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Sleep

T.C. Marie

By T.C. MariePublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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I lean back in my chair, rubbing my kinked neck as I wait for the video to load. It's been weeks and my sleep hasn't been refreshing me as it used to. When I wake up my desk is scattered with papers, my notes thrown out of order. I suppose it could just be the A.C. but my friend suggested I might be sleepwalking from stress, and she even helped me set up night cameras. It's the first time I'm watching and though I'm skeptical, I'm also a little nervous.

The video loads and I sit up a little straighter to fast forward the clip. I slow it down at 4:07 am when I see myself moving more in my sleep. I squint to see clearer. Video me gets out of bed groggily and stands straight up. Nothing else. Just stands there.

5 minutes pass and I'm starting to think that's it until I see video me rubbing its head. It keeps rubbing and rubbing getting faster and more aggressive. Its look... upset? Stressed, maybe? It balls its hands into fist and I watch as its mouth opens wide. I assume it's screaming but I didn't set up microphones so I can't know for sure. Video me walks around my room, chest heaving, fists still balled up, occasionally punching itself. Swinging its arms and knocking everything around it down.

My heart is racing and my hands are getting sweaty. I think the camera thing was raised more questions than answers, I think to myself, giggling nervously. I'm about to turn off the video of me beating myself up when it suddenly snaps its head straight to the camera. I freeze. My hand hovers over the mouse. Video me creeps closer until the screen is filled with just its body. It slowly, so slowly, reaches its hands up to its head, holds it for a split second, and jerks its head all the way around. It crumples to the ground, its neck grotesquely misplaced.

I'm trembling, crying, I can't understand what's happening. I watched myself snap my own neck and yet... I'm here? I stare blankly at my dead body until 4:31 when I notice the doorknob of my room turning. I lean forward to see who could come in. The door creaks open and I have to swallow a scream. Another me walks into the room, straight to my lifeless body. It quickly and casually picks me up and carries me out the room. I don't know where it went but I do know that it was exactly 23 minutes until the second me came back. It didn't do anything except close the door and slip into my bed, a small smile on its face.

Once I realized it was asleep, I fast forwarded to the morning to see if anything else might happen. At 6:00, the other me reaches for my phone to hit my alarm. The longer I watch it prepare itself for the morning the more I realize it's exactly how I started today. Same outfit, same hairstyle, same confused look at the mess around the room.

That means I, current breathing in the flesh, disposed of my other me and I have no recollection of it. It doesn't make sense. I... I should be dead. I should... I don't know. I can't wrap my head around it. All I can think is... what am I?

I'm jumpy and paranoid the rest of the day. I keep expecting to see my dead body hiding in the tub or shoved into the pantry. I'm stressed. I guess that's to be expected, considering I watched me kill myself and also move my own dead body. I almost want to laugh at how silly it sounds.

When I finally decide to go to bed, I'm terrified to fall asleep. I stare at my ceiling feeling as though only minutes have passed. I roll to check my alarm clock and I see it's 4:01. My heart freezes. What will happen if I'm not asleep to do whatever it is I have been doing all week? The time ticks slowly. 4:07 passes and I want to kick myself for being so scared. My parents wouldn't let me live this down if they knew I thought I might kill myself in my sleep.

I'm almost dozing when I hear my doorknob jiggle. I bolt upright. No... no I-I didn't do it how could it come? The doorknob twists and my door slowly opens. I try to see in the dark and almost throw up when I see the glowing eyes staring at me. Another me slinks into the room and watches me for a second. I'm frozen with fear. It looks around my room and stares at the spot my body was last night in dismay. It looks back at me, and starts… laughing? Like, out loud laughing its ass off. What the fuck is happening.

It wipes the tears running down its face and says to me, “You're awful at making deals, yaknow? Haven't you ever heard ‘Be careful what you wish for’? I never said I'd be fair.”

I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what it means. And then it hits me. The party. A sobbing breath escapes me. My friends and I had been at a party, we played with ouija boards and tried to summon demons and “sell our souls" for cool shit. We talked with someone but each of us thought it was each other moving the piece.

The thing moved closer to me and stroked my hair. “You wanted to be immortal, darling. I gave you what you wanted, and the way I'm doing it, I'm getting an infinite amount of souls to take. It's a win win, see?”

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. My skin erupts with goosebumps as my replica runs its hand across my face.

“You didn't let me do it the easy way tonight, but a deal's a deal.” It reaches it's other hand up to my head and I know what's going to happen.

A small whisper escapes me. “N-no. Please.”

It tsks at me sadly. “Sorry, love. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to dance with the devil?” And with that, a sharp pain started in my neck and made it's way all the way down my spine.

I woke up, and for the second week in a row, I had a kink in my neck. I'm starting to think I should listen to my friend and set up cameras to see what wild things I'm doing in my sleep...

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