Chapter Text
Loud, horrifying screams rent the once-peaceful night silence as Johan's body violently jerked up from the bed. Almost painfully crunching into himself as he clutched his hands to his head, he discovered all-too-late where the screams were actually coming from. But that didn't make them stop. Oh no. Not right away, at least. Not until they had devolved into broken, choked sobs as tears began to helplessly spill from Johan's wide eyes down onto the sheets tangled up in his legs.
This time he hunched so deep into himself-gripping his hair with his fingers-that it hurt. And he squeezed his eyes shut as he forced himself to scream again-just to expel this awful thing growing inside of him-deep inside the pit of his stomach. Dazed and disoriented in the darkness with nothing to anchor him, for a moment he couldn't remember where he even was.
...where was he..?
When his voice could no longer carry his scream, Johan gasped for air as his body trembled and shook. As the silence swallowed up what remained of the terrifying sounds he'd made, clarity began to slowly dawn on him.
...He'd left Düsseldorf nearly short of three weeks ago, before discovering that Hans Georg Schuwald had-inconveniently-sent a private investigator to look into the suspicious death of his 'friend'. The old man just couldn't leave well enough alone, which had led to the unfortunate circumstances of another tragic suicide, and another dead body in Munich.
After that, Johan stayed in Munich just long enough to make sure nothing directly tied him to the incident of Richard Braun's death before crossing the border as he vanished into the darkness. Back into the shadows, and mist.
As his hands dropped almost lifelessly into his lap, another cleansing breath drew in through Johan's nose before he let it out in a fragile, shuttered sigh. Prague had not welcomed him warmly. The nights were dreadfully cold. And the very dirt of this place seemed to have seeped into his pores. Invaded his body through his skin, and into his blood, to awaken something deep inside of him.
He'd felt it growing bigger-building up within him-for days now. This awful pressure, just waiting to explode and devour him. Perhaps that was why he'd unintentionally made preparations to isolate himself by surrounding himself with the vacant rooms around him. A precaution he always took when away from familiar surroundings. One that-tonight, at least-had worked in his favor as an added layer of privacy as he played out and relived wave after wave of memories in the form of nightmares.
Not just his own. But his sister's as well.
Every single time he'd made his sister recount her time at the mansion, he consumed a tiny piece of her memory, and it became less of her own. He did this-again and again-until he had taken her place entirely.
He remembered. These thoughts and memories were scattered, of course. Like some gruesomely eviscerated animal, his memories were stained in blood-laid out at his feet-all in parts and pieces. Some were fuzzy, while others were more vivid and easier to recall. But they were all there, and more-he was certain of it.
He remembered everything.
And these memories had only grown bigger and all-the-more intrusive, ever since his 'awakening' in the library.
As the fabric of everything he had so carefully constructed began to slowly unravel, Johan began to fear-more and more-that his time was simply running out.
The cell-phone placed along the nightstand next to his bed went off, drawing Johan away from these dark thoughts as he glanced at the device's glowing screen. And the familiar number that popped up-at such an early hour-caused the faintest little flicker of a smile to curve along his lips. He'd been expecting this call. Collecting the device from the nightstand, Johan answered it in a soft, delicate tone.
“So you got my little gift, I see.” He hummed in a soft voice. “Along with my message.” This fell lightly from his lips in a hushed whisper as he spoke. “That's a good thing. Tell Roberto he has my thanks.” He said, stopping to listen again before his tone became a little more amused with the light arch of his delicate brows. “Now why on earth would I go to all the trouble of looking for you, when I could simply have you reach out to me instead?” He chuckled. “It was much easier for me that way.” His smile turned just a little more smug and malicious with the cool tone of his velvet voice. “Well, I'm sorry you didn't appreciate receiving a visit from my associate at this hour. But I hardly have the time to consider your feelings.”
...nor did he have the heart to care...
“So I assume that Roberto made the terms of our meeting clear to you..?” He lightly asked, listening to the reply as he gave another chilling little chuckle. “Come now. Don't be so foolish.” He scolded in that delicate tone. “Of course you'll have dinner with me.” Johan stated in such a pleasantly matter-of-fact and persuasive manner. “Because if you don't-” He lightly breathed into the phone through the attractive curvature of his lips. “I promise I will find you, and I won't hesitated to kill you myself.” He said before his eyes narrowed at a darkened focal-point of his room with the tone-shift and lowering of his voice. “And you will hear my proposal-” He hissed through a faint, breathy pause before continuing to speak. “-because you owe me this-” He whispered. “-for Anna.”
The disembodied voice on the other end of the phone spoke, and Johan allowed the almost exhausted hang of his head as he listened in silence. A soft, hum pushed through his nose when he heard something that seemed to appease him as he finally spoke again.
“That's a very wise decision on your part.” He purred through the small smile along his lips that manifested into a light chuckle. “It's such a relief to know you have at least some sense.” He said in a slightly mocking tone through a featherlight hum. “You can tell Roberto he's free to go, now. His job is done.” Johan's voice lilted through the phone as he spoke. “And I'll be seeing you tonight.” An almost helpless little bubble of laughter pushed through his nose despite himself. “Don't worry, I'll keep Roberto home this time.” Johan said with some amusement through a faint, smirkish smile. “Now that I have your attention, and you have my gift, I'll simply text you the location of our meeting.” This fell from his lips in a whispered voice that was quickly swallowed by the shadows of this room. “I'll make sure the reservation is for somewhere nice.” He said as a brief pause fell along the moment while he considered his parting words.. “And who knows-” He spoke in a breathy tone. “perhaps I'll even consider dressing up for the occasion.”