I’ve always had trouble sleeping. Between my history of insomnia, a recent breakup, and starting a new job, I was disappointed but unsurprised when I woke up around 2 am a week ago. I made a half-hearted attempt to get back to sleep. My bladder had other ideas.
As I stepped back into the bedroom after relieving myself, a white light caught my eye. It’s not unusual for lights from my PC or the streetlights outside to shine into my bedroom from the living room. This light was much brighter and was a neutral white. It was streaming in through the blinds of the front window.
My immediate thought was that it must be a car outside. As I woke up a bit more though, I realized the light was coming from above the window. I walked over and parted the blinds slightly. Nothing seemed out of place on my street. I scanned up and down the road to be sure before moving my gaze upwards. I found the light source.
It was a distant figure that was small in stature floating well above the rooftops. I wasn’t entirely certain if it was a child or something else. Its skin was gray and pale and it didn’t appear to be wearing any clothing. The figure looked thin. Its eyes were beyond black. They were voids. It was as if the figure had two black holes for eyes. To its left was a tractor trailer. It seemed to me looking at it intently. The trailer was floating perfectly still with a dim white halo around it. The truck was dangling by its fifth wheel from the trailer.
I watched transfixed for ages as the figure performed an inspection of the truck, spinning it as needed to observe every surface. As I looked on, I noticed the figure wasn’t in any sort of craft. It appeared to only have its bubble of light around it. I also observed that there wasn’t a bit of light coming from anywhere in the neighborhood except the figure. Even the 24 hour gas station and convenience store down the hill was pitch black. I turned my gaze back to figure. It was now looking at me.
The truck gently descended as the light behind the figure formed a spotlight. It crept across the street and toward my house. I was frozen in place. The light moved up my front steps and as it reached my door, the doorknob lock and deadbolt snapped to the locked position. I was able to tear myself away from the sight of the thing and try the door but the locks wouldn’t budge.
I sprinted back to my bedroom. I keep a revolver in a lock box in the closet. Gun in hand, I cautiously moved back into the living room. I remember nothing else. Everything went dark. I awoke the next morning on the floor of the living room. I was bleeding from my nose. The gun was clutched in my right hand. I opened the cylinder. Two rounds had been fired. I put it back in the box and headed outside. There was debris everywhere. One of my next door neighbors came out and commented on the storm that had happened the night before. Apparently it knocked out power for the whole block.
Since then, I’ve been unable to sleep through the night. I never got nosebleeds before but now I experience one a day for at least a few minutes. I’ve also noticed people treating me differently. Everyone is cordial but no one seems willing to engage me in conversation more than a few words. I feel like they’re looking at me when I’m not focusing on them. I don’t really know how to process things.