I woke up.

I.. Woke up.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

I looked around. It was my room and nothing changed. It was cold and dark, inside and out. I switched on the bed lights. The sheets felt heavy... Or was it just me getting weaker? I will never know.

I turned to look at the alarm and it was 3:03 am. There was a Large pair of scissors beside the alarm. I probably forgot to put it back after cutting the papers.
I checked my phone, it showed the same.

I got off of the bed and walked to the window. I swept the cutains aside and looked out the window. The sky was still dark, what did I expect. It was 3:06 am.

I put on the first hoodie I found and walked out of the room. The hallway that led to the stairway was long and dark.

I tried to switch on the lights but none worked. I Always asked Finn to fix it but he's always too busy.

Oh. Finn.

I walked to his room and tried to listen for any sounds that might indicate he's awake. We didn't share much. After all he's only my roommate. He either must be sleeping or he's at work for his night shift. Anyway, no need to disturb him.

I walked further and down the stairs but halfway down, a wave of dizziness hit me. I held on to the railing for balance. I waited for it to fade away, which it did.

"I'm tired of this... I Need some fresh air."
I made my way to the main door and put my shoes on.

Not gonna lie, it was freezing outside. And yet the weather was humid and it felt heavy.

I locked the door behind me and turned to the streets and started walking. The streets in this place were all safe at anytime so I don't have to worry about that.

I always walked late at night. It opened my mind.

I walked down the street for a while now. I didn't exactly know where I was going but I just kept walking.

It's been just a few minutes.

Something felt wrong.

The roads were empty. This was unusual in this neighborhood. There at least had to be a vehicle or two. But there were none.

There was not a single noise of a moving vehicle.

I ignored it and kept walking further.

But if something makes you feel different than usual, it'll not leave your mind soon.

I couldn't help but notice that the lights... Of the houses on the sides of the streets, we're all switched on. Not a movement in a single house but the lights were all on. At this time of the day?

I swear it was the opposite when I looked out my window.

I stood there. In the middle of the footpath. I Slowly walked to the middle of the road. Looked around. I can tell it. Something didn't feel right at all.

That's when I heard it.

A shuffling behind me in a distance.

I quickly turned around, hoping it would be someone and no one at the same time.

It was no one.

I continued. My hands felt ice cold. I shuffled them in my pockets covering as much skin as possible. I could see my breath in the air.

Just a few more minutes later, I heard giggling and laughter which seemed like it belonged to children.

"At this hour.....?" I thought.

On the front garden of a house on the left side of the street, a few feet away, there were two little kids. Toddlers, whose face I couldn't see, Playing by splashing water on each other.

Why would any parent, in their right mind, let their babies play with water, at this time, in this freezing weather?

I lowered my hood and slowly approached the children.

"Hey. Kids. What are you doing out here? You'll catch a cold. Get in now. " I was now on the middle of the road again. The children didn't even look at me. They were still laughing and  giggling while they are soaked wet in the water.

"Kids! Hey. Where are your parents?", I yelled louder. I was now at the edge of their garden. They still didn't look at me.

"Hey! " I shouted. This time I stepped Into their land. That's when...That's when they stopped. They stopped laughing. The place seemed so much more quiter than it was before. Nothing but the sound of water flowing from the pipe, that the little boy was holding.

I stopped.

"Kids?"

This time the children turned to me. Slowly. That's when I saw their face. I was struck with horror.

The children, if you could call them that, had no eyes. Their sockets were empty. Nothing but a void there. Their skin was falling apart and was pale. I realized that their clothes were wet ,torn and worn. Bones of their faces were exposed out. The skin that remained was wrinkly because of the time spent in the water.

"How does it feel, Katy? Listening to their silent cries?" Those children. Their voice was inhuman. Deep and guttural. Not a child's voice.

That was enough to indicate that all I had to do was run. I turned back and ran as fast as I could.

As I was running, I could see people walking out of the shadows and into streets.

Not one person looked human.

All of them kept chanting those words. It was too much for me to take.

I kept running but there were many more of them. Alot of them. I didn't stop until they started appearing in front of me.

Lifeless people surrounded me. It reeked of flesh and swamp. I turned the other way. Fortunately, they were slow and I could make my way through. I ran down the street and the road seemed endless.

I kept running and running when I realised I was slowing down.

I looked down and saw that I was running into water. Every step led me an inch deeper into the water. The neighborhood had no lakes, river, ponds or water bodies of any sort.

By the time I gained control of my body, I was waist- deep in the water.

"What- no. No. No. No! " I panicked as I turned back but all I saw was darkness and water for miles.

I waited with bated breath. All I could hear was light splashing of water as I moved.
I took a step forward but something was being an obstacle. The thing felt like it was moving. And it did.

I watched it as it slowly floated to the surface.

It was.... A face.

A dead body.

I fell cold. I froze. The blood drained from my face.

I tumbled back and bumped into something and there was another one.

I looked around and watched lifeless, limp bodies floating to the surface one by one.

I wept and screamed. Overwhelmed by the situation.

The world grew dark until there was nothing....

"Katy? Katy. Katy wake up."

I felt my body shaking. I opened my eyes and I was met by Finn who was now looking down at me, concerned and worried.

I was on my bed, in my room.

I am safe. Atleast that's what I thought.

"Katy, are you alright? You were crying in your sleep- and look, you're sweating."
He said.

"Was I?" I tried to wipe away the cold sweat.

"Probably just a bad dream." I could never put it in words.

All of my thoughts stopped when I heard ...Finn chuckling. It slowly turned to a cackle.

"Finn?"

He lifted his head up to look at me. And the same words left his mouth. Ringing in my ears as the horror in front of me took it's shape.

"How did it feel, Katy?" Finn's face started dismorphing, as the skin on his face slowly melted away to liquid.

"Let me go!" I screamed for dear life and tried to scramble away from him but he held me down.

"- Listening to their silent cries? " He continued in his demonic tone.

"let me go! Please!" My cries fell on dead ears.

"- the cries of the people you drowned?" And his face completely melted away and I could feel it on my face, the bits of the skin.

I closed my eyes hoping it would all end. That's when it hit me.

The scissors.

I opened my eyes and reached for the scissors and I found it.

This would end it all.

I grabbed the scissors and in one swift movement, I did it.

I could feel the sudden shock as it ran through my body. The heat was unbearable. I couldn't breathe.

The last thing I saw was the pair of scissors buried deep in my chest and the world went dark again.

****

I woke up.

I.. Woke up.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

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