The Chaos

Horrors await when the morning comes.

The Chaos

Darkness.

Stillness.

A respite from the horror.

Even in sleep, the terrors of the previous day and all of the days before ran roughshod through his subconscious and his feet began kicking to run and escape from what had come before and what would relentlessly come again.

There was no escape.

And it did come.

A blinding flash of light followed by screeching sounds. And more lights and more sounds, screaming at him from every direction. Filling his ears and echoing within his brain again and again and again. It was hard to breathe under the attack. He held his hands tightly against his ear and shut his eyes as tightly as he could, but his senses could not respond to the cacophony.

He screamed.

And then, there were more noises and, finally, the hands. Hands. Grabbing him and clutching him. Trying to pull him up from his tiny cocoon of warmth, the only place where he felt any sense of peace. He thrashed, trying to find a handhold, something onto which he could hold to keep from being dragged into the chaos.

Then he was lifted into the air, losing all control over himself and his own body. He kicked more and screamed more. He was pressed against something. It was soft and breathing and he was being pulled into it. With every ounce of his strength, he punched and kicked and clawed, trying to release himself from its clutches and return to the relative safety from which he had been pulled.

He won this round and was released, to hide again under the covers.

***

Sandy's eyes filled as she placed her son back into his bed. The tears rolled down her cheeks, and she rubbed the new bruise on her side, just below her left breast. Her husband's arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned into him. She wept and he held her.

"It's so hard." She spoke without sobbing, an improvement over the previous mornings.

She felt his head nod against the top of her head. His voice held the calm soothing tone of someone who got to leave the house and go to work every day.

He surprised her. "I'll stay home from work today and watch him. Give you some time to relax."

She wiped her eyes. "I'd like that."

They held each other and looked down at their autistic son.