What Was That?

A young man wakes up early.

What Was That?

It was still dark when I woke up. This was nothing special, of course, given that it was a weekday. Blinking a few times to knock the sleep from my eyes, I rolled onto my right side and looked at the trusty digital clock on the end table. The numbers 3:43 gleamed with an emerald hue as I

Wait, what?

I blinked once, then again. 3:43? Are you f*****g kidding me? ‘Three hours too early,’ I groaned, returning to my left side. Clamping my eyes shut, I cleared my mind, adjusted my pillow, and prepared anew for the long trek to dreamland.

S**t. I pulled the covers tighter around me, trying to stay clear-to stop thinking, but it was too late. Someone had already flicked the 'on' switch. Great. What had gone wrong? Exercised when I came home? Check. No caffeine after dinner? Yup. Took a piss before bed? You bet-

My train of thought screeched to a halt. Did I hear something? Didn't move the covers, so maybe... Nope. Nothing. Anyways, where wasYep there it was again. Sounded like it came from the carpet. A scratching noise. 

I sighed. Maybe being awake was a good thing! My body, sensing something, roused me from sleep to... Aaaand now it's gone. Bringing the covers closer, I leaned closer to the edge of the bed. Nothing. No surprise-it was pitch black. Stupid. Reaching for the lamp string, I paused. No.... No need to ruin this yet. There was still a chance for sleep. Lying back down, I found comfort once again in the embrace of my pillow-the perfect blend of warmth and support caressing my head. I’d have a few hours, at least, less if that jackass with the motorcycle drove by around 4 again. Do I need earplugs? Seems like overkill, butAnd then I heard it again. Closer, again on the carpet. The scratching. Harnessing pure animal instinct, I curled into a ball, bringing my legs closer to my chest. Reaching for my phone on the end table, I tore it off of its charger and clicked on the display. Mashing in the password, the phone buzzed.

What do you mean, ‘incorrect’? I put it in just like I-ah, my finger slipped. Another flurry of finger movements later, the phone came to life. Finding the flashlight function, IOW DAMN IT, THAT’S BRIGHT! Well, for better or worse I was awake. Bringing the phone’s beam in front of me, I took the best scan of the carpet my now-burning eyes would allow. Pants… Shirts… Nothing. I slid back under the covers. Maybe it was something outside-A cat or something. Plugging the phone back into its charger, my mind slowly eased back into neutral. Don’t think about work tomorrow, man… Just think about sleep.  

4:41. Still. Awake. What the hell was that thing? It was coming from the carpet, I knew that much, but… My mind briefly considered turning on the light and doing a sweep.

No way. I still have time to rest my eyes. Just gotta focus on not focusing, that’s all. If you don’t think about sleeping, it comes easily-that’s why it’s so easy to fall asleep everywhere elAGAIN.

This time the sound was closer. Much, much closer. The edge of the bed, I was sure of it. Half-rolling, half-collapsing out of the bed, I picked myself up as the scratching sound continued, like several legs on fabric. I reached for my phone again but hesitated. No, not this time. My mind struggled to remember where the lamp string was hanging above the bed. Was it a rat? Spider, maybe? No, sounded too big. This was-Oh god, it stopped.

Were there scorpions in this part of the country?

Swatting like a cat at a fly, my hand finally felt the string connected to the lamp. I pulled. The room burst to life with fluorescent light and I came face to face with-

Nothing.

I blinked. With my free hand I grabbed the covers, arm still trembling from adrenaline, and shook. No hissing, no scratching, nothing. S**t. S**t, s**t.

S**t.

More awake than I ever was, I snatched the pillow from the bed, kicked the sheets into the corner, and elected to spend the rest of the night on the couch, never knowing what I had heard.