had a menacing look to it

Leon moved closer but it didn't flinch.

Leon's attemps to scare it off were in vain.

"Listen bud, I've got work I'd really like to get some sleep, so please.. SHOOO". Leon tried in a final attempt.

The bird just stood there adamantly. Leon had never come across any animal so stubborn and fearless before. The more he looked at it the more uncomfortable he felt.

A strange sensation inside him began to well up inside him. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Leon opened the kitched door which led to the backyard. The cold air rushed inside sending shivers down his spine. The light of the moon cascaded inside illuminating the dark room. It's silvery glow made the crow's feathers and eyes gleam in an unearthly way.

He slowly approached the crow. But the crow showed no reaction. Accept blink. Blink in a very unnatural, almost intelligent way.

Leon slowly approached the crow hoping it would be scared and flee away. Leon was dangerously close but the crow didn't look like it was going anywhere.

"Ok don't peck me bird, but you gotta get out of here."

Leon reached forward with his hand. It was just a retarded possibly injured bird he thought. He hoped that his gestures would scare it off but the crow stared back with it's beady little eyes and cawed back.

Leon flinched and took a step back. "Okay that's it", he said as he rolled up a newspaper from nearby and went forward to drive the bird away.

Just as the newspaper made contact with the bird something horrifying happened.

The bird's eyes turned violently red and emitted an evil red glow. It began to caw and flap it's wings violently. I'ts feathers ruffled up and it took an agressive stance.

Leon backed away in shock. The shrill caw's were almost deafening and Leon thought at that moment of how hell might sound like.

"What. The. Fuck", Leon said to himself. He could feel his heart pounding through his chest. The horrifying thing then fluttered into the darkness of the night. Leon stood up. He felt adrenaline pump through his veins and his knees felt clammy and weak. Then something caught his attention as the Kitchen table where the bird had perched came into view.

The words "Abandon hope, all ye enter here". Were carved into the wooden surface. Who could have done this?, the bird? Did someone break in here?, he thought.

Leon barely got sleep that night.

Leon talked to his boss who was generous enough to give him half the day off. It was time to see the doctor again. Leon drove towards the Psychiatrists office.

"Ah, Leon, I'ts been a long time. Come have a seat". Said the woman wearing lasses. For a woman in her mid thirties, she looked young er than her age. "Um, yeah. About a year since my last visit I guess.." "It's so good to see you Leon, How have you been dealing with the episodes, I hope you're still taking the medications I prescribed". The lady said with a very polite smile.

"Yeah, about that!. I um, had something strange happen to me last night." said Leon uncomfortably. The doctor looked at him and nodded her head. "Are the hallucinations coming back again Leon?" Leon replied "Yes!, I don't know what i saw last night. I think someone broke into my house. I'm not really sure at this moment." Leon explained the situation her and she listened patiently, analyzing his every word.

At the end of the session, she wrote him a prescription on a copy pulled out from her desk.

"This will ease the hallucinations, I'm still unsure about the writing on the desk. I think you're psychosis is coming back Leon. We need to review your case again and start all over. This could be serious and we can't let it progress." She said with a slightly serious expression.

Leon paid the receptionist the bill and walked outside the now claustrophobic clinic. His hands felt cold and clammy. He got his prescription filled out at the pharmacy close by.

"Great, I'm going loony again", he thought in his mind as he came outside the building. The evening air was cold, colder than he expected it to be. Made him wish he had carried his hoodie. He then drove outside the city, the crisp urban , the malls, tall buildings,coffee shops and parks ,soon gave into countryside on the broad highway. The traffic begin to thin out save for the occasional truck or car.

Leon soon made a turn at an intersection that diverged from the main road. The road that lead home, It was as beautiful as ever. The wild meadows with the grass swaying gently and uniformly in one direction whenever the flow of wind changed. The sun was setting and scarlet orange was saturated in the clouds, intertwined into something you would see in a mesmerizing and beautiful painting. Leon drove at a steady pace, with the radio on to some generic pop music. He numbed his mind, he didn't want to think about what the psychiatrist, the writing on the table and the crow meant at this moment. All that mattered was getting home and distracting his mind with heavy drinking and netflix. Yes, that's exactly what he planned on doing.

Suddenly a woman waved out to him on the road. The woman walked towards the car as he slowed his pace down. On further inspection it was a teenage girl. "Heading towards the village?", she asked. "Um, yeah, Need a lift?" Leon replied. "Yeah can you drop me off there?" She replied. "Yeah sure get in." Leon opened the door."

The girl got in and put her backpack to rest on her lap. "So you live in Harley's grove too?" She asked. "No, um close to river actually behind the church." "Oh, I see, I guess you live next to the old mills." "Yes, there." "Oh damn, I didn't think anyone lived there. Must be quite lonely." "Uh, Kinda, the rents good though and I get comcast so.." Leon replied. "I see, I'm kate btw, and you are?" "Im, Leon" He looked at her and smiled Kate smiled back. She was probably eighteen or seventeen years old. Returning from the city schools. She had long brown hair and was very pale skinned.

The village appeared in the distance. Leon broke the few seconds of silence by asking her a question. "So kate, Um, do you walk all the way from the highway back here all the time usually.?" Kate was silent. She just stared at the road in front of them. Her friendly face turned into something sinister. Leon felt uncomfortable. "Listen, I'm sorry I'm just curious". Said Leon with an forced laugh. As they approached the village Kate said. "I'll be getting off here, she said. Please stop" Leon pulled over. The town read "Harley's grove" printed into a very beautiful wooden sign that was posted in the ground. The beautiful village overlooked it.

Kate got out of the car "thanks a lot" she said. Her eyes appeared distant and un focused. Like she was in some sort of trance induced state. "No problem" Leon replied. He wondered if he had offended her by asking that question. Teen angst he thought.

Leon drove the car away, he felt bad for asking her that question. He looked back in his rear view mirror and saw that there was no one there where he dropped her off. Strange, did she walk into one of those houses so fast?. Leon pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, he didn't really care about much anymore.

Soon he found himself making dinner and enjoying his TV shows he adored so much. He went into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer, but then put it back inside because the thought that alcohol could interact with his medications came across his mind. He stared at the beer bottle for a few seconds.

Fuck it, he thought, one night wouldn't make such a difference would it, better to be high than be miserable and alone, the meds could wait till tomorrow. And so he lit a cigarette and started drinking his way while lobotomizing himself with TV and Netflix. He was down a carton of six and about half a pack of cigarettes. Leon felt the sweet warmth of inebriation diffuse through his body. He made his way to the bedroom upstairs and gazed outside at the full moon, so ominous and so close he could almost touch it. Then he slumped unto bed and dozed off again.

Leon woke up with a scream. His entire body felt miserably weak and cold, pain seemed to pulsate from his hands. His vision groggy and blur. Breathing felt heavy like he had been stabbed in the chest. All around him, red, there was blood all over the bedsheets. That smell, the smell of your own blood, so metallic and foul, it permeated through his nostrils, exacerbating his nausea and panic. That's when he heard her voice.

Kate stood there at a corner of the bedroom, grinning widely, her eyes almost bursting fourth from her sockets. Her teeth were tattering with maniacal excitement. That crow, that damned crow perched on her shoulders. It's red eyes glaring at Leon. Kate giggled and laughed and then pointed towards the ceiling. Leon looked upwards.

Smeared in blood that stained the ceiling in scarlet viscous were the words " The journey to paradise begins in hell". Leon could hear Kate laugh hysterically in the corner and the damned bird begin to caw violently too. The pain from his wrists became obvious now, he looked at his hands, the source of the blood. Deep gashes, the bone was visible through the tender flesh as blood gushed out. His hands trembled as the confusion overcame his failing, numbing senses. "Shit, I can't die, right now", said leon as he reached for his phone and dialed the country's emergency number. Each blink, every breath, every pulse was slowly fading away. A woman on the other side of the line was barely audible, neither were his own words that escaped his breath. The darkness began to overwhelm now, the pain began to numb out, his consciousness began to fade.

Submitted October 02, 2016 at 10:42AM by Kuramafox77 http://ift.tt/2cJFtPq nosleep