Choking - Short Story

I startled awake, straining to listen, and yet there was no sound. It was eerily quiet. My heart was beating a little to fast and the sheets were damp with a cool sweat, goosebumps covered my arms. Again I strained to hear what had startled me, but silence was the answer. My mind heavy with sleep, yet somehow alert was searching for a reason for the alarm I was feeling.

Had I heard something or dreamt about a noise? It was still very quiet, I realized it was also too dark. My night light must have burnt out. I felt a suffocating feeling, and I became aware of the sound of ragged breathing and was a bit surprised when I realized it was my own.

I held my breath to listen and heard only my skin moving across the sheets and a low ringing in my ears. No car sounds, no dogs barking, I wondered if I had ever heard such a quietness. Not a bird or a cricket or the hum of appliances. The silence became so loud it was alarming.

I noticed the ragged breathing again, it was still mine. Why was it so dark? I moved my head to look out the window, but it was so dark both in and out of the house, not even a reflection, I couldn't see a thing. The ragged breathing got louder. No stars, no moon, no headlights from the road, the streetlights were off. The darkness like the silence was overwhelming and my sense of alarm was growing.

In the distance I did hear a faint sound, like a whisper or a rustle, but so quiet I couldn't make it out. It sounded quiet and distant, I couldn't identify the sound. I reached for my phone, my hand felt around for it in the dark, I located the cool phone case and pressed the button to illuminate the room. Nothing happened. There was no way the phone was dead, it was plugged in. I pushed the power button a little too hard with hands that trembled a little and nothing....

I heard my ragged breath and in the distance a rustle, maybe a hum... and nothing else.

The goosebumps were back and I noticed my skin turning clammy, yet... I still didn't have a specific fear.

An inner sense of panic was beginning to set in. It got the better of me and I jumped up to flip the light switch, I heard my feet hit the floor and the soft rustle of the sheets as I pulled them back. I needed something, anything to break up the silence and darkness. I flipped the light switch and nothing happened. The room was so dark I could barely see in front of me, and my teeth began to chatter. In the distance a rustle or a hum... I couldn't make it out.

I felt I was being swallowed by darkness and silence, as if I would disappear. I began to choke as if the darkness could be inhaled and block the passage of air. The sound of my own wheezing and choking was nearly reassuring. The rustle or hum in the background suddenly seemed closer, but when I tried to listen carefully, I could only hear my heart pounding in time with the ragged breathing.

I couldn't breath and I felt a bit dizzy, I slumped back on to the bed, trying to slow my breathing. The power must be out I thought to myself, trying to calm myself down. The darkness truly was uncanny. The humming rustling sound nagged at the back of my brain while I tried to remember where I put the flashlight.

The inky blackness felt heavy. nearly crushing adding to the sense of choking. I began to rub at my eyes and ears as if I could wipe the darkness and silence away. I couldn't see anything and the rustling sound was still distant, steady and somehow ominous and disturbing.

In my growing panic I tried the phone again with trembling hands and I cussed when it still wouldn't turn on. I set the phone on the nightstand with a load bang and felt a tiny bit of gratitude for the sound.

The humming rustling noise grew a bit louder and I felt frozen in the darkness.

I glanced toward the window again, but there was no use, my eyes were not adjusting and I had to admit there was something unnatural about the darkness, something deafening about the silence.

I tried to take some slow breaths and decide what to do. The noise was definitely a rustle, a whispering, humming rustle, quiet, but growing closer. I couldn't identify the sound. It didn't sound mechanical nor like an animal, it had a strange musical quality, but it wasn't music.

My heart was still beating to fast and my mind was both slow and too fast at the same time. I could not think of what to do or how to make sense of what I was experiencing.

I felt hands on my shoulder, a gentle shaking and a voice..

"Are you having a Nightmare?" my partner asked..

And I woke, still choking on the darkness of my dream.

Hey Everyone,

Many people I know have been talking about nightmares lately. I woke up in the early hours of the AM with a Nightmare as well. I rarely remember my dreams.

My nightmare reminded me of this creative story I wrote, so I decided to post it.

@whatsup