Tendrils of Sleep

You can feel them long before they strike. Someone was missing, something in your space feels empty, and yet you know it’s lurking close by.

 

You can go frantic looking for them, but nothing happens until you are alone and asleep.

 

You wake up suddenly in terror. You notice the tightness of your clothes first, strangling you. Then the rest of your senses catch up and you realise you are being strangled.

 

The only way to win is to peel their long, bony fingers from your neck, on tendril at a time. Their strength is enormous though, and even if you can wake up, even if you can get another person to help you…

 

They will be there, taunting you as they strangle you. Your strength doesn’t matter.

 

They attack from behind. You had finally fallen asleep, let your guard down, fallen asleep. Premonitions ignored, pushed to the back of your brain.

 

Once the attack beings, they slither around to face you. They tell you that you’re choking while they’re choking you, and the only way to kill them is to remove their hyoid bone.

 

But you’re choking. You’re focused on removing their spindly fingers from your throat. How can you do more?

 

And then you wake up.