The silence comes before he finds me

Since I was a kid I had these nightmares that started like normal days. I’d be brushing my teeth, looking in the mirror and then it’d feel silent, like a warning. I’d brace myself. I could feel something was coming for me. I’d either let out a primal scream or run, Sometimes I’d get away, other times I’d wake up in a sweat.

Well last night it killed me in my dream. And today I felt that silent warning feeling, in real life today.

I was sitting at work reviewing some invoices when it hit me. The deafening silence consumed my office. Like someone dangerous walked in starred directly at me. But I didn’t see anything, only felt it. I looked around like I do when it happens in my dream but nothing happened. This was real life. I remember driving here, I remember waking up. I pinch myself and feel pain. I’m awake. What’s happening?

 

I tried to go about my day and brush those off as anxiety attacks but as the day went on they became more frequent, more intense.

Around noon, my coworker paged me on the intercom. He said there was someone downstairs at the counter who’s asking if I’m in the office today. That was odd. I don’t engage with customers. I’m a behind the scenes kinda guy. Who’d be asking for me?

I check the camera.

 

There’s a tall barrel chested man in a red shirt standing in our counter room, looking directly into the camera. I could feel his stare through the screen, it was like he knew I saw him. My monitor must’ve been glitching. It looked l there was something wrong with his eyes. The pupils were stretched, dilatated, taking up most of his eye.

“The guy with the weird contacts?” I asked my coworker

 

“I didn’t see if he had contacts or not, the guy in the red shirt.” my coworker replied.

 

How wouldn’t he notice those eyes.

 “Tell him I’ll be right down” I said timidly

My mouth was so dry I had a hard time saying that clearly. The only thing louder than my heartbeat was the silence of the room

He’s still there, starring into the camera, he hasn’t moved.

I sprinted out the back door. No plan just survival.

I ran until I see a Pace bus approaching a stop. I din’t care where it’s going. I got on the bus but, I had to use a $20. I left my phone and wallet in my office. My life is worth more than $20.

I let the bumps of the road take my mind off of what happened at work. I’m safe for now.

That safe feeling lasted less than a minute. As we went under a bridge my heart started racing, a cold flush consumed me. But how?
“Ma’am, please sit down until we stop” I heard the bus driver shout to the back,

I look at the bus driver’s giant mirror and see a little old lady standing up in her seat. I turned around and get stuck at her dilatated eyes.

 

She’s pointing right at me, like she’s saying “He did it!” and her freaky eyes haven’t blinked one. I couldn’t look away until the bus slowing down shifted me out of her gaze.. We’re stopping.

I ran off of that bus even faster than I ran out of my office.

It drove off with everyone else still on board, including …her.

I kept running.

 

I remembered that my aunt lived a little over a mile away. I haven’t ran that much since High School. After what seemed like an hour, I made it to safety.

Her white house took me back to when I’d visit in middle school. She’d have cookies ready for me until my mom came to pick me up and we’d talk until it was time to leave.

The door was unlocked. I wondered if she’s home. Would I be safer if she wasn’t?

“Hello!”

“Aunt Gigi?”

“I’ve had the weirdest day, I’m going to have to call work and let them know..”

 She was standing at end of a dark hallway. Motionless.

 

“There’s been some weird things going on lately. Is everything ok here?” I asked

No response.

I squinted, trying to get a clear look at her eyes. They seemed normal, but why hasn’t she said anything?

 

She took a small step forward, I recoiled back, I felt guilty for being afraid?

She took another small step forward…and then ran down the hallway, I’ve never seen a 70 year old woman move that fast. The pitter patter of an old woman’s steps moving that fast still gives me the chills. She stops in front of me. Uncomfortably close.

 

She leans in and whispers in my left ear
“He’s here.”

I took small step backwards, finally able to move, and then another, until my back bumped into what I thought was the door. A heavy hand drops on my right shoulder. An arm wraps around me from the left. The hand on my shoulder wrapped around me from the right, constricting me, it felt like I was in a straight jacket. Squeezing tighter and tighter.

 

It was hot. It hurt. I get anxious when I think about it. All I could do was close my eyes and hope it stopped.

 

Eventually it did. I woke up in my own bed. Exhausted. Emotionless.

 

I wondered how much of that was real. I didn’t feel any lasting pain from the squeeze. I didn’t feel much of anything. It took me a while to put that together. That was just my first experience. It’s been happening for a little over a year now. Each time it drains the life I have, my excitement, my interests, hobbies and passions. They all go away whenever that thing finds me. I go into an autopilot. Emotionless weeks to months. Eventually, I feel like myself again. Until the silence returns, and I know he’s found me.

It’s been happening for over a year now. And as I write this, I can already feel the silence creeping back