Prologue

Disclaimer! Before you read this rewrite, I want to let you know that this is going to be a lot more mature than the previous version. So if you are squeamish about some things like an arm being torn off, then I implore you to skip the chapter or just don't read. Enjoy!

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Third Person POV

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We see a young man in a deep sleep restlessly turning about. His breathing hitches, and his movements turn violent. Falling out of his bed, he writhed around as he gasped for breath. He thrashed against the floor as he clawed at his neck, his lungs burning, and desperately begging for reprieve. Moments went by, and his movements began to seize. Another moment passes, and then another. After what seemed like forever, his eyes shot open, and he gulped in as much air as possible.

He coughs violently before he takes some deep breaths. Holding his chest, he rubs it, attempting to alleviate the burning sensation still lingering in his lungs. Sweat drips down his neck, causing him to hiss in pain and reach for it. Looking down, he sees blood staining his hand, causing him to furrow his brow. Slowly sitting up as he was lying flat on the floor, he groans and reaches for his head. It was pounding, like someone was squeezing it from all sides. Closing his eyes, he tries to calm himself down, only for a sudden chill to run down his spine, causing him to shoot to his feet as panic sets in.

His eyes scan the room, darting around him as he searches for something. Anything, though he was unable to find what he was looking for. Sighing in relief, a wave of nausea washes over him as his legs give out from beneath him and he falls back into his bed. He felt like he was about to puke, his head was spinning, and his neck was beginning to itch with a burning sensation. Clutching his head again, he places a pillow over his face as he tries to ignore the unpleasant feelings. He lay there for minutes, the minutes turning to hours, and the pain had still yet to vanish, and now he was starting to feel agitated. Deciding he's had enough, he gets up from his bed and glances to his side, a clock face showing the time.

'Five in the morning… Fucking nightmares.' His gaze lingers on the clock for a bit longer before he clicks his tongue in annoyance and walks toward his bathroom.

He stood facing the mirror, rubbing his eyes and blankly staring at his reflection. Scratch marks marred his neck, his flesh painted new with fresh wounds adding to his blemished skin. He stood momentarily, staring at the dried blood around the claw marks, the sweat prickling his skin. He pondered as he continued to look at his reflection before grabbing a cloth next to him. Turning on the sink, he wet the fabric before cleaning the wound. He sighs as he gently wipes the blood and sweat from his neck, the cool water helping with the stinging. Once he was done wiping the sweat and blood off him, he grabbed something he could bandage his neck with.

'This has happened too many times… I'm getting sick of it.' He's lost count of the number of times he's had the same recurring nightmare. He's even gathered things to prepare for when he has them.

Grabbing his toothbrush, he leaned against the sink to brush his teeth as his legs still felt like jelly. He didn't feel the need to go shower, as he was already barely standing. So wiping himself off with a soapy rag, he grabs some deodorant and moves along. Exiting the bathroom, he trudged to a laundry basket overflowing with clothing. Sifting through it, he pulls out a black turtleneck, underwear, black sweatpants, and socks. Dressing himself, he grabs his jacket and leaves the room. 

Like a sloth, he slowly walks down a narrow hallway, turning a corner before he enters the kitchen. Moving toward the kitchen sink, he holds his head as he pours himself a glass of water. Sighing, he sits at the kitchen table, sipping the water as he stares into space, thinking back on the nightmare. Every time he was dragged into that nightmare, he'd blindly float in an ink-like void, it was almost akin to water. When he floated in its cold emptiness, he always felt like a presence was watching him as he drifted endlessly. It was suffocating, literally.

He'd struggle for what seemed like hours in that void, in a constant state of asphyxiation, never passing out, and never finding death's sweet embrace. He'd claw at his throat, hoping, praying for the torture to end. And every single time he was about to wake, he felt that presence dart towards him and envelope itself around his body. Beeping draws the young man out of his thinking. Looking toward the source of the noise, he looks over to the oven clock.

'Shit, I'm going to be late. How did almost four hours pass?' With no time to make something proper to eat, he grabs two pieces of bread and slaps some peanut butter between them.

Putting on his jacket, he slips on his shoes and grabs his bag before dashing out the door. Running toward his car, he couldn't help but notice how gray the clouds were turning. As he jumps in his car, he sighs and starts it. He was tired of every day being the same over and over again. It was so… monotonous. When was the last time he felt happy, really happy? How long has it been since the last time he looked forward to each day? He didn't know, and he didn't care. He's long since realized that life isn't full of all those joys like he thought back then. He wondered, if his old self was standing right here, seeing him now, would he be disappointed? Maybe. He had too many hopes.

'Heh, and to think I thought that's what life was like.' He snorts to himself.

Trying to shake off the depressing thoughts, he finally pulls out of his apartment complex's parking lot. Making his way to his school, he turned on the radio as he stopped at a red light. Flipping through channels, he stops on one as he hears a woman reporting about the weather. 

"It looks like today we're going to be having some severe weather as reports have shown a high chance for heavy rainfall while a severe thunderstorm could be headed our way. It is advised to be extra cautious on the roads and to stay indoors." Cutting the radio off, he sighs, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxes his grip as he glances up at the once ocean-blue sky, now shrouded in thick dark clouds. As the light turns green, he continues his way to the school. When he finally arrived, he walked inside and navigated through the school's labyrinth of halls until he eventually arrived at class. Upon entering the classroom, a few students turned their heads toward him for a brief moment before ignoring him. Finding a random seat in the back of the class, he sets his bag down as he sits. Minutes ticked by as more and more students arrived to class. The professor walked in a few moments later, and after a brief hello to the class, he began the lecture.

'These classes are always so boring.' The young man scoffed. His head pain persisted, though it was now mildly better than a few hours ago.

Not in the mood for school-related work, he wanted nothing more than to get up and leave. What was the point of repeating something over and over if it never got you anywhere? He's tried, hasn't he? He's worked hard, but it was as if the world was against him. Slouching in his chair, he closed his eyes and began to sleep.

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"I feel like shit." The young man huffed as he walked out of the classroom. After an excruciatingly long day, he was finally able to leave. 

He was using the last remaining bits of energy to keep himself awake. It felt like he was carrying a bag of weights strapped to his back. Exhausted, he struggled to keep himself upright as he exited the school. Holding his head, he groaned more as he looked up to see a veil of heavy rain in front of him.

"Damn it, just great… I need to get home. It's only going to get worse if I wait any longer." He hissed, forcing himself to run toward his car as the rain beat against his skin. Hopping in the car, he starts it as he pulls away from his school, and drives back home.

'Did it always take this long to get home?' He couldn't help but ask himself. He drove for what felt like hours. It would only take the young man not more than twenty minutes to get home, but this felt different somehow.

Still, he kept driving as the rain fell harder, making it almost impossible to see the road. He could barely see more than a few feet ahead of him while the thunder's deafening booms made it hard to hear anything other than his vehicle. In an instant his head pain suddenly spiked, the sensation worse than anything he'd felt so far. It became noticeably harder to steer. He couldn't focus, and his control was starting to slip. Still, he tried to regain control of his vehicle.

He failed miserably.

"Fuck!"

The vehicle no longer listened to his commands as it spun uncontrollably. The car slid across the pavement, gliding across its surface, and what's worse, he heard a barely audible horn a few meters away from him. He couldn't see the culprit, but he could now hear the horn more clearly, noticing it was much louder, no, closer than before. However, once he figured out what it was it was too late. A huge truck slams into the car.

The car's small frame crumbled against its hulking mass and flipped through the air. The vehicle lands with a heavy thud as it crashes, rolling, it skids across the ground and finally comes to a halt. Pain. That was all the young man could feel. The agonizing, excruciating pain that was spread throughout his entire body. He couldn't move, and it became difficult to breathe. He couldn't help but cough violently, intensifying his pain as blood spewed out of his mouth. His vision blurred red as blood spewed out of his head.

'Shit… Stay awake… Stay awake.' The young man's eyes grew heavy as he looked out at the rain, the cracks of lightning, and the roaring thunder.

Somehow it made him forget about his pain, even if it was just for a moment. The sounds of thunder grew louder, and the lightning struck harder around him. His mind wandered, and for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking of a show he had watched from childhood. He smiled as he thought about it. The memory comforted him as the world around him grew darker by the second. With those last thoughts, and too weak to keep his eyes open, he sleeps for the last time.

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In a quiet inky void that was akin to water, a small spark of light the size of dust flickers into existence. The spark floats in the emptiness, fizzling in place, going in and out of the void for some time before stabilizing. An unknown amount of time passes, and the spark becomes erratic, changing, stretching, and expanding until it finally settles into the form of a young man. He awakes, his eyes fluttering open as his vision is met with endless darkness.

'I'm... alive?' He looked down at his 'body,' if he could even call it that. He was slightly translucent, as he shone brightly. He was quickly becoming confused.

However, his confusion nearly instantly vanished, replaced with an intense fear. A cold chill runs down his spine as he panickily looks around the void. Something was watching him. He couldn't see it, but he could feel its eyes honing in on him, piercing through the darkness, staring into his being. He flew through the void as he attempted to flee. He didn't know where to go. The only thought going through his head was to escape from whatever was stalking him. He felt something was off about it like it was taunting him with the idea of his escape, enjoying the thrill of the hunt.

'No, no, no! How many times must I have this damn nightmare?!' The young man's mind was spiraling. How was he here? Why was he here? Is this all even real? He didn't know.

"Just leave me… ALONE!" He shouted, his voice booming through the darkness as he swung his arm in an arc. A wave of light pulsed out of him, crashing into whatever was chasing him. Confused, he stopped as he froze in shock.

"Wha—" He couldn't finish his sentence, or even think about what he had done. Whatever was hunting him wouldn't allow it. After what he had just done, it decided to end things there.

It crashes into him, stunning the young man as it knocks the wind out of him, cutting off his light as it begins to envelop itself around him. A shock of pain spread through his body of light, and the next thing he knew, he was fading out of consciousness.