When I eventually pulled into the parking lot of my apartment, I was exhausted. I yanked my keys out of the ignition and grabbed my purse before heading up the stairs. Unlocking the door, I made my way inside. My eyes immediately shifted to try and adjust to the dark environment as I clawed at the wall for the light switch. The sudden brightness caused me to squint and raise my hands to shield my face. As I walked inside, I threw my purse onto the couch and went into my bedroom. After changing into a pair of pajamas, I slowly made my way back into the living room and plopped down onto the couch. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It had been a long day. Reaching my right hand up and over to the armrest, I fidgeted around trying to locate the remote. After failing to find it, I peeked one eye open and glanced at my fingers.
No remote.
At this, I sat up to look under the cushions and check the floor around the couch only to come up empty. Now this may not seem weird to most people but I liked to keep my things organized. Everything was always in its place and I never lost anything…however, tonight I didn’t have the energy to care. Giving up on television, I decided to go into the kitchen and cook some food. I scoured the pantry over and over again but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to find any of the groceries that I had recently bought. It was almost comical what I managed to find. Spaghetti with no pasta sauce, an egregious amount of spices, expired cans of soup, and for some reason, coffee. Seeing the coffee is what really threw me off because when thinking back on it, I couldn’t even remember the last time I bought coffee. I have always been more of a tea person. I opened the refrigerator and finally settled on making the only thing I could find which was just eggs…for dinner. After making my food, I sat at the table and ate in silence.
***
I put my empty plate in the sink and trudged over to my room. Without hesitation, I collapsed on my bed and waited for sleep to consume me. For every minute that ticked by, I tried so hard to drift off but sleep never came. I flipped over to my right side causing the blanket to shift downward. I pulled at the fabric trying to bring it back up to my shoulders but somehow it started to fall even lower. By this point, the blanket was at my waist. I yanked harder this time, forcibly trying to retrieve the blanket to no avail. Figuring that it was caught on the bed frame, I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up so that my back was propped against the headrest. With one final attempt, I pulled using all my strength and the fabric started to give.
Just when I thought it was over, the blanket was ripped from my fingertips and completely thrown off the bed.
“What the – ”
I crawled to the edge of the bed to pick up the comforter when a long dark figure stood, towering over me at the edge of the bed with the blanket in hand. I raised my eyes slowly to meet his and what I saw prompted me to begin backing up.
“Don’t resist, darling,” his low voice snarled. “It’ll only hurt worse.”
He was holding a large syringe in his right hand. He then rounded the side of the bed and hovered over me while offering an eerie grin. His fist clutched the needle as he lunged at me.
***
I sat up abruptly while clawing at my chest and trying to loosen the shirt from around my neck as I heaved in and out. My eyes searched the darkness trying to find the man that only moments ago stood inches away from me.
“It was just a dream,” I concluded while breathing out a sigh of relief.
A loud ringing cut through the silence causing me to jump at the sudden noise.
It was just my alarm.
But that meant, I had to start getting up for work. In somewhat of a daze, I turned on my lamp and started to get ready for the day. I showered and got dressed opting to wear a gray pencil skirt paired with a white blouse and black pumps. I threw on a trench coat and walked out the door, ready to begin the day. As soon as I stepped outside I felt a chill run down my spine and looked out at the sky. It was dark. It was so dark that you'd think daylight savings had just ended.
“Rain?” I scrunched my eyebrows.
I got into my car and rested my hands on the steering wheel while leaning forward. Once again, I peered out at the sky. Thinking back to the detour yesterday, I removed my phone from my coat pocket and loaded up the GPS. According to the map, road work was still going on so I decided it would be best for me to take the same way I had taken last night after leaving work. Putting my car into reverse I begin the thirteen-minute drive to work. Five minutes in and I arrived at the same tunnel I had gone through yesterday. As I got closer, I noticed the tunnel was blocked off. Two men stood in front of a “No Entry” Sign. One of them signaled for me to roll down my window to talk and I hesitantly agreed.
“Sorry, ma'am. This tunnel is scheduled to be demolished at the end of the day. We can't have anyone in or around the area today,” a large blonde man stated with a southern accent.
“Oh, okay,” I paused. “Why?”
His co-worker butted into the conversation and banged loudly on the top of my car, pushing the other man out of the way. “Where are you headed to pretty lady?” he slurred his words.
I recoiled at his abrasiveness while leaving away from him. “Ughh, that’s none of your concern.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me while leaning closer to my car. In response, I shifted into reverse and began raising my window.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find you!” he yelled while smirking.
I felt like I needed ten showers to rid myself of how dirty I felt after hearing those men speak. Brushing off the interaction, I set off on my normal route to work. Surprisingly, I didn’t hit any construction even though the map had said that I would. I was only three minutes away from the office when one of the traffic lights began to malfunction. As I approached the light I slowed down, unsure of how to proceed when the colors began changing haphazardly. After a few seconds, the colors started shifting even faster. Green, yellow, red – rapidly, the traffic light cycled through each before stopping altogether…then they all started to blink in unison. At this, I completely stopped my car and began furiously rubbing my eyes. It didn’t help though because when I opened them, the light was purple. I didn't know what to do so I just stayed there, unmoving at the intersection. What does a purple light mean? While deep in thought, my car jolted forward and my head ricocheted against the headrest. A loud metal clanking sound filled the air causing me to whip my head around. Someone had hit my car.
“Of course,” I mumbled while putting the car in park and pushing open the door.
“Oh my god! I'm so sorry!” a tiny brunette lady shrieked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I groaned while rubbing my temples at the sheer intensity of her yell.
I’d be better if you'd shut up though.
“Oh, you poor thing. Let me call you an ambulance.”
I looked at my phone for the time. Only thirty minutes before the settlement that I had typed up was due. “No, I’m fine.” I looked at the back of my car and saw that the only damage done was just a small scratch along the bumper.
“I insist.”
“No, really, I’m fine. I need to get to work. There was no harm done.” I flicked my wrist and turned to leave. While approaching my car, I felt the stranger's hand grab at my wrist as her nails dug into my skin.
“No! You have to go to the hospital!”
“No,” I yanked my arm away from her. “And don’t fucking touch me, lady” I glared at her and quickly returned to my car, locking the door behind me.
The same woman appeared at my driver's window and began banging furiously. “You have to go to the hospital! Don’t resist!” she screamed as I drove off.
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