LarrySun:
THE JOURNEY TO A THOUSAND FLASH

Flash 26: The Figure

This is for you, Horpsyjay - you requested for it.

When I was a child, I would sometimes sleep off on the floor but always found myself waking up on the bed. Of course, my parents were always the guardian angels whenever I slept like that. Either my dad or mum would carry me while I slept and gently lay me down on my bed.

But twenty years later, now that I was a grownup, I would sleep on the bed and when I woke up, I often found myself on the floor. Many adults have experienced this; it is simple - we wake up on the floor because we roll off the bed during sleep.

But if my situation had been as simple as that, I wouldn't have worried; the truth is that 'simple' can no way describe my experience - I believe the best term, in this regard, is 'mysterious'.

Sometimes, my situation would go beyond just waking up on the floor. In some cases, I would wake up wearing a different pair of clothes from the one I slept in. In other cases, I would feel strangely full - an indication that I had recently eaten, the food was always different from the supper I took the night before. And whenever I checked my pantry, I would discover that a certain quantity of food had been taken. The kitchen would reveal that a meal had recently been prepared.

The only logical explanation was that I had done all these in a complete state of fugue. That, of course, would explain why I never had any recollection of the events that happened in this state.

And yet, deep within me, I felt something a lot more mysterious than that had happened. Each time I woke up, I always felt something had been taken from me. The feeling of strange incompleteness would overwhelm me every time I opened my eyes. If I was a lady, I would have thought someone always stole into my room in the middle of the night to violate my body - but that was not the case. In fact, the possibility of such happening was highly unlikely; because, besides the fact that I was a man and had never noticed any residual effect of unbridled sexual regatta, I always bolted my door from behind. And whenever I woke up, I always found the bolts particularly intact - no indication of any form of foul-play could be established.

At some point, I imagined that an intruder might have gained entry into my room via the ceiling; but then again, that was ruled out. The asbestos didn't appear to be tampered with. Besides, my room was, to some extent, burglary-proof; a strong iron bar had been professionally laid behind the ceiling during construction. It was a precaution against any form of intrusion. So, the idea that someone had stolen into my room should not hold water.

Therefore, after considering every angle, the only logical explanation was the fugue state. Even if I had consulted a shrink about this matter, there was no doubt that we would arrive at the same obvious conclusion. But like I already hinted, something eerie sufficed.

One night, I decided to carry out a personal investigation. When it was time for me to sleep I first firmly bolted my door, then I brought out my phone, activated its night vision and set the video recorder in motion. I hid the phone in a spot where the camera directly captured my bed and the majority of the room; and I made the phone as inconspicuous as possible. I knew I was only reaching, since there was no way an uninvited guest could have gained access to the room.

I soon dozed off and, hours later, opened my eyes to the rays of the morning sun that came through the window. When I checked the time on my bedside clock, it was already past 8. I sat up groggily; at least I hadn't woken up on the floor this time around. I was grateful. I looked at the door, it was just as I had left it before I slept. Then I suddenly remembered the phone. I quickly jumped out of bed and located it from where I had hidden it.

To my surprise, the video was still recording. It had been recording for the past ten hours. I was impressed. I pressed the 'STOP' key and returned to my bed to watch everything from the beginning. I was hoping that this would provide the answers I sought.

And it did - but it was not the answer I was prepared for.

For the first two hours, I was staring at myself sleeping. I didn't want to fast-forward because I was afraid of missing anything. It was like watching a dry wall. Occasionally, I would toss and turn but nothing significant happened.

Then it happened!

It was an intruder after all. How the figure entered the room is still a mystery to me. I watched in horror as the intruder hovered before me on the bed. It was like I was staring at an apparition. I couldn't catch his face. It seemed like the figure knew where the camera was and he was intentionally shielding his face away from it. To be quite frank, I couldn't even tell if the figure was a male or female.

Then I saw the figure produce a dagger. First, he slit my throat - I watched in horror as I gurgled; blood rushed to my mouth and I began to spasm violently. Then the intruder raised the dagger up and brought it down hard on my chest. The spasm stopped immediately and I laid there still - very much dead. I could see my dead eyes staring at the ceiling. There was blood everywhere - the ceiling, the walls, the floor, the bedsheet - my room was like an abattoir.

The killer dug out the dagger from my chest and kept it away. Then he dragged my body off the bed and out of the room. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Blood trail followed as he dragged me out of my fortress. After a while, the figure returned and took my position on the bed. He didn't even bother to wipe off the blood. His face was still shielded from the camera.

My hands shook violently as I watched the intruder sleep in my bed. For the next six hours, the figure slept peacefully in my bed. I couldn't stop the video. It was like I was in a trance. I watched as dawn approached. The figure didn't rise from the bed within all these hours. The sun shone into the room and I watched as he turned around to the complete view of the camera and rose from bed.

I was staring at myself.

I sat groggily on the bed, in the puddle of my own blood. Then I remembered the camera and jumped to my feet. I saw myself walk towards the phone, pick it from where I had hidden it the night before, and press 'STOP'.

The video ended.

I looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place. There was no blood anywhere.

And, I am alive!

©Larry Sun
November, 2020