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He reached down for it slowly at first, as if the thing might just grow fangs and leap off the desk. Scolding himself angrily for being so childish, he quickly swept up the journal. There, he thought to himself, see? Nothin' to worry about. Harrison glanced at his watch; 9:45?!
"Oh, man! I'm goin' to be late again!" Frantically he searched for his pen. He looked about the desk and it was not to be found. A small giggle filled the air. Turning, he found nothing. Again with the illusions? What was I doing last night?! Trying to pin the blame of his insanity on drugs didn't work, the only drugs he'd ever taken were Tylenol and Niquil. With a heavy sigh, Harrison shrugged his backpack on, opened the door to his room, and peered down at the strangest sight, all worry of tardiness gone.

Door closed, Harrison rubbed his face with his slightly shaking hands. On the other side of the door he could hear the gnome humming, just waiting for him to emerge from his room. Just to be sure, Harrison cracked open the door so just part of the little Earth gnome could be seen. Quickly he slammed the door. Trying to think, he turned to pace, and was stopped by yet another illusion.
Holding his pen was a creature even smaller than the gnome. Coming no higher than his knee was a little girl of midnight skin, hair the color of freshly spilled blood, and eyes of emerald. That didn't make him nervous, it was the rest of her that did. Extending from her shoulderblades were wings that should have been on a raven, two small cat's ears, and a long cat's tail, all the same tone as her skin. Flashing a smile, the little... girl... held up Harrison's pen.
"Hiya!" she said with a voice that rang like chimes. Backing up slowly, Harrison grasped for the doorknob. They're all over the place!

At the coffee shop, Harrison's editor looked over his latest work, sipping a tall latte. Harrison, impatient to hear his response, pulled out his orange journal and began to scribble down some things. After about a half hour, the young writer placed his lucky pen down. Bored, Harrison glanced out the window of the shop and blanched.
There, on the other side of the window, were both the Earth gnome Lorin and the strange little girl. They seemed to be in conversation, and by the looks on their faces, Harrison's guess was that they were arguing.
"Harrison? Harrison!" the editor called.
"What?" he asked, breaking his gaze from the two illusions.
"Look, you feelin' ok? You're all...pale..."
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Looking over at the window, the two creatures were gone. "Just... Fine..."

This is completely insane!
All the way home, Harrison had constantly checked his pockets and glanced over his shoulder. His hands were quaking by the time he'd gotten home. Now, as he peeked out of the window, he tried to rationalize.
"I'm over here, Master!"
Oh God... Please...
As slowly as he could, Harrison looked behind him. There, sitting on the table, was the same little "girl", and, oh no, under the table was a large spider with a human's head.
Letting out a scream, he dashed for the bathroom and locked the door.
"Master...? Where'd yeh go?!"
"GO AWAY! I'M NOT CRAZY, SO GO HAUNT SOMEONE ELSE!"

A waterfall started from the top of the neighboring building and cascaded down into the street. Part of Harrison felt relieved - at least it wasn't another creature.
Still...
"Where is everybody?" He asked himself, making a mental note that only crazy people do so. There were no people, no cars, no nothing except the usual plastic sack being blown helplessly by the wind.
"Figures," Harrison said bitterly. He sank down to his bed, gave his arms a good pinch, and wriggled down into the sheets.
Naps always did him good when he had writer's block, but unfortunately, this wasn't writer's block. All the same, Harrison figured a nap would do him some good for his mental well being.

He half-stumbled, half-ran to the washroom and locked himself in. Switching on the lights, he quickly scanned his surroundings so as to encertain that there were no otherworldly surprises awaiting him here. Satisfied that he was alone, he sat down on the toilet, and buried his head in his hands.

This is not happening.

Even as he kept repeating the words to himself, he heard the voices outside the door.

Pepper: How can he not believe in us? He sees us, doesn't he not? He hears our voices...
Gnome: Patience, woman...the Initiation takes time.
Catgirl: He'll come around. Deep in his heart of hearts, he knows we're real...he just has to accept it now.

I have to get out of here

Harrison looked wildly around him. There was a small window between the shower stall and the toilet. It would be a small squeeze, but he felt he could make it. He walked to it, looked out...and his blood turned to ice again...