The Portal

From under the covers Jeremy peeked at the corner of his bedroom. And just as he thought, two iridescent red eyes were watching him. Glowing in the dark, they watched every movement he made, just as they had on numerous occasions, and now they were back to torment him again.

“Go away and leave me alone!” he whispered in the darkness. But plead as he did they remained in the corner. Not knowing what else to do, he burrowed deeper under his blankets. Listening intently, he waited for the sound of footsteps to cross his bedroom floor. They always did, and he dreaded what was to come. During past encounters, he had tried to call his mother but nothing would come from his mouth. Silent screams would etch his face whenever he tried, and for some reason, he couldn’t get out of bed. It was as if he was being held down by strong, invisible hands. And now he cringed, in a cold sweat, waiting for the inevitable.

As he lay there, he thought about the previous encounters, of the bright light that filled his room and the hands that lifted him from his bed. From the time he was lifted from his bed until he awoke the following morning, he could remember very little except that different parts of his body ached, and he usually experienced a terrible headache. There was one symptom that lingered and became quite a nuisance. His feet would itch repeatedly and nothing he tried would relieve the itching. Salves, ointments, sprays, it didn’t matter for none relieved the problem.

Jeremy remembered the first time he tried to tell his mother what had happened.

“Mom, did you hear anything in my room last night?” he had asked.

“No, Jeremy,” she answered. “Why? What do you mean?”

“There was a bright light and somebody grabbed me!”

“What are you talking about? ”she asked as she came into his room.

“Mom, I can feel someone watching me at night. And then a bright light comes on and somehow I leave the room. Then I wake up the next morning with a headache and pain all over my body”

“Bright light, leave the room, and someone watching you?” she scoffed, “Jeremy, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. There will be no more sci-fi channels for you. It’s putting silly ideas in your head.”

As far as his mother was concerned that was the end of the conversation, leaving Jeremy in a state of frustration and fear.

Softly whimpering, he lay there as the red eyes were joined by others, creeping out of the shadows and surrounding his bed. A grayish mist swirled overhead, and in the midst, a door swung open. A blinding light shone through and completely covered Jeremy. Grotesque hands gently lifted him from his bed and carried him through the portal. The door closed, again leaving the room in darkness.

As he was stripped and strapped to a table, he had no idea that at the same time, his mother was being lifted through a door, engulfed in a bright light by grotesque hands. In the distance, he could hear her screaming as the red eyes started their experiments. After a while her screams subsided and the only sounds he heard were the humming noises of strange machinery. Jeremy faded in and out of consciousness during his ordeal and the next thing he knew he was waking up the following morning. Arising from his bed to go to the bathroom, he met his mother coming out of the bathroom.

“Jeremy, you need to get dressed and go to the store for me,” she pleaded, “I have a migraine headache and we’re out of painkillers.”

“Really, Mom, what happened?”

“I don’t know for sure,” she replied, “All I can remember are red glowing eyes, a bright light, and now I have a headache. Isn’t that what you told me happened to you?”

“Uh huh!” he answered with an unshakable feeling that he was being watched again.

In the corner a pair of red eyes watched both of them, anticipating the coming evening and the events to come!

July 8, 2020