Startle Responses Vignette

Eli’s eyes were dry from not blinking as he scanned the dark room. Someone had shut the bedroom door after he’d fallen asleep. The last line of defense in the form of a sliver of light from the hall had been cut off. He kept reminding them to keep the door cracked every night because he knew this would happen. They had just laughed it off. He wasn’t laughing. Now, the darkness swirling over the edge of the bed felt like an impenetrable wall between him and the exit. Everything familiar in the room had taken on misshapen shadows that made the entire room feel like another realm.

This was it. How it all happens. He could feel his heart pounding in his neck. So, he was still alive. That’s good. Maybe. Or maybe it’s part of the trick. His shallow breathing was coming too quick. He strained his ears. He couldn’t hear them outside the room. He was sure something woke him up but he wasn’t sure…

Then it happened. A quick scratching noise grating against something beneath the bed. Eli jumped to sit up against the headboard. He clutched his blanket to his chest as if it were enchanted to protect him. He did a quick multi-point check system to make sure all limbs and digits were in the center of the bed and covered by blankets. It felt like if he were incredibly still the danger might go away.

Eli’s breathing quickened then froze in his chest. He found himself holding his breath to hear whatever was going on down there. Then it happened again. A scratching noise. Whatever it was, it had claws. He hated it when he pictured them with claws. Claws could grab at the blankets and rip them away as easily as a dragon peeling the armor off a knight. As inconvenient as peeling an orange. Something slid beneath the bed. He desperately tried to remember every possible thing stuffed haphazardly out of sight. Usually, he tried to keep it packed to the point that nothing else could fit. Whatever it was, it had to be small. Not like the saber-tooth tiger he initially pictured.

It wasn’t going away. His chest was hurting from how hard his heart was pounding. He thought about calling out but he knew they’d tear him apart if it wasn’t really something. And if it was really something it would just put them in danger anyway. He reached for the phone near the bed and turned on the flashlight. It took a few tries before he took a big breath and left the safety of the top of the bed.

When his legs swung over the side of the bed he made sure to hop wide so that anything that swiped at him would miss. He landed with a thunk, swung around, and shined the light under the bed. There was a scuffle and scratching. But the noises were still under the bed. So that was something. Eli slowly crouched, sure to keep himself nearer to the door than the source of the noise. Abruptly, two large glowing eyes turned on him.

Eli fell from his crouch onto his butt. Not glowing. Reflecting. He groaned as the kitten continued to absentmindedly attack a shoe string on a discarded sneaker beneath the bed while watching him with perked ears. See my prey? Caught it myself. It seemed to gloat.

Eli carried the kitten into the living room. It continued to attempt to play by attacking a hanging string from his hoodie. His roommate glanced up from gaming and pulled his headset off while giving an uncertain, “Hey.”

An exhausted, “hey,” slipped out of Eli as he set the kitten on the couch beside its owner. The kitten did a hop, a wiggle, and pounced on the headset cord.

“Don’t you have class in the morning? And an exam?”

Eli tried to hide the glare as he stared down his roommate. “Yes. I do. The cat got stuck in my room because the door was closed.”

“Oh, my bad, man. I shut the door cause I was on coms and was making a racket in here.”

“Just… leave the door cracked, yeah?”

“Yeah. No worries.” The kitten was purring as Eli’s roommate scratched its chin.

Eli sighed, nodded, and returned to bed.