The Dark

Gabriella shot up out of her bed, her breaths unsteady and her fingers trembling out of unknown fear. She hastily scanned the room, searching for any presence in the room. What she didn't know was that she was the only one there, she was alone.
Gabriella clutched onto the hem of her shirt to steady her annoyingly trembling fingers, and shakily got out of bed. She had endured enough sleep for the night.
Her knees wobbled as she tried to quickly make her way out of the room, releasing one of her hands to turn the doorknob. Her teeth chattered as she barley opened the door. It make slight creaking noises as it revealed it's background, darkness. What she was afraid of.
"You're not-" she hiccuped- "alone," she said repeatedly, trying to convince herself as she stumbled through the dark hallway, desperately looking for a light. Tears brimmed at the base of her eyes, and she furiously bat them away with her eyelashes. She wasn't going to cry. Big girls aren't afraid of the dark.
She attempted to silence her hiccups, but they came uncontrollably. Her knees shook from her unbearable fear. Only a few steps had been made before she collapsed onto the floor, gasping in exasperation. A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked down and saw a couple of black, lonely, empty tears cascading down her cheekbone. At the moment, she was too frightened and hopeless to notice the difference between normal, translucent tears and abnormality. Her eyes threatened to shut, but she used a large portion of her strength to keep them open.
Putting her forearms in front of her like an animal, she slowly bent her knees so that they slightly touched the floor. She started crawling, in hopes to find a light switch, or a window, and let the light shine through. She needed something to reassure her that there was still life.
Gabriella knew this hallway. It was her house, after all. Her grandmothers house-- precisely.
Her grandmother had recently taken a trip to the hospital, with Gabriella following her each and every way. Her grandmother somehow persuaded Gabriella to go home for a night and rest, which now, Gabriella realized that it was one of the worst nights she'd ever had.
But the hallway seemed to go on, and on, and on. It began not to feel like the usual warm, wooden floors that would quite frequently creak but gingerly guide her and her grandmother to their destinations. No, no, it began to feel like cold steel.
Stabbing pain shot up through her arms and fingertips, and she shrieked in pain, toppling over and clutching onto her wounds. Different voices from each sides of her ears told her to do different things, and it felt like a thousand of knives stabbing into her brain. She hissed, wincing as she brought up her hand and revealed it to her naked eye. Her tips throbbed and were tinted with red, and as she looked further, sharp, fresh claws erupted from her fingernails and molded into a frightening shape beyond normalcy. She glanced over to her other hand, but it was identical. Her breath quickened and her vision became fuzzy. But, no, she knew this wasn't over. Her mission was still in process.
"No," she whispered, now digging her elbows into the floor and pushing her body upwards, like a snake. Her legs refused to work, so she was resourced to using her torso and arms.
After a solid ten seconds, her body gave in and she fell onto her back, gasping for air. She wasn't so sure if it was a nightmare, or a real-life situation. Nevertheless, it was making her very, very anxious.
Her body started to relax, and this time, she didn't bother to stop it. She gave in, and her body stop shaking slightly. But she kept her eyes open, and stared straight into the darkness.
This is what it wanted. This is what it was going to get.
Gabriella took a glance at her now far away clock. She managed to make out 3:59 a.m. As she turned over, she took a deep breath.
"I'm not alone," were the last few words she whispered, before shutting her eyes again. 4:00.