Behind Closed-eyes

Felix's nights were plagued by shadows. They crept along the walls, their crimson eyes glaring at him from every corner. At first, he dismissed them as hallucinations, the result of stress and sleepless nights. But as the days turned into weeks, they grew more persistent, their whispers louder, their forms more defined. He tried to convince himself it was a trick of the mind, an overactive imagination fueled by exhaustion, but the shadows seemed to have a will of their own. They were watching him, taunting him, closing in.

He became obsessed with protecting Maya, his younger sister and the only family he had left. Her safety became his sole focus, a beacon in the encroaching darkness. But his methods grew erratic. He lined her windows with salt, muttering prayers he barely remembered from childhood. He scrawled protective symbols on her walls, their jagged lines drawn with a trembling hand. Felix's research consumed him—dusty tomes, internet forums filled with conspiracy theories, and an old shopkeeper who seemed to know more than he let on. Each scrap of knowledge added to his arsenal, though the truth felt increasingly out of reach.

He burned herbs—sage, rosemary, and others whose names he couldn't pronounce—filling Maya's apartment with thick, choking smoke. She protested, of course, but he wouldn't listen. The shadows were growing stronger. They lingered longer, their crimson eyes flashing with malice whenever Maya was near. Felix was convinced they weren't just haunting him. They were after her.

When she confronted him, her patience finally worn thin, Felix's explanations were fragmented and desperate. His hands shook as he tried to make her understand the danger.

"You don't understand," he said, gripping her shoulders tightly. His eyes were wild, bloodshot. "If you stay here, it will take you. You have to leave the city."

"Felix, you're scaring me," she replied, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. You need help."

Felix's face contorted in frustration. His grip on her shoulders tightened momentarily before he released her and turned away, pacing the room. "Then I'll stop it myself," he muttered, almost to himself. His voice dropped to a chilling whisper. "Even if it means..." He didn't finish the thought, but the darkness in his eyes was enough to send a shiver down Maya's spine.

The shadows seemed to grow bolder, their whispers turning into guttural murmurs that echoed in Felix's mind. "She will be taken. Save her, or lose her," they hissed, their voices overlapping like a chorus of the damned. The constant barrage eroded his sanity, leaving him a shell of the man he once was.

Felix's mental state deteriorated rapidly. He started keeping vigil outside Maya's bedroom door at night, armed with a knife. He barely ate, barely slept, consumed by a single purpose: to save his sister at any cost. The nights stretched endlessly, the shadows creeping closer, their whispers taunting him. He began to see them everywhere—in the corners of his vision, in the reflections of mirrors, even in the patterns of sunlight filtering through the blinds.

One night, Maya awoke to find Felix sitting on the floor outside her door, the knife clutched tightly in his hands. His eyes were wild, darting around as if tracking invisible threats. "Felix," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You can't keep doing this. Please, let me help you."

He looked up at her, his expression a mixture of fear and determination. "I'm the only thing standing between you and them," he said. "If I let my guard down, even for a second, they'll take you."

Tears streamed down Maya's face as she knelt beside him, placing a hand on his arm. "Felix, I'm not going anywhere. But you can't fight this alone. We'll figure it out together. Please, just put the knife down."

For a moment, Felix seemed to waver. But then the shadows shifted, their crimson eyes gleaming with malevolent glee. The whispers grew louder, more insistent. "She lies. She will leave. She will be taken."

Felix's grip on the knife tightened. He stood abruptly, his movements jerky, almost mechanical. "I can't let them have you," he said, his voice hollow. "Even if it means..." His words trailed off again, but the look in his eyes was enough to make Maya step back in fear.

The battle within Felix raged on, the shadows feeding on his despair, twisting his thoughts. He knew he was losing himself, but the thought of losing Maya was unbearable. He'd do anything to protect her. Anything.