Page 37 of Solivagant

Despite the cold, my body was covered in sweat. I tried to think, but my mind was foggy. Clouded. Foreign.

I took a shower, letting scalding water wash off fear and uncertainty. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but clearly, it was still messing with my mind, because as I wiped the condensation from the bathroom mirror, I could have sworn for a moment the face looking back at me wasn’t mine.

After firmly deciding I did not want to go back to sleep tonight, I went to the kitchen instead to make myself the strongest coffee I possibly could.

The nightmares and sleep paralysis were one thing. They were far from fucking pleasant, but I was used to them. Knew how to deal with those and did so from my own bed where I was safe, despite the thoughts that told me otherwise.

But sleepwalking? That was new. I hadn’t gotten far, thankfully. But I didn’t need to get far to be in danger. Tash and I knew how to kill the monsters in the woods, but there weren’t much I could do to one if I was fucking asleep. Or if I woke up half dressed and without a weapon.

Go back.

“Shut up!” I yelled, my hand darting out to sweep all the items from the kitchen counter. “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!”

My chest heaved with heavy breaths.

I didn’t even know who I was yelling at. Or what.

My fingers trembled as I combed them through my hair. I was losing it. Had been for a while. I knew that. But fuck was I feeling it currently.

I shook my head. “No. I’m fine. I’m in control. It’s fine.”

I could deal with this. Had to. It was just another thing I’d have to be cautious of. There had been other things, and I’d overcome those, mostly. I’d find a way to get through this too.

“You look like shit,” Tash so helpfully informed me as I walked into the shop.

I nodded. I had my fifth coffee of the morning in hand and yet I felt far from alert. Once the adrenaline had crashed, I’d gotten tired again, but until I figured out a way to stop anything like that happening again, there would be no sleep for me.

I could probably make some complicated locking mechanism for the door. Something I’d definitely have to be awake and alert enough to get unlocked. Though I did have some hope that whatever had happened early this morning was a one-off occurrence. Well, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it and end up slaughtered in the woods.

Deciding that was more important than the client’s cabinet I’d planned to start today, I got to work.

Tash always had this unnerving way of sensing when a customer, or in this case my father, was approaching the shop. She’d so conveniently always be out the back whenever anyone walked in, leaving me to deal with them.

“Jo, they got another one,” Dad said, straight to the point, as usual.

“They?”

“The aliens. They got a-fuckin-nother one.” He slammed a piece of paper from his stack down on the workbench in front of me.

I picked it up, my eyes first catching on the giant “MISSING” text at the top of the page. I recognized the grainy photo before I read the name. Jim Bennedict.

“He’s missing?” I asked, running my eyes over the details. Jim had last been seen two days ago.

“Yep. Those fuckers got him. I know it. At this rate, Jo, the whole town’s gonna be abducted.”

“Well, let’s not stress ourselves out just yet. Yeah? I assume Jim went looking for Dale?”

Those two were hunting and drinking buddies. Clones of the same piece of shit this town were filled with.

“Yep, said he was going to find him, seein’ as that lazy ass sheriff hadn’t done anything about Dale’s disappearance.”

“Maybe he just got lost.”

“Nah. Jim’s a good hunter. Knows them woods better than anyone.”

Said the same thing about Dale.

“I reckon they got Dale first, then snapped up his buddy when he got too close to the truth.”