I didn't die. 

Shocker. You figured out the main character doesn't die in the first chapter. I hope you all feel super smart. I'm silently applauding your genius.

The ground was hard against my back. Flat lights shone pearly through my eyelids. I could feel bruises forming on my arms already.

I opened my eyes.

The old plaster ceiling stretched above me. Cool air blew through the vents, making the same rattling sound they always did. Stero thumpings could be heard from the music store next door. 

Hoisting myself up on my elbow I looked away from the stairs, terrified of what I might see. A broken body, blood, dead eyes, the evidence of my accidental crime. 

Shaking, I turned my head.

There was nothing there. 

Dull silver security lights illuminated the base of the staircase. Not even a hair or drop of blood adorned the ground. 

Was I just drugged? Inhale too much cleaning product again? I hadn't felt light headed, but there was nothing to suggest what had just happened was real. 

Confused, sore and more than a little sick, I got up. The stairs still drew my eyes. 

Drugs. It had to be drugs. I inhaled too much cleaning chemicals, passed out on the stairs. Yes. That had to be it. 

....................................................................................

"You okay Aaron? You look kind of pale," 

I looked up from the stew bowl. I still felt kind of sick and hadn't eaten much. Mom always noticed when something was wrong. 

What was I suposed to say?

"Oh hey mom. I just killed a guy outside our apartment, got posessed by a weird purple glob, passed out, and found out he disappeared. Possibly drug induced. Pass the salt please."

Trying for a natural smile, I said "I'm good. Just a little light headed,"

As she returned to her meal, I looked more closely at her. Heavy bags weighed under her brown eyes and her hair was frazzled. It looked like she'd been twisting it like she does when she's nervous. 

Was a shipment being delayed again? Dad giving her a hard time? 

We finished dinner in near silence. While she did the dishes, I went to my room and resumed my current project. With leftover yarn, I was working on a knit blanket. 

As I picked up the familiar needles and began weaving the yarn in and out, my nerves calmed. Everything was settling back to normal. I had not killed a horribly dressed man, mom was fine, and things would return to the way they should be. 

My tensions bled away as the needles clicked evenly. The blanket spun out from under my hands as I moved faster and faster. Stitches and needles flashed. I was really moving tonight!

My mind drifted as my hands flew through the actions. It was a weird hallicunation. Something about that guy hadn't felt quite... right. It was like he was an animal in a human body. And what was with that whip? Twisting around my arm like that... it almost looked like it had been moving on its own. 

A weird tickly sensation was spreading over my hands and arms. I looked down and barely suppressed a yelp.

Yarn was coiling around my arms like a snake. As soon as I looked down though, it all fell limp and lifeless again. 

Panting with the sudden adrenaline, I ripped it off my arms and stumbled away. The knitting just sat there docily. I sat down hard on my bed, staring at it. Now I really was starting to get a headache.