Once I sink into sleep,

I open my eyes to peeling mint green paint, on grey brick walls.

My eyes itch and there’s a distant hum, I plant my hands on either side of my hips and push myself into a seated position. The ground is warm, fine sand. I bury my fingers underneath until I feel a cold cement bottom. There is an empty doorway directly in front of me, sun shines through in harsh beams. A dark doorway to my left leading into another room. A soft breeze blows through, picking up loose sand and carrying it towards me. I squint as the fine grit causes me to tear up. Blinking to try and subside the itch, I catch a blurry outline of something in the doorway. Covering my eyes with my hand I glance towards the doorway only to find it empty. A soft whisper comes from my left, I whip my head around to the dark doorway. A buzzing noise comes through, growing louder by the second. I push myself onto my feet, only to double over in pain. Grasping the hem I my shirt, I lift to find three long gashes down my abdomen, arranged in a triangle around my navel. The skin within the triangle is discoulored, mottled indigo and violet. The buzz gets louder. Wincing, I haul myself into a standing position. The air is hot, causing my breathing to feel shallow and sharp. Using the wall to balance myself, one hand clutching my stomach, I stumble toward the darkened doorway. My legs are tight and throbbing, and my arms are aching. A few steps from the door, I am hit with a cold burst of air, the buzz starts to resemble words, but I can’t make them out. I get closer and the buzz turns to a static, sounds barely coming through. It sounds like multiple voices. I get close enough to grab a hold of the doorway and pull myself through. There’s more sand in this room, laying in heaps in the corners of the small space. Directly in the middle of the room is a tattered red armchair, back turned to me, with a blue light eminating around it. Limping forwards I grab the back of the chair. Suddenly my hand feels wet and cold, I glance down and shriek. Something is on my hand, I try to pull away but it tightens, it almost looks like a hand. It couldn’t be though, it’s as cold and wet as ice and as yellow as a dandelion. No it is a hand, I can make out the bones under the tight yellow skin. The knuckles are red and oozing a clear substance, where the nails should be is just red and spattered. Grabbing my wrist with my other hand I pull as hard as I can. Stumbling back as I escape the grasp, I hit the wall behind me. A shape emerges from the corners of the armchair, I can barely make out two long skeletal arms. Patting the wall behind me, I try to find the door without taking my eyes off the yellow creature. All I feel are damp bricks. Hands grasp my shoulders and head and twist my head up. My eyes meet black hollows of a face where eyes would live, a sinister smile spreads across the face, a thick dark liquid seeps from behind the razor sharp teeth. A drop lands in my eye and I’m thrown. I feel my body lose its weight, as I land on a soft surface. Rubbing the muck out of my eyes, I look around to find, I am back in my bedroom. No sand, no yellow creature, no cement walls. It must’ve been a dream. A sharp pain hits my stomach and I roll over, lifting my shirt, only to find three jagged gashes on my abdomen, in the shape of a triangle.