Waking up still didn't feel real.
My body was heavy, my head dizzy, and i kept touching my hands, rubbing my face, even pinching my arm, just desperate for some reaction that would prove I was really awake.
Eventually, I calmed down. My breathing was normal again. But the calmness was fake. Because my mind kept asking the same question:
Why do I keep seeing that man?
Why did he smile like that? Why did he say those words "are you ready." What did he mean?
And worse, what if I went to sleep again? Would he be waiting? Would the dream get worse?
Any sense of peace I thought I had was gone. My brain wouldn't stop, looping the same thoughts:
What if it happens again? What if next time, I don't wake up?
Concentration was a fairy tale at this point. My head spun with confusion. For a moment, I wondered if maybe I'd dreamed all of it. Maybe it wasn't real. Maybe I'd imagined the balloon man, the rules, the laughter, the blood.
"Yeah, maybe I just… manifested it," I muttered to myself, pacing around my room. "I've been thinking about this too much. That's it. It's just my head messing with me."
I tried to convince myself everything was fine. That I was fine. That I had some kind of control.
But the truth? I was terrified.
And I was too scared to test it. Too scared to go back to sleep just to check. Not that I could, anyway, I had just woken up I joked to myself as a distraction
So instead, I did the only thing that made sense, I went back to the forum.
I typed the link in. Reloaded. Checked my history. Re-typed again, this time with capital letters, just in case.
But Nothing.
The forum was gone.
And as I stared at the blank search page I could only say. "No way. No, no, no-it can't just be gone."
I tried everything I could think of. Different keywords. Different search engines. I even copied the exact URL and pasted it. Nothing worked.
Silence filled my room, making me disappointed and even worse more scared than I already was.
If the site was gone… then what about the dream? Was it connected? Did I somehow get pulled into something by clicking that post?
And the biggest question of all, the one I didn't want to admit even to myself was simple:
Am I in danger?
I didn't get time to answer. My alarm dragged me back to reality. School.
Honestly, school felt like the least of my problems. But skipping wasn't an option. So I dragged myself there.
The day was… normal. Mundane. Same boring classes. Same teachers who were definitely evil either that or they really just didn't care . Same people I wouldn't talk to even if you paid me.
But I couldn't focus. Not really. Everything around me felt unreal. I'd be lying if I said I remembered anything about that day. Because the whole time, one thought constantly echoed in me
I can't go back to sleep.
When I got home, I opened my laptop again, this time with a different question.
"How long can the human body go without sleep?"
Thousands of results popped up.
I learned about Randy Gardner, some guy who set the world record in 1965. Eleven days without sleep.
But every site said the same thing: it wasn't safe. After just 72 hours, the body starts breaking down. You get paranoia. Hallucinations. Your brain stops functioning right.
I sat back in my chair.
So… if I stayed awake, I'd slowly fall apart. But if I slept, I'd see him again. Hehehehe I laughed at my options knowing I was screwed but
i closed my eyes, and his face flashed in my mind. The smile. His laughter. The words.
"Where's the harm," I muttered. "I'll just… stay awake."
Day 1 without sleep.
I felt okay, surprisingly. Coffee and energy drinks were my lifeline. I blasted music in my headphones to stay alert. My classes dragged, but I kept myself moving. Every blink felt heavy, but the anxiety was still very much messing with me making me think maybe it was all nothing
Still, I told myself I could handle it.
Day 2 without sleep.
The negative effects were showing. My body was slower. My thoughts foggy. Every time I blinked, it felt like I might not open my eyes again. Concentration was slipping further and further away.
But I held on. Barely.
Day 3 without sleep.
I wasn't okay.
Standing hurt. Moving hurt. Talking, pretending to be fine, hurt more than anything. I could feel myself breaking apart, people just felt more annoying but I kept going. I had to.
That's what I told myself anyway.
When I stumbled home that day, I thought: Almost three days without sleep. I'm doing pretty good.
That was my last thought before I passed out.
The dream hit me instantly.
No build-up. No drifting in. Just there pretty sure that had to be the worst way to go in but not like I had a choice.
This time, I was in a maze.
The walls stretched high above me, the color was difficult to describe like it didn't wanna be known. The air smelled damp, heavy, and unnatural like it wasn't supposed to exist . Every step echoed.
I started walking.
Minutes. Hours. I couldn't tell. Time was weird here.
Then I saw it.
A figure in the distance.
At first, it looked like a person. But the closer I stared, the more wrong it became. Its body was distorted, like its shape was incomplete. It glitched, and changed shape with every step
And as I was noticing it… it noticed me.
Without any time to think, it started moving.
Toward me.
There was nothing else I could do so I ran.
I didn't look back, I didn't want to. I just kept running, turning corners blindly, my footsteps slamming against the stone floor. Every time I glanced back, I saw shadows stretching longer, twisting, reaching.
The maze twisted endlessly. Dead ends. Narrow halls. I had no idea if I had energy or didn't , but the sound behind me never stopped.
Then I turned a corner and froze.
Ahead was nothing but a straight, narrow path. No turns. No escape.
I ran anyway, not knowing anywhere else to go . The distorted thing followed, its form changing closer, closer
And then a white door appeared at the end of the path.
I didn't think. I just ran and stumbled through.
Light.
That was the first thing I noticed. Pure, bright light.
The horror of the maze lifted instantly. The air was calm here. It was safe.
I blinked as my eyes adjusted.
And then I saw them.
People well other teens to be exact.
Not blurred shadows, not echoes, but actual people. Standing, sitting, pacing. Their faces pale, their expressions wide-eyed and terrified. Seemed like we all went through the same thing
They looked just as lost as me.
We all stared at each other in silence. Like we all had a million questions but no one spoke maybe because of all the craziness that had happened so
I opened my mouth to speak and before I could
I woke up.
I sat up in bed, not moving a thing just lost in thought.
But for the first time, there was a new thought in my mind.
Not just fear. Not just confusion.
But something else.
Hope.
Because if the dream was real, if the maze was real, then so were the people I saw.
I wasn't the only one.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, It felt like I had a chance.
I'm not alone.