T E R R O R

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
FOUR
T E R R O R
________

I SLAMMED the door as soon as I got inside, and drew all the curtains. The images of the monsters were still fresh in my mind, I couldn't  get them out. My head was pounding, my heart was racing. I wiped the tears from my eyes and ran straight into my room to be in a place I felt safe. 
It was such a childish thing to do, I knew that. But those things did a number on my head, I couldn't sleep soundly at night because they were always there, waiting for me. 
I couldn't believe what I just saw. This whole time, Mom and Reese have been working for a man who puts on gladiator fights for entertainment. And I was surrounded by people who relished in watching good men beat each other to death. That realization stung like a bee. But it was true. 
What did that mean? What else did these people do in their off hours? I hated to think of anything more barbaric, but if they enjoyed shit like that, then whatever else they were into couldn't be any less disgusting. 
I felt my heart start to thunder in my chest. My vision became blurry and my head felt like feathers. I patted the plush mattress of my bed and slowly sat down, as the dizziness started overtaking every other sense in my body, and my heart started to try and tear its way out of my chest. 
It had been a few weeks since my last panic attack. With the world the way it was, I couldn't rely on any medications anymore to make them go away. Now I just had to push through them until they stopped. 
My body started to tremble as I began to sob, the only thing I could see was the pools of blood that drowned the entirety of Macon. I heard the screams of terror, the cries of agony. I tried to block them out as I collapsed onto the bed, barely able to breathe through my sobs. 
"You keep writing. Okay, Em?"
I don't want to write anymore… I just want it to be over. I just want the monsters to stop coming back. 
I heard a knock on my door, but I couldn't bring myself out of my pain and my terror attack. I heard the door slowly open, but it was hard to hear over the sound of my cries and my rapid intakes of breath. 
"Em, hey. Shh, it's okay."
Reese took a seat beside me on the bed. I felt his hand gently touch my arm, and I couldn't stop my body from flinching at his touch. He scooted over closer and started to stroke my hair, trying to soothe me. 
"Shhh, breathe. You're safe, it's okay, you're safe."
I couldn't respond through the sobs, I could hardly breathe. He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed.