Eyes

Red eyes. As Alex glanced into the mirror in front of her, red eyes behind her caught her attention. They were off to the side of the room, lurking in the shadows. Was she seeing things? No, she was certain they were really there. A few blinks of her eyes and they were gone, but the feeling of being chilled to the core didn’t go away. For now, she pushed it out of her mind, shrugging it off.

           

Days passed and nothing happened, though the red eyes were always there, always in Alex’s reflection, watching her. They seemed to follow her from place to place, always lurking. Always waiting. Strangely, with each passing day, Alex noticed them getting closer and closer. Were they moving? Were they really even there? She could see them, no doubt about it, but other people had never noticed anything in her reflection. Nothing out of the ordinary. She shrugged it off once more, blaming it on exhaustion and labeling the eyes a “delusion”.

           

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. The eyes were still there, and closer than ever. Any time Alex would look into a mirror, they were right there. Right beside of her reflection now, close enough for her to see the irises and details of them. After the third month, strange things began to happen. Scratches appeared on Alex’s skin, night after night, getting deeper as time progressed. Banging sounds would suddenly be heard in her room in the middle of the night, keeping her from getting any sleep. There was no more shrugging it off. This was real, whatever it was. She knew she had to stop it.

            

 After heading to a local library, Alex sat for hours, reading, studying the paranormal books in front of her. All signs pointed toward one thing – the banging, the scratches, the eyes that seemed to be staring into her soul. She was dealing with a demon. It had apparently attached itself to her for some reason, to which she was clueless. It was after her, and if she didn’t stop it, it would lead to one thing. Possession. Taking cues from the books, Alex headed to a local store and started gathering the supplies she knew she would need. Salt. Anything with crosses on it.

           

After hours spent in town, Alex eventually returned home, entering through the front door cautiously. Salt in hand, she began lining her bedroom door with it, then her window, leaving no entry ways. Very quickly, she placed hooks on the wall and adorned them with metal crosses, a plaque with the Lord’s Prayer, and lastly placed a Bible under her pillow. The air was calm and she didn’t feel the usual panic that her room seemed to bring on. Taking advantage of this, she fell asleep, curling up in the middle of her bed.

           

Around midnight, the bedroom door slowly creaked open. Alex was startled awake, sitting straight up upon hearing the noise. “Hello? Mom? Austin?” No answer. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness rather quickly and opened wide in shock at the sight in front of her. The salt that had been lining her door just mere hours before had been kicked out of place, scattered across the floor, leaving a straight shot into the room. A growl somewhere close to Alex’s face snapped her back into focus. Turning her head to the right, she saw it, but it was too late. It was already on top of her before she could scream, and she finally saw them once again, the crimson red irises that had haunted her nightmares along with her reality for the past months of her life.

          

 The creature was horrifying; it was hard to even look at without feeling physically ill and terrified for her life. It was large, with crimson red eyes and it seemed to come straight out of her nightmares. Its hands worked their way around her neck, long claws dragging along her throat. Alex kicked and clawed at the thing, managing to force her way out from under it. Scrambling, she fell to the floor and jumped up as quickly as she could, beginning to run. Through the bedroom doorway. Down the hall. Chase ensued, a growl and the sound of hooves on the wooden floor echoing throughout the house.

          

 Run. It was all she could do. So she did. Down the staircase. Through another hall. Halfway through the living room. Thud. Alex’s body hit the floor hard, the sound reverberating through the room. Groaning, she glanced back at her ankle – it had caught on a rug and brought her down. Stunned, she tried to crawl along the floor now, but not fast enough. A hand grasped onto one of her legs, then the other. One scream. That was all she could get out before it began to pull her back. Before there was nothing.

          

 Alex woke on the floor, taking in her surroundings. How had she gotten back into her bedroom? She distinctly remembered being chased by something. Where was …? Her room seemed clear, all of the horrible banging noises ceased to exist. Maybe it had been a nightmare. That was the only logical reasoning for it. Yes, it had to have been a nightmare. Breathing a sigh of relief, Alex stood and walked over to the mirror. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, she smiled at her reflection. Peace. She felt it for the first time in months. Off to the kitchen she went, having missed the bright red irises staring back at her in her reflection.