Paralyzed
written by Dornish Queen
Characters: Ezra, Cee (No Y/N)
Warnings: nightmares, sleep paralysis, comfort
Notes: I am not a writer and I don’t plan to write regularly. This short piece of writing came from reading a post about nightmares. Sleep paralysis is real and experiences vary from person to person. Some of the descriptions are based on personal experiences.
What is Sleep Paralysis?
A state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is aware, but is unable to move or speak; hallucinations may/may not occur during an episode. Duration may last from a few seconds to a few minutes.
Cee knew it was going to happen tonight. She felt herself being pulled out of her sleep like the last time. There was no nightmare to accompany what was to come. No night terrors that jolted her from her slumber. It was just an ordinary night, sleeping in her cot in the pod that they had docked on the station. Awareness took over and she felt her limbs heavy. Like an invisible weight was on her, tingling down her arms as she tried to move them. Make a fist. Move a finger, but everything was frozen. Don’t open your eyes, she told herself that over and over again, but the urge was too great. Cracking her eyelid open, the feeling of dread filled her, and he was there, standing still in the corner, covered in shadow. In an instant, she felt her throat constrict, as though a strand of silky, cool fabric had wrapped around her neck, constricting with increasing pressure. The panic set in as every breath became difficult.
I got to get out of here. I can’t breathe.
She tried to get off the bed, tried to get these invisible hands off her neck, but nothing would move. She laid still, paralyzed in her cot, all the while that man stood in the corner, his lips moving, speaking something to Cee that she could not hear. He just stood there, eerily still, looking at her lying in her cot. It was the man from The Green, she knew him from the tent that she had run away from. But how was he here and in her pod? She was supposed to be safe, they both were safe from The Green. They had escaped and nothing will harm them anymore.
Cee looked over to the other cot and saw that Ezra was sound asleep. Slightly snoring, oblivious to the fact that Man from The Green was in their pod, just staring at them.
Wake up! Wake up! He’s in the pod! WAKE UP! EZRA!!!! WAKE UP!!!!
But no words came out of his mouth. Not a sound, as his lips continued to move, speaking something to her, something she didn’t want to hear. Again, she tried to move, but everything she tried was futile. The harder she struggled, the heavier the weight on her felt. Her arms and legs tingles with numbness from her efforts. And then, she heard the voice, “For the girl.”
Cee looked over to the corner to where the man was. He was still looking at her, emotionless, his white eyes so bright in the darkness of the pod. “For the girl.” There was his voice again, but his lips were not moving.
“For the girl.” The voice came from Cee’s mouth. Only it was not her own voice and she was not speaking her own words. “For the girl.” The voice that came out of her was low and smooth. The voice of a male and continued in a language she did not know.
“You will join us and be reborn.” That voice reverberated from her chest.
Close your eyes and will yourself to wake up!!!
But I AM awake!!!
In that moment of upmost fear, there was nothing she could do, but pray.
Help me…help me. Ezra, help me. Ezra, help. Please!
Cee felt the pressure coming off her neck and she was able to breathe better.
“Help me!!!!” Cee sobbed out, as her arms reached for her neck.
Cee’s limbs tingled from being able to move again, as though her body had finally awoken and had caught up with her mind. She felt a rough hand stroke her hair, soothing her trembling body. The side of her cot lower from the weight of Ezra sitting next to her. She grabbed his hand and held it to the side of her face. He was real.
Her scream had awoken him from a dead sleep. At first, he thought intruders had broken into their pod to steal their harvest. It wasn’t until he saw Cee thrashing in her cot that he knew, she was just having a bad dream. He calmed his breathing and approached her cautiously.
“Shhhh, it was just a nightmare.” Ezra said quietly, as Cee flung her arms around him, clinging onto him, still shaking.
“No… different.” Her face buried into Ezra’s nightshirt. “Awake, Da.”
Slowly, she felt her voice come back to her. But so afraid to use it, for fear that it might not be her own.
“D..Dad.” Cee’s voice muffled against Ezra’s shirt. It wasn’t the first time she called Ezra that. “I was awake, Dad.”
“I’m not your Dad, Little Bird.” Ezra whispered softly into her ear, soothing her blonde strands of hair around her ear.
“Dad.” She continued to say over and over as she held on to him tight, still trembling.
“Well, I suppose that’s something I can get used to, Birdie.” Ezra kissed Cee softly on the top of her head and settled his cheek there. Her breathing gradually calmed, until she fell asleep again in his arms.
to be continued in Paralyzed, part 2