Loryl

I could see it happening in my peripheral. The second I was alone again; I knew something would happen. All it took was for me to be near a reflective surface. Sitting at my dressing room vanity with the mirror to my left, I saw it. Even though I had my side to the mirror, my reflection was sitting stock still and facing my direction. The reflection's skin was paler and more translucent than my normally fair tone. There had to be some comfort knowing that it was the same thing every time. Even after years, I still couldn’t bring myself to look at it. The way it would lock eyes with me. Almost as if it was about to crawl through the mirror itself.

I moved my long teal hair to one side and reached for my purse hanging from the back of the vanity chair. Damn it. I can't remember the last time I took one. Didn't I take one like an hour ago? Whatever. I need another. I reached into my bag and felt around until finally pulling out the medicine bottle. After opening the cap, panic rushed through me. No, no, no. I just refilled this prescription. How can I already be out? Okay, stay calm. Just breathe, and remember it’s only a figment of my imagination. I closed my eyes to relax and focus on something pleasant. I had every reason to be the happiest I had ever been in my life. Which is probably why this was happening in the first place. I took slow breaths before sneaking a peek out the side of my eye. My reflection was still staring at me. If anything, it almost looked agitated that I wouldn’t acknowledge its presence. Okay, this isn't goo- The abrupt sound of knocking at my dressing room door made me jump.

I recognized the way Jeff, one of the production managers, cleared his throat from the other side of the closed door. "Not trying to rush you, Loryl. I know you have your pre-show ritual but we’re starting in two minutes."

"Thanks, Jeff. I'm almost ready."

"The rest of the band is already by the stage."

“Okay, I’ll be out in just a second. Just, uh, doing some last-minute touch-ups.”

As his steps moved away, I snapped out of my panic and instinctively turned to the mirror to make sure I was ready. It didn’t hit me until I was about to get up, but my reflection was back to normal. “Huh, whatever works I guess. I’m gonna have to remember that in the future.”

I headed towards the door, but as I passed a shelf of pictures from previous performers, one of the frames flew past my head and hit a wall. It’s all in my head, it’s all in my head. I kept walking and went to reach for the doorknob, but the door flew open before I was within two feet of it. I can't deal with this right now. Okay, deep breaths. Focus, focus, focus.

Walking out of my dressing room and heading down the hallway towards the stage entrance, I could see the rest of the band lined up ready to take the stage. As I moved down the hallway, every light I passed briefly flickered. Brian, the band's drummer and one of the only people capable of calming me down, looked my way when I was just a few feet from him and waved at me. I raised my hand to wave back, but at the same moment, the light above me went out.

"What the hell was that?" Brian asked when I reached him.

He caught me off guard. "What do you mean?" I asked wondering if I had missed something.

"The lights. You didn't see them flickering one after another?"

For a split second, I didn't comprehend what he was asking. "Wait. What? You actually saw that?"

His face changed to one of concern as he continued to stare at me. "Are you okay Loryl? You seem a little rattled."

I looked up to his scruffy face and found comfort in his green eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nerves mostly. We've never played anywhere near this size audience before," I said faking as much confidence as I could. I wasn’t wrong but it certainly wasn’t the idea of performing that had me on edge.

He seemed to buy it. "Believe it because you did it. And if that doesn't comfort you, just think about how wrecked we're going to get at the after-party."

That actually does make me feel better. I heard our introduction from the stage followed by the crowd cheering. Brian took a deep breath and clapped his hands together. "That's our cue guys."

I let the guys go before me since I always took the stage last. After taking my first step, I looked back to make sure everybody was on stage. Standing in the middle of the hallway, near my dressing room, was a little boy, no older looking than about five. I stood still for a moment as the child and I stared back at one another.

Jeff came out of nowhere and started pushing me up the steps to the stage. "Loryl, what are you waiting for? Get your ass on that stage." I took one last look back and saw the boy mouth the words "Help me." The next second, I was on the stage heading towards the mic at the front.

I was still in a daze from what I had just seen when the cheering from the crowd got even louder. Just breathe. I stared out into the crowd and my lips turned up in a smile. The beat started, my blood pumped, and my thoughts drifted. The instrumentals kicked in, cueing me to start. The words and sounds flowed from my mouth, putting me in a musical high. I was alive as every inch of my skin felt the intensity of the song. Warmth flooded through me. Every bad thing, every mistake, every regret; none of it mattered at that moment. Just me and the music pouring out of my soul. That feeling was better than anything I had ever drank, smoked, snorted, or swallowed. It was like knowing exactly where you belonged in the universe.

The cheers from the crowd almost made it hard to hear my own voice, but as the cheers changed to screaming, I pulled out from my trance. No. All around the arena, people were trying to run from grotesque grey monsters. I shut my eyes and took quick breaths before opening them. No. I tried again. Come on. Go away. My breathing was quickening until I opened my eyes and choked at one of the monsters standing right in front of me. I fell back, but the grey humanoid monster crouched down on all fours. As I quickly crawled away, my head whipped around as I screamed for anyone to help me. To my right, three of the monsters literally pulled Brian apart limb from limb. To my left, people were trying to run to the exits, only to be mauled by the endless monsters appearing from the shadows.

It isn’t real. It isn’t real. It isn't real. The monster in front of me leapt into the air and landed on top of me. Something built inside of me and I screamed as loud as I could. "You aren't real!" The feeling inside of me grew to the point that it felt like I was going to explode. Then, everything; the monsters, the screaming, and the macabre seemed to slow down around me. Time suddenly stopped for a moment until the arena began to spin around in a blurring speed. For a brief moment, I thought I heard a “clicking” noise as if something was being unlocked.