*goes ahead and sets book to "mature"*
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     The shrubs pushed against me as I followed the mutt, as if pleading with me not to go any further. My face was set cold as I limped forward. Why had I felt that way back in the field, when those animals had left me? Surely I didn't need them. They weren't providing any sort of protection. Why did I feel that bitter hollow feeling when suddenly both the dog and cows were gone..?... Must have been a result of having little power or something.

     I was haulted when the dog ahead of me stopped to sniff again. We had been walking only about an hour and this was his eleventh time doing so! What could he be sniffing out anyways? After the dog had pondered, he continued straight through the shrubs. I couldn't help but feel a little anxiousness rising, as if I knew enough to sense we were close to wherever this dog had been leading me.. Perhaps he hadn't been running from him, earlier, but instead leading me to.. wherever.

Bork!

     The dog suddenly barked, making my unprepared self jump in anticipation. And, before I knew it, the mutt had dashed forwards into the thick of the forest. I stood silently for a moment. My eyes unable to leave the plants the dog had pushed away in his bolt. Perhaps.. I should follow? I did after hearing yet another bark in the distance. I wasn't the fastest, for I had forgotten my fear of the woods, and my wobbily ankle only let me go at its own pace. Surely it wasn't going to be anything too big.... or a trap..

     I haulted before a giant boulder could have the pleasure of ramming into my forehead. Right in front of me, I looked up at this massive object not even visible from a foot away. Above my head vines and the roots of trees hugged the massive rock, spreading out over its surface. The trees above it were a little shorter, hiding the rock's location from even sky-view.

     My hand was suddenly brushed up against some course hair, and it quickly flicked away from the dog who had successfully grabbed my attention.

     "Uhg, don't startle me like that.." I murmured to him beneath my breath. The dog simply stuck out his tongue for leisure as his tail wagged calmly behind him. "...What?" After I spoke, he quickly turned and pranced away, to the other side of the boulder. I followed behind the mutt, dragging my fingers along the corse stone. When I had turned around a couple corners, I saw a dark patch in the wall where it gave in to a small cave. What I could only presume was an entrance was too small to enter through on foot. I had to crouch down in order to have a look inside. Past the darkness I could see a little light trickle into what appeared to be a larger pocket in the stone, just the perfect amount to see the mutt race from one side of the den to the other in a brown blur. Oh.. this must be his den. "Is this is?... A hole?" I asked from outside, not wanting to go in through the cramped space. Answering me, the dog stopped for a brief moment to bark in my general direction, before running around in the small space yet again. I groaned slightly. I was never one for small spaces. Something about them just seemed rather off-putting. Aside from that, I had no real reason to ignore the dog and stubbornly sit outside. So, I brightened my eyes just a little more and crawled in through the small entrance.

     As I made it through, the dog was quick to tackle me in excitement, shoving some stuffed toy in my face. Out of annoyance I grabbed the slobbery object and tossed it away from me, which was greatly appreciated by the mutt. He continued to chew on the toy for a while, allowing me to grab hold of a small ledge to help pull me up. My head just barely scraped against the uneven sceiling, so I had to duck a little. Once up I could actually get a better look at the cave as a whole. It didn't take me long to realize this was no ordinary cave either. A small, natural looking window let in some yellow light, allowed in by several large rocks with no smaller ones filling the large gap between them. Other than that, though, nothing about the cave appeared to be natural. First of all, a couple of the walls, and even the scieling, were all shredded, an obvious sign of a hand-held tool having been used for carving. To the right of the entrance the carvings allowed a portion of the original stone to stay, creating a couter-top. Atop it were even some crudely crafted pottery and such, all empty. Beyond the counter rested a bed made from bamboo and a single stretched out cloth over it. The bamboo itself appeared old and warn now, one leg already gnawed away by time, and the only blanket on top of it looked more like an abandoned nest by this point. To the right of the "bed" was a long dead lamp sitting atop a bamboo mini table, which was also dry and slowly wearing away. And, to the right of that, in the other corner...

     The mutt wagged his tail when my eyes had rested on him again. He lay comfortably on an old dog bed that looked like it was meant for a pup half his size. In his mouth was the toy, and laying on the floor in front of him.. a discarded collar. The thing had clearly been chewed off, as it lay broken on the floor, and it looked far too small to fit the mutt. At least, too small to fit him now. A few years ago, though..?

     "Is this..yours?" I pointed at the collar. The dog stared at me with somewhat of a longing look, and then turned his head to stare at the bamboo bed. A sincere whine broke from his throat, and he even tried sniffing in that direction a brief moment. While the dog drifted into a sadder mood, I knelt down to pick up the dark blue collar. Attached to it was a light-weight metal tag with some engravings in it. With interest, I looked for this creature's name, so that way he might actually come were I to call him. Just the thought that this mutt might actually have a name also intrigued me. There, written in bold; the largest word on the tag: was "Sam."

     I hadn't even realized I had read it out lout. Immediately the dog's head turned to me, tilting his head after a moment's pause. Suddenly I felt like asking, "Oh, so that is your name?" but it wasn't like he would, or could, actually answer me. I just had to go with the given information as a 'yes.'

     On the other side of the thin coin-like tag, my fingers could feel more engravings, so I flipped it over and began reading, this time in my head. " If lost, look for Steven Nameless-"

   "I don't know about you, but when we get out of here, I'm changing my name!"

"Really? To what?"

   "I dunno.. Maybe something flashy - like Steven Nameless!"-

     I tossed the collar to the floor, startling the dog it landed beside. My heart thumped against my ribs, and I backed up until there was no further I could go unless I phased through the wall. His words filled my head. They filled the room, and everything I looked at suddenly looked like his. Something I just couldn't bear to see. I couldn't bear to think! I fell to my knees and then scooted back so I was against the wall. No.. I couldn't just slide into another one of these. Flashes of memory filled my brain, like ghosts haunting the cave. I had to think through this. If there was no way to stop these, then there had to be some way to at least control them. I flinched as the image of a sword came swinging my way.

     "..S- Sam.." I whispered. I didn't really want the attention, but if I had learned anything it would be that having the mutt around always seemed to somehow help. Pleased that I had called his name, the dog stood and walked over to me, all-be-it a little weary of the tense state I was in. The mutt sat down beside me and I wrapped my arms around him quickly, hoping that would somehow fix it. What I was hoping would happen, didn't exactly happen. Instead, I clamped my eyes shut, and away from reality I went.

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     The door slammed open, allowing light into my changer. I crawled away from the light instinctively, not sure what they wanted now  since I had just been put back in here not even an hour ago. Still, I stood as tall as I could with a still healing spine and mentally prepared myself for another briefing.

     To my surprise, three entered my quarters instead of just the one. My eyes widened. One of them was someone I was hoping to never see again...for their sake. His hair was a knotted mess, his clothes were all torn, and his left eye was swollen shut and blood trickled from his lip. His expression was tired and so unlike him. It looked like, for the first time in my life, he had given up.. My brother was pushed forward once through the door, only to be caught off guard by his escort catching the collar of his t-shirt, momentarily choking him in the process. A weak cough was all the protest that came from him. I couldn't even speak. My mouth was dry and my throat quivering. Once all three were through the door the two taller ones stared at me as if I was in just as much trouble as my twin.

     "...What do you have to say for yourself?" I swear, no matter how many times I heard #####'# voice it always sent a shiver down my spine. My joints locked up as my puny processor searched for an answer.

     "I- I- I- didn't run!"

     "Yeah, but you let him escape!" ##### thundered, grabbing my twin's shoulder so firmly I could see pain written on his face as he was yanked off his footing.

     "D-don't hurt him, please! He- he didn't mean to! R-right, Steve?" I pleaded. My brother nodded with me at the speed of a falling sword.

     "You DON'T just accidentally run away though!" Our terror made clear. "Now tell me, why didn't you stop him?!" He then shoved my brother forward, the young man nearly dangling by his crushed shoulder now and pleading with his eyes for any kind of mercy. I wasn't any help with my whole body trembling far worse than I ever remembered.

     "Okay- okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You already punished me though. Sh-shouldn't you ju-st count it a-as g-good now?" I tried to bargain, even though I whole heartedly knew it wouldn't work.

     "-No! If you don't care enough to comply with the rules to keep him safe, then I guess he has no more purpose here." ##### pulled my brother closer to himself, a dagger appearing in his unoccupied right hand aiming right at Steve's throat. My thumping heart accelerated, sweat building on my forehead. Chills rippling up and down my body all screamed the same thing: 'save him.'

     "NO NO NO! PLEASE! I promise you I will do better, r-right, Steve? You won't run away again, will you?!"

     "Y-y-yes!" The other's raspy voice shot out. His eyes couldn't leave mine, every now and then growing moist as if about to start crying.

     There was silence among the four of us. Null just stood silently to the side, not involved even mentally in the conversation. ##### stared me down, his furrowed brows never even shifting. I stared back into his eyes just as intensely, dearly wishing he would come to the conclusion he usually came to: that Steve was more valuable alive than dead.

     Then, with a quiet growl breaking the silence, "...I'm tired of this." ##### slit my brother's throat, before dropping him to the floor right before me. My mouth shot open but no scream could escape it, and I dropped to my knees in a hurry. before I could reach my trembling hand out to look for some good sign in the still form, ##### kicked it away. It was then as I grasped my own bruised hand that I looked up at my terror with the first spark of pure rage he had ever seen in me, and for the first time in years he looked down at me, amused. The moment I had enough raw rage built up, I sprang to my feet.. this time, for the first time ever, with my fists raised to my creator.

     "You killed my brother!!!" I screamed.

     "..I know." The man merely shrugged, smiling slightly when he saw the intensity in my eyes grow even stronger, seething with rage.

     "I'LL KILL YOU!!" I sprang forth, jumping over my fallen twin in order to avenge him. Only.. I was stopped mid air. All ##### had to do was lift his hand and I was frozen as a statue. Now the one I had just made a death threat towards had no expression but the blank slate of a face.

     "Tsk tsk, when will you learn..?" I felt helpless as I was placed back down on the floor where I had just been standing by the invisible force. "..Now... Comply, or you will end up just like him!" He took the next turn to threaten me.

     "No!" I stomped, standing my ground. This was it, finally, I would fight!- "-Ow!" ##### swiped at my unprepared body with his dagger, slicing me on the shoulder. My eyes suddenly widened, realizing how stupid I had been to defy my creator. "Okay, I'll comply." I cowered back a little. Null suddenly took interest in what was going on, and pulled out a sword from his own cloud of darkness. Heart beginning to race. "I'll comply!" My terror's dagger readied again to strike. "I'LL COMPLY!"

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     I was finally able to open my eyes. At least, I was able to stay mostly concise through that one, so I could feel the do- Sam, beside me. Still, I was a little shakey after that. The relief that consumed me when I had finally awaken was INSANE, though.

BA-NG!

     I shrunk away, leaning almost too much on the dog at this point, as I searched through my memory for sounds like that one. Bright white light flashed in through the entrance of the cave and small window, followed shortly after by the same explosive noise.. Oh... it was only thunder. My heart could finally take a break and slow down a little. I began taking deeper breaths, stroking the dog's fur, Keeling my eyes on the window, where I could see fat droplets of rain falling outside.
The sound of rain helped to soothe me. Eventually I even felt a little tired. Relaxed. I dared not shut my eyes again, however. Not here, at least, among my brother's old belongings... This must have been where he had escaped to, where he was finally free..but only for a short while.

     My eyes suddenly began to sting, liquid flooded into them. There was something still so wrong about letting them go... Monsters don't cry... They just, don't...

   "You are not a monster.."  I remembered him saying, as he held my broken body that so denied his words in that moment. A hot tear finally forced its way down my face, dripping from my chin. As much as I had wanted to believe him, I simply couldn't..

   "You are not a monster.." Another tear fell down my face, and I fought hard to keep the rest back. A weird hiccup-like sob accompanied a few more, and my lips creased with tension, making my face muscles begin to ache in the strain of trying to hold myself together.

   "You are not a monster.." I had to gasp for air. Another tear fell. It was almost like I was frozen in place, unable to progress forwards or backwards in time. Another hiccup-like sob was evidence of that. The dog settled a little more, laying down. I fell with him, still holding the dog tightly. Finally, I squeezed my eyes shut and let all the tears fall at once, sniffles and more sobs accompanying them.

   "You are not a monster.." ...Maybe I wasn't then....... But I sure am now...

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Hi. 😅

Finally updated something!