500 - Part I - Distorted Shadows and Monsters

Chapter XVI - Mr. Monochromatic Vision

"What did I miss?" Daniel groaned, feeling arms around him.
"Quite a bit actually," Silver smiled sadly.
"How long was I...asleep?"
"Umm...nobody really knows. Probably about a few hours at least. Man knocked you out?" Daniel sat upright, with assistance. His eyelids were made of concrete. His eyelashes only prodded them, little black skewers on the barbecue fire. The cold air stung them frigidly. As he attempted to open them, he heard noises of other children. They were screaming, squealing, crying. However, one was laughing. He moaned in agony. "Daniel, just relax," Terry told him. Silver nodded in agreement, not that Daniel registered it. "What did they do?" His words were slow, slurred, drunken. As he tilted his head, it dragged along and the dizziness caused a whirlwind in his mind. Everything hurt. Again. "Daniel, that cooky Sullivan guy blasted a big blue laser into your eyes. You were screaming." Silver said the last part very quietly, trying not to draw any more attention. A few kids glanced their way, but many returned to playing and hugging new friends. After all, many were young. "I don't remember," Daniel sobbed. It was the truth and there was no point in faking his bravery. He was just as scared as the rest of them. "You don't know what happened? Are you in any pain?" Silver further wondered. Daniel nodded, the blood boiling inside of him all rushing to his head. The feeling of throwing up overtook him. "Definitely," he mumbled, saliva mixing with blood inside of his mouth. He made a dreadful churning noise. Silver gagged. Terry too.

"Look guys, there's a gun!" a blonde boy piped up. He had massive, thick, goofy teeth stuffed inside of his mouth, looking like there were too many to even fit in there. His eyes were a golden-chestnut. Caramel-like. His hair were just scraps of unkempt hair. His cheeks were flushed with red hot anger and curiosity. It was as though he was going to burst. None of them could quite understand what he was thinking: his smile was drooping, but also uplifting, his eyes shone with either pain or delight or both and his fists were constantly clenching and unclenching. "A gun?" Silver squeaked. Daniel didn't feel like laughing at the little boy's voice. Terry did laugh, though. "It's not funny!" the boy squeaked again, a miniature teddy bear, "You do realise I am probably older than you! You can't judge people on size, man." Daniel's eyes snapped open suddenly, as though a lever had been flicked or a button of a contraption pressed once. He wasn't even trying, that time.

Every object appeared one colour. White. It was a pure Winter wonderland. Or a Winter nightmare. The walls were painted white. The floor was painted white. The ceiling had texture. It was like wood combined with tiles, still in this fresh, new titanium white. The lights above him shone. His eyes felt like they were bleeding. "Why is his eyes bloodshot?" the boy with big teeth said in a baritone voice. Humorous, for his appearance. Daniel's eyes were vibrating, shaking. He wouldn't focus them. Everything was a blur. He couldn't make out any individuals. All were a ghostly, transparent shadow. Walking, talking silhouettes. They didn't have any features. No eyes. No noses. No mouths. Nothing. Their frame was still there though; arms, legs and hair still remained. Their clothes were white. White jackets. White trousers. White work boots. Filing cabinets too were all the same colour. Daniel couldn't see the handles.

Two teal stripes flicked across his vision. His eyes closed, alarmed by the sudden colour. He had been seeing white for about three minutes. It seemed longer. Far longer. It was like a video game introduction. Wherever Daniel looked, the blue stripes were there. They spread across the screen of Daniel's vision. They followed him wherever he looked. The lines soon separated into dispersions of light and popped like fireworks. This was like virtual reality. Although, there was no escaping this and certainly no exit button. You had to have your eyes on the game at all times, in reality. Black lettering appeared, one character at a time.
Credits:
This was bold and extremely vivid. Underneath, it read:
Sullivan Wrenwell has paid you a visit.
Sullivan. He was definitely the offender in this.
This won't last long.
Thank goodness. This gave Daniel some reassurance. Every letter painfully clicked in his ear and was pressed like fingers on a typewriter. The noise was terrible and made his ears sore. They burst a few ossicles. Wonderful.
If you want.
What now?
It can last longer.

"His eyes have the symbol, guys!" the toothy guy hollered.
"Thanks for notifying everyone. Like Daniel wanted everyone alert," Silver sarcastically shouted at him. Silver's arms were around Daniel, gently pulling him closer to the ground. He tilted his chin up. His eyes rolled. They were red with veins in the corners, but the same milkiness with the teal lines was dominant. The same look in Sullivan's eye. Only this symbol was in both of Daniel's. "I think it's cool," a six-year-old girl chuckled, "I wish mine were like that."
"Would you like blood filling your eyeballs? Would you like to endure his pain?" Silver commented brutally. The girl burst into tears, wailing like a siren. "Sorry," Silver apologised as soon as a single tear rolled down her cheek. The toothy guy wandered over to him and crouched down beside Silver, Terry and Daniel. "Wicked cool!" he gasped in entertainment.
"It is not cool," blabbed Silver.
"You're not cool. You're ruining all the fun, little moron."
"I'm just saying."

Daniel was facing the ceiling. The little moon orbs for lights were flashing annoyingly, causing a migraine. That only brought more searing pain. The pain didn't hurt so much anymore. He was that used to it. The teal fireworks soon disappeared, all drifting away out of his view. Somebody was holding his hand. He relaxed. There was a figure standing over him, still white. A loose fringe was sweeping his own hair and poked his eyes. "Owww," Daniel whispered.
"Sorry," Silver slipped hastily. The contact send shivers down his spine. Daniel was flinching all over. "Is it mind control or something?" a boy asked, curiously.
"I don't know," another complained, frustrated at Silver and Terry shoving them all away.
"We only came to have a look," a girl protested, "We're kids after all."
"Give him space," Silver blurted out.
"You're mean."

Inkiness was pouring malevolently into Daniel's eyes. Oh how he hated the dark. The white all turned smoky, billowing like wind. Silver's figure turned monstrous and he could see a pair of devilish horns sprouting from his silver bangs. The jacket was hollow and black. The little boy's ribcage and bones were visible, all black as well. Daniel saw his heart, pumping feral. It was a wild rhythm. He could hear it. Louder. Louder. Louder. It wouldn't stop. Everything grew darker. The lights above his head turned vermillion, almost similar to blood moons, all floating from the ceiling. Somebody was screaming. It was an enchanting chorus. All of a sudden, wraithlike claws grabbed at Daniel, all scratching at his skin. Blood seeped through. "Let me go!" he yelled, but the sound didn't travel into his ear. It was a stream that was cast into the air, gravity not bringing it down to the ground. The holler was a dancing ribbon of smoke, which wrapped around the bloody lights and suspended in the air. It repeated what he said constantly and rapidly. "Let me go!" it echoed. "Let me go!" it chanted. "Let me go!" it pleaded. Then came ignorance, swooping as an elegant eagle and hitting Daniel like a boulder. Claws. Talons. Scratching. Cutting deeper. The chants were increasing, Silver's heartbeat a distant harmony.

Black entered Daniel's lungs. He was gasping for breaths. Raspy voice choking, his blood boiled, magma pouring through his veins. The feeling spread in his bloodstream. He could sense it in his chest, pounding and beating, causing bruises. The pain was working him to death. The death of the pain worked him. He wasn't breathing. It was a lucid dream. It was a dream of reality. He couldn't decipher what was real and what was a cryptic thought that he couldn't put his mind to. The nightmare surrounded him. Became him. Whispering the darkness into his ears until it reached his head — where it all started. The death was a cycle within him and that darkness only repeated...