Zeke's eyes open, his heart pounding in his chest. He finds himself lying in a dark, damp grave, the cold earth pressing down on his back. A pair of faintly glowing eyes stare back at him. A black cat, its coat as dark as the night sky. What... what's happening? He stutters, trying to sit up but finds himself trapped by the weight of the soil. Am I... am I dead? The cat tilts its head, its gaze piercing the darkness. Suddenly, Zeke realizes that the cat's eyes are familiar. They are the same shape and color as the mermaid from his drawings.
Zeke wakes up, gasping for air as he finds himself submerged in the depths of the ocean. He thrashes, confused and terrified, until he realizes he can breathe underwater. As his panic subsides, he notices a dark, amorphous entity hovering nearby, shifting shape and undulating like smoke. "What are you?" he stutters, his voice echoing strangely underwater. The entity seems to respond to his words, and its movements become more erratic. "Is this... is this real?" Zeke's mind races, trying to make sense of the surreal situation. Suddenly, he notices that his hands have changed. They're now webbed and covered in iridescent scales.
"Oh god... what's happening to me?"
Zeke doubles over, clutching his stomach as a searing pain ripples through him. He feels something moving inside, writhing and twisting, as if trying to break free. The pain intensifies, and he lets out an agonized scream that surges around him in the water. "No... no, please..." he pleads, tears streaming down his face.
Suddenly, his stomach splits open, and the mermaid from his drawings appears, her serpentine body covered in blood and entrails.
"You... you're real..."
Zeke whispers, both terrified and fascinated by the creature that has burst from his body.
Zeke's eyes fly open, his chest heaving as he gasps for breath.
He falls back onto his bed, sunlight streaming through the window casting a warm glow on his face. His heart races, his body drenched in sweat as he tries to process the terrifying visions.
"Was it... was it all a dream?"
He whispers, his voice hoarse. He looks down at his stomach, expecting to see a gap, but finds only smooth, unblemished skin.
"...thank God..."
But the images of the mermaid and the grave linger.
"What do these dreams mean?"
He wonders aloud, his brow furrowing in confusion and worry
The days blur as Zeke struggles with recurring nightmares. Each night, he finds himself trapped in the tomb, staring into the cat's glowing black eyes. And each time he thinks he's escaped, he's plunged back into the icy depths of the ocean, the mermaid tearing her way out of his stomach.
"I can't take this anymore..." he growls, his eyes red and weary.
He has tried everything to make the dreams go away: staying awake, taking pills, even sleeping in a different room, but nothing seems to work.
"Maybe... maybe I'm going crazy..." he whispers, his voice trembling with fear and despair.
Zeke's heart stops as he blinks, and the bathroom mirror reflects not his own image, but the twisted form of the mermaid from his nightmares, her body wrapped around him, her hands covered in blood, her mouth stretched into a grotesque grin.
He tries to scream, but no sound escapes his lips. She lunges at him from the mirror, her jaws wide open.
"No... please..." he whispers
He falls backward onto the cold floor. The last thing he sees before everything turns black are the mermaid's eyes
He falls backward onto the cold floor. The last thing he sees before everything goes black is the mermaid's eyes glowing like embers as she descends on him.
Zeke lies on the bathroom floor, his body trembling and his breaths coming in ragged gasps. As the adrenaline fades, he realizes the mermaid is gone.
She vanished into thin air the moment he fell. He sits up slowly, his head spinning and his heart pounding in his chest.
"Was it... was it real?" he whispers, looking around the empty bathroom.
No sign of the creature, no blood, no evidence of anything out of the ordinary happening.
"I'm losing my mind..." Zeke buries his face in his hands, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"This can't be happening..."