Inside is dark, only illuminated by the torch currently clenched between his teeth. Behind him, the door slams shut, cobwebs falling from the ceiling.
His spine stiffens, as he turns his head quickly, his neck cracking at the movement.
"Just double checking to make sure she isn't here. That's all I'm doing, heh, double checking." A noise sounds in the distance, and William spins on his heel, facing towards where it came from.
"Who's there!" His hand shakes, the light moving sporadically with his hand. "I'm armed!"
No, he wasn't, what did he even have that could be a weapon? A pen? His screwdriver? His hand fluttered above that option.
Yet…he hesitated.
He could feel his fingers brushing against the plastic, but he couldn't get his fingers to move; to grab it. He stilled. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and his breath was coming out in short pants.
The edges of his vision were fuzzy, almost like when he watched tv and the aerial got bumped. He giggled. Just like the aerial.
His fingers felt tingly, small sparks of electricity building underneath the skin trying to get free. It almost…tickled. A strange sort of tickling, but it tickled none the less. He almost giggled.
As a short, sharp bark of a laugh came out he drew a breath back in, feeling almost as if his chest was being crushed. Squashed almost. Something pressing against it and not letting up.
It reminded William of one time a few years ago, when he had kids, or more than the one he had left.
They'd fallen asleep, curled up underneath a blanket with his daughter resting on his chest, a dead weight from how light she usually was. And the others, his two boys, were on his side, each with their heads laying on him. He was firmly stuck then, but, it was a nice sort of stuck. He felt warm then too.
But now…he felt like ice.
Beneath him, his legs slid out and his back met the unforgiving ground, shots of pain echoing through his bones as he lay there. Unmoving.
He was shivering, shivers that wracked his whole body and made his teeth chatter. It felt like he had taken a dip in the middle of winter.
And these EYES.
They were watching him. He knew they were. He could FEEL THEM.
The piercing glares. The unnerving silence. Just…everything. He could feel it. It was all touching him, buzzing around him, the lightest feeling on his skin but it was everywhere. And it wasn't stopping. It wasn't leaving. Him. Alone.
It wasn't going away.
He swiped at his skin, his hand pulling it upwards quickly as the motion was repeated. Again. And again.
His skin was burning, a flaming red colour. But it was still there. That feeling.
"STOP IT!" William's voice was raw, and grating.
He was scratching now, his nails picking up pieces of skin, leaving behind inflamed areas. Red. Raw. Hands were pulling, rubbing, and swiping. And he screamed.
An unholy noise. Loud and echoing. Broken.
He jolted back.
"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" His chest was heaving, and his eyes were alight. A different image from only seconds ago. His fingers twitched, reaching towards his screwdriver which lay forgotten on the floor.
Grasping it in his hand, William stood shaking.