The Choker

I can feel it. Behind me. Around me. All over me...

Darkness. Yet, an existence. Yet, its smell. Hungry. Craving.

I think I am suffocating. Steadily, this nothingness is closing in, with jaws prepared. Claws sharpened. I can't move. I can't see. I can't make out anything.

A straitjacket. Immobilised. Paralysed. I feel the crawl. The mild itch. The creep behind my back.

Is there pain?

No, there is no pain. Just hurried breaths. Just a thudding heart beat.

Try and scream. But there is no sound. Not even a whisper. The monster is reaching up, further and beyond.

My mind is silent. Waiting. Patient; the monster will subside. The darkness will thin.

This choking will ease...

Am I awake, or am I dreaming?