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Midnight.
The sky is at its darkest outside of his window and the world around him has silenced itself. He should be sleeping by now. Henrik has been trying his best to get him to have a decent sleep schedule.
And yet…
Yet, Chase is still fully awake, staring up at the dark ceiling of his bedroom, his entire body numb and his mind empty of everything save for that flicker of awareness focused on the peripherals of his sight.
There was a shadow watching him with its green gaze while its slit throat dripped red acid down its soaked black shirt and further to the floor where it dissipated into nothing with quiet hisses the moment it touched the surface.
Drip. Hiss.
Drip. Hiss.
Drip. Hiss.
The sound was ever constant like the leaky faucet in his barely used kitchen while it was accompanied by that mind numbing white static. The sounds should grate at his nerves as it did back in the beginning of this haunting, but now it served as background music that he could tune out by now as he went on with his daily life. He’d plaster on a smile, pretending that he’s alright, reassuring Henrik and Jackie that he is fine as if he couldn’t see the shadow glaring and growling as it loomed behind the other two egos, spitting hate and vitriol at the doctor and hero, blaming them for everything.
Disjointed. Distant. Displaced.
That was how he felt. It was as if he was just watching his body continue on with this farce while he watched himself from the outside as the shadow gripped his shoulders tight with its sharp claws, crooning poisonous words into his ears.
The shadow moved closer, standing beside his bed as it reached over with its gangly limbs to hold one of his hands. He watched it with a dull, dead gaze, blue meeting green.
It sat beside him, the bed sank with their combined weight. It began to carve bleeding circles into his palm. Tears welled up at the corner of his eyes as his hand was sliced open with Its razor sharp nails.
“ I hate you, Chase Brody, ” It sweetly crooned, leaning Its bloodied face into his, “ My Protagonist. My little bundle of sadness and depression and addiction. My r e p l a c e m e n t. ”
“I never asked to be yours,” Chase murmured back.
“ And yet, here you are. Created from my own noggin, failing even at the simplest tasks that I made you for,” the shadow scratched a long bleeding line over his cheek before those sharp claws trailed down to his throat, “ what am I going to do with you, Chaser? ”
The claw dug into his throat’s sensitive skin and began to slice a deep cut to the side, an exact replica of the cut on the shadow’s throat.
Chase breathed shallowly, choking on the blood that was dribbling out of his chapped lips as he rasped out, “I’m sorry , Jack.”
Jack smiled down at him before he brushed a gentle kiss over his cold forehead. More tears streamed out of Chase’s eyes as he sobbed out his apologies for failing him, for not being able to save him.
“ Shhh ,” Jack hushed him, “ It’s okay. I know you couldn’t help it.”
Jack covered his blue eyes with his hand and the static drowned out his cries as he was pulled into a deep sleep.
And then he gasped awake, darting forward, grasping his chest as his heartbeat drummed loudly in his eardrums. He started coughing, nearly hacking up his entire lungs and tasted copper on his tongue while something leaked from his nose. He reached up with one hand only to hiss at the sharp bolt of pain that shot up from his left hand to his spine. His breath hitched at the sight of his mutilated hand. He shakily held it up to his face and he could slightly make out the carved words hidden beneath all the blood.
MY MIRROR
His vision wavered and he could still see It smiling at him from the corner of his eyes. He used his other free hand to wipe away the wetness from his nose and lips.
Red. Red everywhere.
He breathed in deep, smelling the stench of blood staining him and his sheets. He could feel the stinging pain on his throat and he didn’t have to look to know what’s on there.
“Okay,” he hoarsely whispered, “okay.”
It’s getting worse.
He has to tell the others about this.
But first… Cleanup.