Subject 24

The First Nightmare

A/N: I will be republishing ALL of the chapters as I have updated many small aspects of the story that I cannot implement individually. I hope you all understand <3

Blood seeps from every inch of my small, claustrophobic metal prison, the deathly silence causing every drop to echo as the crimson liquid draws closer. Shadows play at the corners of my eyes in a mocking fashion, just out of my line of sight, soon to reappear when they know I am unaware. The warm, sticky substance coats my fingers, the stench of blood flooding my nostrils as my entire body begins to bathe in the horrible liquid. My vision blurs as my head throbs in agony, a black tint creeping ever so slowly over my vision until I can only see through a singular point of my eye.

The shadows begin to rise, stronger now that they are aware of my situation. My entire lower body is stained red, a menacing grin glowing among the shadows. I already know what it is – the demon more wretched than any other to exist – Nightmare. It begins to creep closer, its teeth yearning for the sweet, exquisite flavor of my flesh. I soon feel its hot breath wash over my face, jagged teeth nearing ever closer, but I cannot move. My entire body is paralyzed in pure shock and fear, eyes widening as Nightmare lunges at me. I expect to feel fangs pierce my soft neck to tear out my throat and hear the sickening crunch...but it never comes.

I bolt upright with a jerk, my body's reflexes forcing me to vomit up a horrible concoction made of god knows what. All I know is that it left an incomprehensibly horrid taste in my mouth, my throat burning as stomach acid clung to the sides. My gaze drifts upwards until I lock eyes with my captor – and also my torturer. I vaguely remember how all of this had happened. This man was once a calming, familiar face, yet now, he was horrifying, and I wanted nothing more than to break free from my bonds and give him the end that he deserved.

It all started one afternoon after school – my father was late to pick me up, and one of my old teachers approached me and we engaged in friendly conversation. But in the blink of an eye, it changed. I can still feel the hands grasped firmly around my neck, choking for air and screaming out in pain as I was torn away from the school gates, passing out and waking up in a metallic prison. He won't even acknowledge my existence anymore unless he wants to, labeling me as'Subject 24'. I have no idea what he is trying to achieve, but it terrifies me. "Patient's response to Concoction 2-0-6: Forced patient into deep slumber. She appeared to be having a nightmare,whimpering and struggling within her bonds. Patient awoke with a start; profuse vomiting occurred. Describes taste as 'incomprehensibly horrid'. Try to keep the patient awake next time and enhance flavor," the monotone voice wafted through my chamber, dead eyes staring straight through me. All I could hear was the sound of pen against paper before he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the eerily empty space all around me.

What I do know, however, is that Scott is forcibly injecting strange liquids into my veins, and even forcing me to take them orally. They allow me to see things...twisted, amalgamated things...and even communicate with the demon who controls me. These are things no human should ever need to see in their lifetime, let alone be constantly pursued by them. What everyone doesn't know, however, is that all of this hides beneath our reality that is a dulled down, simplified version of life as we know it. These are the secret mechanisms behind our every thought, our every action, even down to time and space itself. Our minds weren't meant to know...weren't meant to see what controls our world, because we cannot comprehend it.

Certain twisted creatures, when in the vicinity, cause certain emotions to become strong, and overwhelming. Anger, fear, sadness, jealousy, hate...not a single positive emotion came from those deformed beasts.They are the primary reason for humanity's downfall, their lust for war and money, and why they tear at each others throats. They breed, they fester, they linger on the edges of people's minds.

...

I wish I didn't know. Everywhere I look, everywhere I turn – I see them. They linger over people, just invisible monsters controlling the minds of every human on earth – except for him. Somehow, Scott found a way to banish his from his body. But now, his heart is twisted, and all he cares about is experimentation. Perhaps this is why these creatures exist – they are deadly, but they help in some perverted way. Yes, the true culprit is Nightmare...Scott may no longer have the monster that balances his thoughts, but his Nightmare remains. Both are demons, but they are like a constant force tugging on one another. If one overwhelms the other, it wreaks havoc on those unfortunate enough to have that unbalance. Still...the world is corrupted. The only way that is believed to save it would be to remove the both of them – at least, that is the most reasonable conclusion. But I doubt anybody has ever tried it... scared, afraid, that something they don't understand will happen.