Ekbom's

A short Story by Kiefer Sandoval

Two-thirty. 2:30am. The digital red digits on the clock blared more than shone. I lay in bed watching. A minute passed, then two, then ten. The minutes turned to hours. The changes in number where insignificant, all that I knew is that I was still awake. It had been that way for days. Three to be exact. I had spent the last three days in a semi-sleep like state. The fever had left me a delusional insomniac. The days I had spent dreaming about the ongoing issues in the pointless, painful life I was living.
I had dreamt of my girlfriend, my dead relationship with my mother. I dreamt of my self. All seemed like one big bad horror movie. The worst was the ability of my mind to see the effects of the fever. My mind blurred reality and my subconscious thoughts, my deep dark secrets. If I made it through this, my view on life would leave my changed for better or worse.
Ekbom's Syndrome. Ekbom’s is a rare syndrome where the victim believes his body is infested with parasites. It is usually associated with fever and cocaine. What a trip. This is not the worst thing that could happen to someone. If this is put into the right situation at the right time it can really fuck someone up. If it is mixed with a man who needs cocaine fix no matter the condition he is in, it can be a bitch.
The first day into the fever had little going for it. The twelve hours at the very first had nothing. The party before the fever had been awesome. The party was at a friend’s house. Well it used to be a house, now it was more like an ash pit. The house was falling a part before the party. There was no way it would last. The music was loud, the girls where fine and, there was a seemingly unlimited supply of alcohol. It was awesome. I was sitting at what had been declared the bar. I was currently downing a shot when a man showed up with a lot of coke.
The party rocked. I was drunk, why not. I bought the whole thing. After this girl I picked up and I did a couple of lines someone decided to burn down the place. The party became more like a riot than a party. I got the hell out of there. I got home with my girl friend. Now remember this was three days ago. We showed up at my apartment, fell into bed, had mediocre sex and fell asleep.
The morning was the worst. I woke up. She was gone and something was crawling in my skin.
(work in progress)