10:32 AM, Sunday, November 19th
My therapist told me to start keeping a journal. She told me that it’d help me keep track of the incidents and somehow persuade my unconscious mind into breaking the habit. It sounds a little too Freudian to me; I knew from my shitty little psych minor that nobody with enough self-respect to practice therapy in this day and age still took that garbage seriously. I got the feeling that she was blowing smoke up my ass, and I really didn’t care because my insurance covered her “help” completely. It’s not that I think she’s trying not to be helpful; I just don’t think she knows how. I know it’s a medical condition I’ve got, and no amount of diary keeping is going to get rid of it. Still, I’ll try it out. I might just get a spooky story or two out of it, considering just how much it’s been creeping me out.
See, I’ve been sleepwalking lately. First time was earlier this week, Thursday. I woke in my bed around 4:00 AM with the covers thrashed about and both pillows on the floor. This wasn’t unusual. My old roommate always said that I rustled around a lot in my sleep. Sometimes I’d roll over and my arm would smack the ceiling tiles (my bed was bunked) and wake him, he’d tell me laughing. What wasn’t normal, and gave me a bit of a shock when I realized, is that both the door to my bedroom, and the front door a little beyond that, were wide open. I could see the knobby front tire of my dirt bike, which I had pulled onto the porch to keep out of the snow, poking around the corner, glinting dully with white moonlight. I jumped up and closed both doors, for a moment peering out into the snow-glazed field and forest around my house. I couldn’t see anything, or anyone, and if whoever had opened the doors was still around there somewhere, I couldn’t tell. They sure as hell weren’t in the house either, as I could pretty much see every part of my house from where I was standing. I was at a loss for words.
The whole situation had me a little freaked out, so I decided to turn on all the lights, which didn’t take long considering there are only three, and investigate a bit more. What you’ve got to understand is that my house is small, really small. There’s a tiny living room with a kitchen in it right when you walk into the door, then on the opposite wall of the entryway there’s the door to my bedroom. The bathroom is a miniscule thing with a shower you’d more likely see in an RV than a house. The thing was more cabin styled than anything, so above my bedroom and tucked into the high A frame of the roof was a little loft which I used to study or otherwise fuck around. I have a thing for lofts I guess, which I why I sprung on this particular house when I started grad school.
Anyway, I looked around the house for a while, and as soon as I was satisfied that nothing was missing or out of place, I plopped down on the couch. I was confused, but the uneasiness had pretty well subsided and I was considering getting some more sleep… until I saw my feet. They were coated in a thin layer of dried mud, and two of my toenails were cracked. I cleaned them off a bit with a wet rag, very aware of the fact that I had showered right before I went to bed the following night. The fear was creeping back. I started again at the front door, now closed, and noticed something else. Starting at the door, and leading right back to the edge of my bed, were very faint footprints in dried mud. They had to be mine, I reasoned. What the fuck was I doing outside, barefoot in the middle of the night. Most importantly, why could I remember nothing of my little midnight stroll? I immediately thought I’d been sleepwalking. I mean, what else could explain it? Guy gets out of his bed in the middle of the night, goes for a stroll in the woods outside his house and wakes up the next day with absolutely no memory of it. It’s a textbook case; not that I’ve ever read any textbooks on sleepwalking but you get the point. After some research online the rest of that morning I called up my insurance provider and was able to get an appointment with a therapist in the city about 45 minutes away on Saturday, two days from then. There really isn’t any treatment for sleepwalking other than therapy apparently, and I had my doubts that they’d be able to help. Still, it was free, and I had time to kill and nothing to lose.
Turns out I was right, and after an extremely unproductive session yesterday, it happened again last night. Same deal; woke up around 4:00 with mud on my feet, this time a little more fresh, and both doors open. Still a little creeped out by this, I turned on the TV and fought off sleep. That was this morning, and after some time on the phone with my therapist she told me to start logging the incidents down in a journal, and here I am.
2:45 PM, Tuesday, November 21st
It’s been getting colder lately, and the weather forecast looks like a lot more snow in the coming weeks, especially up here in the mountains. I’m not far from the city, maybe 40 minutes, but the elevation difference definitely makes it a lot colder and windier up here. Basically, whatever snow and cold the weathermen in the city are saying, I’m going to get it worse.
I don’t mind much, I actually like the snow. Riding into town in two feet or deeper of snow just makes it that much more fun. And there are less cars on the roads, which is always a good thing. I am a little bit concerned about my sleepwalking though. If it gets cold enough to cause frostbite, that could cause problems. Still, it’s been a couple days since I’ve done it. Hopefully it’s just the stress of upcoming finals getting to me and not anything I have to worry about in the long term.
In other news, I think my neighbors might be moving out. They’re not my only neighbors; my house is near the top of the mountain where the roads pretty much stop, but there’s a lot more houses further down the slope. Theirs just happens to be the last I see on the road up the mountain to my house. I saw a big orange U-Haul van in their driveway with the rear open. I thought about knocking on their door and making some conversation, just to get an idea of what was going on. I don’t know them especially well, but they did invite me over for dinner a few nights after I moved in this summer. They were really very nice - older couple with two foster kids -, and if they were moving out I’d be sad, but I saw nobody in or around the house and both of their cars were gone, so I figure I’ll head over later and see what’s up.
9:57 AM, Wednesday, November 22nd
It happened again. Fuck, I knew this wasn’t over. Woke up wee hours of the morning, mud on feet, doors open, blah blah… you get it by now, except something was different. The refrigerator door was ajar and some contents had spilled out. Nothing notable, just items that were perched precariously. Now, I’ve heard of people performing household actions while sleepwalking. Shit, I’ve heard of some dude getting up in the middle of the night, cooking breakfast for himself and laying it out on the table in his sleep, only to find cold pancakes and orange juice waiting for him the next morning. I’m not sure I believe that one, but I was still slightly unnerved by my increasingly extensive nocturnal escapades.
I was just about to leave for class when I saw something else unusual. My motorcycle, which had been very steadily propped on its centerstand, was now resting on its side on my porch. There’s no way this thing could have fallen during the night and not woken me up; it weighs more than 400 pounds! There wasn’t any damage at all and I kind of just dismissed it, got dressed and left for class.
11:02 AM, Friday, November 24th
Sleepwalked again last night. This time was bad.
I came to standing, staring at the open rear of the U-Haul van in my neighbor’s yard. It was pretty dark still but I could see the first little bit of light creeping up the horizon. There still weren’t any cars or signs that my neighbors had been there. Just the gaping, dark maw of the box truck in front of me. It was like staring into a void. What little light existed from the stars and moon barely pierced a foot into the truck before being snuffed out by inky darkness. It looked wrong, and just like everyone in the history of forever who’s said the words “it looked wrong,” I have no idea how to describe it. It was just too dark, and yet there I stood, transfixed.
It was cold too, must’ve been down in the low 30’s last night. I started walking home after knocking on the door and getting no response. I never really knew how long the road leading to my house was. I always rode, and that doesn’t give you a very good measure of distance. It probably took me more than an hour to get there. By the time I got back it was bright and the day had started but the first thing I did after washing the dirt off of my bare feet was flop in bed. I woke up just now.
I think what I’m going to do is tie a rope around my ankle when I sleep and attach the other end to the bed. The thing’s huge, old and made of solid wood. There’s no way I’ll be able to move that.
5:43 PM, Saturday, November 27th
I swear, there’s something up with the wildlife around my house. All day today every animal I saw, which was a very small amount, was sitting stock still and staring at me. This isn’t that unusual for the birds around here. The ones that hang around for the winter are pretty quiet. But the squirrels… they always go crazy chittering and running about if you get too close to their tree. Not lately. They’ve just sat there, looking at me with glassy eyes even as I approached them. I hike a lot around the mountain and I’m pretty accustomed to the noises animals make and how they react to my presence.
Call me fucking delusional, but I think they know something. They’re treating me differently, and it’s alarmingly obvious. I’m seriously weirded out.
11:43 PM, Saturday, November 27th
Okay, earlier I thought something was wrong with the wildlife? Now I fucking know. Me and this big ass buck have having a staring contest through my front window for the last ten minutes. He hasn’t moved, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he hasn’t taken a breath. Just standing there, looking in… I saw him out of the corner of my eye when I turned off the TV to go to bed and nearly shat myself. He’s maybe 30 feet from the window. I’m just going to close the blinds and go to sleep, if I even can after that spook.
7:13 AM, Tuesday, November 28th
Okay, this shit’s starting to get out of hand. I woke up a couple minutes ago curled like a fetus in my fucking shower. My legs up to the knees are caked in dried mud and leaves and my right palm has a pulsing bruise on it, as if I’d tripped and fallen and slammed it on a rock. I have work in an hour and it feels like I didn’t get any sleep at all last night. Fuck.
You know what’s even weirder? The rope I kept tied around my ankle was gone. Like, not untied or broken. Gone. The end that was tied to the bed was still there, but only about 4 feet of it. At the end of that, it looked like the rest of the rope had just, ceased to exist… Like someone had cut it with a blade the width of an atom. There was absolutely no fraying. Just looking at it makes me uneasy. It’s unnatural… no, more than that, it shouldn’t be physically possible, especially for me in my fucking sleep.
After work I’m going to the hardware store and… well, I’m not sure, but something is going to change. It has to, or else I’m going to lose my mind. I’m not going to let that happen.
6:38 PM, Tuesday, December 3rd
I just got back. I bought a padlock, a motion activated light and a CCTV camera system that cost me $149.99. I guess the clerk at the hardware store thought someone had broken into my home or something. He glanced up at me with a concerned expression after I set my security investment down on the counter. He didn’t say anything and I’m glad for it; this is kind of a long story to be explaining to someone with a line of people waiting behind you.
Luckily, setting the cameras up seems pretty easy. They sync with my phone and computer and start recording with one simple command. There’s memory enough for 72 hours of continuous recording in each camera, of which there were three. They had cheaper sets available but I’m not going to skimp out when it’s very possible that my health is at risk.
I also called my therapist earlier. She was honest with me this time and told me there isn’t a lot she can do. The most she can give me in terms of meds are sleeping pills, which I said I’d take as soon as they came in. She said she’d call me when they arrived at the pharmacy and I’d be able to pick them up. I have no idea when that’s going to be, but I figure sleeping pills aren’t going to be of much help because I’m still obviously asleep when I’m… out there.
One camera is going in my bedroom, in a corner of the ceiling where it has a full view of my bed and the doorway out into the living room. I’m tying another to the railing of my loft overlooking the living room, a bit of the kitchen and the front door. The third, a wide angle lens version, is going outside on the porch so I can see the entirety of the yard. I’m putting the light out there too; hopefully I’ll trip it going out the door and wake up. Finally, when I decide I’m in for the night, I’ll lock the door and put the key in a pot of simmering water on the hotplate in the kitchen. Probably not the best idea to keep that thing on all night, but it’s the only way I can think of to keep myself from being able to get at the key during the night and still be able to find it tomorrow. That’s my plan, and it better fucking work.
Tuesday night, unknown time
I don’t know what the fuck it is, but something is in this house with me. I’m in my bathroom, door locked and barricaded with my leg. I’m still covered in blood - everything is, the shower, floors - all of it just coated, drenched in red sticky blood. I can’t go out and face that... thing, so I’m just going to stay in here. My phone died and the charger is up in the loft, so I can’t watch the video feed, and I don’t have any courage left to go out and get it. I saw enough anyways… I just want the light of day to come and wash away this fucking sick nightmare.
I.. I woke again in the bathroom, but immediately I could see and feel the blood. On my legs, arms, rubbing off onto the shower walls and dripping into the drain. I immediately ran to my bedside where I kept my phone and as I got there, to my alarm and confusement, both doors were again wide open, revealing the dimly lit night beyond. As I peered out, I froze in place and my blood ran icy in my veins. I saw it… Out there, at the edge of the clearing where my home stood, was a humanoid figure… levitating. It saw me too. I was paralyzed in place by sheer terror and all I could do was stand there, mouth agape and eyes starting to water. I must’ve stood there for minutes staring but it felt like an eternity. I could only see it’s vague outline in the darkness of the backdrop; it floated there, unnaturally still, arms straight out sideways like it was somehow gliding in place. It’s legs were too short and I made the realization that it had neither hands nor feet, just long smooth limbs ending in nothing.
Then, and I swear upon my fucking life that I am not making this up, or joking or... or whatever! It’s arms… they flapped! Up and down and up like a goddamn child would pretending to be a bird. The moment, the very second it did this, it hovered in my direction, slowly. It was coming towards me, flapping all the while and I screamed, ran to the bathroom door and slammed it shut. I’ve been sitting here with my back against the wall and leg propping the inward opening door shut with all my strength. I heard nothing and still haven’t. At some point, I realized I was still clutching the phone in my hand. Both my wifi and data connections were completely nonexistent but the Bluetooth camera system was still miraculously paired. I opened the app, driven by morbid curiosity and fear.
The outside camera was the first to display it’s feed. I scanned that feed top to bottom and couldn’t see anything different. I gathered my courage and switched the display to the living room camera, and I just about jumped out of my skin. There, in my living room, was what was left of that deer… I say what was left of because the thing was barely recognizable. I only knew what it was because a pair of big antlers poked out of a mass of flesh and bloody fur I could only assume to be it’s head. The rest of it was scattered around the room like someone shoved a hand grenade down the poor thing’s throat and let it explode. It’s rib cage was blown open and… I guess the thing had to have been on it’s back because the individual ribs jutted out from the pile of intestines in the middle of the floor like a row of spikes. I threw the phone down and puked up my guts right in my lap when I realized that the blood all over me had probably come from that horrorshow.
It took me a good couple of minutes to regain my composure and pick the phone up again. The mess was still there and it didn’t look like anything had changed. There was one camera I had yet to check: the one in my bedroom. I shuddered at what I might find on that screen. For several long moments I debated whether it would be better to not know what was on the other side of that door, but fear for my safety eventually won out.
I changed the feed.
For a split second, right before the phone battery died and the screen went black, I saw it, hovering, right in front of the door to the bathroom. Only it wasn’t facing the door. It faced the camera. For the first time, I saw its face… or, lack of one. Nothing was there, just an oval of perfectly smooth grey skin. That was all I could discern before the phone died, but it’s seared into my memory. I regret switching that feed.
I’m going to hole up here for the rest of the night. As soon as morning hits I’m getting on my bike and getting the fuck away from this place. I’m now acutely aware that my life is in grave danger. I’m keeping this journal so that in case something happened to me, someone would know.
I can see a bit of sunlight coming through the bathroom window. I’m going to make my move soon. I’ll update as soon as I can… hopefully far, far away from here.
Submitted February 01, 2018 at 06:57AM by AureusGriffon http://ift.tt/2E5qHQ4 nosleep
