This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/confused_corgi_35 on 2024-11-03 05:35:28+00:00.
"Sleep. Just go to sleep. It'll be over in the morning. You can do it. You can sleep it off. Ignore the knocking," I tried to keep myself from going completely crazy from the knocking on my window. "Don't open your eyes," I either thought, or I whispered under my breath. Everything is a blur.
Ever since I accepted the job offer, my life's become a living hell. I can't go to the grocery, exercise, or even go to work without ~~feeling~~ knowing something is following me.
I'll provide some context. Last month, I, Jonathan Michaels, fresh out of college at 22, I applied for a job at a new company, Brighter Days Inc. It was a sort of... well, I don't wanna say asylum... it didn't seem like it was that serious. Just a mental health facility.
I was so excited to pursue my dreams, helping people understand the power of their minds. For brighter days, as the company said.
For the first 3 days, I worked as an assistant, helping the other nurses, serving people coffee, things like that. On the 4th day, I was finally tasked to serve a patient. I was nervous, but more excited, probably.
"So, are there any problems you're currently facing?" I asked the patient before beginning the consultation. I was working as a psychologist, with my own office and everything. She maintained a fairly friendly aura, before she actually started speaking.
"No... it's more like... a problem is facing me," the patient replied.
I was intrigued, not too scared yet. I didn't study 4 years to give up from that. "What exactly is this problem*?*" I asked next.
She paused. Then she said, "It started with a dream." She paused again. I still remained silent, as she looked to be thinking of a way to speak the next sentence. "A man. No, wait..." she struggled, "A figure. It was a figure. Was it? No, maybe not," she retracted every explanation she tried to give, as my curiosity peaked.
"An entity," she spoke, sounding sure this time. "It was an entity. A black shadow-like figure. It had a hunched back, glowing white eyes, and dinosaur-like arms and legs, clawed and everything. It was like a breed of a shadow, some demonic contorted T-Rex, and a disturbingly tall man."
I paused, maybe a little nervous this time, but not backing down. "Ok... and what did he do?" I asked.
"He stared. That stare... it haunts me in my dreams. In life. He's everywhere," she cried quietly. Whenever my nervousness increased, my curiosity increased 2x more.
"He stared?" I asked, "When did he start staring? Why did he start staring? Did he do anything else?" I had a million other questions, but I bit my tongue to hear her out.
"He lurked around me at times, following me wherever I went. It seemed like he was growing bigger the more scared I grew of him. This is the only place I've ever felt safe. I made a good decision coming here," she said.
"He started staring around when my husband died. He went missing and was found drowned in a lake a week after. Always screaming that he would kill someone," she added, "And I don't know why the entity started coming after me."
I paused for a while, trying to collect my rushing thoughts. "Alright. When was the last time you saw this entity?" I asked.
"He chased me here, but I never saw him again since being here. It's been about a week," she replied.
"Ok, Alice, I need you to know that you're safe here. That he won't hurt you, ok?" I spoke.
"I know," she said, eerily. I always wondered what it meant. For someone who had been so scared speaking of it, "I know" seemed like a weird thing to reply.
The rest of the days, she spoke about how she misses her kids, mother, and husband. I was always curious about this "husband" of hers. I assumed it was a sensitive topic, so I chose to steer clear of it for the time being.
About a week after the first incident, she looked scared to see me when I entered her room. "No! No! I want a different person! Someone else! Someone else, please! Not this one!" she screamed.
"Alice, it's me. Johnathan. Remember?" I spoke softly, trying to comfort her.
"I know! That's the problem!" she shouted.
The nurse tried escorting her out, but I told her to let her stay. I was intrigued. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"I saw it again." she lowered her voice, as her demeanor changed... more sinisterly. Mysterious.
"What did it do? Did it attack you?" I asked her.
"No, it doesn't want me anymore," she replied, before finally looking me in the eyes, almost smirking a little, "It wants you."
I felt a shiver strike through my spine. "Me? Why does it want me?" I asked, still trying to keep it light and maintain my composure.
She started laughing. Like a maniac**.** It scared me, for the first time since I started working here. Then, she stood up, and left.
I had a hard time sleeping that night. I kept hearing whispering, I assumed it was the wind.
And then I heard a female voice whisper, "She told you didn't she?" I gasped and jumped out of bed, my eyes still wincing from the rheum that had formed in my eyes. In the wincing state of my eyes, I thought I had seen a figure in the corner of my room, its' head peeking out from the side of the dresser.
But when I opened my eyes after rubbing the rheum out, it was gone. That's when it started. With a dream, as the woman stated. Upon the following days, I felt like I was being followed everywhere. Alice was discharged within 2 weeks, and I didn't see her for a while after that.
The man however, I saw frequently. Either from the corner of my eye, or in my dreams. It was just like she had described. A black distorted shadow figure, that just stared.
I would have rather it attacked me than just stared. That stare was soul-piercing. It's as if every fear I had ever had was morphed into existence in the form of this figure and stared at me with the intensity and passion of a million red giants.
I took a break from my job, after that. It was too much for me to handle.
Until it found me. Three nights ago was the first time I had ever seen it fully, standing in front of my bed, after I woke up in the middle of the night. Only this time, it didn't disappear. It continued staring, and it's as if the figure got bigger and bigger the longer it stayed. I couldn't speak to it or form any sentences or words. I just stared, and so did it. After what felt like an hour, my neighbor must have dropped a pan or something, loud enough for me to look away. And when I looked back, the figure was gone.
I was told I'd be fired if I took any more sick days from work, so I was forced to go back to work the next day. Alice was there, packing the last of the things she had brought from when she stayed here. I ran to her, and she looked shocked.
I had eyebags under my eyes, disheveled and wrinkled clothes, and messy hair.
I asked her, "Please help me! Please! Why is it following me this time?" Tears began to well in my eyes.
She hugged me, then looked me in the eyes. Tears formed in hers' too. "I'm sorry. I had to give it to someone. Like my husband did to me," she spoke, as she wiped the tears from her eyes, hiding a dark smirk across her lips.