Terrible dreams plagued me that night.  Visions of death and hellfire filled my sleeping mind, tugging at the seams of my conscience, begging to be released.  When finally I awoke that morning, I felt like I had walked around the Earth in a night.  Cold sweat made my bedsheets cling to my quivering skin, and my hands felt cold and clammy, as if they had suffered from necrosis as I slept.  I collected myself somewhat, and took deep breaths.  Looking around the room, the pale morning light entering the window raised my spirit enough to allow me to get out of bed.

After my unsettling arousal, I followed my usual routine trying to put my anxieties out of my mind.  This proved impossible however, as almost every one of my possessions had been misplaced or was missing.  I sat down at my table with the only bowl, spoon and cereal I could find - there was no milk - and began eating.  Slowly, the texture of my cereal began to change.  My crunches sounded louder in my ears.  Looking down, my eyes shot open and I began gagging and coughing.  My bowl was filled with squirming, disgusting cockroaches.  Retching, I flew to the sink and began spitting up chunks of wing and leg.  I turned on the water, only to see maroon blood spew from the tap.  Still coughing, with tears in my eyes, I stumbled away and fell on my floor when suddenly, I heard it.

Tap, tap tap.

I whipped my head around to the source of the noise: my bathroom.  What could that have been?  There were no windows in my bathroom, no glass to speak of save for the mirror and my shower door.

Tap, tap, tap.

I stood up, my hands shaking, covered in goosebumps, and began walking towards the tapping.  I could hear every step amplified in my ears.  The house started to creak and groan, though there was no wind.  I reached the doorway, leaning against the wood for support, feeling dizzy and disoriented.  When I finally managed to focus my vision, I realized the whole house was writhing with a furious suggestion.  Shifting and sliding, the hallways rotated and stretched, growing longer, then shrinking back.  The doorways looked like waves in a pool as they warped and mutated beyond recognition.

Tap, tap, tap.

Stumbling and blinking rapidly, I tripped on something unidentifiable and hit my floor hard.  The hardwood felt like syrup, sticking to my hands and knees and solidifying like glue.  When finally I pulled myself into the bathroom, I nearly vomited from sheer exhaustion.  I lifted one tired arm up and gripped the countertop.  As I pulled myself up, I almost vomited once more from the pounding in my head.  Planting both hands on either side of my sink, I stared into the mirror, though no figure stared back.

TAP, TAP, TAP.

The sudden loud knocking coming from directly in front of me made my knees go weak with fear, and I almost fell back to the floor.  I continued to stare into the mirror lacking any reflections, when a figure did emerge, silhouetted in the darkness.  I fumbled for the light switch, and turned on one flickering light bulb.  Though I was looking directly ahead, my reflection was looking down.  He… it walked forward slightly and raised its head.  I was looking at me, save for one unsettling feature.  My reflection’s eyes were black as night, two opal orbs staring into my soul just as I stared at it.  This creature which I now feared with all my being then reached up, and slowly tapped the glass.

Tap… tap...

Incredulously,  I reached to where it had tapped the glass, and touched it with my index finger.  As soon as I made contact, the glass rippled like a pool of water, distorting my reflection’s shape.  As the mirror bounced waves back and forth across its face, the figure began to morph into horrifying visages. 

A man, covered in blood and flesh, an equally gory axe in his hands.  His hair was matted to his face and his clothes were ripped and torn. 

A woman, a large chunk of her shoulder split open, oozing coagulated blood.  Her eyes were gray and milky as if covered in thick cataracts.

Two children, a boy and a girl, looks of terror engraved in their faces.  The boy had a large gash in the center of his chest, and the girl, one in the side of her head.

The figure morphed between these three images with increasing frequency.  The light began to flicker into a strobe, and the house started to shake as if from an earthquake.  Screaming filled my ears as the walls began to bleed.  Suddenly, everything went dark.  I felt around for the light, and unsuccessfully tried to turn it back on.  Finally, I saw a light in the mirror.  It was a candle, held by the woman.  Her two children clinging to her sides.  She slowly shuffled up to the glass, and looked into my eyes.

I hear, barely a whisper, her say to me,

“Run.”