Darkness can be a welcoming thing, something vast and unattainable still it whispers join me. It calls every night and fades in the wake of the day. For some, it took more of a literal form. To Nick, it was both safety and something to be feared. This wasn't something he needed to experience, it was something he felt within his soul when he found himself here, trapped and mostly alone but the facade always shifted. Sometimes it will be a memory, other times he's drowning under the weight of it all. 

Tonight felt off as the darkness shivered and pulsed, red seeping through the cracks as it shifted until he was back in his dining room, sitting at the wooden table but still under a haze momentarily. Time slowed, or at least it seemed to when his limbs wouldn't respond but only he was under this spell as he noticed another. 

The splitting image of himself if not a little taller but he knew it wasn't he, if not from the trepidation alone then the sinister smile that he'd never worn, all paired with a shining pair of ruby red eyes that illuminated the skin surrounding it. 

"Nicky." the other said, arms outstretched as his smile stretched in a faux welcoming manner. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you anytime soon, it's gotten dreadfully lonely since we last spoke. " He pouted, a certain playfulness behind his eyes. 

Nick furrowed his brows, throat feeling dry as he watched the scene play out in front of him. Apart from the obvious weirdness of the situation, something still felt off. Familiarity, awe, and something he couldn't name like he could reach out but the answer would still be just out of his reach. 

The other seemed knowing when he was only shards of broken glass haunted by the feeling that he'd never find every piece. He smiled like he knew nick; he smiled like Nick would never. 

"I don't blame you, though." The other spoke again, voice softer but not any less intruding. "It does get a little gloomy from time to time, not of my own accord, of course. Given your current predicament." he chuckled and given the look on his face, he hadn't expected Nick to respond but it didn't stop him from wearing a look of satisfaction when he did. 

"Current predicament?" Nick asked. 

"Hmm.. the little wall in your mind.. peculiar little thing isn't it. One day you're riding into oblivion and the next it's back to old plain Nick. Perhaps all you need is a more familiar setting." 

With a wave of a hand, the darkness covered and consumed once again until the scene changed. Nick was in his bed, complete with a change of clothes. White shirt, PJ bottoms. The other was standing this time. 

"Any jogging of memory?" The other asked, eagerly watching Nick's reaction. "A certain conversation involving your wife or I should say, a version of her. "

"What are you talking about?" Nick stated, annoyance starting to creep up which he couldn't place the exact source of. 

The other seemed visibly annoyed by the response, his smile faltered as he waved his hand. "Then we just have to up the ante, now don't we?" 

To Nick's surprise, nothing happened. At least, nothing he could see. The other crossed his arms as he stared Nick down. "You can only hide for so long until you snap, deep down you have to feel it. Know it exists. " 

He was clearly losing it if this dream was any indication but what he couldn't figure out was what his subconscious was trying to allude to, literally in this case. Snakes, falling, not being able to run. Those would've felt normal, but this.. it's all puzzles with no answers just like everything that happened after finding Sarah. Perhaps that was the link, to find answers.  His mind was reaching out but he was suspended in a void. 

Nick felt wetness against his thigh, the tilt of other's head adding to the confusion and when he lifted the blanket, the shock almost overwhelmed him. He'd seen it enough to know, remember what it felt like between his fingertips and though he might beg to forget, it stayed. He was taken back to that night. 

Now, this felt more familiar. Red and hands, always seem to be the running theme when brought into the crevasses of his mind. Nightmare upon nightmare when they passed through the nothingness, perhaps because he believes their blood was on his hands or maybe the moment he saw it first is so imbedded into his mind that he cannot let go, but he couldn't help but imagine there more as he frantically pushed the blanket away. Some message in the moments that he couldn't connect, why else would there be a version of him. His mind had to be breaking through the broken pieces of his mind, if he could only push, he might find what he'd been missing. 

He felt a strange sense of deja vu, something comforting and yet steeped in grief.  

"You will remember." the other stated, taking a step towards him. Something about the look and stature made him intimidating and Nick briefly wondered if that's how he comes across to everyone he meets. "This-" he motioned with his hand, "Is just a setback. We will finish what we started. I won't be locked in here forever and neither will-"

Nick woke with a startle like his breath had been stolen and this is the first gasp of air he'd had in a while. His fingers were jittery and body covered in perspiration, not a single visage of red but he still felt it, felt the urge to go take a shower and rid himself of the feeling of his skin crawling, the chill, and trepidation. So that's what he did, started the day as early as four in the morning on this Saturday. 

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