Still Haunted (One)

Still Haunted

He could feel himself bolt upright from where he lay on the bed, his body covered in sweat as he struggled to break free of the nightmare. night after night it would come back and his mind would be rocked by the horror of it all. he did not know how long it lasted but he would wake with his mouth open in a silent scream but nothing ever came.

The dream just receded into the darkest reaches of his mind as he fought to gain control of his breathing, chest rising and falling as he felt his heart hammer inside of his chest like a drummer wailing on some drums.

He used his feet to push himself further up the bed until his back was pressed against the wall that was directly behind where he would lay his head, the cold touch of the surface making his body feel cooler against the burning that he had felt a moment ago.

His eyes felt heavy and he let them close for a moment, but quickly opened them once more, the fear of the nightmare returning even in this waking moment was too much for him to want to deal with.

No, he knew, it would be over in a few minutes, he would calm down and be able to lay back on the bed once more and try to find some peace in the slumber his exhausted body needed.

He felt a sudden cool breeze pass over his torso, the air coming from the open window to the left of his bed. the coolness of air helping to bring down the burning sensation his body felt and help to ease his hammering heart.

He did not even recall opening the window, had he done that tonight? or had it been open for some time now? he really could not remember, but the cool breeze that washed over him was a welcome relief.

He shook his head from side to side as if trying to push away the tiredness that made his mind feel as if it were shrouded with a dense fog that seemed to cloud every thought,

in the distance the sound of what was recognisable as a firearm could be heard, a single shot ringing out in the night, it seemed to echo in his head for a moment but the noise quickly died away, the sound of the shot too far away to be of any real concern.

He let his head turn slightly before he brought his hands up to rub the palms of his hand against his tired eyes, another attempt to lift himself from this lethargy that seemed to be deep inside and invading every inch of his body.

His knees eased back and the balls of his feet rested against the sheets that were now soaked in the nightmare fuelled sweat that covered them.

He once again let his eyes close once more and slid his legs out in front of himself and eased down the bed to lay flat once more, the darkness of the room somehow bringing him a comforting feeling, he never had any real fear of the dark, it was the fear that came from sleep and those little slices of death.

He would fall asleep again and perhaps that time would be peaceful or the nightmare would come again and he would still be haunted.