It was happening again.
She sensed him coming before he even opened the door. She lay, paralysed, staring up at the ceiling with round, pale green eyes. She wanted to turn around, or close her eyes, or scream. Anything to get away from him, but his presence was overwhelming. It was like he was already there even though he wasn't physically.
She couldn't breathe. Everything felt so cold, like she was frozen in place. The blanket slowly, oh so painfully slowly, pulled down. Down her legs. Over her feet. She heard it drop onto the ground.
It's not real. It's not real.
She wanted to cry when she felt it. Hands, or something, stroking up the length of her thighs. It moved her nightgown up. She closed her eyes tight.
It's not real. It's not real.
It was the strangest, most awful sensation. Something invisible was rubbing up against her, over her breasts; it was physically cold but burned on the inside of her skin.
It's not real.
They said it wasn't real. The doctors said that it was a recurrence of her childhood trauma. They said it was a nightmare. Called it sleep paralysis.
Every night, without fail, at 4am.
She wanted to go back to sleep or wake up. Anything that would free her of this nightmare. They said that if you feared it less, it would stop coming.
A gust of breath crossed her face. Her eyes stung at the smell of brimstone.
It's not real.
Something hard and icy licked up the side of her shoulder, up her neck, behind her ear. It felt wet. It stank.
It's not real, it'snotreal, it'snotreal…
She threw herself free of her physical body when the demon started to steal into her, and stepped straight into Limbo. Sometimes, she wondered which was worse; trapped in her physical form being abused, or walking in Limbo between so many more demons that were hungry for little girls like her.
But here she had a chance. Here she could run. Here she could try to hide.
She turned to see the demon thrusting upon her body. It wore the face of her foster father.
She screamed –and screamed again when the incubus turned as if it had heard her. It locked onto her, and then she was running from it.
"Help me!" It was all she could think of to cry out. She couldn't breathe through her terror.
The incubus got beneath her feet and sent her sprawling. "No! Not here, no!"
It laughed at her. She scrambled back to her feet and ran as fast as her fear would let her. She could never outrun it. It was faster, smarter, stronger, and more hungry for her freedom than she herself was.
It got hold of her hair and yanked her to a painful halt. She closed her eyes, too terrified and hurt to fight back.
Then. Footsteps.
"Leave her alone."
It let go. She collapsed, and looked up into stealthy blue eyes.