Insomnia:

Late at night, early morning. I hear it. The hiss of a dragon. I pause in my wanderings and look around, wide-eyed. I know I heard it. The hiss of that dragon! No... the falling of rain off of the aluminum roofing next door.

I clutch my face in my hands and close my eyes tight. It's happening again. The pure insanity. What's wrong with me? I begin to yearn to go outside, wash away this craziness in the falling rain. I open the door quickly and pause.

My heart stops, my eyes stare in a death way. Before I can scream I force the screen door closed. It won't close tight, there's already a claw in it. I slam the solid backdoor closed and lean against it before fumbling, shaking, I reach for the light switch connected with the porch and flip it off, then on, to trick the motion sensor in it.

Cautiously I step away from the door and look out the window in horror. But there's nothing there. No hulking black creature with yellow eyes jumps up and claws at the glass to get me. There's nothing out there but the rain.

But I saw it, I know I saw it. I'm not sure what exactly it was, but it was there.

Calm down, I told myself. You're just hungry and sleep deprived, just like before, remember? I sigh. Yes, I remember. Before the party... no, before he started to watch after me and make sure that I ate and slept, I'd have delusions like this. I needed food, and I needed sleep.

Food I could live with, but I reminded myself not to take in too much in my panic. But sleeping... last time I crawled into bed, I heard that horrible hissing. I had shrugged it off, but then it came again, louder, and I curiously, indifferently, peeked over the edge of the bed. And there, droves of red-black insects with sharp claws swarmed, running away from the light of my candle as I moved it in to see. They were just waiting for the lights to go off so that they could attack me in my sleep, I know it.

I attempted to burn them with my little candle, but they ran from the light far too quickly and I only succeeded to setting my sheets on fire, which was easy enough to slap out.

No, I'm not going to bed now.

But I'll eat a little.

I grab a near empty bag of chips from off the stove where they'd been shoved and quickly dig in. I catch myself eating them rather savagely and stop, mentally slapping myself.

This isn't working.

I glance at the clock again, not that I trust it. My insanity has been playing tricks with my lately. It read at 10:30 PM, then a little later, 9:42 PM. When I was startled out of bed by the insects it read 12:34 AM. Now it was saying 2:44 AM.

I had to do something.

He would be awake soon. He always awoke between 3 and 4 AM. I have been warned about staying up all of the previous night, and I wouldn't want to get another talking to. I wouldn't want to start one of his worrying fits. They're obnoxious.

I pace around the kitchen table, fingers entwined and pulling at my hair. What to do...

The only conclusion I come to is to go into my room, turn on all of the lights, and shut the door tightly. I can stay there for a few hours until I 'wake up' the next morning. He'll never know.

Peeping over the edge of my bed, no insects. I am much relieved.

Carefully pealing off the long glove that hides my wounds (my claw has been prohibited in this household, for it scares the woman), I wrap it back up in salve and ace bandages. My hands are jittering and I can't hold them steady. The blood that still runs through these veins to keep them from rotting screams as I wind them up too tightly. The bandage falls off as soon as I am done.

With a frustrated sigh, I try again. It's too loose and falls even as I wind it.

But I can't hold it out any longer. I find myself falling forward onto my pillow. Even remembering the insects, the hissing around me, and the light that burns through my eyelids, I give up. I give up on being stubborn and fall asleep with my right arm between my forehead and pillow, allowing me space to breathe.

I chuckle a little as I'm drifting off. So much for the sleep resistance I had built. So much for Albel the Wicked.

Writing this scared me half to death!

Only two days with very little sleep and very little food and you start to hallucinate like crazy! I don't think I'll be trying to get 'in character' with Albel Nox again any time soon!

P.S. If you didn't know, "Nox" is the Roman goddess of the night -snicker-