Luke wanted to speak, but couldn’t. It was all so unbelievable, so terrible, it was all some horrendous nightmare that Luke wanted to wake up from, but couldn’t. Luke continued to resist the awful thought that all that was happening was real. That he wasn’t dreaming. He could see Silvia, her beautiful face glimmering in the sunlight. He looked back at Vienna.

“I would never harm my wife. That’s, that’s just impossible.” Vienna started searching through her briefcase and pulled out a yellow folder. She set it in a drawer in the wall facing her and pushed it forwards. The drawer slid through the wall and into the room Luke was in. The guard behind Luke picked up the folder and opened it. Luke dreaded what was inside. The guard showed Luke the ten bloody pictures of his wife’s dismembered corpse. 

“No, no this can’t be her, this must be someone else. I wouldn’t do this to her.”

“It was hard to discover who this corpse belonged to, you had destroyed almost all her recognizable features but, eventually, they found it belonged to your wife.”

Luke couldn’t take it, tears started flowing down his cheek as he started screaming. He tried to rip his arms free of the cuffs but failed.

“No! I would never kill her!” Luke felt as if he couldn’t breathe. The images of his dead wife wouldn’t go away, they were burned into his mind.

“Luke, you stabbed her multiple times, ripped the flesh off her bones. There was little left to recover.”

“Shut up! All of you shut it! I’m tired of all this, this sick joke!” The veins were bulging out of Luke’s neck, his face was red and his eyes wet.

“Luke, you killed your wife. You had a psychotic break. We believe you are having another one right now.”

“I’m not crazy! I will not be one of your lunatics!”

“Do you hear yourself?”

Luke huffed, he looked at the ground and started to wonder, If he really was crazy. If all this was a delusion of his own making.

“We have proof of your break, of her murder. You’ve lost your sense of real and fake. We can help you.”

“No. I, I don’t trust any of you, any of this! I won’t just let you into my head! You can’t do this to people, make me go to sleep with that horrible drug, you’re stripping my humanity from me!”

“You did that yourself. We want you to get it back.” Luke couldn’t deny the sincerity and tenderness in his voice. He felt like the villain as well as the victim. “I’m going to talk with your doctor about a new medication as well as some exercise that can help you see what’s real and what’s not. I’ll be in touch again soon.” Vienna stood up.

“Wait,” Vienna looked at him, “My doctors keep calling my Luke. My name is Eli, I don’t want to keep being called that name, it belongs to someone else. Someone who isn’t me.”

“The more you continue to hold onto this delusion, the longer you’ll have to suffer.” More tears fell down Luke’s face. They all knew this was a torcher, yet, they wouldn’t stop doing it unless Luke caved in. Luke didn’t want to comply, he wanted to fight this, but, the problem remained, could all this be true, and he really was fighting the facts. Once again, the sharp point of the needle was stabbed into Luke’s neck.

Eli’s eyes started to open. He was sitting on a wooden rocking chair, facing a beautiful sunset and a large open field. He felt calm and at peace, however he was at first confused. He looked to his right to see a woman sitting in an identical rocking chair next to him. They were holding hands. Her’s was smooth and soft. It was Silvia, his wife. Eli smiled, as his confusion was wiped away. He was back home, he was back into reality. He could see his kids playing in the vast field. He could see Patrick with his bright blond hair, frustratedly mixing up his small rubix cube, desperately trying to solve it, and Lily with her delicate glimmering face, sitting next to Pearl, helping her pick out the most colorful flowers they could find.

“It’s a beautiful sunset isn’t it.” Silvia looked at him smiling.

“Yes. One you can only get while being out here.” Eli felt the nightmare he had just experienced fade away.

“Are you ok?” Silvia asked.

“Oh, yes, I just had a bad dream. It felt so real.”

“Yah, I get those once in a while. The thing you have to remember is-”

Suddenly Silvia stopped talking. Eli looked back at her to see her face was blank, emotionless.

“Silvia?” She didn’t respond. Eli looked back at the field to see his kids were gone. Eli jumped to his feet. “Silvia, the kids…” When Eli looked back at Sylvia, she was gone. Panic and dread filled Eli’s soul. Suddenly, he started hearing a horrible screeching sound. It filled Eli’s soul with pure terror, he fell to the ground shaking in fear. The sound was coming from his house. The sun was now blood red. Eli stood up and started walking towards his house. The sky seemed to be streaked with red and black. The grass was cold and dead. It was no longer a warm sunny day, but a cold dark day. Eli reached the door to his house. The screeching was loud and horrendous. Eli slowly put his hand forwards and grabbed the door handle.

Shock filled Luke’s body as he felt his back slam against the floor. He took in large gulps of air while his body continued to shake. His vision was blurry, and he felt as though his heart was going to explode. He started coughing. A nurse, along with two guards, burst into the room.

“Luke? Luke it’s ok you're safe. Calm down.” Luke’s vision improved, he shot to his feet. He looked around, he was back in his medical room.

“No, no not, no…” Luke sank to his knees crying. He slammed his fists on the ground.

“Luke, what is it?”

“Get out.” Luke looked up at her angrily, “Get out!”

“Luke, we can help you-” Luke jumped to his feet and shoved her away, she fell onto the floor. Luke took a step back. The guards rushed up to Luke and pinned his hands behind his back. The nurse quickly left. Luke could feel the cold cuffs slapping around his wrists. The guards helped the nurse back up and left. Luke fell onto his mattress. He looked at himself and wondered if he was crazy. He hurt a nurse out of anger, was it possible that everyone else was right, that he was making all this up. Luke laid in his bed for an hour before his doctor came in. Pattinson was holding a fold up chair. He closed the door and sat down.

“Luke, why did you hurt that nurse?” Luke didn’t answer. The doctor sighed, “Will you talk to me if I call you Eli?” Luke continued staring at the ground.

“I don’t want to talk. The only people I’ll talk to are my kids.”

“You killed their mother. Why would they ever see you?”

“You say I killed my wife, that I was a horrible, suspicious, crazy person yet I have no memory of these things ever happening!”

“A record won’t play if it’s broken. Your mind has lost itself. We are trying to help you fix it. If you let us help you, you will start to remember everything.”

“I don’t think I want to remember. I’d rather kill myself than be resompsible for killing my wife, for stripping away my kid’s mother.”

“But once that’s over with, you can go back to living your life, better yourself. Before this you were ready to re-enter society, to see the sun again, you wanted to better yourself. Everyone has a shot at redemption, it’s just a matter of taking it.”

Luke looked up at Pattinson, who kindly smiled back at him. The door opened once again and Luke was relieved to see it wasn’t a guard with a needle, but instead a nurse with a tray. The nurse set the tray on the floor. On the tray was a bottle of water, a cup of noodles, and a light blue pill. The nurse quickly left.

“This pill will help heal your head. It should also help bring back some memories. And, not all will be bad.” Luke still didn’t fully trust the doctor, and didn’t want to take the pill.

“Can you take off these cuffs so I can eat?”

Pattinson nodded. He walked over to the door and opened it. A guard walked in and took off Luke’s handcuffs. Luke quickly started eating. He had not realized how hungry he was. Although it was just a crappy cup of noodles, he felt glad to have it. Pattinson gestured to the pill, Luke didn’t want to take it. Pattinosn walked back over to him.

“Luke, you have to take this pill.” Look stared at the pill and then shook his head. He quickly gobbled down the rest of the noodles, fearing Pattinson would take it. Pattinson stood up.

“Luke, the sooner you start trusting us the sooner you can get better, the sooner you can see the sun, the sooner you can leave this room.” The doctor left. Luke picked up the pill, he could almost see his reflection in the blue coating of the pill, and tossed it away. It fell into a corner of the room. Luke drained the water bottle. He tossed it in the air and caught it, then tossed it in the air again, and caught it. Time felt unbearably slow. Suddenly, the lights went out and blackness filled the room. Anxiety fell over Luke. He couldn’t see anything, not even his own hand. He sat up from his bed.

“Hello! Doctor Pattinson! Anyone!” The door to Luke’s room opened, some light floated into Luke’s room. A nurse walked in.

“It’s time for bed Mr. Trinity.”

“Ok, I'll just go to bed, can you leave a small light in here? I feel very anxious when I can’t see.”

“I can’t sir, it's against company policy.”

“Listen, just get Doctor Pattinson, let me speak to him about this policy.”

“He’s gone home sir. We have anti-anxiety pills.”

“No, no I don’t want any pills just, can you leave a little light on please. Just so I can see my hand at least.”

“No sir.” The nurse left and closed the door, once again filling the room with darkness. Luke clenched his fists, he was cold, afraid, and angry. He couldn’t sleep, his fear came in waves. Sometimes he felt as though a demon was squeezing his heart and sometimes he just felt sad and alone. He sensed everything he knew was slipping from his fingertips. He tried desperately to hold onto the disturbing dream he had, forcing himself to remember his wifes tender face. But, like all dreams, it was slowly fading away. Luke tried to fall asleep, possibly so he could have more dreams about his wife and kids. He didn’t care if he had to experience the same awful fear and terror he had in his dream, he just wanted to see them again. He wanted to go back to the reality where his wife was still alive, where his kids loved him, and where he wasn’t insane. The more he thought about this, the more he felt as though he was crazy. That his mind was trying to create a fun reality for him where he could escape the horrors of his life.

“I’m not crazy. No, I know what’s real, I don’t need any pills to tell me that.” he mumbled in the dark, “I am not a killer. I am not a killer. No, I, I am not crazy.” Eventually, his eyes became droopy, and he felt his muscles begin to relax. His mattress became soft, and he began to sink into it.

Falling. He was falling again. This time much faster. Eli could not see anything, everything was white. The wind pounded in Eli’s ears. He couldn’t breath, his body was tense. He began to scream, but his scream sounded odd, and the more he screamed the more terror he felt. Suddenly, he slammed onto the floor. Everything was no longer white, but black. Eli sensed his eyes were open. He felt the ground, it was padded. Next to him was his bed. On the floor were the empty cup of noodles and water bottle. Eli’s head ached, though, he didn’t know why. He could hear voices, but couldn’t distinguish them.

“Hello!?” Suddenly the voices stopped. “Hello, can you hear me!?”

“Yes.” The answer wasn’t from one voice, but from thousands.

“Who are you?”

“The thing in your house.”

“What have you done to me!?”

“Nothing.” 

Eli scoffed, “Are you in charge here!?”

“Yes, and no.”

“Why did you bring me here!?”

“That’s for you to tell us.”

“What is this, some sort of game, is this a test!? Why did you put me in this odd reality!?” The voices didn’t answer. “Hey! Hey, answer me!” Still no response came. Eli sat back on his bead and gripped his head, “What is happening to me?”

Suddenly, the door to Eli’s room opened. Eli stood up.

“Go.” The voices commanded. Eli hesitantly walked out of his hospital room and into a long hallway. He walked down it, passing many doors. The further Eli walked down the hallway, the more fear he felt. He began to hear screaming from inside the rooms behind the doors. Some of the patients banged on the doors screaming and yelling. Eli opened one of the doors with the screaming patients, to find the room was empty. He peered inside, and found a tunnel in the floor.

“Do I go down?”

“Yes.” The voices responded. Eli crept down the tunnel. The more he crawled down it, the more his uneasiness grew. He finally reached the end of the tunnel and arrived in a black room. Eli looked around. He looked back at the tunnel to see the entrance close up.

“What is this place?” The voices didn’t answer. Eli then noticed a man in a suit standing a few feet away from him, his back turned. Eli walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, the man turned around. His face was blurry. Eli stepped backwards, unsure of the man, if it even was a man. The thing pointed to the wall. Eli looked in the direction it pointed towards.

“What is it?” The thing didn’t answer. Suddenly, the screeching noise that Eli had heard in his house rang out and an armored truck burst through the wall. Eli could feel every bone in his body shatter as the truck slammed into him.

Eli felt weightless, he hovered above his body, which was lying on his bed. He felt nothing, no fear or joy. He was simply a ghost, a spirit, hovering in his own body's hospital room. He had no control over where he went, he just, floated. Soon, he started flowing towards his body. The closer he got to it, the more feelings he felt. He could sense his taste and touch gradually return, as well as some of his fear and anger. His spirit sunk into the body.

Luke jumped out of his bed shaking, he could still feel the cold metal of the truck smashing into his flesh. His dream felt so real, he was surprised it wasn’t. He fell back into his bed taking deep breaths, calming himself down. It was a bit relieving to be back in his “room”. The trash from last night's dinner was gone. He walked over to the corner of the room to find the pill had also been taken. He stretched and sighed. 

The door opened and a nurse walked in with a tray. She set the tray down and quickly left. On the tray was another cup of noodles and the same blue pill from last time as well as a bottle of water. Luke quickly began eating. He speedily finished his food and then almost by instinct grabbed the blue pill, but, right as he was holding it up to his mouth, he realized what he was doing. He looked at the pill confused at his actions, and then threw the pill into a corner of the room. No sooner had he done this two guards barged into the room.

“I hope you don’t mind it but, I’m not taking that pill.” Luke chuckled. The guards closed the door and pulled out the needle. Luke knew whatever he did he could not stop it from piercing his neck, so he didn’t fight. In fact, he began to not care. This hospital wasn’t going to change, they wouldn’t tell him anything that he thought was true. So what was the point? His eyes quickly became droopy and everything became blurry and then black.

Luke woke up in the room where he had seen his therapist. The glass panel was dirtier than it had been previously. His hands and feet were still cuffed to the chair. A guard was standing behind him, Luke could feel him breathing down his neck.

“I’m cuffed. My therapist will be behind a glass manel. I can’t hurt anyone so why the heck are you here if not to make me miserable?” The guard didn’t answer. Valentine walked into the room behind the glass panel. This time she was wearing a blue dress, she sat down in her chair.

“Good morning.”

“Maybe for you.” Vienna shook her head and pulled a notebook out of her brown suitcase.

“How have you been holding up?” Luke felt so pitted, which made him all the more angry. He felt like a sad hurt puppy, everyone was telling him how sorry they were but weren't trying to help him, unless he did what they wanted. Luke didn’t respond to her.

“Luke-”

“Stop! Just, don’t.”

“You’re acting so irrational you know that don’t you? You’re like a child, who had a good dream but woke up into his life, so he holds onto his dream and won’t let go of it. But does it help him?” Luke knew the answer, but wouldn’t answer. “No, it doesn’t. It only makes it more painful for him to accept his life, to accept what’s real.” Luke couldn’t argue with her. The more time went by, the more he began to wonder if it all was a dream. He couldn’t argue that he was waking up from this nightmare, as he was really just falling asleep into other ones. The dreams he had last night couldn’t have been real, therefore, was it possible he had had a break. All these thoughts swirled through Luke’s head, his therapist could sense this, she could sense his conflict.

“If you just let go, then all of this will come so much easier.”

“What, that pill? I’m not taking some weird drug from strange people.” Vienna could hear the doubt in his voice.

“Luke, do you really think we want to hurt you, that we’re not doctors?” Luke wouldn’t answer. He wanted to continue his conspiracy that they were all out to get him, to hurt him, but it seemed easier, more rational to be done with it, to accept what his therapist said was reality. He then remembered shivering in his bed full of anxiety and fear.

“Why did you guys torcher me last night?”

“What do you mean?” She knew exactly what he meant, she must have heard about it as it was her job along with his doctor to know everything that happened to him. She just wanted him to say it, maybe because the more he talked about his so-called delusions, the less he began to believe them.

“You guys left me in the dark, wouldn’t even turn on a small light in my room. I don’t care as much about being in the darkness as not being able to see. I can’t stand not knowing what lurks ahead of me. What is slithering inside my room.” It was working, Luke felt silly stating these things, “But why the heck must I take that freaking pill! The whole point of that situation was to force me to take my stupid medication or suffer in the darkness right? Right!?” Luke heard the insanity in his words, but didn’t take them back. He was still falling back and forth between his two sides, one telling him he was in danger and the other one telling him he was simply mad.

“Did the nurse say you had to take your medication?” Luke thought about it, and swore she had, but now wondered if that was true, or if he had made it up.

“You tell me.”

“We offered you anti anxiety pills. Ones that would help you sleep, ones that would calm you down. It would do nothing to your mind. These pills you could buy at any pharmacy or drugstore.” Luke believed her for a second, but then didn’t, she couldn’t say what he wouldn’t do, it could easily be a lie. They could have easily given him that blue pill, or some other drug.

“But I ask you, why are you so scared of your medication, of any pill we offer you?”

“Don’t take drugs from strangers.”

“Are we strangers to you?”

“Might as well be.”

“Luke. We don’t want to hurt you, but when patients are this difficult we have to. By tomorrow I want you to have decided. You can either take it by your own free will, or we will have to force you to take it.”

Anger boiled in Luke’s breast, “Don’t I have rights? I mean, it can’t be legal what you're doing to me, injecting me with this sleeping drug against my will and forcing me to take strange medication. I mean, this medication must do other things besides just help heal my head.”

“Luke, you are a danger to society like this. When you had your first break you were just as you are now, suspicious, angry. You created your own conspiracies about us about this ward. You thought that your wife was waiting on a farm for you.” Luke felt a fist go straight into his gut. How did she know about his dream? 

“That it was all a trick. That we had captured you. But once you accepted the truth, once you began taking your medication and doing these mind exercises-”

“I got all better and everything was sunny and warm!” Luke started laughing.

“You know what Ms. Valentine, I’m gonna become better! I’m gonna take that medication and accept that I am a horrible murderer, conspirator, and awful man staying in a white bleak room being fed and controlled like a dumb dog!” Luke couldn’t stop laughing. Vienna rubbed her head and started writing some things in her notebook.

“I think It would be good if you start taking a new class.”

“Fun. I do hope this one doesn’t involve these stupid conversations.”

“Please be cooperative.”

Luke looked back to see the guard pulling the needle from his belt. When Luke looked back at Vienna he saw his wife’s bloody corpse shoved against the glass panel.

Luke woke up in his room. His vision was blurry, and his stomach twisted and turned. His head felt light while his body felt heavy. The image of Silvia’s twisted and gory corpse was fresh in his mind. Her face was so bloody and broken, her features gone. He felt her pain, he felt her soul, even if he could barely recognize her. They had killed her, they had the body, he was right. Luke stood to his feet only to come crashing to the ground. He tried to stand back up but failed, he was still too dazed from the drug. They had given him a higher, or stronger dosage, possibly because of how he acted during his meeting with his therapist. The more he fought, the more suffering he had to experience. He wouldn’t cave though, at least not yet. After about ten to fifteen minutes passed he was able to stand. His vision wasn’t perfect, but there wasn’t really anything to see other than white, everything.

Pattinson walked into the room, his features were blurry.

“Why?” Luke’s fists became clenched.

“Why what?”

“Why was her body there?” Luke had to restrain himself from attacking the doctor, as he knew he would just be beaten by the guards and injected with more of the sleeping drug.

“Body? What has happened Luke?”

“Silvia’s body, she was slammed against that glass panel! You told me you did nothing to her! Then why the heck did you have her body!?”

“Luke, you need to slow down. We don’t have her body-”

“I saw her! In my therapist's little room! Was she trying to scare me because I upset her! Or because I won’t take that pill?”

“Luke, who is Silvia?”

“So her name changed too, Silvia is my freaking wife!”

“Your wife, Crystal, has been cremated.” No matter what the doctor said he didn’t believe it. Why would the doctor tell the truth? The whole point was to get Luke to take his medicine to corporate, so they just had to make him look more crazy. Even if her body was slammed against the glass panel, even if it was on the security footage, if Vienna and the guard had seen the body, they wouldn’t tell him. Because that would make them look bad and prove that Luke was right about him. But if they were quiet, then it just made Luke seem all the more crazier.

“How far will you go to prove me insane?”

“Are you saying I’m lying to you?”

“Yes, making me seem crazy. First you simply told me, now you're showing me. I saw a dead corpse. The guard however, ‘didn’t’.” Luke made quotation marks with his hands, “Therefore I’m insane.”

Luke sat down on his bed. The doctor sat next to him.

“Luke, if you are seeing things, that just means you're getting worse. I’ve tried to help people like you, who don’t want to be helped, who like to dwell in the suffering.”

“Do you really think I like this!? That I like being tortured in this hell!?”

“Then why won’t you let us help you?”

“Because I don’t trust you.”

“Can you hear yourself? You don’t trust medical personnel, what do we gain by harming you? What will your medication do to you other than help you?”

Luke didn’t answer, because he didn’t know how. He knew they were hiding something, that they wanted to harm him, but the doctor's point was sound. There was no motivation, although sometimes he felt as though they enjoyed his suffering. But, that couldn’t be all, there was something else, something, off, but Luke couldn’t figure out what. And that continued to lead him to the thought that he was insane. But that’s just what the doctors want him to believe, that he’s insane. Luke couldn’t believe himself. Being wrapped in a string of conspiracies and theories that were almost unbelievable. He didn’t want the doctors to win, but, what? What would they win?

“Can’t you see, it’s all in your head.” Pattinson stood up and walked towards the door, “Your food and medication will be here shortly. Your therapist told me about the ultimatum. Please, we want to help you. I want to help you.”

The doctor left, Luke began to believe his words. He began to feel that he was the bad guy, not the victim. That he really was fighting help. He hated watching people in chaos, people who basked in mayhem. People… who didn’t want help, but wanted to stay sick. Had he become one of those people?

He began thinking about what the doctor had said concerning his wife. Silvia didn’t exist, why would she. Instead, she was Crystal. Luke figured that she didn’t look like his wife but since all her features were gone, it was easy to believe the gory corpse was his wife. Then, Luke began to wonder, if that was the corpse of, Crystal, then his wife may still be alive. That she was being kept from him, maybe she was in the same building, going through the same hell he was, only to her, maybe Pattinson said that he was dead, that she killed him. Luke’s determination to escape grew. A nurse came in holding a tray with a cup of noodles, a bottle of water, and some pills. Luke froze when he saw her, he jumped to his feet, staring at her hands, which were dripping with blood, Luke realized it was Silvia’s blood. Luke’s fists became clenched.

“Looks like someone forgot to wash their hands.”

The nurse quickly set the tray down and rushed to the door, Luke charged at her and knocked her to the floor. His hands wrapped around her throat.

“Die you murderer.” Luke squeezed as tight as he could on the nurses throat, she tried to scream but couldn’t. Two guards rushed into the room and tried to pull Luke off of her but failed, then, the needle sunk into Luke’s neck. Luke started to feel the effects of the drug, but fought them. The nurse’s eyes began to close as the life  drained from her face. Then, Luke felt a cold metal bar slam into his head and then everything went black.

Eli’s eyes flashed open. He was lying on the grassy ground of a thick hot forest. Next to Eli was a man. The man was tall and rough. Strapped to his back was a machete. He was whittling a twig with a knife. He noticed Eli was awake and smiled. Eli opened his mouth to speak, the man quickly put his finger to his lips. Eli looked around. There were some people scattered around him. Some dwelling in tents crafted out of leaves and twigs. 

The sun barely got through the dense trees above. A small campfire was lit, a few children were huddled around it. Everyone's clothes were dirty and old. It seemed as though these people had been stranded in this forest.  Eli then noticed he was still wearing the white psych ward clothes. Eli looked at the man for answers. The man just continued silently whittling. 

Everyone in the site didn’t make a sound, Eli wanted to know why. He felt a sense of fear in the people. A deep anxiety. He sat next to the man. He leaned over so his lips were practically touching the man’s ear and whispered, “Why be so quiet?”

The man then whispered back, “So it doesn’t hear.”

“It?”

Suddenly, a loud roar rang out through the forest. I sounded like a large trumped blaring out the lowest note possible. As if someone was playing the base note of music so loud, it shook your body. Combined with a chilling, fearful feeling sent into all those who heard this loud blare. Ahead of them, Eli saw the treetops shake. Something was charging towards them. The man picked up a gun from the floor and cocked it. He turned to Eli.

“We’re being hunted.” Panic and dread filled Eli’s soul.

“Dad!” Eli spun around to see his daughter running towards him.

Luke’s eyes slowly opened. He was in a white room, only it was different. Luke was strapped down to a table in the center of the room. He couldn’t lift his arms, legs, or head. Memories of the incident started to flow back into his head. The nurse, had he killed her? Luke was filled with anger and fear. Anger for what the hospital was doing to him and possibly his wife, and fear for the punishment he would suffer for hurting a nurse and refusing his medication. He was hungry, and wondered what time it was. Was it the next day, where they were preparing to give him his medication. He shivered at the thought of the doctors shoving needles through his arms and injecting him with strange medication. Now that they had proof he was dangerous and insane, they could do whatever they wanted to him. Maybe he had fallen into a trap, that the hospital wanted him to attack the nurse, knowing that if he saw blood, he would immediately think it was Silvia’s. Luke started to wonder if the blood did indeed belong to Silvia. Luke felt in such a deranged and unstable state, anything could unhinge him. He felt that it was hers, he could almost smell the sweet perfume she wore. That blood was her’s, he just knew it. But Luke expected that the hospital would say otherwise. They wanted him to look insane, or at least, wanted him to think he was insane, right?

The door to his hospital room suddenly opened. Pattinson walked in. Luke feared what he would say, what would happen next?

“Luke. It seems as though you’re just getting worse.”

“Is she alive?”

Pattinson sighed, “Yes, she’s alive, but you brutally injured her. Her neck is badly swollen, she’s wearing a brace as we speak. What happened?”

Luke feared telling the truth. If he was getting worse, then the doctors would just give him more medication. He couldn’t tell Pattinson about his hallucination, especially about how real it felt. That would just make them shove stronger medication into Luke’s veins. And just make him seem all the more crazy. Part of Luke believed what he saw, and the other part of him believed that it was a hallucination. What he had seen was nonsense, but, was it?

“I got angry. I guess I just had to let it out on someone.” Luke felt as though he was drifting farther from who he believed to be: Eli. A man who loved his family, who would protect them. Eli was a fighter, but would never kill just to kill, or just because he was angry. Luke started to wonder if he really was the person the hospital claimed he was. His actions showed how insane he was becoming.

“Luke, we both know that’s a lie.”

“What happens next?”

“Depends.”

“Is it tomorrow?”

“Yes. And we both know what that means. We’re going to give you one more session with your therapist. Then, you either take your medication by your own free will, or we force you to take it via injection.”

“I have rights. Can’t I fight this, take it to court. There must be some sort of procedure for these kinds of instances.”

“Your family signed all the papers a few days ago, we can do whatever is necessary to help you.”

“I thought my family hated me, or maybe that’s why they signed the papers, so you could torture me.”

“Some of your family still loves you and wants you healed.”

“Then they shouldn’t have signed those papers.”

“This will be good for you Luke, you’ll see.”

Pattinson left. Luke started thrashing, trying with all his might to break free from the bands that tied him to the metal slab. He was filled with anger and hatred. He was also filled with fear and dread. The door burst open and two guards rushed in. One of the guards quickly sedated Luke, making him sleepy and weak, they then quickly left. Luke couldn’t talk or move. His body was limp. His eyes were halfway open, giving him a perfect view of the blank ceiling above. Luke started envisioning suicide. He imagined himself suffocating himself using his mattress. Or snapping his own neck. However, he then saw that these efforts would be futile. Even if he wasn’t tied down to a metal slab, guards would quickly stop him and sedate him like they just did. This drug was new, and was less brutal than the other drug the guards had been injecting him with.

Luke lied on the slab for an hour, simply pondering death and whether life would end, continue, or just cause him to wake up from a terrible nightmare. The release of death seemed sweet and peaceful, he was tired of this horrible life he was trapped in. His mind started to wander into a half sleep. He was in touch with reality, but it seemed as though he was also drifting through a dream.

“Eli.” The voices returned.

“Yes.”

“Something is coming.”

“What?”

“A hunter.”

“Like in my dream?”

“It’s coming.”

The loud roar rang out. It was identical to the one he had heard in his strange dream. He was quickly filled with fear and anxiety. His body began to shake, he wanted to run but couldn’t. The door to Luke’s room suddenly opened. Luke was pulled from his half dream. The medication had finished its job, Luke couldn’t move and talk, however a bit of sluggishness remained in his system. Vienna walked in. She was wearing a gray dress, her face carried some sorrow with it, but it wasn’t for her. A guard set a chair down about two feet from Luke and then quickly left. Vienna sat down.

“Why?”

“You know why. I assume Pattinson told you.”

“Luke, you attacked her not because you were angry, but because you saw something. For a split second you felt fear and grief. I watched the taping, you were angry at her, why were you so angry at her, what had she done?”

Luke didn’t respond. She would just tell him it was a hallucination. Tell him that he was insane. Tell him that he needed help. It seemed as though that’s how each session with her went, just more of her trying to convince him that he was crazy. The worst thing was, Luke began to think it could be working.

“Pattinson said you're having hallucinations. That, you saw your wife’s dead corpse on the glass panel in our therapy room. I’ll have you know she was cremated-”

“I know. I already talked with Pattinson.”

“Did you have another hallucination when you attacked the nurse or is this something different?”

Again, Luke didn’t respond.

“Luke, my job is to help you, I don’t want this to become worse. This is like a sickness, the more you don’t treat it, fight it, the worse it gets.”

Luke felt as though he was falling deeper into insanity, but he didn’t want to tell Vienna what was happening. That would just mean more drugs he would have to take, more ways the hospital could mess with his mind. Luke looked at Vienna and in her face saw his dead wife. He quickly looked away.

“Luke, what is it?”

Luke wanted the visions to stop, however, he didn’t want to take the medication. Vienna sighed, as their conversation was going nowhere.

“Luke, it’s time to make a decision. Either we give you the pills you must take, or we force them into you via injection.”

Luke gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. A tear fell down his cheek.

“Why, why are you doing this to me?”

“We are trying to help you-”

“Shut it! Enough with that crap! I’m tired of hearing that stupid phrase.”

“Why? Because it’s true? Because it goes against everything that you want to believe?”

“No, no I want to get better.”

“So you admit you are sick.”

Luke wanted to punch Vienna, break her nose and make her bleed. She was tying him up in this stupid trap of words. Forcing him to come to her reality, and pulling him from his.

“The injection will be painful, and I bet you’ll fight back. It won’t be a good experience. I suggest you just take the pill. You may feel drowsy but that's all. You’ve taken pills before right?”

Luke nodded.

“Luke, please don’t make things any harder than it has to be.”

“You’re the ones making me crazy! You are the cause of my insanity, and now you’re saying it’s my fault. You shoved that corpse against the glass panel! The same corpse that you showed in the photographs. That you say to be my wife. That nurse’s hands were coated in blood, my wife’s blood. I just want you to tell me where you are keeping her, and if you’ve killed her already.”

Luke thought he saw a tear run down Vienna’s cheek.

“What happened? What pulled you down this far? Was it something we did, how could all of our progress just get erased like that?”

Luke took a shaky breath, he was scared, he was scared because her words were sincere. She cared about him, she wanted to help him. Luke recounted his last words, he sounded completely insane. He indeed sounded like an angry, hateful man. A conspirator, people who walk the streets screaming blasphemy. Luke began to cry.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me, Vienna. I don’t know what’s real or not. What’s coming from my head, and what’s reality. I want to get better, but I can’t seem to bring myself to just comply. I can’t just take those pills, I can’t just stop being scared. I’m always feeling dangerous. I don’t want to.”

“You’re sick. Your mind is sick. I hate seeing people sick, seeing people suffer. That’s why this job is so hard. Because sometimes I can’t help them. I can’t stand to lose you. I’ve worked so hard with you, we were friends. I didn’t know it would get this bad, that’s why it’s come to this.”

“There must be some other way.”

“Your sickness will just worsen unless we treat it here and now.”

Luke felt helpless, simply waiting for his doom to come. Nothing was worse than that, knowing something bad was going to happen, and being powerless to stop it. Only, it was just a feeling. Luke had no idea if the pills would really hurt him.

“These pills will hurt me, I know they will.”

“This is just your sickness clouding your thinking. I promise once you start your medication, your mind will clear and you will heal.”

Vienna looked at her watch and stood up. She walked towards the door, “Your pills will be delivered to you shortly. I’m sorry Luke, for all of this, but I promise it will get better soon.” Vienna left. 

Luke wanted to scream, to run, to be free. The moment he had dreaded had come, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The door opened, a nurse walked in holding some pills and a bottle of water. Her hands were gloved.

“Alright, open up.” She opened the bottle of water. Luke’s throat was dry, he wanted water, but didn’t want what came with it. She held up the pill and waited for Luke to open his mouth.

“Please.” 

Luke’s nails dug into his palm. He was so angry and scared. He took a deep breath and slowly opened his mouth. The nurse set the pill on his tongue and then put the bottle of water to his lips. He almost swallowed it, but at the last second spit the pill and water out coughing and crying. 

“I can’t do it, I can’t do it.”

Pattinson immediately entered the room.

“Luke, you can do this.” His voice was kind and warm. “You are so close.”

Luke groaned in agony, he felt as though he was being split in two. He felt as though he was being mentally tortured.

“Luke, look at me.” Luke looked into Pattinsons soft eyes, “I need you to take this pill, ok.” Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It would be better if he didn’t see the dreaded pill. He hesitantly opened his mouth and felt a small pill rest on his tongue. Water flooded into his mouth, but he didn’t swallow. He tried to but couldn’t force himself to do it. The pill started to dissolve, leaving a foul taste in Luke’s mouth.

“Luke you need to swallow. I know this is hard but you can do this.” More tears fell down Luke’s cheek. His body shook, his fists clenched. Using all of his strength, he swallowed the pill.

Eli was standing with a group of soldiers on the edge of a thick forest facing a smoking town. Eli took a deep breath and tightly gripped his gun. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. Screaming filled the small town. The sun was high, scorching their skin. Sweat dribbled down the soldier’s foreheads. Eli looked at his comrades, wondering if this would be the last time he saw them alive. Eli’s captain gave the signal to advance. The soldier charged forwards out of the forest. Adrenalin pumped through Eli’s veins. Quickly they entered the town. Remnants of Eagle squadron were struggling to maintain their turf. Eli and his squadron, Knight squadron, were there to re-enforce them. Eli quickly found cover behind some rubble and returned fire against the enemy. Bullets flew through the air.

Eli looked behind him to see Splinter squadron speeding towards them. It was up to Knight squadron to pave the way forwards for them. Eli pulled a grenade from his belt and threw it at the enemy. The explosion killed a few of the soldiers. Eli watched his captain, preparing for his signal to move forwards. He took a deep breath, continuing to fire in the enemy's direction. 

His captain’s hand raised and then shot down as he screamed, “Forwards!”

Eli and his squadron charged forwards. Eli’s heartbeat radically increased as bullet’s flew towards him. Eli fired at the enemy, paving the way through blood. Grenades flew, killing their victims and causing more damage to the town. A bullet shot through Eli’s leg, causing him to fall to the ground screaming. His blood spilled onto the ground. One of his soldiers helped him to his feet and together hid behind cover. Eli gripped his leg in agony. The other soldier started to help him when a bullet suddenly shot through his face. Eli turned towards the direction of the fire and shot back. The enemy returned the fire but was shot by Eli.

Eli pressed his hand against his wound in an attempt to create pressure. Eli looked to his right to see two of his soldiers hiding behind rubble. He signaled to them for help. They began running towards him. A roar rang out. Eli’s face went pale, he had heard the roar before, in the forest. Fear rushed through him. The two soldiers reached him and began treating his wound.
“Pierce, Pierce are you alright?” One of the soldiers said. Eli grabbed the soldier.

“We need to get out of here now?” Eli frantically responded.

“Pierce, how much blood have you lost?”

“It’s here, it’s coming for us. We have to run!”

Suddenly, a dark brown creature sped past them. The soldiers raised their guns.

“What was that?”

“The hunter.” Eli, with the help of the soldier, stood up. The creature roared again, its terrifying scream spread fear for all those who heard it. The band of  three soldiers began making their way out of the battlefield, with Eli heavily relying on the other soldiers to walk. Screams became louder as the monster quickly killed its helpless victims. Bullets flew towards the three soldiers, killing one of them and nicking Eli in the arm. The other soldier and Eli jumped towards cover before returning fire at the enemy and killing him.

“Come on.” The soldier helped Eli up and they continued their journey out of the ruined town. A cold chill bushed over Eli, he turned his head back to see the creature speeding towards them. Before Eli had a moment to react, the monster had already taken the other soldier. Eli fell to the floor and watched as blood burst from the soldier's body. The monster began feasting on the flesh of its victim. Eli grabbed his gun and began firing at the monster, the bullets  ricocheting off its bony skin. The monster turned towards him and grinned, its teeth dripping with blood. It charged towards him, Eli continued shooting at it, hoping that the bullet’s would penetrate its armor like skin, however, it didn’t. The monster grabbed Eli by his neck. Eli starred as its harrowing face, shaking with fear. The monster squeezed and began choking Eli. Each moment of pain for Eli was a moment of pleasure for the monster. Eli’s vision became distorted and blurry before eventually going black.

When Eli woke up he was in a dimly lit room. His hands were tied up to a pole. Three other prisoners were in the room, their heads in bags. One of which was so small, it must have been a child. There was a table of torture devices on one side of the room, just by looking at them Eli could feel the pain they could inflict. The door to the room burst open and three men walked in, two of them holding machine guns. The two with machine guns walked up beside Eli. The third walked over to the table and picked up a knife, he then walked over to Eli.

“Did you like our friend?”

“I’ve seen it before, what is it?”

“A monster, a hunter. It keeps things in, balance. I can’t let you get the upper hand can I.” The man pressed the tip of the knife against Eli’s forehead, “Now, let’s make you bleed.” The man pressed the knife into Eli’s forehead. Eli winced in pain, making the man smile. Blood dripped out of the small wound

“Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t get why you fight us? Just stay in your golden country and leave us alone. What we do shouldn’t concern you.”

“You were killing innocent people.”

“For the greater good, I hear you people say that all the time when killed. Heck, you killed my men for the greater good didn’t you? My men with families, my men who just wanted to make a better world. Now, let’s begin.”

The man stood up and set the knife back down on the table and pulled a gun off of his belt. He then walked over to one of the other prisoners and yanked the bag off of their face. Eli felt his heart stop when he saw who it was, Silvia. Tears were falling down her face.

“Eli, Eli help me.” The man pushed the gun against the back of her skull, she screamed.

“No, no please no!” Eli struggled against the ropes which resulted in one of the men violently bashing Eli on the head with his gun.

“Say goodbye.”

“Silvia, look at me, I-”

The man pulled the trigger, Eli screamed out as tears fell from his eyes. Silvia’s body went limp as blood gushed from her head.

“It hurts doesn’t it. But we’re not done yet.” The man yanked the bag off of the second prisoner, revealing Eli’s daughter, Lily. Eli looked up at the heavens, as his body shook with anger and fear. Lily screamed and cried as she saw her mother’s dead bloody corpse. She looked at her dad full of fear and anguish.

“Dad, dad don’t let him do this dad please.”

“Why are you doing this!?” Eli screamed.

The man didn’t respond and instead hit Lily hard in the face with his gun and then pressed it against her skull. Lily screamed.

“Lily, Lily look at me. I love you so much-”

The man pulled the trigger, blasting a hole in the back of Lily’s skull and causing her body to go limp. Her blood splattered onto Eli. He felt as if he couldn’t breath, his body couldn’t stop shaking.

“Gone from existence, erased.”

“Why are you hurting me like this?”

The man cocked his head and smiled, “A divine purpose.”

He then walked over to the third prisoner and ripped the bag off their face, revealing Patrick, who was merely eight years of age.

“Patrick, look at me, don’t look anywhere else.”

“Dad, what's going on?” Patrick began to look to his right, where he would see the dead corpses of his mother and sister.

“Patrick, don't look at anything else but me ok.”

The man pressed the gun on the back of Patrick’s head.

“Dad what’s wrong, am I going to die dad?” His voice quivered, full of fear.

“Patrick, you were one of the best things that happened to me.”

“Dad, why are you talking like this.”

“I will never ever forget you-”

The man pulled the trigger once more, instantly killing the boy. Eli screamed out in anger and pain. He felt as if his heart was being crushed. Patrick’s blood quickly pooled on the floor around him.

“He was an innocent boy.” Eli screamed at the man and ripped free from the ropes. He leaped onto the man and began strangling him.

“Why did you kill them, why!” The man hit Eli in the head hard with his gun and then shot him in the chest. Eli rolled onto the floor gasping, blood quickly flowed out of his chest. He started coughing up blood. He then heard banging on the door. The man kneeled down beside Eli.

“No one is going to save you. It’s too late.” The man pressed his finger into the wound, Eli screamed in pain. The man lifted his finger and licked the blood off of it. A fist punched through the door, breaking through it. Eli could see through the hole, it was the blurry faced man.

“Help me.” Eli groaned, his vision became red and blurry before fading into black.

Eli couldn’t breath. His chest was caving in. His head burned like fire. The monstrous roar screamed in his ears. He was falling, rapidly increasing in speed. The wind pounded against his back, and an unearthly fear and dread continued to rise.

When Luke woke up, he was covered in sweat. His body was shaking and he couldn’t control his breathing. He coughed and looked around distressed. He began to calm down and slow down his breathing, taking in deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down. He was now strapped down to a bed, which was much comfier than the slab. Luke’s body felt sluggish and groggy, and his head felt a little foggy. He began to become scared again. What had this medication done to him, was it the cause of the terrible dream, just more torture to put him through? Pattinson walked in holding a clipboard and walked over to Luke.

“Good morning.” He smiled

“What have you done to me!?” 

Pattinson’s smile immediately disappeared, “I thought you’d like being strapped to the bed, I can move you back to the slab.”

“I, I can’t think! I can’t-”

“Really fight, you feel tired and sleepy? Luke these are normal symptoms. Now, it is good that you feel tired and groggy because that means the medication is doing its job, healing you. A lot of your anger and fear were causing you to be in a fight or flight mode, in which case you chose to fight. Now that the medication is helping you see there is no threat, you aren’t in that fight mode, leaving you tired, I mean you’ve been in a constant state of distress since you had your break. You must feel some relief?”

Luke did feel some relief, although he was a bit panicked and scared, it wasn’t overwhelming. There was a sense of peace in his body.

“You said it would just heal me, not make me defenseless.”

“You’re not defenseless, if in danger you will fight back. But this medication is helping your mind heal. It’s a very interesting experience, feeling your mind heal. Being pulled from that broken state. It’s like putting glasses on for the first time, and then seeing the world a whole new way.”

“Maybe you find it interesting being on the other side of it, it feels jarring and unstable for me.”

“This is just the beginning, it’ll get better. What other symptoms are you feeling?”

Luke thought about bringing up his dream. “Does this medication affect dreams?”

“Possibly, it is working on helping your mind and possibly could have some effects on your dreams, would you mind sharing with me your dream?”

Luke had flashes of his dead wife and kids. He remembered the man who killed them. His fists clenched and he shook his head.

“That’s ok. Any more symptoms? Headache, nausea?”

“No. My mind’s just clouded.” Luke felt as if he had to navigate a maze to think, it was tiring.

“Ok, well, we’ll have you take your medication every twenty four hours for a week and see what happens. If you make enough improvement then we will move it to just having to take it every other day.” Pattinson stood up and began to leave. Luke dreaded when he would have to take the pill again.

“Pattinson, how long will it take before I’m better?”

“It depends, it could be a few months, it could be a year. I believe though If you want to be healed, you will, it just takes work.” Pattinson left. This made Luke wonder, how much would he trust the hospital, and how far would he be willing to go to be healed. But although Pattinson said that it was his choice, was it. Or would the hospital just force Luke to cooperate if he refused.

Luke layed strapped to his bed for an hour and a half before the door opened once again. Silvia walked into the room. Her face glowed. Her clothes were white, and her eyes sparkled. She walked towards him.

“Silvia.” Tears started falling down Luke’s cheek. Silvia smiled, her face started to become wet too.

“Come back.” Her hand rested on his.

“I can’t.”

“Please come back.”

“I want to. But everytime I try, it turns into a nightmare. I can’t control it. I can’t control any of it. Whether I’m with you, or here, I can’t control anything. I can’t protect you, I can’t protect myself.”

“Eli, you don’t really believe that do you?” 

Luke looked at her sorrowfully, “They do whatever they want to me.”

“Then fight back.”

“But when I do, they hurt me. Everytime I fight it I just hurt myself.”

“Don’t let them break you Eli, please. I need you to come back. I need you to come back to me. Come back to our family.” Silvia started walking back towards the door.

“Silvia, please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me here.”

“Come back.” The door slammed shut behind her.

“No, please no. I can’t do this alone.” Luke lay there, on the bed, moaning and wailing. He felt as if his soul was being split in two. Badly wanting to go back to his fantasy, but also seeing that things couldn’t go back to the way they were.

Luke felt numb, empty. He couldn’t handle it, it was too much pain. His heart ached, he felt out of control. He was moving forwards, but he didn’t want to. He was strapped in a car that he didn’t want to be in. He was in a life that he didn’t want to live. He was spiraling down to insanity, or was he actually coming out of it? Was he really just confused? It seemed as though he was being pulled from the shadows, into the light, into sanity. Maybe he had had a mental breakdown. Maybe he had killed his wife. The very thought shook Luke to his core. No, no he would never kill her, but then again, he didn’t kill her. He killed Crystal. It could be possible, that he had really woken up from a dream, that Lily and Silvia and Patrick were simply his imagination, trying to create a pleasant life for him to escape in. Part of him however didn’t believe it. He wasn’t an imaginative person, or at least, Eli wasn’t. He was Luke, right? Luke began to wonder if he had some sort of split personality. Maybe Eli was his counterpart, the other side of him. Luke’s head began to ache, his soul was quivering. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. It was too much. Luke was thrown into the terrible feeling of the unknown. Luke wanted answers, but he didn’t know who to ask, or who would give him actual answers, he already knew what the hospital people would tell him. He wondered for a second, if he could trust Vienna enough to ask her. But, no, he couldn’t fully trust her with these sorts of things. Not until he fully knew if he was mad, or sane.

The lifeless silence enveloping the room was disrupted when the door opened. Pattinson walked in.

“I have breakfast.” Pattinson set it down and then pulled a key out of his white coat. He unlocked the straps holding Luke down. Luke sighed in relief and stretched.

“Now Luke, I want to keep these off of you.” Luke chuckled, he didn’t believe it at all. The doctor really didn’t care if he was bound to the bed or not. It didn’t affect Pattinson in any way, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Now I understand that this is a big change for you, the medication is going to help you, and you’re going to start to feel different, in a good way.”

Luke almost scoffed, because right now he felt like crap, “Good, I’m glad it seems as though things are going in the right direction.” Pattinson knew Luke was lying, he sat down next to him.

“Luke, I know you don’t fully trust anyone right now, that is just a part of your mental break procedure. You were also angry. That is just how your body decided to act along with your breakdown. But I promise, as horrible as it seems now it will get better. You’ll learn to feel happy again, to trust people. You’ll have physical and mental peace again.”

Luke longed for this, for peace. He just wanted to rest, to know that things were going to be ok. But he didn’t, and it was tormenting him. 

Pattinson handed him his breakfast and then handed him a cup with three pills inside. One was gray, the other more pinkish. The last was the blue one, the one that would hopefully stop his hallucinations and help him get better. Pattinson handed him a glass of water. When Luke looked in the reflection, he didn’t see himself, but he saw Silvia. He shook the water disrupting it, some of the water splashed onto the floor.

“Luke what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Luke took a deep breath and quickly gulped down his pills.

“Luke, I’m here to help you-”

“Shut up!” Luke shouted. “I’m fighting for my sanity Pattinson, you have no idea what you all have put me through. So shut up with that condescending tone.”

Pattinson looked down and nodded. He clicked his tongue and stood up, walking towards the door.

“Eat quickly, your meeting with your therapist soon, maybe you can make some progress with her.” Pattinson’s back was turned as he said this. His tone was cold. He quickly left. Luke’s nails dug into his skin. His anger started to fade as sorrow and fear overwhelmed him. He pulled on his hair. He let out a good, loud scream and fell onto his bed panting. He began pushing his feelings down, and felt some relief as emotional numbness began to settle in.

When Luke looked up he was in the small room with the glass panel. Vienna was looking at him, worried.

“Luke, Luke?”

Luke made eye contact with her and groaned, the numbness was fading.

“Sorry, I slipped away for a second.”

“No you didn’t, you checked out. Something overwhelming you, what is it?”

Luke began taking deep breaths, his emotions just wanted to burst out, but he wouldn’t let them. He tried to numb himself again but failed.

“I, I can’t talk about it.”

“Luke, it’s not healthy to keep this inside you.”

“Forcing me to take drugs is also unhealthy.” Luke began to laugh but his laugh quickly faded as he saw Lily standing behind Vienna. Blood dripped down from the large hole in her head. Luke began to tremble and cry.

“Luke, Luke what’s wrong.”

“It’s Eli!” He shouted back at her. He was taking short quick breaths, he closed his eyes.

“I need more pills.”

“Luke we can’t give you anymore pills”

Luke opened his eyes and looked at her angrily.

“I need more pills.”

“Luke if you talk to me-”

“No, no I can’t.” Luke felt as though his heart was going to collapse. His feelings began to fade as the numbness began to return.

“Luke, Luke please don’t go. Luke, if you want relief we need to talk about this. Luke!”

Her voice began to fade as well, his eyes settled on a corner of the room and his muscles relaxed. He was almost there, he could feel his mind checking out. But it all stopped. He couldn’t make it, he was so close, but his body wouldn’t commit. He looked back at Silvia, he felt dead on the inside. More tears fell down his cheek.

“Lost.” Luke croaked, “I’m so lost.”

His emotions burst out, he couldn’t stop the tears. Silvia was saying something to him, but he couldn’t make it out. All he could see was his family, Silvia, Lily, Patrick, Marshal, Mickey, all of them fading out of existence. One thought penetrated his mind as he saw them slipping away. They were fading away because they weren't real. Because they were a dream. He looked up at Silvia, his heart felt lighter. Lily had disappeared. His mouth was open, he had clearly said something while he was in his vision.

“Luke, I had no idea.”

Luke took a big shaky breath.

“I’m very mentaly ill, clearly. But I’m still a person, a person who has feelings, nightmares, hopes. But you don’t see that. You just see a thing that needs to be fixed.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Enough of that. You got what you wanted, I've opened up. What next?”

“Luke, I think it would be good if you took some classes we have here. They will help calm and heal your mind.”

Luke nodded while avoiding eye contact.

“Luke, your doctor said you were worried about the pill affecting your dreams. Dreams are usually linked with our feelings and as you have shown me, you are having a lot of them right now. Would you like to discuss it?”

Luke took a deep breath, he could hear the monster’s roar. He didn’t want to discuss his latest dream, not just because he didn’t fully trust her, but because he didn’t want to remember the horridness of the nightmare. But, possibly, it would help. He wouldn’t tell her everything, just the basics of the dream.

“I was a soldier, I was attacked by a…” Luke closed his eyes, he could feel the fear and dread the monster had brought him, “Creature. It killed my comrades and then I was captured.” Luke pondered telling her about the murder of his dream family, but decided to leave it out, “I was then tortured and killed.” Luke remembered the blurry faced man banging on the door trying to rescue him.

“You were a soldier, fighting in a war?”

“No, some terrorists had control of a town. We were trying to free the residents.”

“Well, while you're here, you feel unsettled. Pattinson said that you felt that you're fighting a war in your mind. The monster could be that ill part of your mind.

“Or it could be you.”

Silvia looked down and nodded.

“It could very well be us. As you have shown today, you see us as your enemy.”

Luke sighed, his head bowed down.

“It’s so stupid. So so stupid.”

“What is?”

“My mind. I can’t tell what part of me is sick and what is ok. What thoughts are distorted or clear. I mean, I think of you all as my enemy? It is so unbelievable yet with all my heart, deep inside I think it’s true.”

“It’s going to clear up-”

“Can’t you just stop, stop saying it’s going to get better!” Luke looked up at her angrily, “I’m in pain right now, I don’t need you to say it’s all going to be alright! Right now it’s not!”

The room was quiet for a period. Finally, Vienna had the guts to break the silence, “Have you had any other strange dreams?”

Luke glared at her, “No.” This was a lie. Luke remembered his farm, the disappearance of his family, the odd scream inside his home. The other dream with the voices, the tunnel, the blurry faced man, and the metal car.

“Luke, please be truthful.”

“Haven’t I shared enough?”

“Luke, I understand-”

“Ha, you understand! You understand having your mind warped! Having people tell you about a life you don’t remember ever having! Being locked up in a room, chained to a bed, forced to take medication! Have horrible hallucinations, see your family killed before your eyes.”

Vienna pulled out her notebook and jotted something down, Luke realized what he had just said, he had let out too much.

Luke, you never told me you saw your family die. Which one? Fake or real?”

Luke didn’t answer, it was a trick question. He didn’t want to say fake because they weren’t fake, or, at least part of Luke didn’t believe that they were.

“Luke, fake or real?”

“Real.”

Vienna looked up from her notebook with a look on her face.

“Luke, was it Silvia who was killed?”

Luke looked away.

“Then you lied. You didn’t see your real family die, did you?”

Luke clenched his fists, she was invading his head, this was a trick. Trying to get him to accept reality.

“You saw Silvia, your dream wife, die. Luke, please repeat this back to me.”

Luke still wouldn’t respond. He clenched his jaw.

“Luke, this will only help you get better. You saw your fake-”

“NO!”

Luke snapped.

“She is not fake, she is not a dream!”

“Yet you have only seen her in your dreams.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“When you had your break, you thought you were an old man, on his deathbed. But, we all know you're not an old man. You can’t believe that that was real, that that wasn’t a dream. We couldn’t de-age you to this extent, or block memories. You can’t believe that that dream was real, can you?”

Luke felt sick. He made eye contact and glared at her angrily.

“You can be angry all you want, but you do realize that what I’m saying is sound.”

They sat in an awkward uncomfortable silence. Luke could tell the guard behind him was uncomfortable, Luke enjoyed this, however his face remained stone cold. Vienna looked up at the guard and made a gesture with her hand. Luke closed his eyes and relaxed his body, he barely felt the needle penetrate his skin.

Eli was still, not a muscle moved. His heart wasn’t beating, he wasn’t breathing, nothing in his body moved, everything was completely still. The only thing he could feel was the drug slithering through his body, like a thick paint. It was an odd sensation. He wasn’t tense, the drug actually was quite calming. Luke was relaxed, and it was a nice escape from the horrible session with his therapist.

When Luke woke up he was back in his room. His body felt a little groggy from the drug, but it seemed as though his body was becoming better at receiving it. He tried to stretch his arms out but found a cold pair of cuffs binding them together. Luke banged his fists against the wall angrily. The door to his room opened and in walked Dr. Pattinson. Luke held up his wrists.

“Why?”

Pattinson sighed, “Ms. Valentine said you were becoming unstable.”

Luke laughed angrily, “She was asking for it.”

Pattinson sat down next to Luke, “What happened?”

“What, now you're all nice, what is this good cop bad cop?”

“She told me this morning that she was going to be touching some sensitive subjects. She knew today would be rough but it’s all for the best.”

Luke looked away from him.

“Defending her, yep, ‘she’s just doing what’s best for you’.”

“You know she brought up some good topics though, she wasn’t wrong in what she said. I know it’s hard to accept the truth, especially when it’s hard truth-”

“Why are you here?” Luke interrupted. Pattinson reached into his white coat and pulled a white pamphlet.

“This has the classes you can take here to help relax and heal you.”

Pattinson handed the pamphlet to Luke who wouldn’t take it. Pattinson set the pamphlet on the bed and stood up. He patted Luke on the shoulder.

“It’s gonna get better.” Pattinson walked towards the door.

“Or it won’t.” Luke gave a frustrated smile. Pattinson shook his head and left. 

Luke rested his head against the wall behind him, he took a deep breath closing his eyes. He felt emotionally drained, his spirit was low, his heart was angry. He opened his eyes and looked down at the pamphlet. He chuckled at the happy faces on the cover of it. It was all a show, hiding the true horrors that actually went on. He could hear Pattinson telling him how happy these classes make people. He picked up the pamphlet and ripped the front page off, crumpled it up, and threw it, not well of course as his wrists were cuffed together. It bounced onto the floor and rested near a wall. Luke began flipping through the pages of the pamphlet. He had nothing else to do, and although he didn’t want to take the classes, they might be better than just sitting in his room angry and depressed. Luke heard creaking around his room, along with heavy breathing. It was the monster, Luke knew it was. It seemed to be crawling around the outside of his room, waiting to attack him. Luke took a deep breath and tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t shake the horror it brought him. The sense of unearthly dread.

Night came, but Luke couldn’t sleep. The monster continued to crawl around the outside of his room sending shivers down Luke’s spine. No matter how much he told himself it was just a hallucination, he couldn’t shake the fear it brought him. The darkness engulfing Luke didn’t help either. Luke jumped out of his bed and rushed to the door and banged on it. A few seconds later it opened and a young nurse stood in the doorway.

“It’s time for bed Mr. Trinity.”

“I know, I just-”

Suddenly the monster banged on the ceiling making Luke jump.

“I need pills, I need my medication.”

The nurse nodded and closed the door. The monster growled and scraped against the outside wall. Luke cupped his hands over his ears, but the sound still got through. The door opened once more and this time Pattinson was in the doorway. Once he saw the condition Luke was in he quickly ran outside the room and turned on the light. He rushed back into the room.

“Luke, Luke what’s going on?”

“Just more hallucinations. I need more medication.”

“Luke I can’t give you anymore for today, I can give you some anti anxiety medication and some to help you sleep but that’s all. What's the hallucination this time?”

The monster growled some more, Luke squeezed his eyes shut trying to force it out of his mind, trying to force himself to stop the hallucinations, but he failed.

“A...a creature. It’s… it’s climbing around the outside of the room.” Luke took deep breaths trying to calm himself down.

“Luke, it’s not real, this is all in your head. I’m going to get you some anxiety and sleep medication ok, will leaving the lights on help?”

Luke nodded and sat down on his bed. Pattinson left and returned with a cup of pills and water. Luke gulped down the pills without a second thought. 

“Keep taking deep breaths, it’s all in your head it’s not real.”

Luke’s fear began to settle down, his heart rate slowed.

“There we go, it’s ok.” 

The wave of fear had finished, however the monster continued to crawl around the outside of the room, but Luke wasn’t as afraid of it as he was a few minutes ago. Pattinson stood up and patted Luke on the back.

“If you need me again just call for me or knock on the door for a nurse.” Pattinson began to leave, “Would you like us to leave the lights on?”

Luke nodded. Pattinson left and closed the door behind him. Luke laid on his back on the bed, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. In that moment, he was actually thankful for Pattinson, however cold things may have seemed earlier, in that moment it had seemed that Pattinson genuinely cared for Luke. This felt good, having someone deeply care for him, to want what’s best for him. Although Pattinson hadn’t always shown that, in that quick moment he had, and it made Luke wonder, if possibly he was really sick, and Pattinson was just trying to help.

The sun sat on the vast horizon before him. Eli smiled as he saw his kids run and play. The green was lush and glistening, the trees swayed in the wind, the air was cool and rich. It was a perfect evening. Silvia walked up and sat in the rocking chair next to him. She smiled and held his hand in hers. Her skin was soft and smooth, it brought warmth to his more rough hand.

“It really is a beautiful sunset.” She smiled.

“I told you it would be worth it living out here.”

The skyline was streaked with orange, and the sky began to fade into a dark blue. Eli took a deep breath of the fresh, clean air. He was happy, he was calm. He stood up from his chair, slipped off his shoes and began to walk on the grass towards the kids. He waved to them, smiling.

Patrick walked up to him holding up his scrambled rubix cube.

“Come on dad, It’s not that hard, come on at least try and solve it.” He said, handing Eli the rubix cube.

“Patrick, it's just too hard.” Eli began randomly mixing it up.

“No dad, no you’re not doing it right.” Patrick quickly took the cube back.

“I just can’t do it.” Eli smiled while shaking his head.

“Whatever” Patrick rushed off towards the field.

Eli saw Lily was helping Pearl pick out some flowers. Eli squated next to them.

“Whatcha guys doing over here?”

Pearl spun around full of excitement and held a handful of colorful flowers up to Eli, “Daddy! Look, look what me and Lily found! Aren’t they beautiful, I’m gonna give them to mommy.”

“Oh wow, they are so pretty.”

Lily smiled at Pearl’s fun excitement, “She insisted that we find every color of flower.”

“Especially purple because that’s mommy’s favorite!”

“Oh Mommy is going to love this.” Eli tightly hugged Pearl and Lily who then started walking up to the house to show the flowers to Silvia. Patrick nervously ran up to Eli and tugged on his arm. Eli kneeled down to eye level with him.

“What is it bud?”

“Dad, there is a stranger out in the field.”

Eli’s face became serious, “A stranger?”

“Yah he’s just standing in the field, he’s scaring me dad.” Patrick looked over to into the cornfield, Eli stood up.

“Go to the house I’ll see who it is ok.”

“Ok, be careful dad.” Patrick ran back to the house. Eli cautiously began walking towards the corn field. The wind had completely stopped, all the critters and critters held their breath, everything was silent. It was an eerie mood, far different from what it was a minute ago.

“Hello!?” 

No response. 

“Hello, is anyone there?” 

Still no response. Eli entered the corn field, brushing past the corn stocks. He went deeper into the field, the suspense grew, something else was in there with him. He slowly looked around himself, he could sense the other being, but couldn’t see it.

“Hello!?” Eli heard some of the corn stocks move, he quickly rushed in the direction of the sound. Suddenly it stopped, so did Eli. He listened for the unknown trespasser to make another sound, but it didn’t.

“Who are you?” Eli heard the stocks move again, up ahead he saw something coming towards him. He braced himself, it was getting closer, and closer. His skin felt cold, his spin tingled. The thing pushed through the stocks and rested its cold, pale white hand on Eli’s shoulder. It was the blurry faced man.

“You.”

The blurry faced man didn’t say a word, all it did was hand Eli a loaded gun and then pointed towards the house.

“Why?”

The blurry faced man didn’t move, only continued pointing towards the house. Eli pushed through the stocks and exited the corn field. He began making his way towards the house. The sky was now lit red, the grass was dead and crunched under Eli’s feet. Eli turned back to see the blurry faced man was gone, and his corn field was quickly withering away. Eli stepped onto the porch of his house when suddenly an awful screeching rang out. The screech brought terror and dread into Eli’s heart. He fell to his knees and covered his ears, dropping the gun. When the screeching stopped Eli found his ears were bleeding. He looked up to see the blurry faced man standing in front of him, his hand outstretched. Eli grabbed it and the blurry faced man helped him to his feet. Eli’s ears wailed in pain as blood dripped down the sides of his face. He picked up his gun and reached for the door handle but stopped, afraid of what he might find inside. The blurry faced man nodded to him, and Eli took a deep breath. He gripped the door handle and slowly turned it. He pushed the door open to find the house empty. He cautiously walked in.

“Silvia, Patrick, Lily, you in here?”

There was no response, only dead silence. Eli walked into the kitchen, gun in front of him to find his kitchen a mess. Dishes had been thrown on the floor and broken, cabinets ripped from the walls, something had been here. He turned around to find the blurry faced man was gone once again. Suddenly the screeching returned. Eli fell to his knees and once again dropped his gun. When he looked up he found a shaking black figure with smoking red eyes staring at him. It stretched out its claw like hands and lunged towards him.

Luke’s eyes flashed open and he shot up, breathing heavily. He began taking deep breaths trying to calm his heart down. The memory of the dream began to slip away except for bits and fragments of it. Luke rubbed his head and tried to retain the pictures of his wife and kids, though they came out a little distorted. He found a tray of food and pills at the side of his bed. He picked up the bottle of pills and hesitantly took them, feeling some relief afterwards. He began eating a little and then saw the pamphlet for the classes lying against a wall. He picked it up and flipped through it once more, reviewing the classes he was considering taking. Painting piqued his interest, as he liked to draw, or, possibly did. One caught his eye that seemed to help with dreams. A few minutes after Luke had finished breakfast Pattinson walked in.

“Good morning Luke, how did you sleep? Did the medicine help?”

“Oh yes.”
“Any bad dreams?”

“Uh, mixed. A paradise in a nightmare.”

“Yes, I get those often. Well, I’m glad the medicine helped, I’m sorry for the mental attack last night. I promise that these next few days you will experience change and will feel better.”

Luke nodded, it sounded genuine, less annoying than before. Maybe it really was just his mind distorting things, but Luke still kept some of his guard up.

“So I see you’ve been looking at some of our classes, do any of them stand out to you?”

“Yah, a little. This watercolor one seems interesting, and, what’s this one about dreams?”

“Ah, this one is more about healing the mind. You’ll go through some exercises and meditations, it’s quite soothing. It can also help improve your dreams. I can sign you up for them today. I can sign you up for tomorrow's session, would you like that?”

“Yes, I’ll try them.”

Pattinson smiled and patted Luke on the back, “I’m proud of you Luke. You got through last night, you're facing this nightmare head on. Things will get back to normal soon.”

Luke gave a small smile and nodded. Pattinson stood up, grabbed the empty food tray and left. Luke closed his eyes and tried to picture Silvia, but couldn’t accurately replicate her warm smile. A wave of sadness washed over him and he shook the image out of his head. Although part of him believed he was sick, he also couldn’t imagine her being fake. But, in  the dreams things felt real, and since he was unable to replicate her, or remember most of the dream, it did lead him to believe that possibly she was always a dream. He shook his head and decided he wouldn’t make any firm decisions yet. He would wait till he took the meditation class, maybe if the teacher seemed trustworthy, see if she could help him with his dreams, maybe discover if they are moments from a past experience that he’s remembering through his dreams? In which case, they were real, and he didn’t kill his wife.

Luke lied in bed, preparing himself for tonight's dreams, and what they would bring. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and felt himself falling deep into his own consciousness.

Flat. Everything was flat. Everything was white. He was wearing a white jumpsuit, identical to the one he would wear in the mental hospital. The sky was gray, everything was creepily quiet.

“Hello!?”

His words echoed through the odd landscape.

“Hello!?”

He began walking forwards. The floor was smooth and cool. Not slippery, but not too stiff either. The essence ws breathless, the air felt cold and thin. After what felt like an hour of walking he stopped. There was nothing. It was as if he hadn’t moved at all.

“Hello!?”

Still, his words simply echoed through the vast empty landscape. He fell to his knees. He pounded his fists on the ground. Every hit shaking his new world. Suddenly he fell through, smashing onto a cold hard cement floor. He looked up, the ceiling was transparent. The air was cold, and felt like daggers to his lungs. Ahead of him was a hallway, at the end a desk. The blurry faced man was there, waiting for him.

On either side of the wallway were large cages. Eli began making his way down the hallway when a large claw slashed at the cage. What Eli saw horrified him. The large leathery beast that had tormented Eli that night. Each cage had this creature. Each with bloodthirsty eyes, and open jaws, eager to viciously make Eli bleed from every pore. The monsters growled and howled, Eli flinching at every roar. 

He reached the blurry faced man. On the desk were scattered files and books. One thing that stood out to Eli was a scrambled rubix cube lying on the corner of the desk. He had seen it before. It was Patrick’s.

The blurry faced man said something, but his voice was muffled. He held out his hand. Cautiously, Eli shook it. The blurry faced man’s hand had no feeling, it was as if Eli was gripping thin air. The blurry faced man pointed down the hallway of cages. Eli then noticed the roaring from the monsters had stopped. Now in the cages were cowering humans, naked and afraid, shivering. 

“What does this mean?” Eli asked.

The blurry faced man said something, but again his voice was too muffled to understand the words coming from his mouth.

“I can’t understand you.”

The blurry faced man shook his head. Suddenly, a dark presence entered the atmosphere. The people in the cages began screaming. Suddenly, a knife burst through the blurry faced man’s chest. He cried out in pain, and then fell to the floor. A shifting black figure stood behind him, gripping a bloody knife. Its eyes glowed red. It screeched and shot forwards at Eli with unearthly speed. Eli barely dodged the monster, with the knife skimming his side. The being fazed through the iron bars of one of the cages, and began slaughtering the man inside it. Eli rushed towards the desk and began searching through it for a weapon. The humans inside the cages continued to cry and scream as the black figure mercilessly murdered them.

Eli began searching The Blurry faced man’s body for a gun or a weapon, but just like the desk, found nothing. When he turned, the black figure was inches from him. It howled at him, knocking him backwards into the desk. He laid on the floor, his back in pain. His head began to feel light, as everything around him began fading to white. The black figure sped towards him, screeching. He then felt the cold tip of the blade pierce his chest.

He shot up from his bed gasping and coughing, clutching his chest. He fell onto the ground, his blood dripping onto the white floor. His chest screamed in pain. He looked down to see blood dripping from his chest. He could still feel the blade from the creature. He got to his feet and banged on the door, shouting for help. The door opened and he rushed out of the room. The halls were empty. He rushed down the hall, searching for someone who could help him. The further he went, the weaker he became. More blood began dripping out of the wound. He fell to his knees, crying for help, but no one came. He fell to the floor, and everything began fading to black. He began to hear a voice. It was the same voice he had talked to, in his room, in the dark. The one of many voices.

“You will see. Time. You will see.” 

“I can’t see you, show yourself!” Eli shouted in the darkness.

“You will see…”

Suddenly the darkness dissipated and all that was left was white. 

He was back in his room, lying on his bed, alone. He looked at his chest to find the wound gone. A tray was lying on the floor with his breakfast and pills. He took his pills without a second thought and speedily ate his breakfast. A nurse came in to take the tray and left. After her came two guards, one holding the needle as always.

“Hey, hey can I speak to Pattinson. Please.”

The guards approached him, Luke nervously backed up against the wall, hands raised.

“Please, please I just need to ask him something, you can chain me up, I won’t touch him.”

One of the guards swiftly grabbed his wrists and shoved them behind his back.

“Stop, stop I just need-” The needle pierced his skin. He could feel his muscles relaxing, he fell to the floor. As his eyes closed, and everything faded to black, he swore he could see a small bloodstain on the white padded floor beside him.

Luke’s eyes slowly opened. His wrists chained to the chair as usual. Vienna sat in the chair behind the class as usual, waiting for him to wake up.

“How long do you stare at me while I’m asleep.”

“I just arrived, and I don’t stare.” She smiled.

“Why don’t you have them wake me up?”

“That would be futile.”

“Too strong a drug? Then surely it can’t be safe for it to be pulsing through my bloodstream every day.”

“I assure you it’s safe.”

“Why can’t they just walk me here? I won’t fight back. Just anything else but that drug.”

“It’s protocol.”

“Doesn’t make it right.”

Vienna frowned, “Once you become more stable.”

The two sat in silence for a moment.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” Vienna spoke softly, “I’m going too fast. This isn’t easy, and it won’t be. But, it is a lot to take in. And… you don’t trust me, and I shouldn’t expect you to, right after what happened. It’s as if you were thrown into a whole new world. I can’t imagine what that must be like.”

Luke avoided eye contact. It scared him, there was no lie in her voice, no sense of deception.

“Today, I just want to become your friend. We can talk about anything.” Vienna put her notebook inside her briefcase, and sat back in her chair. At first, the two sat in silence for a while, but eventually Luke said something.

“I don’t like this. Any of it. And I know I’ve been cold, to both you and Pattinson. It’s just… everything I held dear, shattered in an instant. It felt so real, and echoes of it keep haunting me. You all keep telling me to just let go but… from my perspective that’s all I knew. I had a wife and kids, and a wonderful house.” Suddenly, flashbacks of the farmhouse and the black creature rung through Luke’s mind. A shiver went down his spine.

“Are you alright Luke?”

Luke took a deep breath, and shook away the thought. “It feels real. I just don’t see how I can let go of that. And come into this… this nightmare of a reality.”

“Maybe… maybe we need to stop seeing it as letting go. That world… that world was created as a coping mechanism. It brought you comfort, and joy since you were receiving none from your real life.” Vienna could see she was losing Luke. “Maybe don’t see it as letting go. You don’t have to let go of them. First off, just start trying to… accept, and trust this reality. Ease into it, slowly. But don’t let go of that other life just yet.”

Luke nodded. The two sat in silence for a moment.

“Can I go outside?”

“Pardon?”

“All I’ve seen is this room and my cell. No doubt it would help me accept this reality. All I’ve seen is the white walls of my cell, and the black ones of this room. But, seeing the color of the sky, and the greenness of the trees would help… would help ground me.”

Vienna nodded, thinking. “I’ll talk to Dr. Pattinson. Depending on your behavior, and progress, he may allow you to walk the grounds with security.”

“Thank you.”

“I heard you are taking a class here.”

Luke nodded, “Yes, Pattinson said it would help. After all, I have a lot of time on my hands.”

“Good. Good. We have great teachers here. They will help. What class are you taking?”

“A meditation class, I believe.” But mainly, Luke wanted to learn more about his dreams.

“Ahh, Ms. Drew teaches that class. She’s nice. It also focuses on building up the mind, and I’ve heard it has some things to do with… dreams.”

Luke nodded, “Yes, I think I read something like that on the pamphlet.”

“Pattinson told me, you’ve been having some… odd dreams. Would you be comfortable discussing them?”

“They’re nothing really, more confusing than anything. Like some artistic film.”

“I see.” Vienna nodded, “Well I hope you learn what you can from the class. And feel free to join the many others offered here.”

Luke heard the door behind him open, he looked at Vienna, pleadingly.

“Please, can they not just take me to my room?” 

Vienna looked at one of the guards, who shook his head while pulling out a needle.

“I’ll talk to Pattinson, but rules are rules. I’ll see you next session.” She picked up her briefcase and left. Luke stared at the floor, as he felt the tip of the needle piece his skin.

“Where is it, where is it!” A voice shouted. Eli tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t. The voices were near. It was different than the many chanting the same thing he had heard earlier.

“Hello, can someone open my eyes?” Eli pleaded, “I can’t see.”

Eli tried to move, but couldn’t. His body seemed to be asleep.

“Where is it?” The voice shouted again.

“Hello, hello somebody? Please, help me…”

Suddenly, Eli heard gunfire.

Air flooded into Luke’s lungs as his eyes shot open. He was once more in his room, lying on his bed, alone. He could still feel a remnant of the drug slithering through his veins. He rubbed his eyes, and shook his head. He could still hear the voice.

A few moments later a nurse came in with a tray. On it was Luke’s usual lunch with his pills. After finishing his meal, Pattinson entered the room.

“Good afternoon Luke. How was the meeting with Ms. Valentine?”

“Good. Did she talk to you about, going outside?”

Pattinson sighed, “Yes. Luke. You’re getting better, but I simply cannot let you roam the grounds right now.”

“I wouldn't be roaming around. I would have supervision. Heck, you could chain my wrists and ankles just… let me see the sky, the grass. All I know right now is this room. This blasted white room. It can’t be healthy… not emotionally anyway. Please, just one time.”

“Luke, it’s policy.”

“You and your policies. It’s also a policy I’m injected with drugs every time I’m moved anywhere. It’s dehumanizing. I promise, I won’t struggle or fight back. Please just, at least talk to the people who make the policy, have him meet me so I can prove myself.”

Pattinson stared at the wall, and then returned his gaze to Luke. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“I’m here to help you Luke, remember that. Now, you have a class in about an hour. I’ll have some guards come in to take you to it.”

“Take me to it?”

“They’ll inject you, as usual.”

“Is there any way we can, not have me drugged?”

“For this lesson no. But I’ll see if in the future we can avoid that. But that also depends on your mental state. If you can continue to improve, that will make it more likely for you to go outside, not be drugged, and eventually, your release.”

Luke nodded.

“How are you doing, mentally speaking?” Pattinson pulled out a notepad with a piece of paper.

“Better.”

“Any hallucinations.”

Luke shook his head, “No.”

“How are your dreams?”

Luke thought about how to answer, “Strange.”

“This class you're taking will help with these dreams. Especially in this state, I would expect your dreams to be everything but normal. It will get better soon, I promise.”

Pattinson smiled, and left the room. Luke could still picture the blurry faced man in his head. As well as the monsters. What could they mean? And why did they keep recurring in his dreams? Luke tried to remember his wife and kids from the farm, but they were blurred and faded. It was funny, the things he wanted to picture and hold on to left him, but the things he wanted to forget stuck with him. He began to think of the voices he had heard. You will see. It came from many voices, which may have belonged to many souls. What did they mean? And why were they speaking to him? He could still hear it whispering in his ear, Time, you will see.

Suddenly the door to his room opened. It couldn’t have been an hour, could it? The guards approached him and swifty cuffed his wrists.

“What difference does it make if I’m cuffed?” Luke mumbled as he felt the needle enter his neck, and inject the thick liquid. He didn’t fight it. His eyes quickly shut, and his muscles speedily went numb.

When he awoke, he was in a room. He was sitting criss cross, his wrists still cuffed. His headache. He rubbed it, and found it was bleeding. A woman, presumably the teacher, rushed over to him.

“Oh dear you’re bleeding? How did this happen?” She grabbed a cloth and dabbed his wound. Luke glared at the guards standing next to the door.

“Must’ve bumped into a wall.”

The woman put a band-aid over his head. Luke looked around the room to find four other patients sitting beside him forming a circle. One was male, three were female. The teacher wore a badge on her white shirt saying M. Drew. She was silently scrolling through her computer at her desk in a corner of the room. The room was unsurprisingly white. The other patients wore the same white jumpsuit he did. Two were quietly talking to one another, the other two had chosen a spot on the wall or floor to unblinkingly stare at. Just by looking at them, Luke knew there was something wrong with each one.

M. Drew closed her computer and walked over to the group, smiling.

“Good afternoon. My name is Maria Drew. I am the teacher here.” Her voice was warm and soothing, “This class is going to help you all heal your mind through meditations. It will also help calm your spirit and body. First, let’s get to know each other. Simply state your name, and something you like to do. Let’s start with you.”

Ms. Drew gestured to a woman. Luke could see her fingers fidgeting, she continued to stare at the floor.

“Nevea.”

“Would you like to tell us something you like to do?”

Nevea didn’t answer.

“That’s alright. How about you?” Ms. Drew pointed to the man sitting next to Nevea, who looked around at the group. Luke could see he was nervous. The man took a deep breath.

“Paul. I… chess. I like chess.” The man said.

“Very good Paul.” Ms. Drew looked at the next person. It was a woman, one of the ones who had been talking. She was smiling.

“Heather. I like…” her smile began to disappear. “I can’t remember.”

The woman next to her whispered something into her ear, and her smile returned.

“I like drawing.”

“Wonderful Heather. And you?”

The woman next to Heather looked around at the group. When her eyes met Luke’s, his blood went cold.

“Silvia.”

“Silvia?” Luke gasped. Tears began to run down his cheeks, “Silvia, it’s me, it’s me Eli.”

“Eli?” A smile crept upon her face.

Luke then heard a muffled voice. He turned to see the blurry faced man standing in a corner of the room. His heart fell. When he looked back, he no longer saw Silvia. A different woman, who nervously looked at him.

“Sorry… I…” Luke frustratedly chuckled, “My minds all messed up.”

“Lydia, what do you like doing?”

“I like walking.” The woman said, staring at the teacher.

“Just walking?”

“Yea. It’s relaxing.”

“Very good. And you said your name’s Eli?” Ms. Drew looked at Luke. A guard walked over to Ms. Drew and whispered something into her ear.

“Oh, I see.” She replied, “What is your name?” She asked Luke.

“It’s… It’s Luke.” The words seemed to hurt Luke to his core. But, a sense of relief did wash over him. If he wanted to accept this reality, he had to first accept his name.

“Luke.” Ms Drew smiled, “And what do you enjoy doing?”

“Well. I um… I don’t actually know.” Luke glanced over at the guard, “I apparently have forgotten everything, real. But, I like the beach. Well, I like the ocean, and least think I do.” Images of Luke sitting on a boat with Silvia warmed his mind. However, though they seemed like memories, they felt more as simple fantasies, or the afterlife of dreams. He looked around at the group. Luke actually began to believe he was crazy, that he was just like the other’s huddled in the circle.

“Wonderful.” Ms. Drew walked into the center of the circle, and sat down. “We will begin with a meditation. Everyone ready?”

The group nodded.

“Alright, let’s begin then. Everyone close their eyes.”

The other’s closed their eyes, but Luke hesitated.

“Luke, for our meditation you must close your eyes.” Ms. Drew said.

“I’m afraid of what I’ll see if I do.”

“It’s ok to be afraid. It’s what we do when we are that counts. If you want to heal, you have to see the wound. You must face it, or it will continue to grow.”

Luke took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes, ready to face the nightmares waiting for him.

Luke’s eyelids shut, and he was enclosed in darkness.

“Alright everyone. I want you all to take a deep breath. Breathe in deep through your nose, and out through your mouth.” Ms. Drew softly said. The group in unison took a deep breath.

“Good, now we’ll repeat this three more times. Now, when you breathe out, imagine you are blowing out a set of candles.” The group breathed in deep through their nose, and out through their mouth three more times.

“Now take one last deep breath through your nose and hold it. Imagine you are breathing in a clear bubble. What color is the bubble?” 

Luke could clearly see the bubble in front of him. It was red. A blood red. He didn’t want to breathe it in, but asas, he did. It entered through his nose, he could feel it inside his skull.

“Now breathe out through your nose, and imagine the bubble slipping down from your head, down into your chest.”

Luke could hear the relaxation in the group's voice, he however felt tense. It was lying near his heart. Sitting there.

“Take a deep breath through your nose, imagine the bubble expanding, and soothing the muscles around it.”

The group did so. Luke could feel the bubble expanding, but instead of relaxing his muscles, it hurt them. It felt like a rock was sitting in his chest, pushing away the surrounding muscle.

“And breathe out, imagine the bubble slipping down from your chest into your stomach.”

The group did so, but Luke couldn’t get the bubble to slip down. It stayed there, continuing to expand. Luke began to feel pain. It was his imagination, why couldn’t he control it?

“Luke are you alright, you seem uncomfortable?” Ms. Drew whispered.

“It hurts. It won’t go down.”

“It’s ok, take a deep breath, it’s just a meditation.”

“Get it out, get it out!” Luke cried, he then felt it burst out of his chest.

Eli’s eyes flashed open. His eye darted around. His head was bleeding along with his arms and legs. One of his eyes was swollen shut. He looked down to find a large piece of shrapnel sticking out of his chest. He moaned in pain and looked at his surroundings. He was in a helicopter. A helicopter that had crashed. Flames surrounded him. He could hear his name being shouted. A soldier rushed into the helicopter.

“Pierce! Pierce, where are you!”

“Here, here!”

Eli groaned. The soldier quickly picked up Eli and carried him out of the helicopter. Sand and rubble surrounded them. Eli recognized the place, he had been there before. It was Iraq.

An explosion went off behind them, he could feel the heat burn his back. He was in a group of four other soldiers. Barren, Lettermen, Boiler and Viickson. The soldiers were badly bloodied from the crash. Gunfire pierced the air. They were being attacked.

Lettermen rushed back into the helicopter for more men. Just as he entered however, a missile launched nearby, and crashed into the helicopter. The explosion thrusted all the soldiers backwards. Lettermen was gone.

Eli looked around, everything was silent. Boiler ran up to him, and shouted something, but Eli couldn’t hear him. He then realized his ears were bleeding. Boiler shouted it again, reaching out his hand. Eli grabbed it and Boiler helped him to his feet. Eli’s chest screamed in pain. Eli could see Barren shout something, and motion towards a nearby mountain.

Leaning on Boiler, Eli and the other soldiers began rushing towards the mountain for cover. More explosions went off in the distance, as well as gunfire pierce the air.

They reached the mountain and speedily found a cave to find refuge in. They sat down on the rocks, taking deep breaths. Eli’s hearing began to return, but only in his left ear.

“How ---- from rondevu?” Barren said, panting. Viickson pulled a map from his pocket and folded it out, but it was blurred. Everything began to become fuzzy. Eli began to feel a rock traveling down his leg. Everything faded into black.

“Feel the red bubble relaxing the muscles in your leg. Breathe in, and breathe out.” Ms. Drew said. Luke opened his eyes, gasping, he gripped his chest, the shrapnel was gone. He was no longer in his armor, but in his white jumpsuit. Ms. Drew looked at him.

“Luke, please keep your eyes closed.” She whispered. Luke looked around at the group, each one seemed so peaceful. While they were calm and relaxed, he had been thrown into war. It felt so real. He knew each one of those soldiers, that couldn’t have been a dream, could it have?

Luke once more closed his eyes, and continued with the meditation.

“Take a deep breath, and feel the bubble traveling down your leg and into your feet.” Luke tried to recreate the bubble, and ended with the same color. Quickly it hurried down his through and down into his feet. It tightened and squeezed his muscles. 

His breathing became tense, when he opened his eyes he was in a room. A dark room. His feet were stuck inside the cement floor.

“Where am I?”

“You tell me.” Many voices, if not thousands, replied in unison.

“You again.” Eli looked around, he was alone.

“Why have you brought me here?”

“What do you mean?” The voices were smug, almost enjoying Eli’s cluelessness.

“Don’t play with me!” Eli tried to pull his feet from the floor, but failed, “Can you free me?” Eli asked.

“No.” The voice's answer was quick and short.

“Why?”

“Only you can save yourself.”

Eli continued to try and pull his legs free, but failed. He could sense the voices snickering, if not secretly laughing.

“Can you at least illuminate the room?”

“No.”

“Why are you here then?”

“You tell me.”

Eli scoffed, rubbing his head. “You don’t know, do you?”

The voices didn’t respond.

“Do you work for that man? The one with the distorted face?”

Again the voices remained silent. Suddenly, the walls began shaking, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

“Luke, Luke?”

“Time to wake up.” The voices whispered. The roof caved in, crushing Eli’s bones and burying him alive.

Luke’s eyes opened. He looked down at his feet, and rotated them.

“And one more breath, in through your nose, and out through your mouth.”

Quickly Luke closed his eyes and did so along with the rest of the group.

“And open your eyes. Good. How does everyone feel? Relaxed?” The group nodded their heads. Luke did so, even though it wasn’t the truth.

“Good.” Ms. Drew walked out of the circle to her desk and pulled out some notebooks, “Now, I want everyone to write down what they saw or felt. This helps us so when we forget, we can go back to this.”

“Why… Why would we want to… remember?” Lydia asked.

“Good question. Sometimes these things can bring us comfort, and also help us further understand ourselves.” Ms. Drew handed out the notebooks and pencils. Luke opened up the notebook to the first page, and began to draw what he saw. After a few minutes the teacher walked up to Luke.

“What did you see and feel Luke.” She whispered.

“Helplessness.” Luke said. She looked down at Luke’s notebook, which he quickly closed.

“What did you see Luke?”

Luke thought about telling her about the battlefield, but instead decided to tell her about the room.

“I was in a dark room. My feet were inside the cement floor. I could not get free. I was helpless against the cement.”

“I see. I’d like to know what you see from this… dream. What do you think the cement could represent?”

Luke sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Luke.” Ms. Drew said, Luke made eye contact, “Think about it. What could the cement represent?”

“I don’t know. But… I do feel stuck here.”

“I see. You feel trapped. Luke, I urge you to explore these emotions. Explore this dream.”

“I can’t control them.”

“Control what, your dreams?”

“I can’t control what happens, or when they happen. I’m just stuck, watching.”

“Well if you believe that then it’s true. But anything in a dream is possible. It's your dream after all.”

Suddenly a buzzer on the wall went off.

“Oh, that’s the end of class. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Guards walked in and escorted three of the patients away, leaving Luke and Neva sitting on the floor.

Some more guards stood behind the two patients, pulling out needles.

“They put you to sleep too.” Nevea whispered. Luke nodded.

“Makes you feel like a thing, rather than a human.” She said, shaking her head. Luke felt the needle enter his neck.

“Sweet dreams.” Luke mumbled. Nevea grinned, and then everything went black.

Luke’s eyes slowly opened. He was back in his room. Lying on his bed. He was just falling. Or at least he felt he was falling while drugged. He rubbed his head, taking deep breaths. His head felt dizzy, but he was otherwise ok. A tray of food was next to his bed. His notebook was lying next to the tray. He quickly ate, and took his pills. His shoulder and feet felt off, even though they had no visible harm in them. Luke could still picture the red bubble.

When the lights went out, he tried to find a comfortable position on the stiff bed, and attempted to fall asleep. It felt like forever until he did. Mostly because a part of him wanted to stay awake, not wanting to face the horrors inside. The other part however wanted to, hoping to once more reunite with Silvia, and his children. His eyes started to droop, and he heard an engine starting.

“Look you got it going.” Silvia smiled. Eli looked around himself. He was in a truck. An orange truck. He was in the driver’s seat.

“Well what are we waiting for, let's get going.” Silvia motion forwards. Eli nodded and began to drive forwards.

He remembered this. It was their honeymoon. They had gotten married only two weeks prior. They had rented an airbnb near a beach. Silvia loved the beach.

Eli looked around his surroundings. It looked so real, it felt so real.

“Is everything alright?” Silvia looked at him.

“Yes.” Eli stared at her. She looked so real. How could she not be? He couldn’t imagine her, with all her complexities, imperfections. She couldn’t just be a figment of his imagination.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Silvia chuckled. Eli smiled.

“I just love you.”

“You’re always so serious when you say it.” Silvia smiled. Eli laughed. They arrived at the beach. Rolling up on the sand, they found a good place to park, and set up some towels and an umbrella.

The two sat on the sand, staring at the waves rolling up on the shore. Eli tried to capture Silvia’s face so he wouldn’t forget.

“Seriously Eli, why do you keep staring at me like that?”

Eli sighed and moved his gaze to the ocean ahead.

“Eli, what is it? There’s something wrong.”

“I’ve just been having dreams.”

“Dreams?”

“Nightmares really. In each one, you don’t exist.” Eli rested his hand on Silvia’s.

“Well I’m here, now. And that’s all that matters.”

Eli smiled. She kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly, a glass shattering scream pierced the air. Eli and Silvia shoved their hands over their ears. Eli spun around and got to his feet to see one of the black creatures in the forest behind them, frantically looking around at slashing at trees.

“Eli, Eli what is that?”

“Silvia,” Eli grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, “We need to go, come on.”

Quickly the two ran to the wooden doc leading far into the ocean, a boat tied to it. The creature saw them and howled. The two ran faster. Eli jumped into the boat and tried to start it. But the engine wouldn’t ignite.

“Eli, Eli…” Silvia was shaking with fear. The creature was coming closer.

“I know, I know. Come on!” Eli banged his sits on the wheel, but the boat wouldn’t start. He jumped out of it and onto the doc. He speedily led Silvia to the end. 

“This is my dream. Mine. My rules.” He turned to Silvia. “Listen, I know this is crazy, but you have to follow me.”

“There’s nowhere else to go Eli.”

“Just trust me.” Eli turned to the water. He took a deep breath, and climbed off the dock and stepped onto the water.

“My mind. My rules.” He slowly put his other foot onto the water. Taking one more breath, and letting go of the dock. He looked down, his feet standing on the water as if it were ground.

“Yes, yes! Silvia! Silvia come on!”

“Eli, Eli what is going on?”

“Come on, you can do it too.”

“No Eli I can’t, I can’t!”

“Come on, come on you have to!”

The black creature ran faster. It was almost to the doc. It howled. Silvia screamed, covering her ears.

“Silvia hurry!” Eli cried. Silvia jumped off the doc, landing onto the water as if it were ground. Eli quickly grabbed her, steadying her.

“This, this is impossible.”

“Follow me.” Eli said. The two began running across the water away from the dock, climbing up the waves like hills. The shadowy creature reached the end of the dock, screaming in anger at the couple as they ran further away. The two continued running from the beach, until it was far out of sight. The two stood on the water, panting, and gazing around themselves.

“Eli, what was that thing?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know but we’re safe from it.” Eli tightly wrapped her in his arms.

“How is this possible? We are walking on water…” Silvia gazed at her feet, amazed and a bit afraid.

“It’s our world.” Eli smiled. Suddenly, Eli fell through the water.

“Eli!” Silvia screamed. She tried to reach down into the water, but an invisible force stopped her. Eli tried to swim upwards, but something prevented him from breaking the water’s surface. Eli was running out of breath. His vision became blurry. 

His body forced him to take a breath. Water filled into his lungs clogging up into his throat.

“No, no Eli no!”

His body tried to inhale more air, but all it received was more water. Eli grabbed his throat. His body began sinking downwards. Silvia managed to break through the water’s surface, reaching down to grab Eli’s hand. He reached up, using all the strength he had left to swim upwards. His fingers touched her’s. His muscles gave out, more water filled his lungs and throat. He sank downwards, into the darkness, into the depths of the ocean. He could hear his own heartbeat echo through the darkness. The pressure began to build. He coughed out some water, his vision cut out, his heartbeat slowed, until finally, he died.

Luke’s eyes flashed open. He began uncontrollably coughing, and fell to the floor. He could still feel the water sloshing in his lungs. He quickly grabbed his notebook and began drawing a picture of Silvia. He had only done a rough outline when it began to quickly fade.

“No, no, I won’t forget. I won’t forget…”

He tried drawing faster. He finished her eyes, and almost her nose when he had almost completely lost her. She was no more than a blur. He looked at the picture. It was rough, and crude. Though his memory of Silvia had faded, he could still perfectly remember the black creature. He turned the page and began sketching it. The creature was simple. It looked just like a shadow, with eyes.

He stared at the drawing. It brought chills down his spine. He could still hear it shrieking. He coughed, the sensation of drowning still purlins through his body. He took some deep breaths, and tried to calm down. He wrote down his dream, not in detail, but an overview of what had happened. 

The door opened and in walked a nurse with a tray of food. She set the ray down, along with his pills and left the room. Luke took his pills, but didn’t eat. He wasn’t hungry. If anything he felt sick. The dream was too real.

After a few moments Dr. Pattinson entered the room.

“Good morning Luke. How did you sleep?”

Luke closed his notebook, and then made eye contact with Pattinson, “Normal.”

Pattinson nodded, “Bad dreams?”

Luke looked away.

“If you're comfortable. I want you to talk to Ms. Valentine, or Ms. Drew about these dreams. They can help you with them.”

“Ok.”

“How was the class?”

“Fine.”

“Fine? Did you not like Ms. Drew, or the content?”

“No, she’s fine. It’s just some personal issues.”

“I see. Listen, this stuff is what you should be talking about Ms. Valentine with. Holding it in doesn’t help, it just makes it worse.”

“I know, I know…” Luke sighed, rubbing his head.

“What's that notebook?” Pattinson asked, gesturing to the closed notebook on the floor, “You closed it when I came in.”

“Ms. Drew gave it to us, to record our dreams.”

“What don’t you want me to see?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I’m dreaming of my past life entwined with nightmares.”

“It makes sense. Do you want to continue having these dreams?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Dreams are reflections of ourselves. The more we explore our dreams, the more we explore ourselves. You can let go of that reality. You can let go of the nightmares. But to do it, you have to want it. Ms. Drew will cover things like this in her classes.”

Luke nodded, and took a deep breath.

“I’ve seen improvement. We’re gonna switch to a new medication tonight. And I have you scheduled with an interview with Mr. Brickstone about paroling the grounds, and being escorted to your class and therapy session without the drug.”

“Thank you Pattinson.”

“You're improving so much Luke. Keep at it, and I promise you will be out of here soon. You can get back to your life, rebuild it. That fantasy in your head may not be real, but if you work hard, you can make a similar reality out there.”

Luke sighed, staring at the ground.

“It won’t always be like this Luke.” Pattinson patted Luke on the back, “Remember that.”

Pattinson stood up and prepared to leave. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Not this morning.”

“I’ll have a nurse come get it. I hope you enjoy the class more today.”

Luke nodded. Shortly after Pattinson left, a nurse came in and took the tray. Luke continued to ponder his dream. He had never done such a thing before, or if he did he didn’t remember. Actually control things in his dream. For a moment, he felt in control, then everything fell to pieces.

Luke didn’t realize the guards had come in until he felt something sting the back of his neck. When his eyes closed, he was thrown into darkness. He wasn’t falling, he was lying on something. Something soft. He felt it with his hand, it was cool. He recognized it. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t. It frustrated him.

He grabbed a handful of the substances, it slid through his fingertips. It was sand. Natural sand. From a beach. A beach he had been to before. He could hear the waves rolling ahead of him. He laid there, for hours. Laying on the sand. Occasionally he would feel the water lick his feet as it rolled up on the sand, to then recoil back to the ocean. Although he couldn’t see it, his soul was still put at peace. He then could feel the effects of the drug wearing off. His head became light, his eyes began to open.

Luke awoke inside the room he always was put in when visiting Vienna. As always his wrists were cuffed, and a guard stood behind him. Unlike last time, Vienna wasn’t sitting in the other chair on the other side of the glass panel. The chair was empty.

“Where’s Vienna?” Luke asked, turning his head to see the guard. The guard didn’t respond. Luke sighed.

“What harm would it do for you to tell me?”

The guard looked down at him, face expressionless. “I was informed Ms. Valentine would be… late.” The guard then returned his gaze forwards.

“How late?”

The guard didn’t respond. 

“You all want to know all our secrets but you keep a mountain full of them.”

The guard looked down at Luke, now irritated. Luke turned to face forwards towards the glass panel. After about ten, almost fifteen minutes the door on the other side of the room opened and Ms. Valentine walked in. He quickly sat at her seat and set her briefcase on the ground.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“What happened?”

“Hit some traffic.” She said, pulling out a notebook from her briefcase.

“Is it still… normal out there?”

“Depends on what your definition of normal is.”

“People aren’t walking down the streets with guns.”

“No, except of course the police.”

There was a small pause.

“When I was in my other reality, we still drove our own cars. Used fossil fuel to power our machines. It was, I believe only twenty fifteen. I just realized, right now I may not be in twenty fifteen if that was all a dream. May I ask, and you tell me what year it is?”

Vienna looked at the guard. “I’ll have to ask Dr. Pattinson.”

Luke looked down in disappointment.

“Why all the secrets?” He asked.

“It’s protocol.”

Luke nodded. There was a pause.

“I heard you're going to be having a meeting with Mr. Brickstone tomorrow.”

“Yes. He’s going to see if I have outside privileges and…” Luke turned his head to see the guard, “have me escorted to places without the drug.”

“I see. Luke…” Luke turned to face Vienna. “He’s not going to let you receive these things if he deems you unsafe, or unstable. You must show that you are getting better. That you don’t need the drug.”

“I know, I know.”

“You know what he’s going to ask you.”

Luke stared at the floor, “Yes.”

“He’s not only going to ask you, but he’s going to make sure your answer is truthful and sincere. He’s going to make sure you believe that other reality was nothing more than a dream, and that here and now is reality. Not only Luke do you have to say it. But you have to believe it.”

“And what if I don’t. I want this so bad but, what if I can’t give him a purely true answer?”

“Luke, you’ve made great progress. If you want this, you can get it. I know it’s been hard, and it’s soon, but you must let go. You must show that you don’t believe in that reality. Or else he will believe you are delusional and unstable.”

“I’m not unstable though.”

“Then you have to prove it.”

“Are there really no other ways to prove it? I won’t harm anyone, I won’t try to run. I just want to see something other than the white walls of this building. Can’t you explain to him how much progress I’ve made.”

Vienna rubbed her head, “Luke I have. I send a report to him daily, just like all the other patients here. The reason this place is secure and safe, is because of his rules. He is his firm, but that’s what makes this place so successful.”

Luke shook his head. “This place is a nightmare. You all don’t treat us like humans.”

“I don’t?”

“Not you. But you have to imagine what it’s like to be locked in a white room. No color, just blank walls. No sunshine, just the bright white lights beaming from the ceiling. Limited human contact. Being drugged just to be transported to a room down the hall. You all can say that ‘it’s protocol’, but that doesn’t make it right.”

Vienna looked down. An awkward silence fell into the room.

“I’m trying.” Luke broke the silence. “I’m trying to get better. But, this method. It’s doing more harm than healing. If I ever do get out of here. I will never be the same. And not because of this mental breakdown. But because of the trauma I experienced here.”

The silence returned. The two stared at the floor. Vienna wrote something in her notebook. Luke looked up at Vienna. “Do any of your other patients feel the same way?”

“I can’t say.”

“I met someone at my class. Her name was, Nevea. She was drugged too. Is there any way I can meet her? Maybe talk, privately?”

Vienna shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not privately. In the class you can talk all you want, as long as it doesn’t interrupt the teacher's presentation.”

“Do you happen to know what other classes she is taking?” Luke asked.

“I will have to talk to Dr. Pattinson, but I may be able to give you that information.”

Luke nodded. Vienna looked at her watch. “Before I go, I have something to give you.”

Vienna looked at the guard who shook his head.

“It has not arrived yet.” The guard said, his voice monotone.

“Nevermind. I’ll have Pattinson give it to you. You can look it over with him.” Vienna slid her notebook back into her bag, and prepared to leave. She stood up and began to exit the door.

“Vienna.” Luke said, she turned.

“Yes?”

“Was I ever in the military?”

Vienna shook her head. “No, why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

Vienna nodded. Luke then felt the sharp tip of the needle stab into his neck.

Darkness. He was in darkness. He was cold. Goosebumps covered his skin. It was raining. He tried to open his eyes, but could only open them a crack. It felt like black tar, or webbing was keeping his eyelids from opening fully. He looked around himself, it appeared he was in a city.

“Hello? Hello!?” He called, there was no response.

“Hello!?” Eli felt a car smash into his side. He flew through the air, and felt himself smash onto hard pavement. His side throbbed. He struggled to his feet. He began walking down the street, bumping into people because of his poor vision. He was searching for something. But he didn’t know what. Or why. He arrived at a police station. He banged on the door. He needed to get inside.

“No visitors!” A man inside called.

“I need to get inside! I need to!”

“Go! No visitors!” The man shouted, irritated. Eli reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun.

“I need to get inside!”

The man didn’t respond. Eli fired the gun. The glass door shattered. Eli barged inside. He heard another gunshot and a bullet burst through his shoulder. Eli wildly shot the gun, at the direction he thought the man was until he heard a wail, and a thump. He felt blood splatter over his face. He rushed down the hall of the police station, finding a staircase and speeding down it. The further down he went, the colder it became. It became darker, he recognized the place. He reached the basement floor, which was a hallway, a white hallway. Aligned with rooms locked from the outside. The same hallway Eli imagined was beyond his room. He had been there before, in a previous dream.

He walked down it hearing awful screams from men and women, but not finding whom they belonged to. He peered inside the rooms, but they were empty. He continued walking down until he found an open room without a door. He walked in to find a hole lying in the floor, leading to a tunnel.

“What are you waiting for?” The many voices returned.

“I’ve been here before.”

“So you remember.”

“Why have you brought me here?”

“I didn’t bring you here, you brought yourself here. Killed a man for it, poor guy. Young too…”

“He wasn’t real.”

“It feels real though.” Eli could feel the blood from the man drip down his face. Eli’s vision began to blur, and his eyelids began to close fully. He would wake up soon.

“Help, help me see.”

“Hmm. I don’t know…”

“Please, there is something down there I need to see!” Eli begged, frustrated.

“Well, I guess.”

Eli felt a forced rip of the webs from his eyes, and they opened fully. At first he was blinded by the white lights built into the ceiling, but quickly his eyes adjusted.

“Better?” The voices sneered.

“Why do you hide your physical presence?” Eli asked, looking around the room.

“Me?” The voices laughed, “ I’m not hiding myself, you won’t allow yourself to see me.”

“Then how do I?” Eli asked.

“How should I know, you're the one doing it. Now go down the hole, it’s what you're here for isn’t it?”

Eli nodded. Staring down the hole in the floor, he took a deep breath, and began crawling down the tunnel.

The deeper Eli went, the darker it became. Air became hard to breathe, gravity seemed to become stronger.

“The tunnel is longer than I remember.” Eli called. The voices didn’t respond.

“Are you still here?” Eli asked. All that he heard back was silence. He continued on down the tunnel. Every foot he crawled his muscles became more weary. The more he went down, the narrower the tunnel got, until he could barely squeeze down it. Finally, after what had felt like hours, he saw a light up ahead. Quickly he crawled towards it. He exited the tunnel only to enter the black room where he had first met The Blurry Faced man. There he was, standing in the center of the room, waiting for him. The Blurry Faced man motioned for him to come forwards. The wall next to him had a gaping hole, presumably from where the truck burst through and killed Eli.

Eli uneasily approached the Blurry Faced Man. The floor was sticky, and the air filthy. Different than when Eli last visited the room that long time ago.

“Why am I back here?”

The blurry faced man said something, but as usual it was too muffled to understand. He rubbed his head, and tried to speak again. Eli could only understand one word the Blurry Faced man said.

“Close?” Eli repeated.

The Blurry faced man nodded.

“What do you mean close?”

The Blurry Faced man attempted to speak, but shook his head, knowing Eli wouldn’t understand. The Blurry faced man then pulled a pistol from his coat, and showed it to Eli. The same pistol he had given Eli at the farmhouse, the first time he encountered one of the black creatures.

“Why?” Eli asked, accepting the gun.

The Blurry faced man nervously looked around and then walked to the tunnel and began crawling down it.

“Wait, wait, don't go!” Eli ran to the hole, but it ceiled up behind the Blurry faced man. He banged on the wall. “No, no I don’t understand!”

“Hmm, so clueless.” The voices jeered.

“Who are you?” Eli asked, irritated.

“Hmm…”

“What does it bring you keeping me in the dark?”

“Oh, would you like some light? But, maybe you will not want to see what it brings…”

Eli looked around. “The room is empty.”

“Alright. If he wants to see then…”

Lights attached to the ceiling suddenly turned on, illuminating the room. When once before it appeared empty, it was now drenched in blood. Eli looked at the floor, which was splattered with blood. His feet were dripping with it. Four bodies lined one of the walls, bags over their heads. Eli walked over to the bodies.

“I wouldn’t do that…” The voices cautioned, “Won’t like what you see.”

Eli removed one of the bags to reveal the face of Silvia, a large hole in her head where she had been shot. Eli stumbled back and fell onto the bloody floor. The rest of the bags suddenly were ripped off the heads of the bodies save one, revealing the faces of Lily and Patrick. Both’s heads were dripping with blood.

“Why am I here?”

“You wanted this, remember? This is what you were searching for, remember?”

“No, no I didn’t want this.”

“We’re not done yet though, are we. I’ll leave the last one with you.”

The last bag was removed to reveal the face of himself. Slowly Eli rose to his feet, staring back at himself. His doppleganger stood up, cautiously.

“Who are you?” Eli asked.

“Luke.” The man responded, terrified. He looked at the bodies next to him, and stumbled back, terrified. He then returned his gaze to Eli.

“Are you going to kill me, like you did them?” Luke asked, tears began to fall down his cheeks. Eli looked at the gun in his hands.

“I didn’t kill them.”

“I heard you. I heard them scream. Please, please don’t do this. Please, I-I can’t die not now.”

Before Eli knew it, he had cocked the pistol.

“I… I won’t kill you.” Hesitantly, Eli set the gun on the floor. Relief fell over Luke’s face, as he pulled a gun from his coat and shot Eli in the chest.

Luke shot up, shouting in pain. He gripped his chest, looking down to see if it was bleeding. He was unharmed. He wildly looked about his room. He was alone. He tried to calm himself down. He could still picture the dead faces of Silvia and his kids. He could still feel the bullet penetrating his skin and digging into his heart. He reached under the bed for his notebook and quickly began to write what he saw in his dream before he would forget. His handwriting was crude, but readable. The dream took up a page and a half of his notebook. He began to draw the Blurry Faced Man. 

It was a simple drawing, but the Blurry Faced Man really didn’t have many features. To make the effect, Luke simply drew simple features, eyes, a nose, and then erased them, making the image blurry. However, he drew no mouth. Although The Blurry faced man would speak, even though it was almost impossible to understand any he said, he had no mouth. The door opened and in walked Pattinson, holding a u-haul box taped shutu.

He set the box down and sat next to Eli, who shut the book.

“May I ask what you’re writing?”

“Just drawing, actually.”

“Ahh. How did your therapy session go?”

“It went well. I believe. I’m just nervous for tomorrow.”

“Luke, I know you can pass. I’m giving you a new medication, and I know it’s soon, but the more you accept this reality, the better. Mr. Brickstone will know if you’re telling the truth. So don’t hide anything from him, It’ll just make him trust you less.”

Luke nodded his head, and looked at the box.

“What’s inside?”

Pattinson smiled. “I’m sure Ms. Valentine told you that a package was coming.” 

“Yes.”

“Well, it finally arrived.” Pattinson began to open the box.

“Whose it from?” Eli asked. Pattinson handed him a letter attached to the box. Eli took it and began to read it.

“Hey. I cleaned out the house. Haven’t touched it since that day. I found some old stuff that, maybe you might want. Don’t know if they’ll let you keep it but, I know you’ve been making a lot of progress. I can’t imagine what it’s like there, how lonely you might get. Listen, not that you don’t deserve to be there, but there are some things in this box, some things you might like, maybe to help you in your solitude. I don’t know if I can ever forgive you, but, just like you I’m trying to heal my own wounds. But maybe someday, when things have possibly settled, we can see each other again.

-Ben

  Luke closed the letter, staring at the floor. At that moment, he could feel himself heal, just a bit. It felt true, it felt real. Those words penetrated him to the heart. They didn’t feel like they were from some man at a desk, trying to trick Luke into believing a lie, but they felt from a hurt son, trying to heal just like he was, and fighting between hating, and loving his father. Luke’s heart felt heavy. He took a deep breath and rubbed his head.

“I know it’s a lot. How does it make you feel?”

“Um…” Luke’s voice was a little shaky, “It feels real. He’s real. I um… I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s ok. This is hard. But I wanted to show you this right when I got word of it because it will help you heal. You are at a point where you are rational about things and ready stuff like this, will help ground you.”

“Yes it definitely, definitely did.” Luke began to become afraid. It felt too real. If Ben was real, then so was his mother. His mother whom he murdered. Luke took another deep breath trying to calm himself down.

“Luke are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m just… I don’t…”

“I understand. It’s a lot. If you want we can go through the belongings in the box but we don’t have to.”

“No um… Just give me a second. Could I have some water?”

“Yes of course.”

Pattinson left the room and returned shortly after with a bottle of water in his hand. Quickly Luke opened it and drank some of it. He rubbed his eyes.

“What are you thinking right now?” Pattinson asked.

“I’m just… it’s a bit scary.”

“Why?”

“Because… I thought I knew for sure that this was a trick when I first, ‘woke up’. But, this… this is too real. And that this isn’t a trick. That…” Tears began to fall down Luke’s cheek. “That I really did kill my wife.” 

“I know it’s hard. Luke, look at me.”

Luke reluctantly looked at Pattinson.

“I know it’s scary, shattering, but it won’t last. Your brain is sick. But can’t you see. You’re beating it. You’re getting better. Listen to me though Luke. This is what you have to show Brickstone. You have to show him this, of you accepting this reality. Coming out of mental illness. This shows you’re getting better and are stable enough to earn these privileges.”

Luke nodded and rubbed his eyes.

“But Luke. I know that doesn’t make it easier. It still hurts, and is still scary, but I hope that that will be your light at the end of the tunnel, that this pain is worth something. But you’re still going to have to get through this in order to get to that light.”

Luke sighed. He hadn’t felt this much emotion in a while. Emotion other than anger and frustration. Luke handed the paper back to Pattinson but he didn’t accept it.

“Keep it. Like the other stuff in this box, it’ll help you ground yourself when things become confusing.”

Luke folded up the piece of paper and set it next to his notebook.

“Do you want to go through the box?”

“Yes.” Luke nodded.

Pattinson smiled. With ease he removed the tap sealing the top of the box closed and opened it. The first thing Luke pulled out were two books.

“Do you recognize them?”

Luke shook his head. “No. Nor do they seem like they belonged to me. If anything they were… hers.”

Luke set the books down and pulled out another item from the box. A small wooden derby car, painted black with plastic jewels glued to it. A small lego figure was sitting in the driver's seat, holding a lightsaber. Luke could feel he remembered it, but couldn’t find the memory. He knew though it was Ben’s. They had carved it together. For his scouts tournament. The next thing he pulled out of the box was a trophy titled first place. Luke smiled.

“Do you remember it?” Pattinson asked.

“I can feel it, it’s blurry. Every year there was a scout competition. We made this together. He won first place, therefore the trophy. He had never done so before, every time his car either flew off the track, or wasn’t fast enough to catch up to the other cars. This one was special though. I don’t know how we did it, but this one somehow won first place.”

Pattinson smiled. Luke set the items down and pulled another item out of the box, two army guy action figures. Luke’s smile faded. Each had a name printed on their helmet. 

Boiler. Viickson. 

“Memories?” Pattinson asked, seeing Luke’s grave expression.

“Not exactly.” Luke reached inside the box to pull out a toy helicopter. It was old, paint peeling off of it, one of the four rotating blades on top missing, and a large hole in the side of it. Luke pressed the button on the bottom. It made some flying noises, and some lights on the front lit up.

“Is it yours?”

“Yes.” Luke continued to stare at the helicopter, flashbacks of the dream of Iraq filling his head.

“Look at this.” Pattinson said, interrupting Luke’s thought. He set the helicopter down as Pattinson handed him a picture frame. On it were Luke’s two kids, Ben and Maggie, probably taken when they were merely children. Luke’s smile returned.

“They’re beautiful kids Luke.”

“Crystal took this picture. If you look, Maggie isn’t looking at the camera. She was looking at me, standing behind their mom making faces. I… I loved to make them laugh.”

Luke looked at Pattinson. “Could I hang this up somewhere?”
Pattinson looked at the padded walls.

“I don’t believe so. But we can bring in a table for you to display this on.”

Luke nodded and set the picture down. He reached into the box to pull out a yearbook. Flipping through it he found his children's pictures. He chuckled.

“Maggie hated her picture.” Luke showed the picture to Pattinson.

“Why, it looks fine?”

“She said she hated her smile. We tried to tell her she looked wonderful but, no matter what we told her she hated the picture.” Luke then found Ben’s picture.

“Oh Ben. Oh Ben. Every picture he was in he made this suave, ‘cool guy’ face.” Luke chuckled and showed it to Pattinson.

“Every picture?” Pattinson asked.

“Every picture.”

“I wonder if he still does it now.” Luke set the year book down.

“You’ll see them again.” Pattinson said.

Luke almost responded, but closed his mouth and reached into the box again to pull out a folder of drawings by Maggie. He began to flip through them.

“Wow.” Pattinson said, amazed by the drawings.

“Yes. Yes I remember. She loved to draw. All of her homework, tests, and notes would have small drawings or doodles on them. Her brother was always jealous of how good she was. He was the older sibling too, so he hated seeing her do something that he couldn’t do, at least not as good.”

Luke’s reached the final page. His face became pale, his expression grave.

“Luke, is something wrong?”

“I remember something.” Luke whispered. He reached the final page in the folder. A graphic sketch of a monster, it’s mouth dripping with blood. A mangled and bloodied corpse beneath it.

“Luke, look at me. This picture is triggering you. I need to know what you're thinking.”

Luke continued to stare at the picture. It was the same beast he had seen in his dreams, the brown leathery one, that crawled outside his room, that killed his soldiers in the small city. Luke slowly turned his head to face Pattinson.

“She drew this when her mother died. She was fifteen.”

“I’m sorry Luke.”

Slowly Luke closed the folder and set it on the floor.

“I just wish I could see her. Both of them. That I could apologize. Tell them it wasn’t me, it was this sickness.”

Luke reached into the box and pulled out another framed picture. One of Crystal. She was sitting by a tree, reading a book. Her face was glowing, her red hair waving slightly in the wind. Luke’s hands began to shake. A sudden flash of her dead mangled corpse burst through his mind. He dropped the picture and buried his face into his hands, sobbing.

“How could I kill her, how could I do it…” Luke cried.

“Take deep breaths, it's ok. Take deep breaths.”

“It's not ok. I killed her, I killed her. Why would I kill her?”

“Luke, Luke remember what you just said it wasn’t you. You were sick.”

Luke began to take deep breaths, calming himself down. The tears stopped. He rubbed his red eyes.

“I know this is hard Luke. But we are making a lot of progress here. This will pass, but right now it’s coming all at once. Just continue breathing. It will pass.”

Luke did so, and continued taking deep breaths. Luke grabbed the picture and set it in the pile with the rest of the stuff. Suddenly the door to his room opened and a nurse's head peeked through.

“Dr. Pattinson, a patient is having a breakdown. We need you.”

Pattinson quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

“Luke, I’m sorry I have to go. Continue looking through the box. I want you to talk to Ms. Drew about this in class.”

Luke nodded, and Pattinson hurried out of the room. 

Only one object remained in the box. Reaching inside, Luke picked it up, shocked by what he saw. It was a cube. A rubix cube. A scrambled rubix cube. The same one that Patrick had in his dreams.

“Impossible…” Luke whispered, examining the cube. It didn’t belong to Ben. or Maggie. Or anyone from this reality. He knew who it belonged to. It was Patricks. He felt it in his heart. But that was impossible. Patrick didn’t exist in Ben’s reality. 

The soldiers. The drawings. The cube. Elements of Luke’s dreams  had entered his real world.

A cup of pills was brought into Luke’s room. The nurse set it down on the floor and then left. Luke was so mesmerized by the cube, he didn’t realize anyone had come in until he heard the door slam shut. He grabbed the cup of pills and began to take them. He found the new pill quite easily. It was bright cyan, with small white specks inside. He took a deep breath, and hesitantly set the pill on his tongue. It had a bitter taste as it rested in his mouth. He forcefully swallowed the pill. He could feel it slide down his throat and slowly dissolve. For the next hour he examined his stuff. It made sense that things from reality had slipped into his dreams, but it was odd that something from the dreams of Silvia and his family would slip into reality. He twisted and turned the cube, it was soothing, but frustrating at the same time, for no matter how many times he turned it, it would magically be solved.

When Luke looked up from the cube, two guards were entering the room. He set the cube down on the ground and sighed. Willingly he exposed his neck, not even fighting the effects of the drug as it slithered through his bloodstream.

Eli’s eyes opened. He was in a house. It was night outside. He could hear the crickets chirp in the cool air. He had a knife in his hand. A steak knife. He was in the kitchen. He looked around. He was alone. He was there to find something. To kill something. Something had infiltrated the house. Something he had to eliminate. No, not something, someone. He had to kill someone. He tightly gripped the knife and walked down the hallway. He peeked into Ben’s room, who was sleeping calmly and silently. He was safe. Eli walked into Maggie’s room, she acted like she was asleep. But Eli knew she was one her phone.

“Go to bed.”

Maggie didn’t respond. Eli exited their room. There was something about them. Something wrong. They were each hiding something. And it didn’t have to do with anything on their phone. Was he here to kill them? No. No he wasn’t there to kill them, he was there to kill someone else. Eli soundlessly crept down the hall. He creaked open his bedroom door to see Crystal asleep on the bed. Luke left the bed and walked up to him.

“Don’t do this.” Luke pleaded.

“You said that last time, and you shot me.”

“You don’t want to kill her. Please. You know what this will do to you, to your life. They’ll never forgive you.”

“Maggie and Ben, no, those aren’t my kids. I must kill her.”

“Please, don’t do this.”

“Step aside.” Eli  raised the knife.

“No. She’s our wife.”

“Fine.” Eli shoved Luke out of the way and charged towards the unaware Crystal, ready to plunge the knife into her throat. Luke quickly recovered and knocked Eli into the wall. Luke then swung hard his fist into Eli’s chest and then his jaw. Luke fell onto the floor dropping the knife. Luke lunged for the knife. Eli did the same. Both struggled to gain control of the knife. Luke punched Eli hard in the gut. Eli began to dig his finger into Luke’s eye. Luke screamed in pain, waking Crystal. Luke released his grip of the gun, his eye swollen and bleeding. Eli lunged at Crystal, blade forwards.

“Run! Crystal run!” Luke shouted. Crystal managed to dodge the knife and ran out of the bedroom. Eli chased her. She ran into the kitchen, grabbing a lamp and smashing it into Eli’s head, knocking him onto the floor. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and pointed it forwards as Eli rose to his feet.

“Don’t come any closer.” She said, hand trembling, tears falling down her cheek. Eli grabbed a class cup from the table and hurled it at her. She barely dodged, it shattered onto the cabinet next to her. Eli rushed forwards and slashed the knife at her. It nicked her side as she speedily managed to avoid the blade. 

“I must kill you. I must.” Eli mumbled, pointing the blade at her.

“Please, please… I have two children please.”

“You must die. And I must kill you.”

“No, no please…” Eli charged forwards. She screamed and ran away. He chased her into the living room. He quickly grabbed a book from off a shelf and threw it at her. It crashed into her back, causing her to stumble. Eli then grabbed one of the lamps and smashed it into her head, knocking her onto the floor. Eli pinned her down, knife raised high. She screamed for help, grabbing Eli’s arm preventing the blade from plummeting down into her chest. Slowly the knife descended, getting closer and closer to her skin.

“No! Help, please no!” She cried, using all her strength to stop the knife’s descent. But her strength gave out, and the knife suddenly plunged downwards into her chest. She screamed in pain, her blood soaking into her clothing. Her breathing became short and quick, she began to cough. Eli ripped the knife from her chest, blood coating the blade and dripping downwards. He then shoved the knife again into her chest. She gasped, blood began to drip from her mouth. Luke yanked the knife again out of her chest, and shoved it downwards for a third time. Her face was pale, eyes unfocused. Her body went limp, and her life left her. She was no longer living. No more than a thing now. Not a human, but simply a body. Just a thing, like a toy. Just as living as a piece of wood.

That didn’t stop Luke from continuing to stab her. He continued to plummet the knife into her body. Two more times into her chest, three into her stomach, one in her neck, and then he began mercilessly slashing up her face. When he was finished, she was no longer recognizable. Blood covered the walls and floor, splattered on Eli’s face and clothes. He rose to his feet, staring at the mangled corpse. 

He recognized it. It was identical to the picture Vienna Valentine had shown him during their therapy session a while ago. Eli turned to see an expressionless Luke facing him, holding a shotgun.

“Are you happy?” He mumbled, pulling the trigger. Eli felt each pellet sink into his flesh. He fell backwards, crashing onto the floor below. He looked at his chest, filled with bloody holes. Pain began to set it, unbearable pain. Luke walked up to him. He glanced at the dead body of Crystal. He sighed and cocked the shotgun, barrel pointed at Eli’s face.

“Just kill me.” Eli groaned, staring in agony at his chest.

Luke’s eyes floated from Crystal’s mangled corpse to Eli’s pale face.

“This isn’t over. I’ll be back.” Luke pushed the barrel of the gun against Eli’s forehead and pulled the trigger. 

Before Eli died, he felt the heat from the explosion of the gun. The pellets burst into his skull. He felt all the blood in his head burst out of his skull onto the floor beside him, as the flesh in the front of his head exploded and scattered across the room. Everything faded to white as he could hear a faint voice speaking to him.

“It’s coming.” No it wasn’t one voice, but thousands in almost perfect unison, “It’s coming. Be ready.”

Luke’s eyes slowly opened. He was sitting on the floor, along with the other four patients, forming a circle. Nevea was sitting on the opposite side of the circle.

“Nevea.” Luke whispered. She continued to blankly stare at the floor while fidgeting her fingers. “Nevea, it’s Luke. I was drugged too last class.” 

She slowly looked up to make eye contact.

“Yes?” She croaked.

“I was wondering what other classes you took here, do you know?”

She looked around the classroom. Seeing Ms Drew was still at her desk, and the guards were out of earshot, she scooted closer to Luke.

“I… I take an art class with someone called Hyma, Ms. Hyma. And then I take this class.” She whispered. She then saw the guards were staring at them suspiciously. 

“Thanks.” Luke responded.

She nodded and quickly scooted back to her spot. Ms. Drew closed her computer and walked out of her desk to greet the class.

“Alright, let’s begin. It’s nice to see all of your wonderful faces again. Did any of you experience any positive changes in your day after you did the meditation?” Ms. Drew asked, looking around at the patients. At first none of them responded, but then Lydia slowly raised her hand.

“It just helped me appreciate everything around me, I had never noticed the beauty in the walls. Not many people do but, I do, I see it.”

Luke rubbed his head. He felt out of place. These people were insane.

“Luke, is something wrong?”

Luke looked up at Ms. Drew.

“No, no nothings wrong. Just a little tired. The drug they use takes a lot out of you sometimes.” He replied. He could see Nevea slightly nod, her eyes narrowing a little.

“I see. Did you see any changes in your day after the meditation?”

“Um…” Luke couldn’t shake the horrible images of Crystal's disfigured and dead body, “Not really. My dream that night was… different though.”

“How so?”

“I just felt like I had more control.”

“And you know what that means Luke?” Ms Drew said smiling. Luke shook his head.

“The meditation is working. Did anyone else experience something like this?”

The group didn’t respond. 

“Don’t worry if you didn’t experience something like this. It doesn’t happen right away to everyone, but as you continue with this class I promise if you look for it you will see small, or large positive changes in your life.”

The group slowly nodded.

“Alright, I found a new meditation for us to try today. Everyone close your eyes.”

The group did so. Luke reluctantly closed his eyes. Nothing was waiting for him in the darkness this time, luckily.

“As like last time, I want you all to take a deep breath in through your nose.”

Luke and the others did so. Although it usually was stiff and cold, the air felt fresh and cool as it filled up Luke’s lungs.

“And hold it in for a moment. Now imagine you’re blowing out candles as you exhale through your mouth.”

Luke felt his body slightly relaxed.

“Now let’s repeat. Take a deep breath in through your nose.”

Again the air was cool and fresh. He felt something splatter over his arm. He opened his eyes and looked at his arm, but there was nothing.

“Keep your eyes closed please.” Ms. Drew said, looking at Luke. Quickly he closed his eyes.

“And exhale, again, imagine you're blowing out candles.”

Luke could hear gunfire in the distance. He creaked open his eyes to look around the room, but saw nothing. The gunfire suddenly stopped.

“One last time, take a deep breath in through your nose, fill up your lungs as much as you can.”

This time the air was no longer fresh and cool, but smokey and toxic. Luke struggled to keep it inside his lungs.

“Hold it in, feel it in your lungs, feel it nurture your body.”

Luke felt the air swirling around his lungs, making his muscles tighten.

“And exhale, again, try and blow out those candles as best you can.”

Luke blew out the dirty air. His muscles calmed down.

“Continue taking deep steady breaths throughout this meditation. Now, I want you all to imagine you're in a luscious rainforest.”

Luke began to picture the forest. It was green, and truly luscious, but there was something about it. Something wrong. Something… dangerous.

“You can hear the birds sing from the trees. What kind of songs are they singing?”

Luke tried to picture birds, but couldn’t. The rainforest remained silent. He tried to imagine their songs, but something stopped him. The rainforest remained silent. He tried to picture anything, any kind of animal in the forest, and tried to imagine any sound that may come. Still the rainforest remained silent.

“Can you see the birds? What color are they?”

Luke began to feel himself slipping out of reality. The smell of the rainforest became more visceral. The humidity of the air wrapped around him like a blanket.

“You begin to walk through this forest, looking for something. What is it?” Ms. Drew’s voice sounded as if it came from the sky above. Luke began to walk down a dirt pathway in the rainforest. He could feel the rough jungle dirt on his feet. He looked to his right to see a room, with a hole in the floor leading to a tunnel. He walked past it. As Ms. Drew said he was looking for something, but it wasn’t that. At least not this time.

He continued walking down the path until he came upon something. Something strange. Something disturbing.

“You find something in front of you. It is an animal. You reach out and pet it. It likes you. What kind of animal is it?”

What Luke found was not a creature. But a body. The body of a man, wearing what looked to be an army uniform. It let off an awful stench. He had breathed it in before, just as he was beginning the meditation. Luke turned the body over to see its face and stumbled back. The face had no color but gray. The eyes were white. It’s face was lifeless. Luke looked at the name badge. It read LETTERMEN.

Eli looked around himself. Soldiers surrounded him. A man walked up to him, a machete strapped to his back. He had seen this man before.

“I was wondering when you’d be back.” The man whispered.

“Who are you?” Eli quietly whispered back.

“Armani.” The man replied. Eli looked around the group. He was in a campsite, the tents destroyed, gray and dead bodies like Lettermen’s scattered around.

“I’ve been here before.”

“Yes.”

“Where’s all the children? Where’s Lily?”

The group sorrowfully looked at the ground. The man shook his head.

“It attacked. We are all that’s left.” Armani whispered, “Lily ran off, we do not know where. But that’s what you're searching for isn’t it?”

Eli nodded.

“We will help you find her.” Armani padded Eli on the shoulder. Suddenly a low growl shook the rainforest. The group nervously looked around, pulling out their guns. One of the soldiers made a motion with his hand, pointing towards the distance. Eli looked where he had motioned. The blood drained from his face. Off in the distance, he could see it. He could see the leathery beast. Armani made a motion with his hand and began soundlessly walking away. The ground followed.

“Who are you guys?”” Eli whispered to one of the soldiers.

The soldier looked at him and silently whispered, “The hunted.”

The group quietly crept through the jungle. Though they had walked miles, Eli did not feel weary, nor hungry or thirsty.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Our stronghold.” Armani replied.

“How far is it?”

“A few more miles.”

“Why isn’t it next to the camp?”

Armani turned to look at Eli, sighing. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Just… Listen, you're just a projection from my mind, right.”

Armani didn’t respond.

“I’m not an imaginative person. I still… still inside me I can’t believe-”

“Shhhhh.” Armani put his finger to his lip. Eli crept closer and began to whisper as quiet as he could, but still so that Armani could hear him.

“A small part of me believes that Lily, and Patrick, and Pearl are real. And that I didn’t kill someone named Crystal. Did I make them up?”

Armani didn’t respond.

“Did I?”

Armani turned to look at him, “Those questions aren’t for me to answer.”

“But you’re my mind, why can’t you tell me?”

“Not my job.”

Suddenly a gust of wind blew through the rainforest, shaking the trees, and sending chills down the soldiers’ spines. A shriek rang throughout the forest.

“We need to hurry.” Armani said, looking nervously around. The group sped up their pacing, hurrying through the rainforest, vigilant. Another mile past in silence.

It had been what felt like two hours before Eli could see the stronghold in the distance.

“We are almost there.”

They continued forwards when a strange feeling swept over Eli.

“Stop.” The words came out on instinct. The soldiers stopped and turned to face him.

“What?”

“Something… Somethings here. Something is waiting. Watching.” Eli could almost hear its breathing. Suddenly one of the soldiers pulled out a detonator. Armani quickly rushed towards Eli.

“Come back and find us!” Right as the soldier activated the detonator, Armani’s machete was shoved into Eli’s chest.

Luke’s eyes slowly opened.

“How did that feel everyone? Are you all relaxed?” Ms. Drew asked. The group slowly nodded. 

“Would anyone like to share what they saw?”

At first the group was silent, but then Paul raised his hand.

“I saw a dog. It was the same dog I used to have as a kid.”

“Very nice Paul. Where did it take you?”

“It took me to a lake. Very pretty lake. I don’t think I’ve seen a lake like it in quite a long time.”

Luke raised his hand.

“Yes Luke, what do you want to share?” Ms. Drew asked.

“Oh I didn’t want to share anything but, is it possible to get back into a dream?”

Ms. Drew smiled and nodded.

“Yes. It is. First you can try and go back through the meditation that may have triggered the day dream, or you write down what you saw in the dream and where it left off. Drawing pictures also helps. Creating a vivid picture right before you woke up. Then close your eyes, picture the dream, go through the meditation, and that should help you re-enter that dream.”

Luke nodded.

“Was there anything special you saw in this meditation? Why do you want to go back?” She asked.

“Um… just looking for some answers.”

“Luke, you brought up something very important. Class, tonight I have homework for you all. I want you to talk to the people in your dreams. The people in your dreams are your subconscious. They are your mind. Talking to them is like talking to your mind. It is the best way to learn things about yourself you couldn’t learn otherwise. If there is anything you want to start learning, or maybe a habit you want to break. Do it in the dream, or tell your mind, the people in your dreams, that you are going to do it. Doing this trains your mind. Therefore when you come back to reality, those things from reality transfer to reality. Not completely, but gradually. That is how my brother quit smoking. He told his subconscious he no longer had an urge to smoke. In his dreams he would throw away cigarettes. Then, after a few, his urge to smoke was completely gone.”

“What does this have to do with us?” Heather asked.

“You all are trying to heal your minds. In your minds, I want you to locate the things that are broken, the wounds in your head, and I want you to heal them. Talk to your subconscious, learn things about yourself that will prove useful in your recovery. Also, discuss your dreams with your therapist and me. We can help you decipher these dreams and their meaning. These things will help you recover so much quicker. I promise you that. However, you will not always like what you find inside. Not only must you find meaning in the beauty of your dreams, but you must face, and sometimes fight the nightmares hiding in the dark. Remember it’s your dream, take control of it.”

She then looked at her watch.

“Alright, that’s the end of class. I can’t wait to hear what you learn tomorrow.”

Before Luke knew it a needle was jabbed into his neck.

Falling. He was falling. The air was pushing on his back. He was falling backwards. He couldn't open his eyes, trapping him in darkness. He couldn’t move a muscle, he was like a falling ragdoll, not in control. After falling for what felt like an hour, he slammed hard into water beneath him. At first it was like falling onto ice, the water acting like a solid, then he sank beneath the sheet of water. The water was warm. Not so warm as that of a hot tub, but more for comfort. The warmth you’d like the water in a bathtub to be. Although underwater, he could still breath as if on land. It was an odd sensation. His muscles relaxed, as did his mind. That’s when suddenly a harsh eclectic current rushed through his body. His muscles froze, pain filled his mind. He could hear his heartbeat quickly increase, until he felt it burst inside his chest.

Luke shot up from bed, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. He rubbed his head and began taking deep breaths, trying to calm down his rapid heartbeat. Dinner was lying on a tray on the floor, no pills were on the tray however, not that Luke would complain. He also noticed a table in the corner of the room, with the pictures and other things Luke had found in the box. He ate his dinner, and recorded his dream in his journal, as well as the dream with the forest. He drew some sketches of the rainforest, and did his best to try and draw the faces he had seen. The ending of that dream bothered him. It had ended so abruptly. If he was going back to the dream, he needed to be cautious. One, possibly more, of the soldiers was a traitor. If anything, the detonator would blow them up, or trigger a loud enough explosion to summon the monster, or whatever thing they heard screech. Armani was an alli, even though he killed Luke But that was just to wake him up. If Luke was to go back to the dream, maybe he could go before the bomb went off, just a little before, so he could stop the soldier. He just needed to remember what the soldier looked like.

Luke did his best to recall the face of the soldier with the detonator. He drew a rough sketch, it wasn’t very detailed, but could help him stop the traitorous soldier. After he had finished his sketches and had recorded his dreams, he walked over to the table in the corner of the room with his new belongings. He looked at the pictures. Luke closed his eyes, and began thinking about the man with many voices. He took deep steady breaths while concentrating on its almost sarcastic voice. He could feel himself slipping away. And then he heard it.

“Interesting…” The many voices said. Eli looked around. He was still in his cell, however the lights had darkened. He chuckled.

“Well. Let’s get on with it. I have things to do.” The voices said.

Eli picked up the picture of Crystal.

“Do you know this woman?”

“Hmmm… hard to say…”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Things are getting more… complicated.”

“Complicated?”

The voices sighed, “You’ll see.”

“You’re my mind aren’t you? Why can’t you tell me?” Eli set the picture down.

“I…” The voices sighed again, thinking about how to answer Eli.

“You serve me don’t you?” Eli asked, irritated.

“In a way.” The voices replied.

“Then answer me. Do you know this woman?” Eli pointed at the picture of Crystal, her face and smile glimmering.

“I’m not the one to talk to concerning this matter.” 

“You too.” Eli scoffed.

“If you want answers, talk to him.”

Eli’s dream book suddenly opened. Eli walked up to it and leaned down to see it had opened to his sketch of The Blurry Faced man.

“Wait wait!” Luke said, turning around. The lights had returned to normal, and the many voices had left. Luke sat down on his bed staring at the picture he had drawn of the blurry faced man. The door opened, startling Luke a bit, as doctor Pattinson walked in.

“Hello again. Sorry I had to leave earlier, there was a problem. I had them bring in a table so you could display the items.”

“Yes, thank you.” Luke said, staring at the floor. He closed the book.

“Are you alright? Something troubling you?”

“No nothing… We talked about navigating our dreams, talking to our subconscious is what Ms. Drew called it. My mind seems to be a puzzle I can’t solve.”

Dr. Pattinson sat down next to Luke.

“All our minds are like that. They’re a labyrinth. Is not like we can just go into a dream and immediately learn what we want to. We must put in the work to find our answer.”

“It seems as though my mind doesn’t want to give me the answer, heck maybe it doesn’t even know the answer.”

“It depends on what question you are asking. If you ask something you don’t know, then how is your brain going to know it? Dreams are our mind projecting its thoughts into objects, creating a new reality for us to dwell in as we sleep. So it’s probably going to be messy, and different each time. But if you look closely, and explore while you can, you will find things about yourself you didn’t know about. Or plant ideas to help you when you awake.”

Luke nodded.

“If you’re comfortable sharing, what question do you want an answer to?” Dr. Pattinson asked. Luke thought about his answer for a second. Then lifted up his head to make eye contact with Dr. Pattinson.

“I just want to know the meaning behind my dreams. As well as try to plant an idea as you said. Heal my mind.”

Dr. Pattinson nodded.

“If it’s ok, I’d like to schedule for you to have a one on one meeting with Ms. Drew. She can help you find the meaning behind these dreams.”

“Yeah. Yeah that’d be ok.”

Pattinson smiled and wrote something down on his clipboard.

“How was the class?” He asked.

“Fine. I think it’s helping me.”

“It is Luke. You’re making tremendous progress. I’m proud of you.” Pattinson patted Luke on the shoulder and then stood up.

“Is there anything you’d like to talk to me about before I go?”

“Um… I heard there’s an art class here, with someone named Hyma?”

“Ah yes. I think I can put that into your schedule. It takes place shortly after lunch.”

“I have nothing better to do.”

“Alright I’ll sign you up. What got you interested in this art class?”

“Drawing out my dreams will help me remember them better, and re-enter them too, at least according to Ms. Drew.”

“She’s not wrong.” A buzzer went off on Pattinson’s watch, “Alright I have to go.”

Pattinson walked towards the door but then paused and turned to face Luke.

“One last thing, the meeting with Brickstone is tomorrow. It will take place shortly after lunch.”

Luke took a deep breath and nodded.

“I believe in your Luke. You’ve shown so much progress. You just have to show him you’re stable and most importantly, that you know what is real, and what is not. Alright?”

“Alright.”

“You can do this Luke, don’t forget that.” Pattinson left the cell, closing the door behind him. Shortly after Pattinson had left, a nurse came in and handed him his medication, along with the new pill he had taken this morning. Quickly he took his pills, and a few minutes later the lights went out, and it was time for bed.

Luke laid on his bed staring at the ceiling, picturing in his mind the rainforest. Picturing the face of Armani to the smallest detail. He took a large and deep breath while closing his eyes, plunging himself into darkness. The vision of the rainforest began to slowly assemble in his mind. He could almost feel the cool dirt underneath his feet, the fresh smell that the rainforest brought. He could feel himself slipping into the rainforest when suddenly it was as if something grabbed him by the ankle, and yanked him away from the dream, and into outer darkness.

Eli was falling once again. Although his eyes were open, the darkness was so thick it was as if his eyes were  shut. He was uncontrollably spinning through the air. He felt himself crash onto the ground below. A loud snap rang out from his arm. He cried in pain and rolled onto his back. He looked around himself. He was on sand. The sky was black. Explosions were going off around him. He was back in Iraq. 

“No, no not here, No this is not where I want to be.” Eli moaned. He closed his eyes trying to picture the rainforest, but couldn’t see it clear enough. The explosions and gunfire were too loud to concentrate.

“No, no come on. Come on!” He tried to force himself into the rainforest, but couldn’t, and the thought fled like shadows near the light.

Boiler rushed up to him and held out his hand.

“Come on, we have to get out of here!” He shouted. Eli’s eyes shot open. Quickly he

grabbed his hand and he was thrust upwards. The two soldiers began running through the battlefield, away from the enemy who was hot on their tail. The two soldiers quickly caught up with Barren and Viickson.

“How did the enemy catch up so fast!” Viickson shouted over the gunfire.
“Doesn’t matter now! The rendezvous-” Barren started.

Suddenly an explosion went off, knocking the soldiers off their feet. Speedily they got to their feet and continued running. Eli could hear the gunfire behind them, waiting till a bullet finally penetrated his back.

“Come on, we’re almost there!” 

“Almost where!?” Eli shouted back. Eli’s head began to hurt. Blood dribbled down his forehead.

“The rendezvous point!” 

Suddenly another explosion went off and Eli was plunged back into darkness.

Once more he was falling. He tried his best to picture the rainforest. The smell and taste of the air, the coolness of the atmosphere. Then it came to him, as crystal clear as glass.

His face crashed onto the ground. He slowly pushed himself upwards. He was back in the rainforest. The group of soldiers stared at him.

“Hurry up, we must keep moving.” Armani whispered. Eli looked around the group of soldiers, searching for the traitor, the imposter, the one that would blow them up, and scatter their pieces around the rainforest. Eli rose to his feet, identifying each one of the soldiers' faces. However, he could not find the one that belonged to the traitor. The group continued walking. Eli walked over to Armani.

“I came back.” He whispered. Armani stopped in his tracks and turned to face Eli.

“What’s going to happen?” He whispered back.
“One of us is an imposter, and is going to blow us up once we reach the right stop.”

Armani nodded, looking nervously around the group of soldiers, who then noticed Armani had stopped walking and stopped also.

“I see. If you sense anything, alert me imminently.” Armani handed Eli a gun and then continued to walk, “Come on, let’s go.”

The group continued silently walking through the rainforest when a sudden shriek shook the trees and a bone chilling breeze rushed down their spines.

“We need to hurry.” Armani told the group glancing at Eli.

“As far as I know, we don’t encounter it before the incident, if we hurry.” Eli whispered.

Armani nodded. The group picked up the pace, silently speeding through the Rainforest towards the Stronghold. The more they walked, the more uneasy Eli became. Each step was a step closer to the betrayal. He had to be vigilant. Every step of the way he watched the soldiers, watching for any suspicious movement, or the flash of a detonator. Eli tightly gripped his gun, recalling the incident. The soldier was to the right of him, a few ways ahead. He tried to work out of the facial features of the soldier. The soldier had… blue eyes. And some brown hair sticking out under his helmet. 

After they had walked about a mile, that horrible feeling of dread and fear washed over Eli, and he froze in his steps. He cocked his gun and watched the soldiers.

“Stop.” He said on instinct. The soldiers stopped, looking at Eli almost irritated. Armani gripped his gun, nervously staring at Eli.

“What is it?”Armani asked.

“Somethings here. Something is waiting. Watching.” That’s when Eli began to hear the breathing, his head felt light. His body became cold. That’s when he saw it. One of the soldiers to the right of him pulled out a detonator. Quickly Eli pointed his gun forwards and shot the soldier directly in the face. The soldier fell to the ground dead, his blood coloring the once green grass and leaves around him a dark red.

The soldiers immediately pointed their guns at Eli.

“Stop, stop!” Armani commanded, he then pointed at the dead soldier, whose skin began to melt away, revealing a dark, shadowy creature.

“Impossible.” Armani said under his breath.

“I’ve seen those before, What are they?” Eli asked.

“The enemy. They are the spies, sent to infiltrate and destroy. However I’ve never seen them take the form of one of us.”

Suddenly a roar came from the distance. A roar Eli had heard before. A roar that belonged to the monster, the leathery beast that had haunted Eli.

“Run.” Armani commanded. “Run!”

The group began running with all their strength towards the stronghold. After coming up a hill Eli saw it in the distance. A large metal structure, only a few ways away. The group began rushing towards it. That’s when the first fatality happened. The monster, climbing on top of the trees, reached its claw down and snatched one of the soldiers, who shouted in pain as he was thrust upwards. The group continued running as his blood dripped downwards on them like rain. His body was then thrown down at them, maled and destroyed, its skin gray looking like the other bodies they had found.

Eli picked up his pace. Running faster than he ever had before. Another soldier was slaughtered, only this time, the beast came crashing onto the ground, and chewed the soldier up until only pieces of him remained, scattered throughout the scene.

“Hurry, we’re almost there!” Armani shouted. Eli looked back at the monster. The words Ms. Drew had spoken in the class came to him.

“Not only must you find meaning in the beauty of your dreams, but you must face, and sometimes fight the nightmares hiding in the dark.” 

  Eli stopped running. His fists clenched, he dropped the gun on the floor.

Armani noticed this and shouted back, “Eli what are you doing, we’re almost there!?”

Eli took a deep breath, staring at the creature, who angrily snarled and charged at him.

Armani began shooting at the beast, but he was too far away to save Eli before the creature would reach him. Unless Eli did something, and something fast, the monster would devour him.

Eli held out his hand, and concentrated. He could hear the words Ms. Drew ringing in his head, “Remember it’s your dream, take control of it.”

Eli felt a powerful and painful heat rush through his arm. He blasted an invisible force at the monster. The unseen power ripped the trees from their roots and sent the monster flying backwards. The monster writhed in pain, its blood dripping onto the forest floor. The heat quickly fleeted from Eli’s arm, an odd tingling sensation replaced it. The beast was dead.

Eli picked back up his gun and continued to run towards the stronghold.

“What was that?” Armani asked him, stunned.

“I took control.” Eli replied.

Armani, Eli, and ten other soldiers speedily rushed into the stronghold, barricading the door shut, and rushing down the steps leading into the rooms below the earth's surface. A new soldier was awaiting them inside. Lining the walls were weapons and traps, along with maps of the rainforest.

“We don’t have long. They’ll be sending a new beast soon. Grab the maps, we need to make a plan.” Armani said. The soldiers began restocking on ammo and grabbing the maps from shelves.

“What went down out there?” The new soldier walked up to Armani.

“He killed a beast.” Armani gestured to Eli. “Now tell me, what did you find?”

"Killed!?" The soldier said, shocked.

“Yes, now what did you find? We must hurry.”

“Oh, um…” The soldier pulled a map from his pocket and spread it out on the table. Red, black, and yellow markings covered the map.

“Alright so, these black markings show the assumed paths of the Shadows. But, if we follow this yellow path here, we should avoid them and any traps they may have set.”

“And that red marking?” A soldier pointed at the big red marking towards the left side of the map.”

“That’s where their base is. A few more beasts are being kept there so we have to be quiet. This will be more of a stealth mission than anything.”

“Is that where Lily is?” Eli asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” Armani asked, “You saw her, it wasn’t a trick? A shadow took the form of one of the soldiers while coming here.”

“It’s her, I know it. I saw them throwing her in a cage down in the basement. It was her.”

“How can we be sure?” One of the soldiers chimed in.

“He told me.” The soldier replied, looking at Armani.

“You saw him?” Armani asked in disbelief. The soldier nodded.

“Whose he?” Eli whispered to Armani. Armani pulled a book from a shelf and handed it to Eli. He opened it, to find a sketch of The Blurry Faced man inside. 

“What’s that?” A soldier asked, pointing to a black line streaked across the map.

“Oh, that, we don’t need to worry about that, our path shouldn’t cross it. As long as we stick to the course.”

Suddenly a roar went out, and the ground shook.

“They’ve delivered it already. Come on, there is an underground tunnel leading away from here. Quickly load up.” Speedily the soldiers picked their weapons and fortified their gear and rushed to a metal door in the wall. Armani quickly handed Eli some armor and a machine gun with ammo. Speedily Eli put the armor on and rushed over to the door.

“Everyone ready. Our main mission is to unknowingly infiltrate the enemy's base, and get Eli to Lily. Understood. We do whatever it takes.”

“Whatever it takes.” The soldiers responded. Armani opened the metal door, leading to a dark tunnel. The soldiers turned on their lights attached to their guns and began running through.

“You ready Eli?” Armani asked.

Eli nodded, and taking a deep breath, he rushed into the dark tunnel. 

None would be returning.

Eli could feel the weight of the earth above them lay on his back. The air was thick and almost toxic. Water dripped down from the ceiling. They continued down the tunnel for a mile and a half until they came upon a dead end.

“We hit it!” One of the soldiers called. Armani squeezed past the soldiers towards the front. There was a pole sticking into the ceiling and the floor.

“Step back.” Armani said. The soldiers did as they were told. Armani pulled the pole, it didn’t budge. He tried again with all his might and the pole ripped from the ceiling and floor. A portion of the ceiling where the pole had been fell to the ground. Armani climbed up the wall and onto the ground above.

“Hurry.” He called. Quickly the soldiers climbed the wall and onto the ground above. Eli took a deep breath of the fresh air above. He felt the burden lifted off his shoulders. Pulling out the map, Armani deciphered which direction to go, and then pointed forwards.  Speedily the soldiers, as quietly as they could, marched forwards in the direction Armani had pointed.

As they were marching, Eli’s head began to feel light, as he felt his grasp on the dream fading. He ran up to Armani and clutched his shoulder, however he couldn’t feel it.

“Armani, Armani I’m waking up. I can’t stay…” He gasped. He could almost see the bright lights from his room coming through hsi closed eyelids.

“No, no Eli, stay, hold on. Don’t go not now.”

Eli fell to his knees gripping his head. He could feel reality trying to pull him from the dream.

“Concentrate on my voice Eli. Concentrate. Feel the dirt underneath you. Feel the cool air rush down your neck. Listen to me Eli. Listen carefully. Picture your environment around you Eli.”

Eli could hear his own breath as he began to wake up. He could hear Dr. Pattinson whisper to him.

“Luke, Luke wake up. Come on Luke, it's time.” 

“No, no not now. Not now.” Eli gasped.

He was on the edge of waking him. He could feel his eyelids opening. But clutching onto the dirt beneath him, and vigilantly listening to Armani as he spoke to him, he began to slip back into the dream. His fingers began to once more feel the dirt, as did his skin feel the cool air as it blew against it. He felt himself solidify into his dream, and he slowly rose back to his feet.

“Good. Good.” Armani said, patting him on the shoulder.

“If you start feeling like this again, come to me. We can’t have you go now, not when we need you most. Not when you need us the most.”

Eli nodded. The group continued through the forest following the yellow line on the map. As they were walking however, an ear piercing shriek rang through the forest. It came from nearby. The soldiers quickly slid onto the floor and hid behind bushes, leaves, or trees, clutching their weapons. A black creature walked through the rainforest, wildly spinning its head around. It was searching for something.

Armani looked at the map, the creature was not marked to be in their path. Armani held out the map so the soldier who had drawn it could see.

“It shouldn’t be here. It’s off course.” He whispered. Armani looked at the map, searching for a new route. He traced his finger along the map, showing a new route, but the soldier shook his head.

“We’ll cross the river.” The soldier pointed to the black streak across the map. Armani searched for another route, but unless they crossed forbidden territory, which would be infested with the enemy, or came across more shadows, the black creatures, or stepped into traps, there was no other way.

“It’s the only way.” Armani whispered.

The soldier shook his head. “It’s bad there.”

Suddenly the black creature turned towards the group of hiding soldiers. It let out a hiss, which sent a chill down the soldiers spines. Armani put his finger to his lips. The soldiers went so quiet, they even stopped breathing. The creature crept closer to them, but then suddenly stopped, turned, and rushed in another direction away from them shrieking.

The soldiers remained still until the monster was far away, and then they quietly rose from their hiding places and looked around for any other threats.

“Armani.” The soldier said, his face pale, “If anyone falls in, they’re not coming back. They’ll be permanently erased. And if he falls in…” The soldier gestured to Eli. “Then it’s all over. He’ll be gone permanently and they’ll win immediately. We’ll have failed.”

“We've gotten so far. There’s no other way. We can’t cross their territory, or run into another Shadow. Then we’ll start all over and… and it’ll be too late before we reform and start again. We have to take the risk.”

The soldier nodded, rubbing his head.

“Did he say anything else to you?” Armani asked.

“No. He just told me that she was real, and that he had to see her.”

Armani nodded. “Alright, well we better go quickly. If your calculations were wrong about that shadow, who knows where the others might be.”

The group continued their journey through the rainforest towards what was on the map as the black streak. From there, they would head north towards the enemy's camp where Lily waited, and where Eli’s fate would change forever.

Silently they crept through the rainforest, vigilant in watching for the enemy. Each one of the soldier’s tightly gripped their weapons. Armani marched next to Eli.

“How did you do it?” He whispered, “Kill that beast.”

“I don’t know. I just… for a moment I gained control but then it fled. I did it before in another dream. I have power for a small moment but then it all comes crashing down and I lose it all.”

“Everything is unsteady now. Whatever you did, whatever you unlocked, you may need to do it again. The enemy is strong, and has been growing stronger with each passing day. We’ll be outnumbered. Whatever you can do to eliminate them, do it.” Armani replied. “Remember they are fighting for control too, don’t give it to them.”

For the next two miles the group remained silent. Not speaking a word. Not making a sound. The air was tense and still. The only sound in the forest was that of their faint footsteps and breath. The further they walked, the colder it became. Causing goosebumps to form on Eli’s skin.

“Why has it become so cold?” Eli whispered to Armani.

“An awful chill resides in the camp of the enemy. The closer we come to it, the colder the air becomes.” Armani responded. Eli could sense the fear in the soldier’s eyes. Each one was willing to serve, each one ready to give their life for the success of the mission. But that didn’t mean they weren’t afraid. It didn’t mean that they didn’t fear death. Battle was not a happy experience. Being on the line between death and life was a thrilling experience. However in war it’s not thrilling, it’s dreadful. The noise, the chaos, the death. That’s what they were going into. Eli knew it well. Meaning their battle would be all the more realistic.

Eli looked at their small battalion, and leaned over to Armani.

“Is this it? Will we receive more?”

Armani pulled out the map and showed it to Eli. “Groups around the area have the same message. Get to this point. About two miles from the enemy's camp. There we will group up, and there we will head into battle.” Armani responded, and then put the map back in a pocket in his armor.

“How far are we from the black streak?” The soldier who had made the map asked Armani.

“About half a mile.” Armani responded.

“Everyone be careful and watchful. We are coming up on what looks like a black river. Do not touch it, and stay away from it. If you see it, alert the others. If you see anything that seems to be stained in black tar, do not touch it.” The soldier told the group. The group nodded in acknowledgement and continued forwards.

“Tell me more about this black river.” Armani asked the soldier.

“It wasn’t here a few days ago. It appeared when everything went dark that one day. All I know is don’t touch it. It swallows you up, it infects things around it. Permanently.”

“How did you cross it?”

“When I was there, there was a bridge. It was old, and breaking apart. If it is still standing we can try to cross it. However, if it is down, there are some trees up above, and if we pick the right one we should be able to cross it climbing across the trees, if our men have the skill to do it.”

“Doesn’t sound impossible.”

“We just can't let anyone fall into the black river. Especially Eli.”

Armani nodded. After a moment, Eli came upon something disturbing. As he was walking, he noticed something black lying on the group.

“Armani.” He whispered. Armani turned to look at him and Eli pointed.

“Hault.” Armani told the group. The group stopped marching and looked around the area. Cautiously Eli and Armani approached the black thing. Upon closer look, they discovered it was a man. What looked like a black goo tightly wrapping around him. His face was in pain and agony.

“Did you see anything like this?” Armani asked the soldier who had made the map. The soldier walked over to him and saw the body. The soldier nodded.

“More will appear the closer we get. Don’t touch them.”

“Why?” Eli asked.

“You’ll become infected too.”

“Infected?” Armani looked at the soldier.

“It’s a slow process. I saw it happen to someone, a stray from another camp probably. He saw a body and touched it. His hand became black. His mind fell apart. He went mad, his skin continuing to blacken bit by bit until he fell to the ground shaking, until he fully became black. Then his skin melted into the goo and hardened. He looked similar to this fellow.”

“If you touch the river do you become infected?” Armani asked.

The soldier nodded. “You’d be lucky to drown in it. Be a better fate then be slowly corrupted by it.”

The two nodded.

“As said before, do not touch anything that looks similar to this.” Armani pointed to the body, “And don’t touch anything that looks like black tar.”

The group nodded, and the battalion continued forwards. The closer they came, the air continued to worsen, not only becoming cold, but it was thick, and felt like an awful sickness or disease dwelt upon it. Soon the soldiers began to cough, as the air became harder and harder to breathe. The blackened bodies became more frequent, as they did pass trees and leaves smothered in the black goo. Staying vigilant, everyone was cautious and careful not to touch anything with the black goo, walking at a steady pace and staying away from objects they might brush up against. Finally they arrived at the black river.

Steam seemed to come off the river. It was not awfully wide, but just enough so that you couldn’t simply leap across it. The bridge above it was still standing, however it was old and unsteady. Implying that if too much weight was put upon it, it would collapse, and everyone on it would fall into the river.

“Is there anything you can do to make it stronger, or to help us across it?” Armani asked Eli. Eli looked at his arm and tried to concentrate. He tried to think of a stronger bridge, a newer one. He could feel he was on the tip of grasping power and control again, but couldn’t reach it. Eli shook his head.

“Not now. I can’t reach it.”

Armani nodded and turned to face the group.

“Be wary and cautious, we are at a very dangerous place. We are going to attempt to cross this bridge. Only one soldier at a time, and be careful, it is unsteady and could break with enough force. Understand?”

The soldiers nodded.

“Is anyone willing to go first?” 

The soldiers nervously looked at the black river. One soldier slowly raised his hand. He looked young, and nervous, but bold. Armani nodded. The soldier walked up to the bridge and took a deep breath.

“Be careful.” Armani whispered. The soldier nodded. Carefully he stepped onto the bridge which creaked under his weight. Slowly he walked across it, each step causing the wood to moan. Finally he reached the other side and sighed in relief. He looked around himself for any threats, but found none. He nodded to Armani saying it was time to send the next soldier. Two more soldiers crossed without the bridge collapsing and arrived safely on  the other side of the black river. Armani looked at Eli.

“You should go next.” Armani said. Eli nodded and walked towards the bridge. Carefully he walked onto it. It creaked under its weight, Eli was sure it was going to collapse at any moment. He was about halfway down the bridge when he heard a snap. Instinctively he lunged forwards to the end of the bridge. The soldiers on the other side grabbed his hands and pulled him off the collapsing bridge. When Eli looked behind himself he could see the bridge sinking into the black river. More smoke came from the river. It didn’t take long before the bridge was completely submerged into the black river, and it was as if it was never there at all.

Armani walked over to the soldier who had drawn the map.

“What trees do we climb?” Armani asked.

The remaining nine soldiers began to cautiously climb the nearby trees, being weary to avoid any blac markings embedded into the wood of the trees. Carefully they reached the top, adn began climbing across its branches, which led halfway across the river. The only way to the other side was to jump onto another tree’s branches, and then climb down its trunk. The soldiers did so, and managed to safely climb down and land safely on the other side. Armani was the only one left. 

Steadily he climbed across the branch until he reached its end, and prepared to jump across. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forwards, hands outwards, and grabbed onto the tree’s branch. Tightly gripping the branch, Armani began to climb across it towards the trunk of the tree. He was only an arm's length away from the trunk when suddenly the branch snapped. He reached forwards, his fingers digging into the bark of the wood. However he couldn’t get a good grip and he slid downward, his fingers scraping against the wood. The soldiers managed to rush up underneath him and break his fall. They helped pull him away from the black river, his face full of pain. Wooden splinters stuck out of his bleeding fingers.

Quickly one of the soldiers pulled out a first aid kit and began to remove the splitters and wrap up his wounded fingers. As they were wrapping them up, one of the soldiers counted the group, and then confused, counted again.

“What’s wrong?” Eli asked.

“I thought there were thirteen of us.”

“Yes.”

“Well I only count twelve.”

Eli looked around wildly when suddenly a soldier smashed onto the ground from a tree above. A large chunk of black tar stuck on his arm. His bones snapped as he hit the hard dirt beneath him. The soldiers stumbled back from the sudden shock.

“Stay back.” Armani said, slowly rising to his feet, his aching hands trembling.

“Jonas? Jonas you alright?” One of the soldiers asked. Suddenly the infected soldier coughed out some blood, and then rose to his feet. His leg twisted and broken, yet he stood facing them. His eyes were bloodshot. The black goo seeped into his skin, and slowly the infected area began to spread.

“Jonas, Jonas can you hear me?” The soldier asked, stepping back fearfully.

“He can’t hear you.” The soldier who had made the map said, holding up his gun.

Suddenly the infected soldier screamed and rushed at them. The soldier  who had made the map began firing at it. It knocked the infected one downwards. He moaned in pain as his red and black blood seeped out of his wounds. He shrieked and howled out in pain. Eli quickly shot up its head. The shrieking stopped, and the body rolled backwards and fell into the black river. Suddenly an ear piercing shriek rang through the forest. One that could only belong to a shadow. It was far away, but would reach their location soon.

“Our location is compromised, we must go, quickly.” Armani said. Speedily the soldiers rushed away from the black river, in the direction of the enemy's base.

The rest of their journey was in silence, each one of them disturbed by their encounter with the infected one. As they continued to travel, the air became less hard to breathe, but still became ever colder. Ice began to form on the leaves around them, and the ground became more slick. When they arrived at the gathering area, where they would hopefully meet the other soldiers coming to re-enforce them, the sky was dark, and an awful feeling of dread and fear rested on the forest. 

“We give them an hour. If they are not here by then, they are not coming.” Armani said. The group rested on some trees, awaiting the call to battle.

“How long do the nights here last? The day seemed to be longer than normal.”

“It is day.” Armani replied. “The enemy enjoys the darkness more than the light. The light exposes them, in the dark they can hide. Here, they will look like normal soldiers. In the light, their form is similar to that of the shadow’s. In the dark they can hide all their secrets. In the light, they are there for all to see. Sometimes we are like that. We enjoy the darkness because it hides all our insecurities and our secrets.”

“Yes.” Eli responded.

“Just remember. Though they may try to trick you, don’t lose sight of what is darkness and what is light. You’ll be able to see the difference. Inside, we all do, even if it’s locked away.”

Eli nodded and sat down by a tree, taking a deep breath. He was close. Very close. Soon the fight would begin.

The hour passed, and no help came. Defeated, the soldiers desperately looked around for any sight of other soldiers, but found none. Armani used his walkie talkie to try and communicate with other groups, but found no response. They were alone. They would be fighting the battle alone. Armani gathered up the troops.

“No help has come. But that does not mean we will not fight. He means we will fight even harder. With all our strength. With all our might. Our goal isn’t to survive, it is to get Eli to his daughter Lily. If he can get to her, the tides of the war will shift. As I said in the stronghold. Do whatever it takes.”

“Whatever it takes.” The soldiers responded.

“We do not have enough firepower to outgun them. We are a virus. We break in, and get Eli to the core. Do not attract attention. Once we are discovered, the mission is blown.”

Armani turned his back to the group, and marched forwards.

“Onwards.”

“Onwards.” The soldiers repeated, as they followed Armani forwards, to the battlefield.

Silently, they crept towards the enemy gates. The fortress was large and black. It looked similar to the city Eli had tried to infiltrate in another dream. But this one was more dreadful, stronger and more powerful. The soldiers spread out and found cover. Gripping their weapons, they prepared to charge the town. Armani turned to face Eli.

“Ready?”

Eli nodded and pointed his gun towards the city. Armani gave the signal, and the group silently crept forwards towards the city. They reached the outer wall without being seen. Quietly, they eliminated the guards, and infiltrated the outer wall. Quickly, the band of soldiers snuck through the city, as silent as the grave. They weren’t far from the core, where they would sneak downwards into the core of the city underground, when a beeping sound rang out. All the soldiers turned to one, who was frozen in his steps. An orange light was blinking under his foot. It was a mine. It exploded before the soldier could move.

Eli slowly sat up to find his head bleeding. All the soldiers were lying on the ground. Armani got to his feet, and began firing his gun. Soldiers were closing in on them. Steadily the soldiers began to get to their feet and find cover, however four were incapacitated in the explosion, and two didn’t have enough time to find cover, and where killed by a bullet to the head.

Hiding in a small house. The eight soldiers fired their guns at the enemy from the windows, who were quickly closing in around them. Two more soldiers went down to the earth, dead. A bullet ripped through Armani’s arm, he shouted out in pain. Another soldier went down. Eli felt a bullet wip past his ear. He killed two enemy soldiers, but three came in to take their place.

“They’ve got us.” A soldier groaned. Firing his gun and killing an enemy soldier.

“Don’t stop. We can’t stop.” Armani moaned, gripping his bleeding shoulder. Another soldier went down. Only Armani, Eli, and two other soldiers remained.

“I can’t go down like this, we were so close!” A soldier threw a grenade out the window.

“I’m sorry Eli, I’m sorry.” Armani groaned, sticking his gun out the window and spewing out bullets at the enemy. Suddenly, Armani’s walkie talkie began to buzz.

“He---- we are----- hello?”

“Hello, hello this is Armani we are inside the city and are surrounded.”

“We’re coming.” The walkie talkie went silent.

Suddenly explosions went off from the wall, and the sound of gunfire filled the air. Soldiers stormed the walls, killing everyone in their path. The enemy surrounded their small band quickly left to fend off the soldiers at their gates.

“What's going on?” One of the soldiers asked, stunned.

“A distraction, come on we need to go!” Armani said. The four soldiers rushed out of the small house and continued making their way towards the core of the village, shooting the few soldiers that they encountered rushing to help defend the wall. They reached a large box in the center of the city.

“What is that?” Eli asked.

“An elevator.” Armani responded. The four soldiers guarding the elevator spotted them and fired. Quickly the group hid behind cover and returned fire. They managed to eliminate the four soldiers, however they lost one of theirs. Only Armani, Eli, and one other soldier remained. They sped toward the elevator and searched the bodies of the dead enemy soldiers for the key cards. Armani found it and handed it to Eli, who unlocked the elevator. Suddenly explosions went off near the breach in the outer wall, and the three soldiers saw a bomber plane fly above them from the explosion. In the distance, they could see enemy soldiers rushing towards them.

“Hurry, get in.” Eli said to Armani and the other soldier. The other soldier got in, but Armani didn’t.

“I’ll hold them off best I can, he will protect you down there.”

“You’re no match for them.”

“The mission was to get you to Lily. And that is still the mission.”

Armani closed the elevator, and they began their descent.

Eli tightly gripped his gun as the elevator slowed to a stop. The doors opened and two soldiers greeted them. Quickly Eli and the other soldier quietly incapacitated them before they could pull out their guns. Ahead of them was a dark hallway. It took a sharp right, and then a left until they reached a staircase. Cautiously the two walked down it, guns held forwards, and it led to a large vault with two guards standing by it. Quickly Eli and his comrade shot the guards killing them instantly. The two twisted the large wheel on the vault, opening it, which led down another hallway leading to a door.

“You go, I’ll alert you if anyone comes.”

Eli noded and entered the hallway, the vault closing behind him. Eli reached the door and tightly gripped his gun. Carefully and cautiously he opened it. He walked inside to find Lily sitting in a corner, shivering. She looked only thirteen, maybe fourteen.

“What do you want?” She said nervously. Eli closed the door behind him and took off his helmet. Her face went into shock.

“Dad?” She rushed up and tightly wrapped her arms around Eli, tears falling down her cheek.

“Dad, dad I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’d never let them keep you.”

Suddenly Eli heard screaming from outside along with gunfire.

“Lily, Lily listen to me, they said you needed to tell me something.”

Lily fearfully looked at the door.

“Dad you won’t forget me again will you?”

“No, no I won’t forget you. Now Lily this is important. I need to know what you need to tell me.”

“Dad. Dad, don’t let them take me again. Don’t forget me. Don’t forget any of us. They’re gonna hurt you. Don’t forget us.”

Suddenly the door burst open. Eli tightly hugged Lily.

“I love you.” He whispered in her ear, as he felt the wave of bullets rip into his flesh.

Luke was staring at the floor. He blinked, and shook his head. He wasn’t in his bed like usual. Nor was he in his class, or the room where he met with his therapist. Instead of waking up, he felt like he had snapped back into reality from a sort of day dream. He looked up to see a man facing him, holding a notebook. The man had gray hair and a wrinkly, stern face.

“Alright, fine. Once you're ready to acknowledge your reality, I can meet with you again. Until then, the rules stay the same.” The man closed his book, stood up, and left. Pattinson stood in the corner of the room, staring at the floor.

“You were so close.” He whispered. Eli then felt the cold tip of a needle pierce his neck.

He had no dreams while unconscious. What was really an hour, was only seconds to him. His eyes opened, and he was back in his room. His neck still stung from the injection. His head felt empty. His heat felt heavy. He had an awful headache. A tray of food was lying on the floor, however he didn’t touch it. He had no appetite. A small class cup contained some pills, however, he was hesitant to take them. So there they sat, untouched. The door to Luke’s room opened, and in walked Pattinson.

“Hey Luke, you alright?” His voice was heavy. There was something wrong.

“What happened?” Luke asked.

“What do you mean?” Pattinson replied, confused.

“Who was that man?”

“That was Professor Brickstone. I introduced you too before the meeting.”

Luke felt his breath leave him.

“No, no no no no… I… I was asleep. Please tell me… no that couldn’t have been the interview.” Luke tightly gripped his hair.

“Hey, hey it’s ok-”

“No it’s not!” Luke snapped. “That was my one shot at fixing this. No, no I was asleep…”

“What are you talking about Luke?” Pattinson sat down next to Luke.

“I was asleep. I was in a dream when I woke up to see… Brickstone’s face. I didn’t do the interview. I woke up, and then felt the needle jab into my neck.” Luke rubbed his forehead.

“Luke, Luke do you remember me waking you up?”

“No. Wait… yes I heard your voice but went back to sleep.”

“You don’t remember any of the interview?”

Luke shook his head and buried it in his hands.

“No. No, I was asleep. How could I have talked to him if I was asleep?”

“Luke, you didn’t talk to him. You didn’t talk to any of us.”

Luke looked up at Pattinson, confused.

“You were checked out the entire meeting, wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone. You didn’t say anything until the final question.” Pattinson responded. Luke’s face became pale.

“What was the question?” Luke could barely get the words out. In his head, he already knew the answer.

Pattinson stared sadly at the floor. “He asked if… He began telling you names and asking if they were real or not. He said Crystal, and you said yes. He said Ben, you said yes. He said Silvia, and you didn’t respond. He then said Lily and you said no. But then you started mumbling that you wouldn’t forget her.”

Luke’s heart sank.

“He asked if Lily, Silvia, Patrick and Pearl were real…”

“And I said yes, didn’t I?” Luke whispered.

Pattinson nodded. 

“What happened Luke?”

Luke sighed, “I don’t know. I swear I don’t know. I was asleep.”

Pattinson rubbed his head.

“Ms. Valentine said we should reschedule the session when she saw you.”

“I already had my session?” Luke asked in disbelief.

Pattinson nodded. Luke anrilly and sorrowfully chuckled to himself, digging his nails into his palms.

“It’s ok Luke you couldn’t control it.” Pattinson said.

“Control what?”

“You checked out. You were too afraid of the interview, so you checked out. Your mind fell somewhere else. You answered Professor Brickton’s last question the way you did because that's where you find comfort. Because deep inside that’s what you believe.”

“I don’t want to. I…”

“Luke, we both know you still believe that somewhere, Patrick, Lily, Pearl, and Silvia are still alive.”

Luke dug his nails into his hand.

“Can I be alone?” Luke asked. Pattinson nodded, he then noticed Luke hadn’t taken his pills.

“You’ve been taking your pills right?” He asked, looking at Luke.

“Yes.” Luke mumbled in response. Pattinson pointed to the pills still lying next to the food tray. Luke looked up at the pills and then at Pattinson.

“Sorry, I haven’t taken these yet.”

“Did you take your morning pills?”

“Yes… well. I don’t remember this morning…”

Pattinson saw something lying on the table in the corner. He walked up to it to find Luke’s pills hiding behind one of the pictures. He sighed in frustration and showed the pills to Luke. Luke looked at them confused.

“I didn’t do that. Not consciously, remember I was checked out all morning.”

Pattinson shook his head. “Luke it’s no wonder you checked out you didn’t take your medication, this would have prevented it.”

“No… No, I didn't do that.”

“Then who did?”

“I… I don’t know.” Luke’s head bowed downwards as he tightly gripped his hair.

Pattinson sighed and rubbed his head.

“Luke… I’m really trying to help you here but if you don’t do your part how can I help you heal?”

Luke didn’t respond. Pattinson shook his head and opened the door to the room.

“Take your pills. You have your art class in an hour.” Pattinson then left the room. Luke shook his head. He was so close, so close, and it had all been thrown away. Sadly, part of what Pattinson had said was true. He did still believe, or at least a part of him believed, that Silvia, Ben, Lily and Pearl were real. In his dream he had promised not to forget Lily. No matter what.

He walked over to the table of his things and picked up the rubix cube. Sitting down on his bed, he began to twist and turn the cube, trying to match the colors together. He managed to connect a bar of green colors, however, after trying to connect to other green colors, he messed up the bar, causing him to start where he had begun. After almost thirty minutes of frustratingly attempting to solve the cube, he angrily set the cube back onto the table shaking his head.

Only Patrick had known how to solve the cube. Little by little Patrick explained it to his siblings, however they never fully understood how to solve it. Luke swore Patrick once told him, what he would call algorithms, to use, however, no matter how hard he tried to remember, the thoughts wouldn’t come to him. No matter how hard he didn’t want to believe it, it was like trying to remember a dream. They didn’t feel real. There was something off about them.

Luke looked at the ground to see the pills. He grabbed one, out of the four pills, and put it to his lips when suddenly he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

“Dad.” Luke dropped the pills gasping. He wildly looked around the room, he was alone.

“Don’t forget me… please.” It was Lily’s voice. Luke uneasily looked at the pills. He picked up the pill he had dropped and put it in with the rest, and looked around for a place to hide them. He saw the picture, and began to walk over to hide them behind it and then stopped. Realizing what he was doing. He began to realize, that it was him who hid the pills. And he was doing it again. He picked up one of the pills and put it to his lips. He could hear his daughter crying in his ear. He began to swallow the pill when he heard a gunshot and coughed the pill out gasping. He shook his head as tears began to fall from his cheeks. Suddenly the door to his room opened.

“No, no please. Listen, please…” Luke pleaded as One of the guards pulled out a needle. “There’s no need for that. Can we just-” it was no use. Luke felt the needle break into his flesh and inject the drug into his veins.

“Don’t forget. Don’t forget.” The many voices said, “Don’t forget. Remember us.” The voices continued repeating this, and the more they did it, the voices began narrowing down, until there were not many voices chanting the phrase, but only four. Eli recognized the four voices. It was his family’s. It was Silvia’s, Lily’s, Patrick’s and Pearl’s. Their voices however soon faded, and then a new voice began to chant the phrase. “Don’t forget them. Remember us. Remember me.” The voice was his own.

Luke awakened inside a room similar to Ms. Drew’s but slightly smaller. He was sitting in a chair next to a stand. On the stand was an empty canvas, a paintbrush, and some colors. The teacher, who Luke assumed to be Ms. Hyma, was talking to another patient. There were only four patients, each one with an empty canvas. The one ahead of Luke was Nevea. She turned to see Luke was awake and smiled.

Ms. Hyman stood in front of the four patients, smiling.

“Alright class. I don’t know if you all have noticed but we have a new classmate here. Can you introduce yourself?”

“I’m…” Luke had a hard time getting the words out. His head began to hurt and he felt dizzy.

“His name’s Luke.” Nevea chimed in. Luke nodded.

“Ah Luke, well we are happy for you to be joining us. Today we are going to do a simple painting eversize I’m going to be putting on some classical music and I want you all to paint what comes to your mind. Sounds good?” The four patients nodded.

“Alright let's get started.” Ms. Hyma walked over to a speaker and began playing some classical music and the group began painting. Luke leaned over to Nevea.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

“No problem.” She replied.

Luke stared at the blank canvas. He tried to picture Lily’s face, and began to draw an outline of her. He began to pain her, but couldn’t remember her features. He looked at the outline, and continued to work on it. Shifting from drawing Lily, to drawing something else. Something that had no features. Something that even if he wanted to forget, he couldn’t. The Blurry Faced Man. After almost thirty minutes had passed, he had completed his drawing. He stepped back, shocked at what he had done. The picture was perfect. It was almost as if he had taken a picture of The Blurry Faced man. Ms. Hyma walked over to him and looked at his drawing.

“I didn’t know you were such an artist Luke. What do you call it?”

“The Blurry Faced man.” He responded. Hyma nodded.

“It’s very good Luke. Would you like to draw another picture? Luke nodded. Ms. Drew picked up the picture and set it on a table to dry while she fetched another blank canvas. He peeked over at Nevea’s canvas to see what she was drawing. What he saw sent a small shiver down his spine. She drew him, inside a black room, his feet stuck inside the concrete floor. He was gripping a bloody saw, sawing off his legs to escape.

“What is this?” Luke whispered, nervously.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to face Ms. Hyma, who handed him a small container with pills inside.

“I was told it’s time for your pills.”

She handed Luke the pills, he stared uneasily at them. He then heard Nevea’s voice whisper into his ear, “Whatever it takes.”

He turned and looked again at the picture. 

“Luke are you alright?” Ms. Hyma asked, looking at him nervously.

“Are you ready?” Luke heard the many voices echo in his head. Luke’s finger curled up to make a fist, a surge of power and energy filling his soul. It was time.

Grabbing the new empty canvas on the stand, he rushed towards the exit door to the room. Giving the guards guarding the door no time to react, Luke smashed the canvas into one of their heads, and threw the glass container with the pills at the other’s face. He burst open the door and began running down the hallway. He shoved past nurses and doctors as guards began chasing him from behind. The further he went, the more tired he became, but he wouldn’t stop. He turned a sharp right, searching for the exit to the building. A guard rushed in front of him. Luke bashed the guard hard  in the face, breaking his nose, and then slammed his head against the wall, his blood smearing the once white paint. Running through an open doorway, Luke turned a sharp left and continued down another hallway. Suddenly the doorway ahead of him buzzed at the door closed. He tried to open the door but it was locked. He banged and kicked the door but to no use.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain pierce his back, as electricity surged through his body. He fell to the ground shaking. Two guards rushed towards him. Fighting the awful pulsing and pain, Luke reached behind himself, grabbed the wires stuck into his flesh and ripped them out. He began fighting the guards, punching them in the face and throwing them against the walls. He ran in the opposite direction of the doorway. He took a right to find the doorway ahead close and the door lock.

He spun around to find a fist flying towards him. He heard a loud snap as he came tumbling to the ground, as blood gushed from his nose. He felt the guard's knee dig into his back and pin him to the floor. He shouted and struggled against the guards grip, but it was no use. More guards came, and Luke felt a needle aggressively shoved into his neck. Everything became black.

“Welcome back.” The many voices spoke. Eli looked around himself. He was back, in the room, his feet stuck inside the cement floor beneath him.

“How did she know?” Eli asked.

“She?” The voices responded.

“Nevea, the other patient. She painted a picture of this room. How could she have seen it?”

“Depends on who you’re asking.”

“I’m asking you. How did she know?”

“Because your dreams are mixing with reality.”

Eli shook his head, “No, no there must be a clearer explanation.”

“You’re asking yourself these questions, remember? If you want clearer answers, you know who to ask. I’m just a…” The voices paused, as if to think, then responded, “Guide.”

Eli sighed and looked down at his feet.

“We’re in the final stretch of it Eli. But if you’re going to continue, and discover the dirty truth hidden in the lies, you must prove you’re willing to do…”

“Whatever it takes.” Eli finished.

Eli looked to the right of himself to see a saw lying on the floor next to him. Wearily and fearfully he looked at it.

“Well. Let’s get on with it, time is running out.”

Eli reached down and picked up the saw, he could still picture the painting Nevea had drawn in his mind. 

“Will it hurt? Will I feel pain?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

He put the saw to his right leg. He could distinctly feel the cold metal against his skin.

“It feels too real.” Eli said, his voice quivering.

“Course it feels real. Everything in a dream feels real doesn’t it?”

Eli took a deep breath, tightly gripping the handle of the saw. He sat down on the cement below.

“One…” He whispered, placing the edge of the blade of the saw against his leg, “Two…” He tightly closed his eyes, “Three.” He shoved the saw across his leg, the blade digging deep into his flesh. He cried out in pain as blood gushed from the slit, staining the metal of the blade red.

“Quickly now.” The voices mused.

With his hands shaking, and his jaw tightly clenched, he painfully continued sawing off his right leg. The blade grinded against the bone. Eli began shouting uncontrollably because of the pain. Finally the saw cut through the bone. Quickly sliced apart the remaining flesh. Blood gushed from the wound, and his head quickly began to become light.

“Only one more to go.” The voices spoke. Eli stared at the lower half of his leg still sticking up from the pavement, blood dripping down it.

“Hurry, we can’t stay here forever.”

Eli placed the saw against the other leg and with all his strength began sawing it off like he did the other one. As he was cutting through the bone however, the blade became stuck in his leg. He shouted in agony in pain, trying to pull the blade from his leg, but failed.

“Help me please. I can’t!” Eli shouted, his face red and wet. His arms shaking from the awful pain.

“Only you can free yourself.” The voices responded.

“You’re me aren’t you.”

“Yes and no. I’m just the guide, it’s not my job.”

Eli shouted into the darkness in anger. He clenched he saw and pushed as hard as he could on it until suddenly it broke free. Eli continued sawing through the bone until finally it cut through, and he speedily sliced through the remaining flesh. He cried out into the darkness, falling onto his back. The bottom half of his legs dripped with blood, sticking upwards from the cement like two tree stumps in the ground.

“Good, follow me.” The voices said. Tortures suddenly lit on the walls, illuminating the room, and revealing a hallway. With his fists clenched and his teeth grinding against one another, he began crawling down the hallway. The further down he crawled, the narrower it became, until Eli’s shoulders were brushing up against the stone walls beside him.

“How much further?” Eli cried out.

“Not much. Hurry now.” The voices responded. Eli continued painfully crawling down the hallway. Soon however the walls were too narrow he could pass through if he continued crawling.

“I can’t go any further!” Eli shouted.

“Yes you can. On your side.” The voices responded.

Eli turned onto his left side, and grabbing into the walls, he began pulling himself down the hallway.

“We’re almost there, don’t stop now.”

Eli could see a white light up ahead. He was so close. Suddenly he heard an awful roar. A roar he had heard before. One that could only possibly belong to one thing. The lethery monster from the rainforest.

“No no!” The voices shouted in anger. Suddenly the walls crumbled into sand, smashing all over Eli. He felt himself tumbling down a hill. He rolled to a stop and looked around himself. The sky was dark, gunfire surrounded him. He was back in his military clothes, and his legs had returned. Blood dribbled down his forehead.

Barren rushed up to him and helped him to his feet.

“Come on, we're almost there! It’s not far from here, hurry!”

Eli and Barren continued running through the harsh sand as the enemy chased them. Quickly they caught up with Boiler and Viickson. 

“We’re not going to make it!” Barren cried, staring behind them. Suddenly a bullet ripped through his head, killing him.

“Barren!” Viickson cried looking back to see his dead body tumble to the ground.

“We can’t stop now!” Boiler shouted. Eli then felt an awful pain burst out of his knee. He fell to the ground. He looked at his leg to see blood dripping from a bullet wound. Viickson and Boiler grabbed him and hoisted him upwards. Wrapping his arms around their backs, they helped carry him as they ran.

“Where is it?” A booming voice called from above. More blood dripped down Eli’s head as he nervously looked at the sky. “Where is it!?”

Suddenly Boiler tumbled to the ground, He gripped his chest, and blood started coming up from a new wound. Viickson grabbed the two by their feet and began dragging them across the sand in desperation as the enemy rushed towards them.

An enemy soldier rushed up to Viickson and slammed his gun hard into the soldier's skull, knocking him unconscious. One of the enemy soldiers then turned to Eli, who lay on the sand crying out in pain while clutching his bleeding knee, and lifted his foot. Eli heard a loud crack as the soldier's boot pushed down on his face.

Luke woke up shouting in pain. He was shaking uncontrollably, eyes darting around as he tried to steady his quick and short breaths. He was in a room. A white room. He was in a straight jacked, a chain around his neck locking him to a wall. His table of belongings were gone. A bottle of black pills was lying in the center of the room.

“No! No!” Shouted at the pills. Tears began to fall down his cheeks. “Get me out! Get me out! Please!” He cried at the ceiling, hoping for the many voices to respond. But no response came.

“Help me! Help me please!” He curled up into a ball, shaking.

“I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy.” He whispered to himself. Suddenly the door opened, startling Luke. Pattinson walked in.

“It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Luke fearfully looked at him.

“I’m not crazy. Please. I’m not crazy.”

“Hey it’s ok. I’m your friend, remember? Do you remember my name?” His voice was gentle.

“Pattinson. You’re Pattinson.” Luke responded.

“Yes. Yes. I’m your doctor. I’m here to help you. Do you remember your name?”

“I’m…” Luke felt an awful pain in his head, as voices screamed at him. He could hear gunfire and explosions around him. More tears fell from his cheeks.

“Make them stop, please make them stop.” Luke cried, trying to block out the noise, only to have it grow louder.

“Make who stop?” Pattinson asked.

“Gunfire, screaming. Make them be quiet.” Luke tightly shut his eyes. Pattinson pulled a pill out of the bottle.

“Listen, listen to me. I can help you. You just need to take this pill and it’ll all stop.”

Luke glared at Pattinson.

“No. No those things… they kill. They poison me.”

“No, no they’ll cure you. Just take this one pill. Please. You’ll feel so much better.”

The screaming turned into a screeching, and the gunfire turned into roars from the lethery beast.

Luke began to shake even more.

“You just need to take this one pill. Please.” Pattinson handed Luke the pill, who stared at it, eyes watery.

“I… I don’t know anymore.” He cried, he began to put the pill closer to his mouth.

“It’s gonna be ok. Just take the pill.” Pattinson urged. As the pill touched Luke’s lips, a surge of fear and pain filled his body, as images of Iraq and his fellow soldiers, and the enemy, and the gunfire and explosions filled his mind. Luke stared at the pill, a part of him yearning to take it, like it was addicted to it. The other part of him fearing the consequences of doing so, and losing Lily, Silvia, Patrick and Pearl forever.

“Come on, just take the pill and it’ll all be over, I promise.”

Luke pushed the pill onto his mouth, it set on his tongue, releasing a sour taste.

“Good, Now just swallow.”

Luke could hear Lily’s voice crying out to him. He looked down to see his legs, images of the saw and the blood began to fill his mind. His body began to try and force him to take the pill, as screams filled his ear. He tightly shut his eyes.

“Come on, just take the pill.” Pattinson whispered.

His reflexes forced himself to begin to swallow the pill. He tried to fight it, but couldn’t stop the pill from sliding down his throat. His mind suddenly cleared, and he went numb. Pattinson smiled. Luke felt open and exposed. He stopped shaking.

“Good. Now, what’s your name?”

Luke didn’t respond.

“Hey, look at me.”

Luke looked up at Pattinson.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m…” Luke started, he felt his mind slipping away. He tried to stop it. He leaned back against the wall, fighting to stop from slipping away.

“It's ok, you can say it, I’m…” Pattinson said.

“I’m…” Luke began to feel the blade of the saw on his leg. His muscles tensed, his jaw became clenched. His eyes tightly shut. He could hear the many voices whispering tinto his ear, “Whatever it takes.”

He then felt the saw slice through his legs, and his control flooding back to him. He opened his eyes, glaring at Pattinson.

“My wife is Silvia. I have three children. Patrick, Lily, and Pearl.” Luke began rising to his feet.

“No, no, that’s not real, this is real!” Pattinson shouted.

“You asked my name. I am Eli Pierce.”

Suddenly, an awful pain filled Luke’s head, as he began to cough up blood. His vision became blurry, until it faded to black.

Eli woke up to find himself surrounded by pure white. There were no walls or ceiling. He didn’t see a floor either. He was simply standing in white space. A few steps away, was the blurry faced man, kneeling beside a suitcase. A black knife was sticking out of his bleeding chest. Eli walked towards him. The Blurry Faced man looked up at him, his breathing was ragged and harsh.

“What happened?”

“The fight is ending.” Although his words were muffled, Eli could make them out. The Blurry Faced man then gestured to a suitcase. Eli knelt down and grabbed the suitcase. He tried to open it, but it wouldn’t open. Eli looked for a lock, but found none.

“It won't open.” Eli said. The Blurry Faced man pointed towards a rubix cube lying next to him. Eli grabbed it, it was severely scrambled. Eli shook his head.

“I don’t know how to solve it.”

“Yes you do.” The Blurry Faced man could barely get out the words. Eli looked at the cube and began twisting it, trying to match the colors. He managed to collect a few, but when trying to add more, he mixed up all the progress he had done.

“I can’t solve it.” Eli said frustratedly.

“Yes you do. Remember.” The Blurry Faced man replied. Eli took a deep breath. Pondering what he could remember of his dreams, and of his son, Patrick. Of his other life. He began twisting the cube in various ways. Staring at the colors, and making certain patterns. As he continued solving the cube, the Blurry Faced Man’s breathing became sharper, and he began to fall to the side. 

Eli could hear Patrick’s voice whispering the instructions to him. He twisted the cube faster and faster until finally, it was finished. All the colors matched, the cube was solved. 

“Did it, I did it!” Eli looked at the Blurry Faced man, who was lying on his side, his breath quickly slowing.  Suddenly Eli heard a clicking noise come from the suitcase. He opened the suitcase to find a white piece of paper lying inside, a small sentence printed on it. He picked up the piece of paper, and carefully read the three words printed on it.

You Are Asleep.

Eli looked up from the paper to see the Blurry Faced Man’s face wasn’t blurry anymore. The face staring back at him was his own. Eli stumbled back. The man let out one last breath, whispering two words. “Wake Up.”

He was in water. Not cold water, but not hot water either. Warm water, water he had felt before, in a dream. He tried to look around, but could not open his eyes. He could feel a plastic tube running down his throat and nose. He could hear half muffled but panicked voices around him.

“No no it’s too late!” One man shouted.

“We have to try!” Another man replied.

“No you’ll kill him, the world has collapsed!”

“This is our last chance! There’s no other way!” 

Eli could feel a thick liquid pulsing through his bloodstream. Eli felt his mind begin to buzz, as he slowly drifted away into unconsciousness.

Slowly his eyes drifted open. He was back in his room, however something was different. The room was tilted. Eli was lying in a corner. The lights above him flickered, as webs hung from some of the walls. He rose to his feet.

“Hello? Hello?” He asked to find no response. He walked towards the door, it was locked. Angrily he began banging on it, trying to force it open. After shoving himself into it it burst open. The hallways were dim, with the lights either not functioning, or faintly flickering.  Dust alined the floor, and mold grew on the walls. Paint was peeling off the once white walls, revealing what appeared to be stone behind it. He continued walking down the hall until he came across a half decomposed body of a nurse. He stumbled back shocked. Maggots and beetles filled the inside of the body. Eli turned a corner to find three more decomposing bodies lining the walls. The grotesque stench filled the air. Eli plugged his nose as he walked down the hall, turning another corner. He walked down an empty hallway to come across another locked door.

With some effort, he broke the door open and walked into a lobby. A secretary's desk was on a wall, with the secretary's decomposing body sitting in her chair. Two more corpses were in the room. One lying on the floor, and the other sitting in a chair holding a magazine. Eli walked through the lobby to face two sliding doors leading outside. He took a deep breath. He had never stepped outside the psych ward before. Pulling the doors open, he walked through the doorway, and out into the open.

He stepped out into a vast desert. The sand was cool against his feet, however the desert air was hot against his skin. He saw in the distance a figure lying on the sand. He approached it. The figure was motionless, lying on its front on the sand. Eli turned it over and stumbled back. The half rotted face staring back at him, was Pattinson’s. Eli felt a sudden burning in his hand. When he looked at it, there was no visible damage, however the burning continued. Shaking his hand, Eli continued to walk on the cool desert sand away from the crumbling psych ward. Far ahead, he could see the outline of what looked like a city. Although far, Eli decided to start his journey towards it.

As he continued on however, his legs became weary, and sweat dribbled down his forehead. Although he didn’t think it would, the sun began to set on the horizon ahead. The sky began to fade from light blue, to a dark purple. The air stayed the same, and long after the sunset, the air remained warm. Eli found a tall sand dune and layed down on the cool sand. His feet ached from walking, his muscles were tired.

“Hello!?” he called out into the vast empty air, “Hello!?” Still no response came. As he laid there, terrible shrieking noises filled the air, sending shivers down Eli’s spine. When the sun rose, the shrieking stopped, and Eli continued his journey towards the city. His heat began to become heavy, and his breathing labored. He looked around himself, at the sand. He buried his face in his hands. Dreams always felt real in the moment. It’s not until you notice the small things, the little disturbances in the dream that you realize you may not be in what you thought was reality after all.

“Why am I here!?” Eli shouted at the sky, but no response came, “I want to wake up. I want to wake up.” he moaned. The burning sensation in his hand became more severe, and traveled up to his elbow. He looked at his hand to find his skin was turning black. 

“No, no no no please no.” Eli looked desperately around.

“Help somebody! Armani!? You voices!? Help! Help please!” Eli stared at the city far ahead, and began to pick up his pace towards it. He continued towards it until the sun set, and marched through the night. The shrieking returned throughout the night, and all along his journey Eli wearilly looked out for the creatures making the awful noises. As before, the shrieking died out as sunrise approached, and once the sun peaked out from the horizon, it had stopped completely. Steadily, the city grew larger, and Eli knew he was growing closer.

His black hand uncontrollably shook. The blackness had traveled up his hand, and to his elbow, while the burning sensation had almost reached his shoulder. His head was filled with pain, as his muscles felt weak. As he was walking, his legs gave out, and he tumbled down a sand dune. His mouth was dry, his stomach empty. The sun was glaring, and seemed to be giving off more heat than before. Eli’s head seemed to continuously spin, as the area around him came in and out of focus. 

“What’s the point of this!” Eli shouted. His voice hurt, his eyes felt dry. 

He managed to pull himself to his feet, and hold his balance. The city looked only two miles away, Eli doubted he could make it that far however.

Muscles weak, and heart heavy, Eli slowly continued towards the city. When night came however once more, he rested on the sand. Though he deeply wanted to sleep, hoping that that would help him gain back his strength, his eyes wouldn’t close, and he couldn't get his active mind to quiet down. So he simply laid there, on the sand, staring at the blank and black starless sky. The shrieking returned as before. Eli vigilantly looked out for the being making the awful noises. 

The night had almost passed when Eli saw in the distance something moving. Quickly he rose to his feet, a new sense of energy filling his body. The thing was not too far off. Eli began creeping backwards when he suddenly felt a chill fill his bones. He knew in his soul it was watching him. It was then he realized what it was. Suddenly, an ear piercing glass shattering shriek filled Eli’s head, and he fell to his knees gripping his hair and shouting in pain. The Shadow began charging towards him. Seeing it rushing towards him, Eli quickly got to his feet and began running from it. 

The shadow was fast, much faster than him, and it was speedily gaining on him. With all his might Eli tried to run as fast as he could, but deep in his heart he knew he could not outrun it. He could see the sky beginning to lighten, the sun would soon be up. He just needed to outrun the Shadow until the sun rose. Eli rushed up a sand dune and stumbled down it, quickly however regaining his footing and continuing to run. The Shadow however leaped into the air, landing cleany on top of the dune and purposefully rolling down in, immediately regaining its footing with ease. It let out another awful screech, causing what felt like glass exploding in Eli’s mind.

As he rushed up a dune, he lost his footing and crashed down onto the sand. The Shadow’s hand molded into a large black knife. Eli had pulled himself to his feet when he suddenly felt something rip into his back. When he looked down at his chest, he saw the black tip of a black sticking out. His blood began to seep through his white jumpsuit. The sun peeked over the horizon, and the Shadow vanished.

Gasping for air, Eli tumbled down the dune, rolling onto the sand below. When he looked down at his chest, there was no more wound, however the blood stains remained. He found he couldn’t move any of his body except his head. So he laid there, motionless. His whole right arm was quivering, the skin pitch black. The burning sensation was now in his chest. He hoped the infection would quicken its course, so he could die and hopefully leave this dream.

The sun’s heat worsened, and Eli began pondering what would happen if he died. Where would he wake up? In his cell, in the glass case, or perhaps in another dream. As he was lying there, he began to hear footsteps in the distance. He turned his head in the direction of the footsteps to see a man walking towards him, holding a suitcase. At first, Eli thought it was The Blurry Faced man, but soon realized it wasn't. The man reached Eli and took off his hat. The face staring back at him looked like his own, but was different. A sinister look was lying behind his eyes. When Eli finally realized who it was, he tried to run away, tried to get to his feet, but still his muscles would not move.

“I’m afraid you’re not going to be moving for a while.” Luke grinned.

“What are you here for?” Eli croaked, barely managing to get out the words.

Luke tapped on his head, “Information.”

Eli shook his head, “There’s nothing in there of value.”

“That’s because it’s locked away. Not even you realize it. Your mind may be scrambled egg but, that won’t stop me from finding it I assure you.”

Luke set the suitcase down and opened it, revealing a variety of torture tools. He pulled a wrench out of it, and showed it to Eli, grinning.

“We can go as long, or as short as you want. How much pain you suffer, is all up to you.”

“What do you want? I’m telling you I don’t know.”

“Yes you do. Now tell me…” Luke walked up to Eli and forcefully opened his mouth, “Where is it?”

“What?”

“You know what I am talking about, you're just blocking it out. Stop protecting it.”

Luke tightly gripped the wrench.

“Three…” Luke began to count down.

“Please, I don’t know,” Eli pleaded.

“Two…” Luke pressed the wrench inside Eli’s mouth.

“I’m telling you I don’t know.”

“One.” Luke grabbed one of Eli’s teeth with the wrench and began to pull. Eli cried out in pain as the tooth began to break away from the gums. With one firm tug, Luke ripped out the tooth. Blood dripped down from Eli’s gums, as he groaned in pain. Luke dropped the tooth on the sand.

“That’s one, want to lose another?” Luke asked, pushing the wrench inside Eli’s mouth again.

“No, no please no.” Eli moaned.

“Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“The rendezvous point, where is it!?” Luke shouted, using the wrench to tighten on another tooth.

“I… I don’t know. I swear…”
“Yes you do, they told it to you, stop hiding it!” Luke began ripping out another tooth as Eli shouted in pain. Blood dripped onto the silver wrench as the second tooth was torn from his gums and dropped onto the sand.

“We can do this all day.” Luke whispered into Eli’s ear. And they did. Luke pulled out all of Eli’s teeth save a few, leaving his gums red with blood. He continually had to spit out the blood dripping in his mouth so he wouldn’t swallow it. The sun set, and the information had still not been spilt. Luke frustratedly put the wrench back into the briefcase and began harshly kicking Eli, who cried out in pain. Luke grabbed Eli’s face.

“Is it really so hard! This can all be over if you’d just tell me.”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do. Just find it. They’re hiding it, the people inside your head. Just give it to me. Just give it to me!”

Luke then noticed Luke’s face was growing pale, and his veins had a black tint in them. He grinned.

“You’re infected.” Luke laughed, “It’s only a matter of time till it’s fully covered you. Then your secrets will be exposed. You’ll have no defenses. Tell you what, you tell me where the rendezvous point is, and I’ll cure you. You have the night to think it over.”

Luke then grabbed a couple nails from the suitcase, and pressed them deep into Eli’s leg.

“And I’ll remove these nails once you do.”

Eli could feel the infection worsening. It had covered his chest and was spreading down his legs. He looked over to the right to see the city in the distance. It wasn’t far. He was so close to reaching it. Luke sat down on the sand and began to rest. Eli looked at the blank sky.

“Help me. Help me.” he whispered. His eyes glazed over the entirety of the night. The sun rose from the horizon. Luke pulled a shock color from the briefcase.

“So, what did they tell you?” Luke asked. Eli didn’t respond. Staring to his right, he could distinctly see the city. It was closer than it had been before.

“Well?” Luke walked towards Eli, who shifted his gaze to Luke’s beady eyes.

“I told you I don’t know.”

Luke shook his head and wrapped the shock collar around his neck. He pressed a button on the color and a surge of electricity surged through Eli’s body. Luke twisted a knob on the controller, causing the intensity of the pain to increase. Eli’s vision began to blur into white. He could see Silvia staring at him, whispering into his ear, come back. 

Eli’s fists became clenched, and he began to shout. The sand began to shake.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked, he increased the intensity of the pain even more. Eli’s body shook, he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on the pain, focusing on it. His eyes flashed open, he shot his hand forwards sending a pulse through Luke, knocking him backwards. With all his strength Eli grabbed the shock collar and ripped it off his neck, throwing it into the sand beside him.

Slowly he rose to his feet.

“Impossible, impossible.” Luke quickly got to his feet, “Sit down!” he shouted. Eli suddenly felt his strength leave him and he fell back onto the sand.

“No, no this is mine. Mine.” Eli cried, regaining strength in his muscles and rising back onto his feet. Luke charged at Eli and knocked him onto the sand, pinned him down and began punching him. Eli grabbed his face and dug his thumb into Luke’s eye. Luke shouted in pain and finally rolled off to the side. Eli rushed towards the suitcase and pulled a hammer from it. Luke rushed up to Eli and jumped on top of him. The two struggled to gain control of the hammer. Eli elbowed Luke hard in the ribs, causing him to lose grip of the hammer. Eli rose to his feet, hammer raised. Luke nervously looked at him, then smiled.

Eli stumbled backwards, his vision blurry and bright. His body was shaking uncontrollably. He looked down at his black hands.

“It’s all over. In just a few minutes, you’ll be gone. Permanently.” Luke grinned. Eli looked behind him. The city was now even closer. That’s when he saw it was moving at a quick pace towards them.

Luke charged at Eli. Eli turned and swung the hammer into Luke’s shoulder. Luke stumbled to the ground but managed to knock Eli down with him. Luke rushed on top of Eli and began to mercilessly choke him, grinning while doing so.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. That’s the infection's job.” 

Eli could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. He tried punching Luke in the ribs, but he couldn’t hit him hard enough for him to let go. Eli spit out the pooled up blood in his mouth on Luke’s face. Luke loosed his grip and Eli ripped his hands off his throat. The city was closer than ever. Soon it would take them both. Eli grabbed the hammer and hit Luke hard in the back with it. Luke shouted in pain as he tried to push himself to his feet, but Eli quickly pinned him to the sand.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you.” Eli said, lifting up Luke’s head to see the building, “They are.”

“No, no no!” Luke shouted trying to release himself from Eli’s grip, but failed. Dust clouds embraced the two as the buildings rushed towards them. Eli began to laugh. He held out his hand and made a fist along with a pulling motion. The buildings suddenly fell forwards towards them. Luke yelled in anger as Eli shouted in triumph while the cement buildings fell downwards, crushing them both instantly.

“No, no! Get him back in!”

“It’s all over, the world is completely gone!”

“He’s waking up, get him back asleep.”

“There’s no dream for him to go back to!”

“Get him in the cell, get him in the cell!”

“It’s over. It’s all over.”

The ground was cold, so were the walls. Eli couldn’t see everything. He tried to open his eyes, however still his vision was black. He touched his face, feeling for a bandana possibly covering his eyes, and then realized that his eyes were in fact wide open. Fear began to settle in, he couldn't do anything but darkness. He crept back into a cold corner, the wall made of stone. He was cold, and naked. He felt sick to his stomach, his head was pounding with pain. Parts of his body stung. He felt the areas to find blood along with small holes in his skin, what felt like from an I.V. He discovered how thin he was. He could feel each one of his ribs. His arms were thin like a toothpick. His stomach growled and cramped in pain.

His throat stung, and a sour taste lied in his mouth. He felt his head to find gauze wrapped around it, some of it wet, probably from his own blood. He felt around the room. It was small, he assumed it was a cell. As he felt around, he found parts of the floor had blood on it. He was creeping along a wall when he felt something ahead of himself. It felt like skin. He crept back, scared.

“Hello? Hello, who's there.” There came no response. Eli slowly reached his hand back otu to feel the thing ahead of him. It was another man. His skin was cold. Eli then began to taste the awful smell lurking in the air. The smell of the dead. Eli crept back into his corner shaking, as tears fell down his cheek. He stayed there for an hour, shivering and afraid. He could hear voices from outside, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Suddenly he heard the door to the room open, and people walked inside.

“Get up.” A low voice growled. It was a man's voice, with a heavy accent. Eli had heard it before, but he couldn’t remember when.

“I said get up.” Eli felt a rough hand grip his hand and pull him upwards. Eli frantically looked around and tried to steady himself before falling onto the hard ground below. He groaned in pain.

“He can’t see.” Another voice said. This man was American.

“Doesn’t mean he can’t walk.” Eli felt the rough hand grab his shoulder and pull him upwards. He grabbed onto the wall beside him, steadying himself. His muscles were weak and shaking. His head felt dizzy and light. 

“Come on, let’s go.” The rough voice commanded. Eli felt down the wall towards the exit and carefully walked out of the room. Eli felt the man push him forwards. He stumbled, but managed to not fall. The rough hand grabbed him and turned him towards the left. Eli continued walking forwards until he hit something in front of him. Something metal.

“Sit down.” The voice commanded. Eli carefully felt around the chair and sat down in it. The chair was cold against his bare skin. He felt exposed. He couldn’t see, and had no protection.

“Where is it?” The man commanded.

Eli didn’t respond. He felt something hard hit his side, he moaned in pain, clutching his ribs.

“Where is it! The rendezvous point, where is it!! We know it’s nearby, now where is it!?”

“I… I…” Eli could barely speak. Eli felt something hard hit his face, fellt to the right and off the chair.

“Listen to me, he’s had too much.” The American voice said, “His brain is scrambled. You can beat him all you want, he can’t tell you. It’s too deep… the information is lost to even him.”

Eli heard something hard hit someone, and then heard the American groan in pain.

“You screwed it up just like the other one!” Eli then heard a gunshot, startling him, along with a scream. A woman’s scream.

“Where’d you get that?” The rough voice asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

Eli heard a sudden gunshot, the man with the rough voice’s gasp in pain, and then his body thudding to the floor along with the clatter of his gun.

“You shot him.” A woman’s voice said in shock.

“Come on, come on we have to go.” A man’s voice said.

“Impossible.” A new voice said. Again tiw as male.

“Here take this.” Eli heard someone grab the gun.

“Where will we go?” 

“Anywhere but here. Someone will find us. If we stay here, they’ll kill us.”

Eli could hear the three people leaving.

“Help… Help…” Eli moaned. The footsteps stopped.

“What about him, and the other?”

“We don’t have time. They’re dying anyway. Come one, we have to go now.”

“Please, please help me, please.” Eli creid looked around. He could hear the footsteps leaving.

“No please, please help me!” Eli began to hear gunfire outside. He curled up in a ball, shivering. An hour after the gunfire ended, Eli heard footsteps. Coming towards him.

“Hello? Hello, please help me. I can’t see.” Eli cried. 

“Put him back in the cell.” A rough voice commanded.

Eli then felt harsh hands grab his arms and began dragging him away. He was thrown back into the cell and heard the door shut behind him. Tears began falling down his cheeks. He crawled towards a wall and leaned up against it.

“Pierce?” Eli heard a faint voice call. It came from behind the wall, possibly from another cell. “Pierce is that you?”

Eli recognized the voice.

“Hello, hello who's there?”

“It’s… it’s me. It’s me… Viickson.”

“Viickson, Viickson you’re real?”

“Yes. Yes.” Viickson’s voice sounded as weak as his, if not more.

“Where are you?”

“In the other cell. What happened out there?”

“I don’t know, I just heard some voices, Americans, and then a gunshot. They killed someone, and then made a run for it. Viickson, Viickson I can’t see. But there’s an awful smell in here, along with the body.”

“The doctors said there would be side effects.” Viickson chuckled angrily, but with a hint of sorrow and despair, “Pierce. There’s another one in your cell. It’s Boiler. He’s dead. Heard he died only an hour after we were brought here.”

Tears began to fall down Eli’s cheek.

“What happened?”

“I… I don’t know. All I remember is me being thrown in this cell. The doctors did something to you. Put you to sleep or something. Think they did the same to me. We’re soldiers. We were captured. They want to know something…”

“The rendezvous point.”

“Yah… yah…”

“Do you know anything about it?”

“No.” Viickson responded, “They desperately want to know where it is, or was…”

There was a moment of silence between the two soldier’s.

“What do you remember?” Viickson asked.

“I don’t know. I remember I was… I was in a desert right before this. Fighting someone… someone named Luke.”

“Luke. I know that name. I know that name. From… from a dream.”

“I was in a mental hospital with a doctor named… Patterson? Paddington? I… Do I have a wife and kids, Viickson?”

“I don’t know…”

The two sat in silence for a while. Soon they began to become tired, but both couldn’t sleep.

“Are you asleep?” Eli asked.

“No.” Viickson responded, “Why aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid of what I’ll see.”

“I’m starting to remember more Pierce. I… I remember I had a small house. I had a wife, and two kids.”

“Do you remember their names?”

“No. I’m sure they’ll come to me. Still everything feels blurry, it’s like remembering a dream. Is your vision getting any better?”

“No. Still just black.” Eli clenched his fists. “What did they do to us?”

“The scientists, they… they were testing out something. Something new. There were four of them I think…”

“One of them’s dead. I heard… I heard one of the… our captivators shoot him. Viickson, who captured us?”

“Enemy soldiers. I don’t know…”

The two didn’t sleep the entirety of the night. Though he could feel his mind starting to slip away, a deep anxiety dwelt inside him. Fearing if he slept, he would face more nightmares in the dark, and be unable to wake himself up back into reality. When morning came, the door to Viickson’s cell opened, and Eli could hear them dragging Viickson out of his cell.

For the next hour, all Eli could hear were Viickson’s shouts in agony as they tortured him. When Eli heard them throw Viickson back in his cell, it was Eli’s turn. They dragged him out of the cell and threw him up against a wall.

“Tell us where it is.” A man demanded.

“I… I don’t know. I swear I don’t know…”

Eli felt the harsh end of a whip strike his back. He yelled in agony as he felt blood trickle down his spine. The whip splashed at him again. And again, until he had been slashed seven times.

“The rendezvous point, where is it?”

“I can’t remember, you have to believe me-”

The whipping commenced again. This time eight more times until the man stopped.

“It is nearby. Where is it? Is it in the mountains? Underground?”

“Please, I can’t even remember how I got here.”

An hour passed until Eli was finally thrown back into his cell, his black red with blood. Tears fell down his cheeks.

Though in awful pain, Viickson managed to fall asleep. Eli however remained lying on the floor, shaking, his teeth gritted because of the awful pain in his back. At midnight men burst into their cells and splashed water on them.

“Where is it! Where is the rendezvous point!” They shouted, shining lights in Viickon’s eyes, however only shaking Eli. Both soldiers cried that they didn’t know. The men shoved the soldiers against the wall and then left. An hour later they returned, doing the same thing as last time. Viickson and Eli pleaded to the men to not hurt them. In response, the men hit them hard, and then left. They returned four more times after this, repeating the same steps as before. The first two times Eli and Viickson responded as before, but the final two times, they didn’t say anything at all.

“Pierce… Pierce I’m remembering more and more. It’s becoming clearer.”

“What, what do you remember?” Eli croaked.

“That doctor you saw when they were doing their experiment on you, I remember his name. He was Pattinson. Dr. Pattinson wasn’t he?”

Eli began to remember now, a shiver going down his spine as he remembered the awful white room he was trapped in, and the awful emotions he experienced inside.

“Yes.” Eli responded.

  “And you had a therapist too. Vienna Valentine?”

“Yes. Yes I remember…”

“I had them too, in the mental hospital. They drugged me so they could transport me places. I remember… I remember I had done something bad to be there, I can’t remember what though… Can you?”

Eli began to recount the awful drug that caused him to fall asleep.

“No. But… Do you remember having odd dreams when you were drugged asleep?”

“No, wait… yes… I remember something… water. Warm water. Not cold, not hot. Just warm. Comforting.”

“Yes. Yes I had that dream too I fell into it. I felt the water before that. I’ve felt it here. When… when I woke up. When I first woke up I was in that water. I could hear the voices of the doctors panicking.”

“I remember that. A alarm was going off. You actually almost broke whatever they were using to hurt us. The thing that made us sleep. Yes. Yes it made us sleep. But you woke up. I don’t know how, I never did on purpose I don’t think.”

“How did you wake up?” The throbbing in his head increased as his mind started to recount the nightmares he had been trapped in.

“It’s so blurry but… I was taking some black pills. Yes, black pills. I had been becoming sick I believe. My muscles were becoming tired… and my thinking was clear, but at the same time foggy… clouded, that’s the word. Dr. Pattinson asked me… asked me about the rendezvous point. Over and over again. He had asked me this before, but he was more angry, it was urgent. But I couldn't remember. I was starting to forget a lot of things when suddenly everything crumbled around me. I thought I was dead when suddenly I woke up here, in this cell. Then I heard them take you away.”

“Were you blind when you woke up?”

“My vision was blurry but… no.”

“Did you have any wounds when you woke up?”

“Yes, wounds from I.V.s, and gauze around my head. The gauze is still here actually, it’s become bloody too.”

“How long was I… asleep?”

“Hmmm… hard to tell. Didn’t really keep track of time. I just slept when I was tired. I think… I think it was maybe a week… maybe two.”

When morning came, men came into their cells, this time with a bat. They beat them, bruised them, made them bleed, yelling at them the same question they had before, and then left without the answer.

“I wish death would come quicker.” Eli moaned, his body aching. Viickson didn’t respond. “Viickson, are you there or are you dead?”

He received no response. Sorrow filled his soul, as tears began to drip down his face. Night came, but Eli refused to sleep. He then heard a sudden gasp from Viickson’s cell.

“Viickson, Viickson! You’re alive?”

“Yes, yes just… they got me good.” he groaned, “I think I fell unconscious.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“No. I saw them, Pierce. I saw them. My kids.”

“What are their names?”

“Ben and Maggie.”

Eli recognized those names. From his dreams.

“Ben and Maggie?” Eli’s heart began to fall.

“Yes. They are wonderful kids.”

“Viickson, Viickson I know those names. From my dreams from when I was asleep. They were false names. False beings. They were a trick Viickson. A trick the mental hospital tried to sell to me.”

“No, No Pierce you don’t understand they are real. They’re calling me.”

“Viickson I swear, I saw them…”

“We see things we know in our dreams, Pierce. Of course you saw my kids because you’ve met them before.” Viickson began to cough and then let out a long sigh. The night passed quickly, and the two were not disturbed. Nore were they the next morning. Eli could feel himself slipping away. Death would take hold of him soon.

“I’m so thirsty.” Eli groaned.

“Drink the water on the floor. It tastes bad but, it’ll moisten your tongue a little. It may be a little hard too…”

“Hard?”

“Yes. It’s a little hard and a bit thick but it helps.”

“Viickson where is the water?”

“In small hardened drops, there’s some leaking from my arm right now.”

“Viickson, that’s not water that’s blood. You hear me?”

Viickson didn’t respond. Eli began to hear him crying.

“Pierce, I can’t.” He said through tears, “My mind is slipping away. I’m slipping away. What have they done to us?”

Night came, and still the two remained undisturbed by the men.

“I think they left us here.” Eli said. Viickson didn’t respond. Eli assumed he was asleep, and attempted to sleep himself. However when he started to slip away, he heard an awful roar fill his mind and he quickly shook himself back awake. Morning came, and Eli could hear Viickson’s labored and heavy breathing.

“Viickson? Viickson you awake?” No response came. “Viickson? You there? Everything alright?

“Whose Viickson?” He replied.

“Viickson that’s your name.”

Viickson let out a chuckle. “No it’s not.”

“Who are you then?”

“Luke. Luke Trinity.”

Eli began to quiver. “No, No see, that's what they kept telling me in the dream but it’s not true. It’s a lie. Viickson it’s a lie.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Viickson-”

“Don’t call me that. Just tell me your name.”

“Eli. Eli Pierce. I’m your comrade. We were captured together, remember?”

Viickson scoffed, “I thought they had captured me too, but they’re trying to cure us. We’re sick Eli. They’re gonna help us get better.”

Eli began to cry.

“I know it’s hard, but it’ll all get better, you’ll see.” Viickson calmly said. 

Night came, and still no disturbance from the men came. The two sat in silence until Viickson softly spoke.

“Eli?”

“Yes?” Eli said, hopeful.

“Do you think they’ll forgive me?”

“Who?”

“Ben and Maggie.”

Eli’s heart sank, “What did you do?”

“I… I killed their mother Eli. I killed my wife, Crystal. That’s why I’m here. Because I’m so unstable.” Viickson began to cry, “And if I ever get out and see them again, they’ll never look at me the same. I killed her, I killed their mother.”

“No you didn't, Viickson-”

“Don’t call me that!” Viickson snapped.

“Listen to me, you're sick. We are not at a mental hospital. You’re in a cell. We were captured.”

Viickson wouldn’t listen. All through the night he cried and mourned. Near morning however, his wallowing suddenly stopped, and he gasped.

“Hey, hey you alright?” Eli nervously asked.

“I see her, Eli. I see her. My wife, My beautiful wife.”

Eli bowed his head.

“It’s Crystal. She’s coming to take me away. It’s all going to be alright Eli.” Viickson’s voice was full of hope. Silence filled the air.

“Eli?” Viickson whispered, his voice cold, and empty. Eli then heard his body fall to the floor. Eli curled up in a ball, tears falling down his cheeks. He was alone. In the dark. Waiting for death to take him. An hour later, he drifted into unconsciousness.

Eli woke to footsteps. He could hear them in the distance. They were silent, but there. Eli tried to call out, but his voice was completely gone. He couldn’t even move, hsi strength had just given out. The footsteps were growing closer. Eli heard a door burst open and footsteps rush into the halls outside the cell.

“Clear!” A voice called. More footsteps were heard. Eli heard Viickson’s cell open.

“He’s dead sir.” Another voice responded.

Eli heard his cell door open. He felt two fingers against his neck.

“Is he alive?” A voice asked. Eli tried to speak, tried to move his mouth even, but couldn’t. He began to feel himself slipping away.

“He has a pulse. He has a pulse!”

“Get the medic in here now!”

Eli’s mind began to awake. He could feel tubes in his arms and down his throat. He began to panic. His vision was still black, he couldn’t see. He began to quiver and tried to speak, but his voice was still damaged, and he could only let out a scratchy and faint whisper. He heard footsteps nearby. He then heard a voice. A female voice.  

“Get the doctor, he's awake.” The female voice said. Eli then heard someone rush off. “Sir, everything is alright.”

“Where am I?” Eli managed to get out.

“You’re at a United States military base in Iraq. We rescued you from an abandoned Talaban stronghold.”

“I… I need to get home.”

“Don’t worry. A doctor is on his way to help you. He’s just going to ask a couple questions.”

A small shiver went down Eli’s spine.

“Questions?”

“Is everything alright, you’re shivering. Do you need more blankets?”

“What kind of questions?”

“Just some information so we can get you home.”

Eli heard more footsteps.

“Ah, this is Doctor Fishermen. He’s going to help you, alright?”

Eli nodded. He then heard a male voice speak to him.

“Can you give me your name please?” The voice was warm, and friendly.

“Eli… Eli Pierce.”

“Eli, you’re lucky to be alive.”

“I need to get home.”

“Yes, yes where do you live?”

“I… I can’t remember…” A tear fell down Eli’s cheek.

“It’s ok, it’s ok. Do you live here in Iraq?” The man asked.

“No. No I live… I live in the U.S.”

“Good, good. Do you have any family there we can contact?”

“Yes. My wife. My wife Silvia… is she still alive?”

“I don’t know but we can figure that out Eli, I promise.”

Eli sensed no lie in the doctor's voice, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Eli, how are you feeling right now? Pain?”
“I… I can’t see.”

There was a pause.

“You can’t see?” The doctor asked. Eli nodded. “Anything else.”

“My head. My head is spinning.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes it’s throbbing. All of it. Like it’s going to burst.” Eli groaned in discomfort.

“I’ll get you on medication right away. Do you know if you have any allergies to any medication?

“I… I can’t remember. I don’t think so but…” Eli began to cry.

“Hey it’s ok, we’re going to get you back home, and get you better, alright?”

Eli took a deep breath and nodded.

The doctor left but returned shortly with some medicine, which Eli hesitantly took. However, the medication did help Eli’s head. The doctor examined Eli’s eyes, but found no external damage. He then left saying he would get an x-ray ready so he could inspect further.

Eli then heard someone then enter the room. A voice then spoke to him. A female voice.

“Eli Daniel Pierce?” She asked. A small smile crept up on Eli’s face.

“That’s my name. Yes.”

“How much do you remember before we rescued you?”

“I… I woke up in a cell. I was… I was a soldier. I had been captured along with two of my comrades. Viickson and… And Boiler.” A sorrowful expression filled Eli’s face, “They’re dead now. Boiler died a few hours after we were captured, Viickson told me. After I woke up the men there tortured me, asked my where a rondevue point was. I didn’t tell them, I didn’t know myself, or at least didn’t remember. Viickson didn’t tell them either but…” Eli groaned, it hurt just to think about his imprisonment there.

“I… I was on the floor when I heard a gunshot. These, these people, I believe they were scientists from what Viickson told me… but they escaped. After a while, the men keeping us stopped torturing us and… abandoned us. Viickson… Viickson died. And then you found me.”

“Eli you are a military soldier of the U.S. You were tasked to spy on a Talaban camp here in Iraq with your comrades Barren, Boiler, Viickson and Lettermen. Your presence was compromised however. Your helicopter was shot down, and you barely escaped. Lettermen however died in the helicopter. You hid in a cave as you recovered, and then set out for the rendezvous point. This was where we were gathering to launch a full scale attack on a large Talaban base. Your team however was captured before you could arrive there. Barren was killed. We found Viickson’s and Boiler’s bodies in the stronghold we found you in.”

A small tear ran down Eli’s cheek.

“Do you remember any of this?”

Eli nodded. “They wanted to know the rendezvous point, so they could bomb it. They had captured three of our bombers, didn’t they?”

“Yes. And because you didn’t give away the location, our mission was successful.”

“Is my family… Is my family real? Are they alive? Silvia, and Patrick.”

“Yes. We notified them that we found you, and are in our care.”

Tears began falling down Eli’s cheeks.

“Thank you, thank you.” Eli whispered. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

An x-ray was conducted, And Dr. Fishermen found disturbing results. Eli’s brain had suffered massive and extensive damage. Dr. Fishermen explained that Eli’s vision would hopefully return, however, it was also possible that due to the damage in his brain, he would never recover his sense of sight. After a month in their care, he was healthy enough to be transported by plane back to america.

The entire ride, Eli was anxious. Trying to picture his childrens’ and wife’s faces in his mind. The plane ride felt longer than it actually was. Once the plane crossed the borders into the U.S. Eli could feel in his bones that he was home.

Eli was escorted out of the plane. As soon as he felt himself step onto the ground below, he heard a voice cry out to him. He recognized the voice immediately, as he felt a small body tightly wrap around his waist.

“Pearl? Pearl!” Eli bent down and tightly hugged his daughter, tears falling down his cheek.

“Daddy you came back! You came back! I knew you would” She said.

“Oh Pearl, I’ve missed you so much.”

As Eli, with help from the nurses next to him, straightened up, he heard the cries, and the soft voice of his wife calling out his name.

“Silvia? Silvia where are you?” Eli felt her arms wrap around, “Silvia, Salvia I thought I’d never see you again.” he said through tears. He felt two others tightly hug him from the sides. Patrick and Lily. 

“I wish I could see you. I’m never leaving you guys again, I promise.” He said through the tears.

Eli was taken to the hospital to continue his recovery. Each family member took a turn staying in the room each night. And on that day, the family wouldn’t leave his side. Each night however, Eli wouldn’t sleep. Ever since he had arrived home, painful visions and nightmares of his torment in the dream wracked his soul.

“Lily?” Eli whispered. It was midnight that day, “Lily, Lily, are you there?”

“Dad?” her voice mumbled. “Dad, you should be asleep.”

“Lily come here. Stand to the right of me.” 

Lily stood up from her chair and walked over to the right of Eli. 

“Bend down, just a little bit closer.” He asked. She did so. A tear fell down his cheek, as Eli smiled.

“Lily, Lily I can see you. I can see you.” He reached up and touched her face. 

“You, you can?” She gasped. Eli tightly hugged Lily.

“I thought I’d never see that face again. Call your mother, tell her to be here as early as possible tomorrow.”

Lily did so, and the next morning at six am, Eli was able to see his family once again. It was that day when the news arrived. It was almost eleven when a soldier came in. He was male, and tall.

“Mr. Pierce,” he said. Eli nodded.

“Yes?”

“We found them. We found the scientists.”

The scientist wearily walked up to the chair lying next to the chair.

“Do you swear, to swear to say the truth, and nothing but the truth?” The judge said.

“I swear.” he replied.

“Please state your name.” The judge said. The scientist nodded.

“Dr. Matthew Selvig.” The scientist responded. His face was pale, his eyes were a sharp blue. To Eli’s terror, the scientsts strickinly resembled Dr. Pattinson.

The judge nodded, and then looked at a Lawyer who stood up from his bench.

“You may proceed.”

“Thank you judge.” The lawyer said, walking up to the scientist.

“Dr. Selvig, how did you get into that Talaban stronghold?”

“I was captured. Just like him.” Dr. Selvig motion towards Eli.

“Why were you in Iraq, Dr. Selvig?”

“Me and my team were there to do research. We had been told that there was a special researcher there who specialized in the mind. This was a lie, and we were ambushed and taken prisoner.”

“Why were you captured?”

“To extract information from Mr. Pierce, and his comrades Viickson and Boiler.”

“However Boiler died after being there for only an hour.”

“Yes that sounds right.”

“And Viickson died in the stronghold, due to your experiments.”

“No, he died of starvation.” Dr. Selvig snapped.

“I’ll get to that later, but, how could you extract the information from these soldiers?”

Dr. Selvig sighed, “We… we had a special machine.”

“Enlighten me doctor, what kind of machine was this?”

“It… It allowed us to put our subject in a sleep-like state while we could extract information from him.”

Eli took a deep breath, shaking his head. Memories of the dream flashed through his mind.

“Are you alright Mr. Pierce?” The judge asked. Eli nodded. “Continue.” The judge motioned towards the lawyer.

“Dr. Selvig, explain this sleep-like state.” The lawyer asked.

“We created a world to put the subject into. This world would put the subject into a lie, as we searched for information, as well as trying to find out the information we needed from the patient itself.”

“Now, my client told me that, before he ‘woke up’ in your made up psych ward, he lived his entire life in this reality if that makes sense.”

“Yes. At first we continued his life. Started at a safe, secure point in his mind. While he was relaxed, secure, we attempted to extract the information. That however didn’t work. We needed to go deeper into his mind, into what we called his inner memory. That’s when we began feeding him the lie. With his defenses busy debunking, and fighting the lie, we could search deeper into his mind.”

“You make it sound like a much more pleasant experience than it was for Mr. Pierce and Viickson.”

“It’s not supposed to be hard, and it wasn’t supposed to have these side effects. Their minds fought too much, especially Mr. Pierces. I assure you if they had just submitted to lie, and given us the information he would not have died in the state he was in and Mr. Pierce wouldn’t have suffered those awful things.”

“Are you saying they should have compromised the lives of hundreds of soldiers, and compromised a mission to help eliminate the terrorist band called the Taliban?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Dr. Selvig. You wanted information. And when these soldiers didn’t give it to you, you hurt them. You tortured these american soldiers.”

“I had no choice, they would have killed us!” Dr. Selvig snapped.

The judge banged his hammer, “Order.”

“Dr. Selvig, you mentioned that Viickson died in a state. Do you know what state he died in?”

“I.. I don’t know.” Selvig leaned back in his chair.

“That’s ok. I assure you my client does. Your honor, I call Mr. Pierce to the stand.”

“Proceed.” The judge said. Dr. Selvig quickly stood up and left the chair as Eli walked over to it. He sat down and took a deep breath.

“Mr. Pierce, are you of sound body and mind to be testifying in this courtroom today?” The Judge asked.

“Yes, your honor.”

“Do you swear, to say the truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“I swear.”

“You may proceed.”

“Thank you, your honor.” The lawyer said, “Mr. Pierce, you are a former soldier of the United States, yes?”

Eli nodded, “Yes.”

“And on behalf of this courtroom, we thank you for your service. Mr. Pierce, you were captured and held prisoner by the Talaban, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know the reason for your imprisonment?”

“Yes. The Talaban wanted to know where we were gathering our soldiers to attack one of their bases.”

“Hence Dr. Selvig, and Dr. Mill’s capture as well. Now, if you can, what was your experience like during their operation?”

Eli took a deep breath, staring at his wife in the audience.

“I was in a mental hospital. They said that my wife and kids didn’t exist. And that I had killed my real wife, and my kids didn’t want to, and never wanted to see me again. I met with a therapist, and took two classes. If I had to be taken anywhere, I was drugged. It was mental abuse. I had awful dreams of my real wife and kids, as well as monsters and demons. Voices and… myself. It was awful, the conflict. And when I believed that Silvia, my wife, and my kids existed, and of my real identity, pills were shoved down my throat, and I was told I was crazy. And would never get better. In the dream I saw monsters searching for something. At the time I didn’t know they were searching through my mind. Towards the end of it, they decided to just torutre me. I was in a desert while my teeth were pulled out, and nails were pushed into my leg.”

“And when you woke up, there were side effects?”

“Yes. I was blind. It lasted for over two months. But, I couldn’t see anything. My brian, as well as Viickson’s, was scrambled. Destroyed. Bleeding and damaged.”

“The scientists doing this, knew that this would happen. Knew what damage it would cause, but did it anyway. They didn’t resist, or fight back until it was already done. And when they did, when they escaped, did they tell you? Did they help you?”

“No. They shot one of the guards, and then ran.”

“Not only did they torutre these soldiers, but when they had an opportunity to escape left the soldiers for dead. Now Mr. Pierce. I know that this is hard. But tell us what became of Viickson.”

“Viickson. He was in the cell next to mine. As time went on he said he began to remember things. Said things were becoming clearer. He said he had two kids, named Ben and Maggie.”

Dr. Selvig’s face went pale, as well as the female scientist sitting next to him, Dr. Miller.

“You see, Ben and Maggie are not his kids. Those were the false kids, the lie that was fed to us while we were in the operation. He believed they  were real though. And it only got worse. He thought the blood on his arm was water, and soon believed he had killed his wife. I still remember his wails that night before he died.”

“How did he die?”

“I don’t know the cause. But I remember him saying he heard his wife calling out to him. Crystal, was calling out to him. Again, a lie fed to us in the operation. He rose to his feet, waiting for her to take him away. Then he whispered my name is despair. I knew he realized that she wasn’t real. That hope suddenly fled and… he fell to the ground dead. From the pictures of his body you can see his face full of despair.”

“Thank you Mr. Pierce. You may sit down.”

Eli stood up from the chair and sat back down at a table near the front of the courtroom.

“Your honor I call upon one last person, Dr. Miller.”

“Sustained.” The judge said. Dr. Miller walked up to the chair and sat down. Her face white, eyes wet.

“Do you swear, to say the truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“Yes, I swear.” She responded.

“Dr. Miller. You managed to also escape the Talaban stronghold?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Dr. Miller, why did you conduct this awful persecution and torutre on Mr. Pierce, and Mr. Viickson?”

“We were forced too. At gunpoint.”

“I understand that’s a scary situation but, from your actions it didn’t seem that you cared for these soldiers.”

Ms. Miller looked away, “We… we had too.”

“No, you were curious. You had two wonderful test subjects to operate on.”

“No, no I didn’t know it would do this to them. I didn’t know how much his memory, and the machines created reality would mix. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known.”

“But you did Ms. Miller. In fact you want to do it again. You are still studying to make this Inner Memory Project stronger. You already have a sponsor do you not?”

Ms. Miller didn’t answer. The whole courtroom was silent as everyone stared at her, awaiting her response.

“Yes.” She mumbled out. Dr. Selvig put his head in his hands.

“Thank you Dr. Miller, you may sit down. I conclude my case, your honor.”

The lawyer sat down next to Pierce.

“You ok?” He asked. Eli nodded, taking in a deep breath.

“Yes. It’s just a lot.” He responded.

“The Jury is excused to go and decide upon a verdict.” The judge said. The Jury stood up and left. Soon after, they returned.

“It's almost over.” The lawyer whispered to Eli. One of the jurors stood up.

“Have you decided on a verdict?” The judge asked.

“Yes, your honor.” The juror nodded, “Guilty.”

Eli laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. His eyes and mind were tired, yet he wouldn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep. Not with the shadow creature’s, and the monster’s howls and shrieks filling his head. He could still hear Pattinson’s voice in his ear, As well as Valentine’s, each sending shivers down Eli’s spine. He could still see Luke’s sly face staring at him, clutching a bloody wrench. He could still feel the pain as his teeth were removed from his mouth. 

He could still clearly remember the bloody saw, as it tore into his flesh. He could still remember the black river, consuming the infected soldier who had fallen from the tree. He could still remember the farm house, and the field that Patrick, Lily, and Pearl played in. He could still remember the white room he was trapped in while locked at the mental hospital. He shook his head, trying to erase the thoughts from his mind, but they came back. Every time they came back. After the trial, his demons settled for a bit, and he thought it was over. His vision returned, he reconnected with his kids, his mind started to heal and his memories began to return. Then, they came back. They came back to haunt him, to torment him. 

Suddenly Eli heard the door creak. He sat up, and looked around nervously. That’s when he saw him creep in. The Blurry Faced man stood before him, his face no longer blurry, but a split image of his own face. Eli stared at him in silence until he finally managed to say something.

“You… why?” Eli gasped.

“I’m here to see you one last time.”

“Who are you?”

“A reflection of you. A projection, but you no longer need me. I have served my purpose.”

“Which was?”

“To get you home. To get you back to reality.”

“And am I back?”

The Projection nodded, “Yes. Now go to sleep. Be troubled no more.”

Eli nodded and layed back in bed, “Will I see you again?”

The projection shook his head. Eli took a deep breath and closed his eyes. And for the first time, in a long time, he fell asleep, not afraid, but at peace.