Prompt 3: Conniption - A fit of rage or hysterics; a fit of violent emotion.

Word Count: 468

Character(s) Tao

Synopsis: Tonight’s nightmare was worse than normal.

            Tao runs. He doesn’t know from who or what. He just runs without looking back. His heart is pounding in his ears as he stumbles in what looks like his old bedroom. The moon hangs high in the sky shining in through the shadeless window hitting the bare walls. He curls up in a ball, back pressed against the wall shivering in thin, ragged clothes. Across from him is his mattress, stripped bare; what used to be a symbol of warmth and comfort now frigid and stiff, lonely and unnerving. A dark figure walks into the room and Tao tries to retreat into himself, but that does little.

He feels like he’s being boxed in. His breathes come short, his head pounds, and an overbearing fear crushes him making him immobile. Hands are grabbing at him, pulling at his clothes, dragging him into the dark depth. Tao struggles, he kicks and pushes, but the hands are everywhere. They surround him, suffocating him, till they have him chained in its iron grip. Splayed on the floor and held down, Tao is helpless. He can no longer see anything; it’s all dark except the haunting moon that hangs in the sky. In the distance he hears what sound like a knife scraping against wood. His captor says something, but Tao’s mind is in too much of a frenzy to register what it is. His mind is yelling at him to struggle, to run, but his body doesn’t obey. He lays there helpless.

            He wakes up screaming, lungs gasping for air, feet tangled in blankets, body covered in cold sweat. It was a dream, but Tao couldn’t shake the fear that rattled his nerves. His eyes searching the dark room as if a pair of hands would emerge, capturing him and hold him down. The red angry numbers on his bedside clock read 3:27. It’s way too early to be up, but Tao knows that he won’t be able to go back to sleep; not after a dream like that. The sky outside is pitch black, only the moon light is strong enough to shine through the thick layer of smog that blankets the Seoul night. For a second he’s brought back to the scene in his nightmare, the bare room cold and abandoned, and the feeling of suffocating fear returns. No, Tao shakes his head, reprimanding himself, this is reality; there are no monsters here that will jump out of the shadows, no monsters that will grab you and drag you away. Rolling around in bed Tao contemplates whether he should try to sleep again or give up on the notion entirely. His nightmares aren’t usually this bad and he’s usually able to sleep right after, but the feeling of terror still remains. He won’t be able to sleep tonight.