14 September 2011

Scary reflections of a grown up teenager.

I was reading again, specifically this post by Candy Lynn Fite, a fellow Campaigner, and I was immediately reminded of the very first Stephen King novel I read - "Salem's Lot". I was at college, my first year living in an apartment, not the dorm.  I couldn't put the book down. Naturally, it was evening when I started it, close to 0300 when I finished it.

One wall of the living room was glass with a sliding door and had a balcony feel to it.  I lived on the ground floor which only spurred my imagination more. I couldn't bring myself to open the drapes, though I had to check the locks. Residents were coming in off and on because it was after closing.  The bumps, thumps and loud giggles quickly shushed as they made their way to their apartments or up the stairs were not any easier to for me to push aside as just everyday normal sounds.

My roommates were sleeping, so I had to be quiet while searching for something silver, a cross or something I could use. The closest holy object I could find was a Bible. I sat with it on my lap for a few minutes, then read a couple passages. Even though I knew my roommate was in her bed, I surreptitiously checked to see if she was still herself. I accomplished this by standing as close to her bed as I dared,  reasoning that if she was "turned" she'd have to "turn" me also.  Nothing happened.

I went to my own bed, laid down and then remembered I hadn't checked the window.  I was still clinging to the Bible and dreading having to get out of bed once again.  Particularly as that meant I'd have to put my feet on the floor near the space under the bed.  I struggled with this notion for about ten minutes. Finally, the last roommate came in and I heard her going through her nightly routine.  I hadn't known she was still out. I was a little relieved as my imagination finally settled down enough for me to drift to sleep.  I groggily put the Bible on the nightstand, and turned off the light.  I closed my eyes. A thump had me reaching for the Bible which I then put under my pillow and fell asleep with my hand on the Bible.