Chapter Text
Colt felt sore.
That was his first coherent thought as he started to break away from unconsciousness and back into the land of the living. Specifically, his back felt all sorts of messed up and shifting even the tiniest bit sent a jolt of pain throughout all of the nerves in his body.
His second coherent thought was that he could hear someone calling out his name. A familiar voice gently easing him out of his sleep paired with a steady hold of his hand. The hand around his squeezed a little and Colt curled his fingers a bit in a half-attempt to squeeze back. The voice was starting to become a lot more clear the further he listened to it and Colt found himself letting out a small groan. “Ryland?”
His voice sounded weird to his own ears. Heavy and low from disuse.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.” Ryland’s voice bled through his mind more and Colt squeezed his eyes before attempting to peel them open. He winced at the bright lights, blinking faster than normal to try and get used to it. Why was it so bright? They never had this many lights within the walls.
“Colt?” Ryland’s voice cut through his thoughts and he turned his head to see his brother sitting by his bed, hand in his own, eyes wide but with a relieved smile on his face. Colt also didn’t miss the tears threatening to escape Ryland’s eyes.
Huh.
“What happened?” The words still sounded weird and it almost hurt his throat to speak at all. Ryland seemed to notice this and stood up, hesitating a bit before letting go of his hand. Colt missed the warmth already.
“H-Hold on, let me-” He seemed to cut himself off as he moved away. Colt watched as he knelt down by a small bowl and then quickly returned, holding out some tinfoil that had been molded in the shape of a cup.
Colt’s hands were shaky as he took it but he managed to keep his grasp on the thing as he took generous sips. The water slid down his throat and cooled the irritation, which Colt signaled with a long sigh once he was finished with the water. “Thanks.” His voice sounded a lot better, much more normal. And it didn’t hurt anymore, so, you know, bonus.
Ryland took his cup away and set it off somewhere to the side. Now that Colt had somewhat gained his bearings, he finally noticed the tubes coming out of his arms. He blinked, touching them a bit. No, yeah, they were in there all right. He looked around the expanse of the room and froze as he realized they were out in the open.
Slowly, he turned back toward Ryland.
His brother looked guilty.
“Ry, what happened?” Colt repeated and Ryland winced. His brother reached back over and took his hand in his own once again. Colt appreciated the comfort though he could tell the comfort was just as much for Ryland himself as it was for Colt.
“You…Colt, you fell. The string snapped as you were climbing down it.” Ryland’s voice was barely above a whisper, as if just saying it was almost too much.
Colt thought back and remembered the way he had heard Ryland yell his name. He remembered the feeling of free falling too, when the string snapped…
And then nothing.
“I…I remember.” Barely, but he did. He shifted a bit but tensed as a sharp pain ran through his body. He sucked in a sharp breath and hated how a small whine escaped his lips. Finally, the pain fell back into a dull ache and Colt didn’t dare try and move again. He opened his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them, and the look on Ryland’s face was downright worried.
“You okay?” He asked and Colt let out a slow breath.
“Y-Yeah, fine.” He waved off the concern. “Okay, so I fell, but then what? What is going on? Why are we-? And what is all-?” He noticed for the first time the amount of equipment around them. Human equipment. It had to be. It was nothing he had even seen before but it was much too big and complicated to be anything other than human.
That, paired with the fact that they were in the open…
Ryland’s face crumpled. “Colt…you broke your back.”
Colt felt his body stiffen and immediately regretted it as another wave of pain washed over him. No, there was no way. He couldn’t have broken his back, that was…that was a death sentence. He shouldn’t even be awake right now, let alone talking and moving, as little as it was.
“What? No, I-I couldn’t have, I’m still…” Colt trailed off, things clicking in his mind a little too late. He blamed the pain for that, and having just woken up, but all the evidence was starting to paint a picture that Colt was really hoping he was wrong on.
Ryland let out a slow breath. “I couldn’t-Colt, I wasn’t just about to let you die. When you fell…the human came home.” Colt was able to keep his body from tensing up again but that didn’t stop his heart from threatening to jump out of his chest. “I called out to him because I realized there was no other choice. And so Tom saw us and called a doctor.”
Colt sucked in another breath as he realized the implications. A human knew about them. Not one but two. One of them had handled his unconscious body, stuck these tubes into him, and…and who knew what else.
And the other was Tom f***ing Ryder.
“No.” Colt said, not wanting to believe it. “Ryland, no.”
“I had to Colt.” Ryland squeezed his hand again. He looked about as distressed as Colt himself felt. “You were going to die. I couldn’t let you die. I had to.”
Colt shook his head, the panic in his chest rising with each passing moment. “A human knows about us! That’s…that’s just a death sentence in a different font, Ryland. That was so f***ing stupid of you to risk yourself like that!” Colt was angry. No, not just angry. Terrified. The thought of being at the human’s complete mercy, especially when it was someone like Tom Ryder, was scarier than realizing he had broken his back. Because that also meant Ryland was in danger.
Ryland’s eyes were wide. “Colt-”
Colt cut him off, they didn’t have time to argue about this. What they needed to do was get the hell out of there. “No, we need to get out of here. We need to-” He cut himself off as he reached for the tubes connected to his arms and started to tug on them. Ryland let out a startled noise and grabbed his wrist, stopping him from getting them out. “Ryland, hey-!”
“Colt, stop! Those are in you for a reason!” Ryland kept a hold of his wrist and wow, Colt’s injury must have really done a number on him because he found he couldn’t get himself out of Ry’s grip. “Please, just calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Calm down?! Ryland, a human knows about us. And you just want to keep sitting here like Ryder can’t just walk through that door and do whatever?” Colt was breathing heavily and he was vaguely aware of a frantic beeping taking place above them, but he was more focused on trying to get him and Ryland away. Colt started to shift again, to try and get his body to move and work with him but just like before, pain filled his senses. It cut through every one of his nerves and Colt screamed before collapsing back onto the bed.
“Colt! Colt, are you okay!?” Ryland’s worried voice broke through and Colt groaned, opening his eyes again. Ryland had let go of his wrist but it laid limp at Colt’s side. He couldn’t even be bothered to try and lift it again.
“F***.” He said instead of answering, feeling tears prick the corner of his eyes. Ryland winced.
“Colt…you broke your back. There is no getting out of here, not until you're fully healed.” Ryland said, his tone low.
Colt hated to admit that Ryland was right but the pain he had just experienced, was still experiencing, was enough for Ryland to get his point across.
“Okay…okay, fine, but you can still-”
“I’m not leaving you.” Ryland cut him off, firm in his words. Colt bit his lip to keep himself from arguing, only because he knew it was no use. After all, he would be acting the same way if their positions were swapped. He couldn’t fault Ryland for wanting to stick by his side despite the danger and a small part of him was even thankful for it.
“So, what? We’re just…stuck and at the human’s mercy?” Colt asked, his mouth feeling dry. “God, we’re…who knows what he’s gonna…” Colt shook his head but a small weight tore his attention back to Ryland, who had placed a hand over his own.
“Colt, Tom isn’t going to hurt us.” Ryland said and Colt blinked.
“What?”
Ryland frowned. “I said, Tom isn’t going to-”
“No, no, I heard what you said.” Colt was starting to feel like he was still dreaming. “How can you know that? Why are you…” Colt trailed off as he caught sight of Ryland’s expression. He had winced and was no longer meeting Colt in the eyes. “Ryland?”
“Well, you’ve…you’ve been asleep for a while and-”
“How long is a while?” Colt asked, suddenly feeling his simmering panic start to rise in his chest once more.
Ryland bit his lip. “About a…a day and a half?”
A day and a half. Colt had been unconscious for a day and a half and here Ryland was insinuating that while he had been asleep, that he and Ryder had…had what? “Ryland. What’s happened since I’ve been out of it?”
“Well…” Ryland trailed off and Colt could just see him collecting his thoughts. But when his brother opened his mouth again to speak, the door to the room they were in suddenly opened.
Both brothers jumped in their seats, Colt’s followed by a pained hiss. But Colt couldn’t find it in himself to care too much about the pain when he was currently meeting eyes with the human. Tom Ryder.
“Well, look at that! I thought I heard some shouting in here. Looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up.” Ryder said with a grin and a slight laugh that got under Colt’s skin almost immediately. Ryder took a step further into the room, a step closer toward them, and Colt tensed up despite the pain, his body on guard.
“Stop!” Colt yelled and, miraculously, Ryder stopped. Though the wide-eyed look he was receiving probably meant it was more due to surprise than actually listening to him. It didn’t matter much, Colt would take what he could get. “Don’t come any closer.” Colt said through gritted teeth. He squirmed, again ignoring the flares of pain, wanting nothing more than to take Ryland and run far away from here.
Ryder blinked. “Seriously?” Ryder snorted and then purposely took several steps closer.
“I said stop!” Colt shouted, his voice going high pitched from his panic despite his attempts otherwise.
“Colt, he isn’t going to do anything!” Ryland chimed in, looking between Ryder and Colt nervously.
“Wow, I saved your life and this is the thanks I get?” Ryder scoffed, crossing his arms. He looked at Ryland, motioning toward him. “Listen to your brother, he knows what he’s talking about.”
Colt looked between the two of them, wondering just how Ryland of all people could be acting so calm in the presence of a human. This was the same borrower who had been so nervous about a human spotting them while out borrowing that he decided to leave it to Colt and stayed inside instead. The same borrower that Colt had to convince to come out with him every once in a while and it only ever worked if he told Ryland the human wasn’t home.
A lot must have happened while he had been unconscious and it was worrying him to no end.
“You could be lying.” Colt said through gritted teeth. He knew Ryder was an actor and despite his thoughts on the guy, he was actually pretty good at it. Which meant lying to them about something like this would be just like taking on another role for him.
But Ryder scoffed again. “Please, you think I need to lie? Look, Colt, if I did want to do something to you or whatever then I would have left you to die and taken Ry-Ry here as soon as he had called me over.” The very thought of that even happening sent a shiver down Colt’s spine. Which, of course, caused more pain. Colt felt like he was getting better at ignoring it now though.
“Tom…” Ryland’s voice cut through his thoughts. It was close to a warning tone, one that Colt had been on the end of multiple times. Though against Ryder, it held a bit more nervousness.
“But I didn’t. Obviously. I called a doctor and saved your life. Why would I waste all that time and money on you if I planned on killing you anyway?” Ryder said, the smirk on his stupid face returning. Colt hated to admit that the logic was sound. But he also knew, from how many times he had watched Ryder around his home, that the actor didn’t do anything unless it benefited him.
“There are worse things you could do to us than kill us.” Colt said quietly in a harsh whisper, almost too scared of saying it louder than that.
Ryder’s smirk dropped and the two were suddenly locked into a staring contest with each other. Colt, for the life of him, could not tell what kind of emotion Ryder held behind his eyes. Couldn’t tell what his actual intentions were. It was like Ryder was completely blank. Colt mentally cursed his ability to act.
Colt watched, morbidly fascinated, as his blank expression dropped and was replaced with a grin, the light in his eyes returning. The switch up had been disturbing as it was mesmerizing.
“You don’t have anything to worry about. Seriously, you and your brother worry too much.” Ryder’s focus fell away from Colt and landed on Ryland. “At least your brother believes me.”
Colt turned his own gaze toward Ryland. His brother looked a bit nervous but when their eyes met he gave Colt a small shrug and then, after some hesitation, a nod. It wasn’t really the reassurance Colt had been after. Ryland didn’t really seem so sure of it all himself and, really, that told Colt all he needed to know.
But, at the same time, what could they do about it? Ryder had made it pretty clear what he could have done. Something he could still do if Colt pushed him too far. Colt knew well and good that Ryder was rich. He threw away money on trivial things all the time, at least from what Colt had seen. Would it really be that big of a deal for him to go back on what he said and lose out on a few thousand dollars?
Colt was stuck for however long it took for his back to heal. Which meant Ryland was also stuck. But if they could just last until then, if Ryder kept this facade up for however long that might be, then Colt and Ryland still had a chance to get out of this.
Colt tore his gaze away from his brother and back toward Ryder. “So, nothing to worry about?”
Ryder grinned. “Nope.”
“So once I’m all healed up, we’re free to go?” Colt asked and he could hear Ryland sucking in a breath at his question.
Ryder, for his part, didn’t even hesitate. “Of course.”
Again, Colt could admit he was a good actor.
“See? It’s…we’re okay.” Ryland spoke up after letting out that same breath in relief. Colt frowned at that. Ryland seemed a bit too trusting of the guy, even if he was still nervous around him. He’d have to talk to him again about all of this, once they were alone.
“Exactly! Everything is fine. And now that we have all of that nice and settled, how about breakfast? Ry-Ry?” Tom asked, looking at Ryland expectantly for some reason. Ryland frowned and glanced over at Colt.
“Tom, Colt just woke up. I’m gonna stay here with him.” Ryland said and Colt glanced between the two of them, not understanding the meaning behind Ryder’s questioning tone and confused that Ryland seemed to.
“What? But…why?” Ryder actually pouted.
Ryland let out a small sigh, his body still a bit tense, and Colt couldn’t hold back his question any longer. “What are you guys talking about?” Colt asked and Ryland’s body tensed up even further. He glanced at Colt but otherwise refused to look fully at him.
“Um, well-” Before Ryland could even begin to get the words out, Ryder interrupted him.
“I’m being polite and asking before picking him up and taking him to the kitchen so we can eat.” Ryder said, a small smirk slowly replacing the pout as Colt’s eyes widened. From how they were speaking, this was not the first time Ryder must have picked him up. Meaning his brother had been in Ryder’s hands who knew how many times before Colt had woken up.
“It’s fine, Colt!” Ryland was quick to jump in once he saw the beginnings of Colt freaking out. Colt turned to look at him, really look at him, his eyes scanning over his body for any marks or injuries Ryder’s hands could have left on him. Surprisingly, however, Colt couldn’t see anything. “Tom’s been…fine. Anyway, how about you bring the food back here and then we can all eat together instead?” Ryland was quick to change the subject, directing his question toward Ryder.
Ryder frowned a bit. “I was trying to avoid that, actually, considering Coltie here can’t be on solid foods for another week at least.” Ryder decided to reveal and Colt blinked at this new piece of information.
“Wait, what? What do you mean?” Colt asked. A week without food? Sure, there were times he had skipped a few meals when borrowing was maybe a bit slower, but he had never gone more than maybe two days without anything to eat. Was that even possible? Was Ryder trying to starve him?
Ryder just shrugged. “It was in your medical chart the doctor left. I’m pretty sure those tubes are giving you the nutrients you need or whatever.”
Colt blinked and glanced back down at all the tubes connected to him. If he was paying close enough attention, he could make out movement within those tubes, some sort of liquid running toward his body. Well that was…weird.
“Wait, really?” Ryland said, leaning forward to get a better look at the tubes. His eyes were wide and Colt recognized the spark in them. “That’s possible? How does it work?” Ryland asked.
Ryder just shrugged again, looking a bit annoyed. “I guess? And how should I know? I’m not a doctor.” Colt couldn’t help but flinch at Ryder’s tone but Ryland just seemed disappointed at the lack of any new information.
“Well, either way…” Ryland pulled back and looked up at Ryder. “I don’t want to leave Colt yet. Can you still bring the food here? I’m sure Colt won’t mind?” Ryland looked at Colt and Colt nodded in agreement. He didn’t want Ryland to leave his side but mostly he didn’t want to see Ryder grab his brother and take him away.
But Ryland was essentially saying no to Ryder and Colt held his breath as Ryder looked between the two of them, the crease in his eyebrows giving way to his annoyance. It seemed like he couldn’t hide everything behind his acting then.
But Ryder just sighed and turned around. “Fine. I’ll be right back.” And then Ryder was out of the room, though he left the door open this time.
Colt sighed in relief, as did Ryland, and Colt turned to look at his twin with furrowed brows. “I’m surprised he actually…ya know, listened.” He had fully been expecting Ryder to just grab Ryland at this point.
“I told you, he’s not going to do anything. He’s been pretty…accommodating so far.” There was a slight, confusing edge to his voice that Colt picked up on immediately. He frowned.
“Uh huh. Ry, there is no way you trust him this much already. He’s a human.” There were a lot of other words Colt could use too but human summed it up pretty well. Ryland frowned and glanced away.
“I mean, there were…are, a few things…but that can wait until later. You just woke up. I don’t want to dump everything on you all at once.” Ryland said.
Colt lifted a brow at him, something swirling in his chest at Ryland’s words. “Ry, you can’t just say something like that and then not actually tell me. What do you mean? What’s Ryder done?” Panic pushed itself into the front of his mind once more, thoughts in his head of everything it could be. Ryland didn’t appear hurt and he seemed pretty adamant that Ryder wouldn’t. So was it something else? Why wouldn’t Ryland just tell him.
Ryland opened his mouth but there was the sound of loud clanking coming from outside of the room. Colt could only assume it came from Ryder in the kitchen. He seemed to be moving around a lot, if all the noise was anything to go by. Ryland shook his head. “Later.” Ryland said and Colt frowned.
His brother was stubborn though and Colt knew he wouldn’t be able to pry the information from Ryland until he was ready. Colt just hoped that, because of Ryland’s insistence, it really wasn’t all that bad. Of course, when it came to interacting with a human, with Tom Ryder, how ‘not bad’ could it really be?
Colt sighed and sunk further into the bed. It was the one movement he had done thus far that didn’t actually hurt, thank goodness. He blinked, his eyes feeling a bit heavy all of a sudden. He bit back a yawn, wondering why he was so tired when he had just woken up from a day and a half nap.
He ignored the feeling and opened his eyes again to see Ryland looking down at him with worry. “What?”
“Are you okay?” Ryland asked and Colt just nodded, biting back his annoyance.
“Yeah, fine.” Colt adjusted himself a bit, slowly and carefully to avoid the pain. He was mostly successful. “...Are you?” Colt decided to ask after a moment. Things had happened so fast and all at once. So much information he had to process that he hadn’t even properly checked up on Ryland yet.
Ryland blinked at his question and gave a small, incredulous laugh. “I’m not the one who broke his back.”
Colt just gave him a look, causing Ryland to wince.
“I…I’ve been…I’m…” Ryland paused and shook his head. “Better. Good. Now that you’re awake and gonna be okay.”
“Ry…” Colt could see, behind the relief in his features, that Ryland was tired. In every sense of the word. Colt felt a stream of guilt wash over him, knowing it was his fault his brother had to deal with all of this. He had been too excited when Ryland had agreed to go out borrowing with him that he hadn’t bothered to check his equipment like he usually did. If he had then…then he would have known to replace the string on his hook.
They were in this mess because of him.
The realization hit him all at once.
“I’m sorry.” He croaked out, realizing as he spoke that tears had started pooling in his eyes. Ryland looked startled by his sudden change in emotion, worry making its way back onto his features and furrowing his brows.
“Colt? What are you-?” Ryland was cut off as Ryder walked back through the door, holding two plates, one significantly smaller than the other.
“Breakfast has arrived!” Ryder announced to the room as he came closer. Colt would have been annoyed with Tom once again interrupting their conversation, but also, he couldn’t help but be thankful for it at this moment. The last thing he had wanted to do was have this particular conversation with Ryland.
Ryder placed the two plates on the desk and then took a seat. Colt scowled at how close the human was, wishing the guy understood the concept of personal space.
Ryland didn’t look all too surprised by Ryder’s closeness which made Colt’s scowl deepen.
He decided to ignore it though, considering there was nothing he could do about it, and instead he turned his attention to the plates Ryder had brought in with him. Steam rolled off of them in waves, signalling that the food was hot and fresh. On the bigger plate was a full omelet full of different veggies, cheese, and bacon. A corner of said omelet, however, had been cut away and that was what was on the smaller plate.
It looked really good and smelled even better, but Colt’s stomach didn’t growl in hunger. Huh, the tubes in his arm must really be giving him food somehow. Again, weird, but at least Tom wasn’t bulls***ing them on that front.
But while Colt’s stomach didn’t growl, Ryland’s certainly did. Loud enough for Colt to hear and smirk a bit as Ryland’s face flushed in embarrassment. Ryland sent him a look but Colt’s tears were long gone now and he was pushing those guilty thoughts far away. At least for now. “Go on man, I’m not stopping you.”
Ryland sighed, sent him another look that told him that this wasn’t over, before getting up and heading over toward the food. Meanwhile, Ryder watched from above with an almost intense sort of gaze. Even though the human’s line of sight wasn’t directed at him, Colt still shivered at it.
Colt switched his gaze back over to Ryland and both of them watched as Ryland stepped onto the plate, grabbed a piece of the omelet and took a bite. Ryder seemed to lean in closer, waiting for Ryland’s reaction.
“Oh, wow, this is really good!” Ryland said and Ryder grinned at the approval. Colt huffed but relaxed a little as Ryder leaned away, finally picking up his own fork to start eating.
“I know, I’m an amazing cook.” Ryder took a bite out of his own omelet and Colt found himself looking away as the human chewed and swallowed. He wasn’t worried about Ryder doing something like that to them but the sight was still an uncomfortable one. Ryder noticed though and seemed to take it another way. “Don’t worry Colt, I’ll make you something as soon as you're off the tube food.” Ryder said with a grin, looking far too pleased with himself. Colt glared at him.
“I’m good, thanks.” He kept his voice flat, not meaning the thanks in the slightest. Ryland glared at him but Colt just shrugged. He was stuck here, sure, but he still didn’t like it or Ryder and he wasn’t all too afraid of showing that to Ryder himself, though he was sure the human already knew.
As the two continued to eat, Colt felt another yawn pressing at him. Unlike the last time though, he couldn’t hold it back and the yawn escaped him.
Unfortunately for him, the other two noticed immediately.
Ryder smirked. “Aww, sleepy already?” Ryder teased at him condescendingly. Colt grit his teeth and glared at him. Meanwhile, Ryland looked worried. He brushed off the crumbs from himself, his food eaten, and made his way back over to Colt.
“You okay?” Ryland asked and Colt nodded, only to stop and yawn once again. His eyes felt heavy and it took manual effort to open them after every blink.
“Fine.” Colt said, biting back yet another yawn.
Ryland frowned. “You just woke up, you shouldn’t be…” Ryland trailed off, his brain going into overdrive.
“Actually, it makes sense.” Ryder spoke up, catching both of their attentions. “He’s still healing. He needs all the rest he can get and that means he’ll still be sleeping for a lot of his recovery period.” Ryder paused. “At least, that’s what his chart said.”
Ryland blinked. “Oh, yeah, that does make sense.” Colt could see that his brother was itching to ask all sorts of questions but was refraining since he probably knew Ryder couldn’t answer them. Ryland had always been smart, Colt would be the first to admit, but he was unfortunately at a disadvantage by the lack of resources that came with being a borrower. Colt knew well and true that if Ryland had been born human, he’d probably be the smartest one of them alive.
Colt’s brain caught up with him and processed what they were saying. “Wait, hold on, so I’m gonna go back to sleep? Already?” He couldn’t hold back the whine, which Ryder looked much too amused at. It wasn’t just that the idea of sleeping for so long was boring but that also meant leaving Ryland alone with Ryder again and that was the last thing Colt wanted.
It didn’t seem like his body was giving him much of a choice though.
And neither was his brother.
“Colt, if sleeping helps you heal, then you should sleep.” Ryland said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. That didn’t mean that Colt wasn’t going to try though.
“Ry, I’m not gonna…” He trailed off, looking up at Ryder before lowering his voice to a whisper. “I’m not gonna leave you alone with Ryder again.”
“What?” Ryder asked, telling Colt he was successful in keeping his voice quiet enough.
Ryland sighed but gave Colt a small smile. “I’ll be fine, Colt. Really.” Colt bit his lip, not sure if he really believed that but Ryland’s reassurance was at least more convincing this time.
Gah, he wasn’t getting out of this. For more than one reason. “Just…promise you’ll wake me up if anything happens?” He wasn’t sure what he could do, stuck in bed and injured like he was, but he wanted to still be there for his brother.
Ryland nodded. “Promise.”
“Hey, could you two talk a bit louder? I can barely hear you.” Ryder complained, frowning as he was leaning forward, his face practically pressed into the table. Colt held back the flinch at seeing him so close and instead channeled that energy into glaring at him.
“That was the point.” Colt said and smiled a bit as Ryder looked offended by that. Colt yawned again and settled further back onto the bed. “I’m…gonna sleep now.” Colt said, his words already slurring together as he fell further into the feeling of tiredness.
With the last of his energy, Colt pointed up at Ryder, still glaring. “Don’t.”
Ryder blinked. “Don’t what?”
Don’t hurt Ryland. Don’t f*** them over. Don’t tell anyone about them. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.
But Colt was too tired to say any of that out loud. Instead, he left Ryder with that one word as his eyes closed and he let his conscious mind slip back into the darkness of before.