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There was a monster standing at the end of the hallway.
The monster mirroring his face stood at the end of the dark hallway, its rippling form bathed in a crimson light that did nothing to block the green glow of its eyes.
He was smiling at him.
But what should have been a pleasant expression brought him neither peace nor comfort, instead fear began to bubble up from his chest to his throat. His neck began to blister along with his ramping panic. His breath came out as heaving pants as he realized that he was in no hallway.
He was actually trapped in a small dark room with no exit other than the red doorway that the monster was standing in.
“Good morning, Chasey!” The monster sang as it stepped inside his prison cell. “Are you ready to face another wonderful day with me?”
His skin crawled at the monster’s sickeningly sweet tone as if he wasn’t planning on making his prey scream and beg for mercy while he stabbed and carved his way through his flesh. He pushed himself back into the bitingly ice cold wall of his cell and tried to make himself small in some futile attempt to ward off the eerily smiling monster’s interest in him. His meek act only widened the cheshire cat’s smile on its face while his eyes glowed ever brighter in amusement at his show of fear.
His breath hitched while his heart skipped a beat when it leaned down and reached out to cup his bruised cheek.
“You didn’t answer me, Chaser. That’s rather rude,” he cooed, tilting his head in a curious manner while his green eyes bore into Chase’s petrified form.
A split second later, his free hand shot out to grab Chase’s dislocated shoulder—ignoring the pained cry that ripped out from his prey—and shoved him down in the middle of the room with maniacal laughter. His cackles bouncing around the walls alongside Chase’s sobs.
The back of Chase’s head smacked painfully on the unforgiving floor and he let out a wet gasp over the blinding white that that flashed in front of his eyes. He felt the demon straddle him, pinning his squirming form down to the floor before he slapped his face in warning.
“Stop fucking around, Chaser,” he snarled, and finally, the temporary blindness Chase found himself in faded away only for him to wish that his sight never returned in the first place.
A knife was placed over his neck, its sharp edge biting into his flesh at the slightest pressure. He stopped breathing, eyes drawn to the cold steel that threatened to end his life almost mercifully if he didn’t know who was on top of him right now.
The monster smiled and pressed the knife deeper into his neck, grinning at the pathetic whines that hitched from Chase’s breath. He began to drag the knife to the side, leaning over until those grinning lips were right next to Chase’s ear.
S̡͢a͏y̴ ̵͘g͝҉o̧͞odb̴̷ye̷͝.
He gasped wetly as he jerked forward into sitting position. His hand snapped up to wrap around the unblemished skin of his neck, still feeling the phantom pain of flesh spreading for the steel being dragged out across his throat.
Chase Brody’s body shook with dry sobs as he shoved the blankets off him, the heat and its weight reminding him too much of the star of his nightmare. He looked around his room, drinking in the sight of his blue walls, the sight of the moon outside his window, the desk with his turned off laptop on it, and every single object that reminded him that he was not in that empty, cold cell anymore.
However, there was one other thing that would allow this fact to fully sink into his mind.
He shakily stood up from his bed and slowly walked out of his room. He moved to the white door on the opposite end of the hallway and stood there with some hesitation. Chase breathed in and shook his head before he gently pushed the door open.
There sleeping in the master bedroom was his and the other’s creator, Jack McLoughlin.
He couldn’t help it. He has to hear his voice. He has to reassure himself that he wasn’t back in that cell in his nightmare and that Jack was truly awake from his coma.
“Hey Jack?” He hated how his voice sounded so small, like a fearful child’s. “Are you asleep?”
“Chase?” The groggy murmur made him tense and he felt like a child who was just found fidgeting in front of his parent’s bed after a nightmare. “Mm… I was but it doesn’t matter. You have another nightmare?”
Chase looked down on his feet, the conflicted feelings of guilt from waking his tired friend up from his rare sleep and the selfish want to take comfort from his presence trying to fight for dominance in his chest.
“Hey Chase,” Chase raised his head and saw Jack sitting up while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jack smiled at him and gestured for him to come close with a smile. “Come over here you little dumdum.”
He let out a soft relieved breath before shuffling forwards, closing the door behind him, and sitting at the opposite side of the bed. There was silence between the two of them and Chase nearly thought Jack had fallen back asleep before he spoke once more.
“What was your nightmare about?” Jack asked, a gentle prying tone in his voice. “Must’ve been pretty bad if you look like all blood was just drained out of you.”
Chase closed his eyes. If he thought too hard about it, it was like he was back in that dark place again. The cold, the pain, and worst of all, the loneliness that came with being all by himself in the dark until Anti came back for another session made him shudder and hug his body. He felt disgust and hate for himself. Jack had been suffering under Anti’s hold for years while he was just there for… for…!
A hand on his lower back jolted him out of his thoughts and he jumped. He turned his head to see Jack smiling at him apologetically before the older man tugged him down to lay on his back beside him. Their shoulders touched lightly and Chase found himself relaxing.
Jack was warm beside him. They were safe. They weren’t with Anti anymore. It was all just a nightmare.
He could feel himself slowly slipping back to the world of dreams and he tried to keep himself awake. A soft touch on his head made him look at Jack who was now propped up on his side, petting his hair in soothing motions.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind you sleeping here tonight,” Jack whispered, his smile widening as he watched the younger man’s eyelids flutter close as the feelings of safety enveloped him in a comforting embrace. He covered Chase’s closed eyes with a warm hand. “You’re safe now, Chaser. You’re safe here with m̢̛͠͠e͟.”