The Other Side

You Reap What You Sow (Ch. 3)

The blanket is just big enough to cover Tom's body. Frank doesn't know why he dragged him back into the session room, but he couldn't leave him out in the hall. He deserved better. If he hadn't been there, he and Jake might've suffered a similar fate. However, Tom's last words are still lost to the stressed psychologist.

Whatever it shows you, it isn't real.

What does that mean? What did that nightmare show Tom?

"I can't believe he's really gone."

Frank turns around and sees Jake, staring at Tom's covered-up body.

"I used to think he was annoying," Jake says. "A little too loud. But.. he was family all the same. Billy too."

Frank stands up and walks up to Jake. He places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"They'll never be truly gone, Jake," he says in a low voice. "As long as we keep their memory in our hearts, they'll never be truly gone. But I'll miss them too."

Jake looks down at the floor. Frank has seen that expression before. He's deciding if he should ask a question.

"Go ahead, Jake," Frank says. "What is it?"

"Do you think we'll be next?" Jake asks.

At first, Frank is about to instinctively reassure the man, but Jake isn't stupid. He can sniff out lies.

"I don't know, Jake," Frank says. "I don't know. But I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What does it look like?" Jake asks. "What is it?"

Frank forces himself to detail the monster in his mind, based on the quick glimpses he got of it.

"It looks vaguely human," Frank says. "By that, I mean it has human features, like arms, legs, the build of its torso. But that's where the similarities end. Its head is the most inhuman thing about it. I didn't get to get a good look at it, but it's in the shape of an oval, like the head of an alien from a bad sci-fi sixties movie. Its eyes are light blue. I swear they produced some sort of glow, maybe to help it maneuver in the darkness. The most freakish part is... its wings."

Frank notices Jake visibly flinch upon hearing that.

"It has wings, Jake. They look like the wings of a bat, except they're gigantic."

Jake looks around, lost in thought, taking all of the information in.

"Any ideas on what it is?" Frank asks, wondering what Jake thinks.

He turns to Frank before openly speculating.

"Frank, what if it's a demon?" He says.

"A demon?" Frank says, pondering that answer.

"It has wings, doesn't it?" Jake says. "From your description, whatever that thing is, it's not from this Earth. It can't be. It might be one of the devil's pawns. What if... what if we're being judged?"

Frank is torn on this answer. He's never been super religious after his days in College, and the part of being judged is a stretch. But what other alternatives are there? After seeing the monster in person, anything is possible. Whether it's an undiscovered organism, new breed of animal, or something that has come from the other side of reality, everything is up in the air.

"Maybe," Frank responds. "Whatever it is, it's fast. For some reason, it left after... doing what it did to Tom."

"Do you think it forgot about us?" Jake proposes hopefully.