slouchmonster

A few hours after sunset, seats went back, blankets and pillows out, and the bus attendant started closing the yellow curtains, securing each one shut with a tiny square of Velcro, including the curtains between us and the driver’s cabin. Streetlights swept outside the fabric, giving the effect of blindly barreling forward in a rectangular glowing box. At times the box slowed and stopped between these bright points of light, its engine idling while some activity went on outside. The passengers seated by the windows slit the curtains and peeked little secrets of their own, rubbing at the glass fogged by their breath. I watched them from my aisle seat, helpless - and a little jealous. The world outside was a mystery of darkness and desert and orange fuzzy globes and the voices of men out ... read more

I open my eyes and already know that something awoke me. A lot of darkness and shadows. A slit of blue light from between the blue curtains to my left. A few clicks of static before they come into focus beyond the end of my bed: the watery glisten of two eyes, still and watching, above the points of my toes. The moment seems to drag forever. Another static crinkle of silence, and like the release of a dark balloon, the eyes float upward, attached to a head trailing hair like a fine gray smoke. A shine of black teeth locked in a violent grin. The ceiling does not catch it; it floats right into the wood and disappears. My chest has a little explosion. I’m too scared to move. Then I’m on my feet, striding ... read more