Knees pressed to my mouth silence terror

blood leaks from my lips

through the cracks

my heart

pounding so loudly it echoes

in the dark

in sync

with footsteps, harsh breaths,

his painfully

heartbreakingly

pitiful

Sorry, baby, it won't happen again,

as the knob slowly turns

a step,

and a crash,

the shatter of a vase-

hesitation,

and fear,

there are scars on her face-

the fact,

the acceptance,

that she'll never escape this place.

You hold your brother’s little hand

Don’t let go

He’s humming the song he knows drives you crazy and you tell him to stop

He slips his hand out, smiling

Calls your name as he runs away

Why aren’t you watching him?

One moment, his laughter

And the next

Silence

10 heartbeats in your hand

while the organ’s still warm

you put it in a box

the address is random

the rest of the body

can be shipped to Costa Rica

but the heart (still beating)

goes to you free of shipping

1

Just run

2

Didn’t have time to grab my shoes

3

Fall and scrape my knee

4

Run and lock the door

5

Into the closet, just dive

6

What's that sound, nails scraping bricks

7

Is this another lesson?

8

Why so much hate?

9

I'm fine...

world crushes inward

heartbeat pounds

eyes hover on you

they are watching.

they are always watching.

your therapist says

that there’s no one there.

but you know that they’re real

the monsters

are

always

watching.

1

What did Mom tell me?

2

"Hold your breath and count to ten."

3

He's coming.

4

The walls are closing in.

5

Can't hold my breath.

6

I'm hyperventilating.

7

Is he gone? I don't hear him.

8

I'm opening the door.

9

He's raising his gun.

10.

Repetition was key for the desired result,

Throw the stick,

Dog goes to pick it up,

"Good boy!"

He gives your face a lick,

The stick goes a little too far,

Past the shadows of the woods,

The dog doesn't come back,

You follow,

And hear a whimper from behind.

It hits me like a wind and I wake up, bleary-eyed and confused. At first I don't compute the face above me. I only see black eyes, peeled back lips, fangs. It's not their cold expression, but their icy breath that tears panic through my chest.

@Featherson #Nightmare #thriller #Flashfiction