Good Night

Written By: Samuel J Hoppe

The boy walked into his room, closed his door, and got undressed. He laid on his bed facing the wall, unable to sleep. He heard the typical silence of the night but knew it was behind him. It’s eyes piercing his skin, looking deep into his soul. The shadowy featureless humanoid, always watching deep into the night. His body paralyzed by fear or was it something else. The boy sensed that if he looked something terrible would happen.

This feeling went on for weeks. The boy became exhausted and weak. He knew he couldn’t handle it anymore and something had to be done. So one night the boy disregarded his senses and forced his body to look. He wasn’t able to move much but the boy thought he saw the creature for a moment but he had the sudden urge to blink. When his eyes opened nothing was there. Relieved by the emptiness of his room, the boy turned back towards the wall. The feeling of those piercing eyes remained no more.

The boy started sleeping better, his mood improved, and he regained his energy. Until one night he felt the presence again. Only much worse. He faced the wall as usual but unable to move. His body paralyzed. There were more now. It felt as though his room was full of these shadowy featureless humanoids, the boy sensed their eyes piercing his soul from all angles. He could sense a pair of them squatting on his dresser, at least five of them crawling on his ceiling, at least fifteen standing around his bed, and a larger one on his bed staring down at him. 

The boy could do nothing. Was he paralyzed by fear, or by something else? Suddenly he felt a cold breeze blow on his neck. Then a stern hand grabbed him, pulling him onto his back. The one on the bed was now standing over him. The boy couldn’t see any features on its face but he knew it was staring directly at him. Almost through him. The creature crouched down and whispered in a shrill voice “Everybody sleeps when we arrive. Some unlucky few wake up while we’re still around.” The creature laughed. “They find them selves paralyzed. A phenomena you humans have named sleep paralysis. Some how you’ve managed to overcome our paralysis. Allow me to help with that.”. The creature took its sharp claw-like finger and sliced the boy's throat. The boy's paralyzed body didn’t move as the creatures watched his blood flow out. “Now you’ll sleep forever. Good night.” The creature laughed again then stood over the boy's stiff body as the last drop of blood fell from the boy's neck. Then the creatures vanished, going back to their usual unsuspecting victims.

The boy was found the next morning, in his bed, with a bloody knife in his hand. His throat slit. A suicide.

The end.