I coughed as I regained consciousness and blinked as I stared up at the ceiling, trying to process where I was. This hadn't been the first time I'd woken up in my room after the incident, though previous times I had quickly fallen unconscious again. Something shifted next to me and a wheeze escaped me moments later as heavy paws stepped on my stomach and walked up my chest. A whiskered face stared down at me and I smiled as Angel's whiskers tickled my face as she sniffed me. I gave her a light scratch behind the ears as I slowly sat up and glanced towards my door upon hearing footsteps coming down the hall.

Tim came into my room, stopping in the doorway when he saw I was awake. "How do you feel? You've been in and out for two days."

I held my cat closer as she began purring, the sound soothing me as I began processing what he said and slowly recalling more and more of the incident that was to blame. "What... what happened? How did I get home?"

"What do you remember?" He stared at me as he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, clearly not relaxed about the situation.

"Surely he doesn't know the truth right? About those things? Or... was he one of those people? He... he couldn't be, right? I'd be dead right now." I gave an uncertain look and didn't meet his eyes. "I can't tell him the whole truth... If he really doesn't know then I can't drag him into this... not... not after what happened to the others."

"I was... with my friends. Someone attacked us- a group- while we were separated... I don't remember how I got away. What happened to my friends? Have they messaged me?"

I glanced around before finding my phone lying on the table next to my bed. A list of missed calls and voicemails I hesitantly played them... my blood chilling as I heard nothing but garbled static for each message. I felt sick as I dropped the phone on the bed. "They're gone... It got them. What- what happened to them? Are they- no! They can't be dead... They just... can't be..."

The nausea worsened and I shifted to lean back against the cool wall behind me while feeling a familiar rush of blood to the head that caused the room to tilt and shift. My pulse felt like it was pounding to escape from beneath my skin and the faint feeling washing over me worsened as my thoughts continued to replay those garbled messages, desperately trying to figure out if my friends were alive.

"It's my fault!" I held my cat closer, my hands shaking from the blame repeating in my mind as I tried to focus on slowing down my rapid, shallow breathing.

I flinched slightly as a hand touched my shoulder and shakily looked up at Tim; I hadn't even noticed he'd moved. "Ash, you're okay."

"But are Landon, Dillan, and Mallory!?" I continued shaking, unable to find my voice to physically respond. "Would this have happened if I had just killed him like they want? Joined them?"

"Ashley." His voice was firmer this time and I snapped back out of the thoughts to stare up at him. "I need you to focus on what I'm saying... Breathe... Tell me exactly what you remember happening and I'll help you figure this out. I'm sure your friends are fine. What did the messages say?"

I pushed further against the wall, fighting the urge to press closer to him for comfort, and worked on slowing down my breathing as I began running a hand through Angel's fur. After taking one more deep, shuddering breath I managed to speak. "S-sorry..."

The bed sank as he sat down on the edge of it and gave a sigh, his voice relaxing to something more gentle. "You could've been killed, it's understandable... What did your friends say?"

"I-I don't know... They didn't have good reception, it just sounded like a bunch of noise." I shook my head, still trembling. "They're dead... They're probably dead because of me. Those guys probably killed them... I don't know how I got away-"

I coughed from the stress building up inside and lapsed back into the shallow breathing momentarily before forcing it to slow again. A wave of dizziness washed over me. The vibrations in my chest grew as Angel purred louder and stretched out a paw to lazily touch the side of my jaw. I looked down at her, still brushing her fur with my hand, and stayed silent as I gradually calmed down once more.

Finally, I looked back over at Tim. "I'm fine."

He stood up and walked over to my window, staring outside as if searching for something. "I found you passed out on the floor with blood on your hands. Do you remember how you got hurt? Did you fall and hit your head?"

"The tree..." I let go of my cat and examined my hands, which had shallow scrapes in them from the branch I'd fallen from. "I just fell while running- I was in a panic- I don't think I hit my head or anything though."

There was silence for a few minutes before he turned away from the window. For half a second I thought Tim knew I was lying- hiding things from him- but he didn't question me further on what happened. "How do you feel?"

"...Better." I gave another cough as Angel once again stomped on my stomach as she turned and jumped down. I looked at her and muttered under my breath despite knowing she wouldn't understand my sarcasm. "Gee, thanks..."

"I uh... I plan on leaving soon- been looking at places." He still seemed to be thinking about something he wasn't saying. "You know, since I've been here a while, you're probably sick of me being around."

I didn't respond other than a light shrug, unsure to tell him he'd been a pretty good roommate without making it sound strange or clingy. "I feel like I've been more annoying out of the two of us- doubt it's why he's leaving. This was only temporary to begin with."

After he left the room I picked up my phone and attempted to call my friends back, each time reaching a voicemail. All I could do was leave a message and send a text in hopes they'd get back to me soon.

"If something happened to them... It would be my fault. My fault for being around them- for practically leading those creatures and their proxies to them. Of course they'd be used to hurt me- manipulate me... Fuck... Everyone around me dies, it's like I'm cursed..." I stared at the blank screen on my phone for a few more minutes, pushing away another break down, before shakily getting to my feet and walking out to the kitchen for a drink.

I noticed Tim was gone and glanced outside to see him standing down the sidewalk smoking before turning away and focusing on getting a glass of water. Despite being out for two days, the stress coiled in my gut made me feel sick at the thought of getting a light snack to eat and I dropped my hand from the fridge door. I grabbed my water off the counter and sipped at it as I stood there only to jump in surprise as the door opened and shut loudly behind me. I sat the glass down and whirled around, my heart already pounding in anticipation of an attack, before relaxing as I saw Zac freeze on the spot.

"Ash..." He quickly limped over to me and wrapped his arms around my thin form tight enough to the point I had to push him away to avoid the crushing grip, which he instantly loosened upon realizing my discomfort. "I'm sorry I-"

Anger flared through me at the apology and I broke free completely from his grasp. "For what? I didn't know if you were dead or if you finally got my warning through your thick skull... You just stopped talking!"

"...Ashley..." Zac shrank back, seemingly hurt by my words. "What are you talking about? I never got any messages. My phone's been broken- got damaged on the job. I was out of town or else I would've stopped by sooner to check on you."

"I don't need to be checked on..." The aggressive tone faltered even in my thoughts and my shoulders drooped in defeat.

He pulled out a broken, cracked cell phone as proof when I didn't respond right away.

I crossed my arms and studied it before looking up at his worried, blue-grey eyes. "I know in the past I have been lenient on visiting each other... but I need you to stay away for real this time, Zac... The others, they're- I think they're gone- dead probably. It's my fault!"

My nails dug into my arm as I imagined the gruesome fate that had awaited them the moment those proxies had found them. "I should've... I should've ended-"

"Don't you dare finish that." He gritted his teeth, his eyes reflecting his pain and the start of unfallen tears forming. "Ash... please. I won't let you. That won't fix anything."

"I couldn't back then... why would I be able to now?" I sighed and leaned against the counter. "It's getting worse again... There's two proxies now- maybe more. I don't want you to get involved. You already know too much..."

I tensed as he gently pulled me against him, as if hoping the embrace would comfort me. "See? So what's the harm in me sticking around- like I keep saying? I can help. Don't force yourself to handle this alone."

I pulled away and looked up at him with a cold enough expression to make hesitation cross his face. "People around me are dying, Zac. You could be next. I've almost killed you before... That knife only failed to because the hilt got you and I managed to snap out of it. You were terrified of what could've happened, especially when that wasn't the first time I'd attacked you, remember? Back in school? The stairs. Fuck! No one even gave a damn what I did- like they didn't even see it... Then there-"

"Stop." He ordered firmly and snapped me out of the building tangle of hazy memories where I'd hurt him. He gave a slow sigh as if calming himself, preparing to continue. "You're stronger than it. If you were going to turn into some psychopath you would've by now. Even when it took control you were still in there- that's why you remember things, right? Because you can fight it... somehow, you can still hold onto who you are."

"We don't even know the reason for that- if that's even abnormal for it. He wouldn't know." I looked away from him and shook my head as I stared at the glass on the counter. "Stay away. For your own safety. We can stay in contact- maybe meet up if necessary- but otherwise don't come back."

Frustration crossed his face as I glanced over at him and he dropped his arms as he backed away. "Fine. I see how easily I'm replaced anyway. Don't tell me you want to 'save my life' when you obviously just want me out of it. I saw him sitting out there... He could've killed you and you just- just... let him live with you? Stop lying to me and just say it- that you just didn't want-"

Irritation flashed through me as a low, whining static began running through my head. "This isn't about how I ended it with you or your fantasy fairytale ending of us together if this whole thing ends... Tim isn't a replacement either, as you put it. He's just here because he needed a place to stay and agreed to pay a portion of the rent while he was here- it was helpful given at the time I didn't know how long it would take me to find a new job."

I coughed and felt the distortion increase, though I couldn't see anything unusual in the apartment. "Stop... stop being jealous when there's no reason to be. Just listen to me... when I say I'm trying to help keep... you safe."

The fit got worse and I gripped the counter to stop myself from falling as the grating whitenoise became clearer, incomprehensible words echoing in from it, though I knew what it wanted. "Kill him... I can't... should I? Could be mercy... They'll find him- kill him. I won't...!"

"Ash?" His alarm turned to guilt as I sank to the ground and continued coughing, flecks of red staining the tile floor. "Oh god... Ash..."

I clenched my teeth as I tried to make the violent coughing fit stop. Zac was already pulling me against his chest as he knelt on the floor, his trembling only urging the murderous thoughts on despite my weakening state. Finally, I went limp as the coughing ceased but continued to feel tremors go through me as I caught my breath. I noticed something disappear from outside my kitchen window seconds later.

"I should've... known." I continued watching the small window, knowing it wouldn't be back. "...I need to clean the floor before Tim comes back inside. Can't have him asking questions."

"This is my fault... I'm sorry." Zac's previous temper was gone in an instant. "I hurt you... I made this happen... I'm so sorry."

"You always say that." I couldn't find my voice as he continued blaming himself for things out of his control.

My body felt weak and sick but managed to get back to my feet. I felt Zac steady me as I got another drink before feeling him carefully guide me to the couch. "Come on, you should get some rest. I'll stay here until you're feeling better."

"Guess I can't make him leave... That thing would've hurt him if it was going to... Should be okay for a little bit." I shakily laid down after sitting my drink on the cluttered coffee table while Zac sat on the floor and leaned against the couch next to me.