Inner Demons

Jocelyn jolted out of her sleep, sweat dripping off her brow onto her crinkled blankets. She didn't remember what scared her so badly to wake her up, but whatever it had been definitely forced her to no longer feel tired. The air around her was cold and still, and it seemed to be closing in on her, making her feel tense. Though the night was quiet, Jocelyn swore she could hear noises. And though everybody else in the dorm was sleeping, she swore she could see figures in the shadows that engulfed her bedroom. Her breath became short and fast paced, which seemed to make the sweat drip out of her pores more quickly. She needed air, fresh air, and a splash of water to her face to calm her down.

She stood, throwing her large fluffy blankets to the side into a large pile. Then very slowly, she trained herself to place one foot in front of the other, as her legs were weak and shaky, threatening to give out at any moment. With long, slow steps, Jocelyn moved her way towards her tall dresser, which was conveniently placed beside the door to leave her room. She leaned against it for support, letting out a breath of relief as the smooth wood was cold against her hot skin. She wanted to lean against it forever, or at least until her body had cooled down and the sweating had completely stopped, but after a couple minutes the heat conducting off her skin had warmed up the wood as well, forcing her to move onwards. 

Jocelyn observed the hallway around her after she had made her way out of her room. The lights which were supposed to illuminate the hallways were dim and needed changing. The rough red carpet which lined the floor was filthy with shoe marks and soaked areas from melting snow which people had drug in from outside. Dirt and grime was easily felt underneath Jocelyn's bare, tender feet. And as she quickened her pace down the long hallway, sharp pebbles and rocks began to jab into her unprotected toes and heel, forcing her to stumble and cringe in pain. She stumbled quickly past the hallway lined with doors, and into the girls bathroom. 

The bathroom was completely empty, which was rare for Jocelyn, as even late at night there usually was always somebody there. The tiles beneath her feet were cold and clean, which was relieving for her as now she could cool down and not have to worry about anymore pebbles and rocks. She approached the line of sinks, and placed herself in front of one which was lucky enough to have a mirror which wasn't broken. The school had always been bad for replacing broken items within the dorms, as they were more concerned about the education of their students. She turned on the tap in front of her, to it's coolest setting, and let it run for a couple seconds as she observed herself in the mirror. She didn't do this because she was vain and conceded, she looked in the mirror because she was self conscious. Even when it was late at night, or too early in the morning for anybody to be awake, she was concerned about the way she looked. In her own eyes, Jocelyn saw a girl with messy blond hair, droopy eye-lids which wrapped loosely around two ocean blue eyes, and pale skin with random blotches of pink around her forehead and cheeks. What she saw wasn't appealing in her own eyes, and she hated herself for thinking so poorly of her appearance. 

Pulling her thoughts away from the girl reflecting her in the mirror, she drew her hand underneath the running water. It's cool silky contents wrapped around her hand, sneaking through the cracks in her fingers, and creating small rivers in the lines of her skin. It sent shivers down her spine as it immediately began to chill her entire body. With a large sigh of relief, she cupped her palms and began filling them with the cold liquid, then with not even a second thought she pulled her face into her hands, splashing the water against her cheeks and forehead. It felt good as it cooled her face and slowly cured her sweating problem. She placed her hands on either side of the sink, and stabled herself as she took a quick rest. She had been having frequent night terrors, but none quite like this. 

After a few moments to rest, Jocelyn rose her face back to the mirror. What faced her then flashed into the back of her mind. She finally knew why she had woken from many nightmares. She finally knew what was waking her. 

In the reflection of the mirror, across the bathroom behind her stood a girl. A young girl, maybe only thirteen years old. She had long, uncombed black hair which was parted in the centre and hugged against the sides of her body. Her skin was a porcelain white, which mixed against the pastel blue of her night gown. The gown, however, only went to her knees, and was stained with a dark red and ripped in certain places. The most terrifying part of the girl had to be her face. It was pale, much like her skin, but that's not what was terrifying. Her eyes were large dark, empty pits. There was no eyeball, it was complete black. And her jaw was hung open, dropped at an inhumanly length, reaching to her collarbones. Jocelyn couldn't pick out any teeth, or a tongue, it was just empty and black. 

Quickly, Jocelyn spun around, hoping that the girl was just an illusion in her mind. But as she stopped at her 180 turn, she realized she wasn't seeing things. The girl from the reflection was now right in front of Jocelyn's face, instead of across the room. Her large black eyes directly in line with Jocelyn's, forcing a scream out of her mouth. Jocelyn stumbled backwards into the wall, smashing her head off the hard reinforcing wood. Suddenly she felt paralyzed, as she fell to the ground, grasping her hands tightly into her night shirt to try to ease the pain in her head. The monster, or girl, or whatever it was quickly moved its way on top if Jocelyn's lap, moving uncomfortably close to her face. 

"You will regret what you've done." It whispered to her, though its mouth didn't make any effort to move.

Then with one quick swipe of its hand, Jocelyn was pushed sideways onto the hard tile floor, then instantly knocked out.