In

It tapped on my window,
Last night.

...I sat up,
   Not quite sure what the noise was.

And then,
The scraping began.

The scraping on the frosted glass,
Slow,
Methodical...
...wanting.

   "In,"
     The screech on the window seemed to say.
     "In, and everything will be okay."

I focused.

     The slits in the window blinds cast strips of
     Light on the far wall...
...in between which was wedged the broken shadow of a head.

     That was when the screaming began.

     "IN!"

     High in pitch,
     A scratching voice,
     Ringing in my ears,
     Hollow,
     A disfigured tone that threw itself in all directions at once,
     Threatening to make my ears cave in.

     "IN!  You are MINE!  MINE!"

     "Holy shit, what the fuck is that?"  My shout was in vain.

     "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

     The window shattered.
     Splinters of gleaming glass washed over my face.
     I threw up my arms,
     But it was on me...

...dry,
   ragged skin,
   Like leather left in the rain,
   Then the sun.

   For weeks.

     I understood the burning wound in my neck
     Seconds too late to realize that I had been
     Bitten,
     That the hot feeling in my skin was teeth
     Embedded in my throat.

        And the sounds,
        Like an angry animal,
        Ferrel,
           Shrill,
              Growling...
      ...Drinking...
          ...guzzling...
  I felt the blood pulsing out of my vein...
     Heard the lapping,
        Felt the painful sucking of the cracked lips like sandpaper against the tear...
   The gross,
       Thick tongue lashing against my neck...
   ...like a lover might play...
...only at death.

            Man or woman,
            I did not know,
            But certainly...
                  ....creature.

   And then I woke.
     I woke suddenly,
       Sweating,
        Swearing,
         Covered in vomit.

  But no blood.

     It had been a dream.  
    Hadn't it?

I leaped up,
Stumbled into the bathroom,
Found the light switch.

     The bulbs popped to life,
     And I saw my uninjured face staring,
     Horrified,
     Back at me.

  The sun had only barely risen.

     After a shower,
      I dressed for my morning walk
   In silent contemplation.

When I opened my front door and stepped outside,
The last thing I remember...

...was that the sun was a bit too hot...
...and then,
   the terrifying sensation of my eyes melting in their sockets as my vision collapsed into screaming blackness,
     ...the smell of burning hair,
    ...the spitting of air as my skin went up in a pillar of flame.

     It wasn't a dream.

I woke suddenly,
Sitting bolt upright,
Screaming,
Scratching at my face...
.....it took me a full minute to realize that it had all been just a dream.

Hadn't it?

     I went to the bathroom,
     Again,
     Found my face without scars.

  I cooked a few eggs,
     Ate without incident.  
  
        It felt good to walk before dawn.


  When I returned,
     The sun had still not risen.  
  I went to my closet for the day's outfit.


     Yet,
     Something felt different when I opened the
       Closet door.
     My mind was going to be playing tricks on me,
          Today.

         I stood motionless,
     Staring at my clothes,
      All hung where they should be.
   The swords were all still in place.

       "In."

     I perked.  
     I shook my head.  
     There was nothing there,
     After all.  

     I had no idea what had caused my nightmares,
     But they were still with me.

     Coffee was more than in order.

     I turned to move toward the kitchen.

     "I am in."

     I had not even a second to freeze...
......before collapsing under the weight of another...
...screaming...

...body.