Faceless Tracker

“Are you awake?”

The voice whispers into my ear

 

But here in the night there is no one

No thin figure leaping between trees

Faceless and pale

 

If I can’t see him he’s not here

 

But there it is again

 

Soft breathing

Just behind my vision

Peripheral lurking

 

“Are you awake?”

The breath says to the thin hairs

Lining my neck

 

The wind rolls through the forest

Tugging like an undertow

Pulling all rational thought through the bare branches

Rolling dead leaves through the underbrush

There’s something here with me

Stalking me in the darkness

 

I can feel the cold presence

Its ragged fingertips only a breath away from my shoulder

But as I turn I find nothing

Save the scenic shadows hiding the forest

 

My eyes strain looking for

The owner of the obscene voice

But he remains hidden

 

As I search I try to remember

Where I am

Why I was even here to begin with

What reason brought me into contact

With this hideous sound?

 

But there was no memory of my arrival

I have no visions of wandering

To this spot

 

“Are you awake?”

Hisses again

Sending chills down my spine

 

I can hear it now

Moving slowly cautiously

Each step taking all the time needed

To arrive silently

 

Just behind me all time

Nearly pressed against my back

 

The clouds part for a moment

Slowly revealing the soft lit silver moon

The ever watching sleepy dragons’ eye

As I take a step forward

And turn to face the voice

 

“Are you awake?” It hisses

Through the absence of a mouth

Staring at me with the concave spaces

Where eyes should be

 

The grey molted creature

Skin sloughing from its thin form

Stood in the soft breeze

Expecting some kind of answer

 

“No.”

I replied to the thing

 

And it almost seemed to smile

Despite the blank features it possessed

Just before it reached out

Ever so gently

And placed its cold loose fingertips

Against my temples

 

It began to laugh as I struggled

But the fingers dug in

Slipping beneath my skin

 

As it repeated the question

Over and over again

 

My eyes opened

To survey the room around me

To check and see if I truly was

Back here again

 

I was still wearing the wrinkled uniform

From the night before

I was still staring at the opened suitcase

From the night before

 

I brought myself to the mirror

Mounted in the hotel bathroom

To look at my reflection

 

And to my horror

I discovered eight black dots

Seared into my temples

 

“I’ve been marked,”

I muttered in shock

“They have a tracker.”

05/09/2013

0210 am

Reviews

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Hahahaha! Brilliantly written and narrated. Some of us have truly been marked for the most eerie of experiences that life has to offer. Exceptionally vivid and enthralling poetry. :)