Panic? Attack!

The monsters under my bed are real
Don’t you believe me?
Then just have a look at the carpet
Take a peek under my bed.

The nights are endless
Full of tension
Voices, screams
Fear, sweat and shrieking
That make my eardrums burst.

I sneak outside
The only safe place,
when everyone’s indoors.

The woods aren’t far away
Trees have a positive energy
That’s what everyone says
I wrap my arms round a slender trunk
It doesn’t really work.

I stand in a clearing
It’s not the moon watching over me from above
An owl is keeping an eye on me
Will it take me for dinner?

‘Where are you all?’ I asked
Is my voice trembling, or does it just seem that way?
There’s no sign of the monster
No trace of Cookie either.

An icy wind blows through the woods.
‘Get out of here!’ roars a voice
The smell of fear and brimstone, comes towards me.
I don't dare to say anything.

... It goes quiet...

Everything around me seems to have vanished.
Has the icy cold devoured everything?
Out of the darkness, an Ogre steps forward and says: ‘I’m glad I’ve found you.’
‘Don’t you know you shouldn’t be walking alone at night?’
‘People can’t be trusted.’

‘But there are monsters in my room,’ I squeaked. ‘How can I possibly sleep there anymore?
They’re everywhere, crawling across the wallpaper, staring at me from the ceiling and making the strangest noises.’

The Ogre thought for a moment and said, ‘Are you afraid of me?’
I shook my head and said, ‘No, but I am afraid of the monster, the one with the curls sneaking into my room and inviting his friend. They look completely different from you and stink.’

I know how it feels to be hunted, the Ogre said, and to be without a safe home.
Take your place, cast a spell, just as many did in the past.
Pitchforks and burning torches won’t work.
Let me tell you something: it’s the jealous figures who sneak into your room and try to frighten and break you. You can only smell their cold sweat and hear their shrill, breaking voices (voices they have no control over) if you’re hypersensitive.

Breathe in and out slowly,
Bth feet firmly on the ground
Now go back home.
It’s long past bedtime.

That night, and every night after, I slept like a prince.
He kept watch.
No more monsters came in.
He gave them a taste of their own medicine...

It feels so good
to spread fear
No more panic attacks.

_{7.10.26
INKtober prompt: panic
#ccc #freewrite #inktober #story #steemexclusive}