Flash Fiction Friday: Floaters

Originally written for the Butchered Writers

This story was my idea of dipping my toe back into writing fiction again. I ended up having this one, as well as a couple of others, published in the Butchered Writers anthologies. It helped me feel good about myself again, while also finding my voice, which has been muted for a couple of years. There will almost certainly be errors in here, which will have been fixed by the editor for publication, but I think it gives a good insight into where I was at during this time. Anyway, enjoy.

Mike bolted downstairs, trying to reach the front door before Ellen could leave. He might have made it had he not missed the third step from the bottom, his momentum carrying him headfirst into the coat rack sitting beside the entrance to his, their, home.

“Drunk again, I see,” Ellen said, as she battled to get the wheels on her suitcase to move in the same direction all at once.

“I’m not…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Mike. Not anymore.”

Slumping against the wall, Mike pressed the heel of his hand to his temple, trying in vain to silence the drum solo going on inside his head. He also tried to ignore the shadow figure slinking downstairs out the corner of his eye. Mike closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing, inhaling and exhaling slowly and steadily.

“You’re a mess, and you can’t even look me in the eye, can you?”

With one final exhale, Mike’s eyes fluttered open, his line of sight drawn to a pair of lace panties poking out of Ellen’s hastily packed suitcase. He thought back to the last time they had made love, which now seemed like an eternity ago, and he smiled. Mike loved his girlfriend, had ideas of proposing, and certainly didn’t want to lose her, but his life felt as though it were spinning out of control.

“Do you have anything to say before I go, Mike?”

Reluctantly pulling his gaze away from the lacy undergarments, Mike looked at his girlfriend and mumbled. “I don’t want you to go. I love you, babe.” He wanted to say more, but Ellen cut him off before he got the chance.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she said, choking back a sob. “Things have been different since I moved in.” Ellen lowered her head, red hair spilling down in a crimson cascade to cover her face.

“It’s not you, I swear.” Mike coughed, trying to cover up the gasp as a pair of dark shadows moved up the wall and across the ceiling, moving ever closer.

“Let me guess, it’s the ghosts. Am I right?” Ellen spat.

Mike shook his head, the movement taking his already throbbing migraine up another notch. “It’s not just that. I need help, babe.”

With a sigh, Ellen crouched down to eye level with her boyfriend, her tough exterior softening. “Finally, something we agree on,” She reached out and touched Mike’s cheek. “I love you, too, but I am not prepared to spend another minute with you until you get this,” she waved around the room, “whatever this is sorted.”

“I will. I swear.” Mike said, tears spilling down his cheeks, the watery discharge turning the dark figures out the corner of his eye into shadowy reflections in a funhouse mirror.

Ellen stood and headed for the front door. “I’ll be at my parent’s house. Call me when, and only when, you’re ready to start behaving normally again.” Before Mike could respond, she turned on her heel and bolted out the front door.

The shadow people drifted off to the corner of Mike’s vision, where they swayed back and forth, mocking him with their presence. He closed his eyes and said aloud, “This ends now.”

Between the screaming kid and the flickering fluorescent lights that cast unwanted shadows across every part of the waiting room, Mike could feel his sanity begin to fray at the edges. He squeezed his eyes shut and rocked back and forth, his movements causing the cheap plastic chair to groan in protest. When he felt a hand land gently on his back, he almost screamed before the voice of his best friend, Todd, snapped him back to some semblance of normalcy.

“Dude, you’re scaring me,” Todd said, unable to hide the tremor in his voice.

“I…I think I’m losing my mind.”

“Look at me.”

Mike slowly opened his eyes and turned to face his friend, trying in vain to ignore the humanoid figure silhouetted against the door of the doctor’s office, as though looking to block escape. The figured moved menacingly as the overhead lights flickered once more.

“No offense, brother, but you look like shit.” Todd said.

“I feel like it. They are following me now, Todd.” Mike quickly glanced toward the office door, sweat trickling down his brow. “I thought it was the house.”

“Who’s following you?”

Mike reached out and grabbed a fistful of his friend’s shirt. “Can’t you see them? There’s one by the door.”

Gooseflesh prickled Todd’s skin as he calmly took Mike’s hand and removed it from his shirt. “There’s no one there. When did this all start, Mike? Was it after…”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mike let out a shaky breath. “I don’t want to talk about that.’

“Mister Rosen.”

Mike let out a yelp at hearing his name called but relaxed when he saw a nurse holding his chart and flashing a friendly smile. He raised his hand. “Here.”

“This way, please,” she said, pointing down a narrow hallway where the overhead lights flickered off and on in a wild strobe effect.

The last thing he wanted to do was go down that corridor, but he willed his legs to move. Mike shuffled toward the nurse, staring straight ahead and trying to keep his fear at bay.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Todd asked.

“I’m good,” Mike replied, not looking back at his friend.

The short walk to the examination room felt like an eternity to Mike. Shadows crept along the walls on either side of him, darting out of view every time he turned to get a better look. He mindlessly detailed the reason for his visit to the nurse, whose smile slowly disappeared with each revelation. “The doctor will be here in a moment,” she finally said, dripping his chart in a holder on the wall before beating a hasty retreat.

Trying to look anywhere but the flickering lights and the ever-present shadows, Mike zeroed in on a poster of the human anatomy pinned to the wall. He moved his gaze from the feet all the way up to the face, his eyes tracing the myriad veins cutting a path through the body like some winding red river on an alien planet. He allowed himself a smile, the first one in weeks, when he noticed the googly eyes stuck onto the poster, more than probably put there to ease the minds of children scared of a visit to the doctor.

Mike settled in for a long wait but was surprised when the doctor breezed after no more than a couple of minutes, grabbing the chart from the wall. “Good morning, Mike. Long time, no see. I hope all has been well,” the doctor said as he flipped through the notes jotted down by the nurse.

“I’ve been better, Dr. Clancy,” Mike responded glumly.

The doctor set the chart aside and nodded. “Hop up on the table, please, and let’s take a look. How long have you been experiencing the…uh,” Clancy quickly glanced at the notes, “light and shadows.”

“A few weeks now. I’ve had migraines, too.”

“Okay. Follow my finger with your eyes and try to keep your head as still as possible.” The doctor slowly moved his finger across Mike’s line of sight, moving it back and forth a couple of times. “Any stress in your life that may be causing you anxiety?”

Mike swallowed hard. “Uh, work is busy, and my girlfriend recently moved in.”

“Relationship going well?” Clancy asked as he shone a small light into Mike’s eyes.

“Yes,” Mike lied.

The doctor picked up the file and scribbled a few more notes. “Okay, I think what you are experiencing is myodesopsias, or eye floaters as they are more commonly known. I will need to send you to an eye specialist to confirm my diagnosis.”

“Are they dangerous, doctor.”

“Not usually, but this does seem like a rather extreme case. The good news is that I have an ophthalmologist friend who owes me a favor, so I think I can get you in quickly, for him to take a look.’ The doctor tucked the light into the pocket of his lab coat and smiled kindly. “You may require surgery, but it’s usually on an outpatient basis, so nothing to be alarmed about.”

Mike nodded, the slight movement sending spots dancing before his eyes and a jolt of pain across his forehead.

“Let’s get you set up with an appointment.”

Part 2 – Sound

True to his word, Clancy fast-tracked Mike’s appointment. A little more than a week after his initial visit to his GP, Mike found himself on an operating table with a nurse peering down at him.

“Okay, Mr. Rosen, we are almost ready for the procedure. We are going to give you a general anesthetic, just to help you remain calm. That will be followed by a numbing of both eyes so that Dr. Givens can perform the surgery. Do you understand?”

“I do,” Mike said.

“The nurse nodded and signaled for the anesthesiologist to go to work. Mike felt his body turn cold for a moment before a wave of warmth washed over him, embracing him like a comfy blanket. It was the most relaxed he had felt since seeing the first of the shadow figures.

See you soon.

Mike’s pulse quickened at the sound of the sibilant whisper. “Did you say something,” he slurred.

The nurse frowned. “Relax, Mr. Rosen. The doctor will start soon.”

Mike awoke to darkness and a rocking motion that brought on a wave of nausea. Swallowing hard, he fought back the rising bile, mentally willing himself to try and figure out why his world had turned black. It started to come back like drips falling from a leaky faucet. Eye floaters, the surgery, Todd picking him up at the doctor’s office. He groaned loudly, licking his cracked lips.

“You awake there, sleepyhead?”

“Where are we?” Mike reached up to rub at his eyes, which felt as though grains of sand had been dropped inside, only to encounter hard plastic.

“You’re almost home,” Todd replied. “You thirsty?”

“Parched.” Mike almost cried out with joy when he felt a plastic water bottle placed in his hand, the condensation running down the sides and dripping into his skin. He gulped back the contents in one go.

“Feeling better”

Mike nodded. “Thanks for that. How long do I need to wear these stupid shields? I can’t remember anything after the surgery.”

“Doc said you can take them off tomorrow. Things will still feel weird after that, but you should be right as rain in a couple of days.” Todd said.

Settling back into the seat, Mike let the sounds of the car and the road wash over him. He was surprised at the small details he picked up; commonplace sounds that somehow seemed louder than usual. Maybe it was true what they said about the other senses becoming stronger when one of them was removed.

It’s almost time.

The empty bottle flew out of his hand at the sound of the voice. Mike swatted at the side of his face as warm breath tickled the fine hairs inside his ear,

“What the fuck, man,” Todd yelled, slamming on the brakes. “You almost hit me with that fucking bottle.”

“I…I’m s-s-sorry,” Mike stammered. Gooseflesh prickled his skin as icy fingers of fear caressed the nape of his neck. Scared that his best friend might think him mad, Mike said, “It, uh, just occurred to me that I’m going to be home alone. Not sure how I’ll manage without being able to see.”

“No need to worry. I was saving the surprise for when you got home, but I don’t want to risk you spazzing and causing a vehicular fucking incident, “Todd chuckled. “Ellen is staying over.

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I called and let her know what was going on with you. She seemed legit concerned, bro.”

So many surprises.

“It’s not real,” Mike sobbed.

“Totally real. She’s excited to see you. Shit you might even get lucky. Hey, didn’t you have a nurse fantasy? This could…”

Shutting out the sound of his friend’s voice, Mike embraced the darkness. Are you there? The only response was the sound of blood rushing through his veins, hammering through vessels and ventricles to fuel a heart that was hammering out of control. Speak to me, who are you?

“We’re home,” Todd said.

Mike snapped back to reality and suddenly felt bone tired. He tried to convince himself that the voices in his head were nothing more than the effects of the drugs that were still surely working their way through his body.

“Let’s get you inside. Your nurse awaits,” Todd said.

The ticks and knocks of the cooling engine echoed around inside Mike’s head as he reached for the door. Before he could get a grip on the handle, consciousness slipped away and he slumped down in his seat, out cold.

Wakey, wakey, we are here to play.

Mike tried to sit up, but a heavy weight on his chest held him in place. “Todd? Ellen? Are you guys there?”

Shhhhhh! Your friend is gone, but your whore is here.

“You’re not real,” Mike wailed.

“No? Remove your blinkers and see.”

The voice, which originally felt like little more than a passing thought, now seemed real, the words more fully formed. “I can’t. I mean, I’m not supposed to.”

“Allow me to assist.”

The plastic shields were pulled from his face, the dim light in Mike’s bedroom stinging and bringing tears to his eyes. He blinked furiously trying to clear his vision, a figure slowly appearing before him as the blurred vision receded.

The thing sat on his chest, naked and drooling, the saliva dripping onto grey flesh that looked like melted wax at the base of a candle. Its face was something out of a nightmare, all teeth and eyes too big for its head.

“What are you?”

“Don’t you know?” the creature mocked. “You made us.”

“Us?”

The thing threw back its head and laughed, a phlegmy, guttural release of pleasure. “Allow me to introduce your inner demons. I am Paranoia. Over there,” the thing said, nodding to the side of the bed, “is fear.”

Mike slowly turned his head and felt his bladder release at the sight of another creature peeking up at him over the side of the bed. Its eyes blazed red, molten tears sliding down its face and peeling each inch of flesh they touched.

“He grows stronger by the moment,” Paranoia said. “Not as strong as those two, though” The thing hopped off Mike’s chest and move to the side of the bed, taloned hands stroking fear’s head.

Two more beings stood at the far end of the room, their eyes on Ellen, who they had pinned to the wall. Their thin hands caressed her body, black liquid dripping from their swollen cocks as they whispered into her ears.

“They are Lust and Desire. Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Make them stop? Mike begged.

“You want them to stop?”

“YES.”

“Then tell her.”

“Tell her what?”

Paranoia tilted his head to the side, eyes filled with fury. “What you should have told her as soon as it happened. What would have stopped all of this from happening.”

“If I do, will you leave?”

“We shall find a new host.”

Mike swallowed hard and stared at his girlfriend, who looked terrified. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“LOUDER,” Paranoia screamed,

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t meant to happen. I…I met with your sister to ask if you would say yes about moving in. I, we drank too much, and one thing led to another.”

Tears fell from Ellen’s eyes, and she opened her mouth to speak. Before the words could escape, Lust jammed his fingers into her mouth, probing. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp.

“You said they would stop. I don’t want to see this anymore.”

Paranoia leaned in close, pointer finger tipped with long ails extended. “If thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out.”

Lust and Desire tore open Ellen’s blouse and pawed at her exposed breasts, forked tongues flicking at her nipples.

“Pluck it. Hell, pluck them both.”

Mike grabbed the creature’s hand and forced the jagged finger into his right eye, screaming in agony. He pulled it free, the sucking sound making him gag, and jabbed the digit into his left eye, sending a gout of milky fluid down his cheek.

“Good boy,” Paranoia said, as he leaned over to lick at the oozing eyeballs. “It’s been fun, but it’s time to go…For now.”

Ellen’s eyes fluttered open and she pushed herself up, wondering why her blouse was open. She blinked away the fogginess and tried to get her bearings, soon realizing that she was in Mike’s, their, bedroom. It was then that she saw him, upper body hanging off the bed, gaping holes where his eyes once were.

“Mike,” she shrieked. “Wake up”

He lay still, his last breath long since drawn.

“I need to call for help,” Ellen said aloud, looking for her purse and the phone within.

Remember what he did.

She whipped her head to the side, looking for the source of the voice, the quick movement shaking a memory loose. Mike fucked her sister. The police would find out and think she’d killed him.

“I can fix this,” she muttered.

YES!! Time to play.