Phantom Spider

Yet again, Phillip was up at two in the morning, aimlessly flipping through channels. Thousands of channels and never a thing to watch. How that was possible was something he would never understand. Inevitably, when he did find something worth watching, he found about a hundred things all on at the same time. The whole system was irking enough that Phil decided to be done with it alltogether, but that decision fell apart quickly when he tried to actually go through with it. So, regardless of how it annoyed him, he kept his myriad of channels and continued his routine of searching for something he could stand to watch.

Phil knew he should just go to sleep, but knowing that had never changed his odd sleep habits. Instead, he finally settled on watching a documentary about arachnids. He was pretty sure he had seen three others like it before, but it was the best option he could find.

After watching countless spiders bind their helpless prey in webs, Phil could feel the miniscule footsteps of a spider crawling on him. Immediately, his hand shot up to slap the creature off of his neck, only to find nothing. He signed and tried to get comfortable again. Just as he was almost comfortable, he felt another spider racing up his arm. He slapped at it instinctively, again finding nothing.

Of course. This always happens when I watch these shows, Phil reminded himself, Next time, I'm ignoring it. No more of these "phantom spiders" getting the best of me. Phil hated how susceptible he was to this kind of suggestion. He could barely watch medical shows or read about injuries without feeling the phantom pain shoot through him.

Phil thought the imaginary spiders would end when the documentary did, but he was wrong. Fortunately, he was able to ignore the majority of the sensations. However, he still could not resist the urge to check over his body from time to time, which then forced him to find a new sitting position to get comfortable again. Phil's discomfort was further increased by a sudden drop in temperature. Even after bumping up the thermostat considerably and wrapping himself in several blankets, he was still covered in goosebumps.

When Phil finally managed to fall asleep, spiders plagued his dreams as well. They were everywhere, hundreds of thousands of spiders chasing him. For a while he was able to avoid them, but then he became tangled in a massive web, unable to escape as the spiders covered him. Phil jerked awake flailing, feeling completely covered in spiders. As he calmed himself, the invisble spiders relented somewhat and he noticed his house was even colder than it before.

His reprieve did not last long. Soon, the spiders returned to keep him awake. Phil was determined to ignore them, but they seemed just as determined to make their presence known. The sensations intensified, but Phil refused to react. He could feel thousands of tiny spiders plunging their fangs into him. Finally, he gave in, leapt from his couch, and tore his clothes off his body. Acknowledging the sensations did not put an end to them, however. The pain continued to worsen until Phil was writhing on the ground in agony.

As the sunlight began to seep through his windows, Phil's pain subsided. With the pain went his writhing and screaming. The house was silent, and Phil himself lay still on the living room floor, finally able to sleep. The spiders had had their way, and now Phil could sleep forever.