Dark Dreams

Carnival Time

A carnival. Well, that was new. Mark spun around on his heel, moving slow enough to be able to take in his surroundings. Hell, he half expected Pennywise to show up and offer him a balloon. When he saw a figure approaching him, he almost wished that it had been Pennywise.

"Hello Mark" the silhouette spoke up, and Mark could almost hear the sneer in his voice. The red-head tensed, his eyes narrowing as he fought against the urge to take a step back.

"Nice place you've got here. A little change of scenery I see" The words didn't feel like his own. He felt like someone was holding his mouth, forcing it open and closed in a mockery of words.

The silhouette chuckled, it's hands sliding into the pockets of its jeans as it shrugged.

"What can I say? I got bored" As the figure stepped into the light Mark took in it's face. It was like staring into a mirror. Almost everything about the two matched. Almost. Marks hair was red, whereas the creatures was its natural brown. That had been one of the reasons Mark had dyed his hair. As a reminder to himself that they weren't the same person. The only other differences were their eyes, and if you looked close enough, their teeth.

The other creature had sharp pointed teeth, some of the longer, fang-like ones sticking over his bottom lip, just enough to show the tips, whenever he smiled. And the eyes. Looking into the others eyes sent chills down Marks spine. His eyes were a swirling mess of red and brown, and looking into them left Mark shaking. The red-head forced his gaze away from the other creature, instead opting to look around at the various empty booths and rides that surrounded him. His attention was snapped back to the other figure when his deep voice spoke out.

"You better wake up, Mark. Before you forget how."

Those words were enough to wake the sleeping Mark. He shot up into a sitting position, his eyes wide as he breathed heavily, hugging himself tightly. He hands shot up to grab the small, fabric bag that he wore around his neck. As his hands met with it he gave a relieved sigh. He still had it. He was still safe.

Giving an exasperated sigh he looked to the window, frowning at the bright sun outside. By the looks of it, it was around midday. This worried him. It meant that the demonic mockery of himself was getting stronger. Usually he couldn't hold him in a dream for more than a few moments. And those words... 'you better wake up, before you forget how.'

Those words made him shiver. God that guy was creepy. Mark licked his lips quickly, pulling out his phone and smiling softly when he saw a few messages from Jack. The two were always messaging back and forth. It was almost all that Mark did with his spare time. Mark checked his phone, reading the date as his smile grew. Two more days. Two more days until he could see Jack. The Irishman was coming down to visit, and had agreed to stay for a few weeks with Mark.

Mark climbed out of his bed, walking to the bedroom door and pausing when he heard something behind him. He froze, his hand still on the doorknob as he looked over his shoulder. He looked around the dark corners of his room, silently calming himself when he saw nothing behind him. It must have just been his imagination. He *definitely* did not just hear the words, 'Are you sure you're really awake?' Come from the empty room. No, not at all, he was being stupid. With that thought in mind he left his room, heading to the kitchen and forcing all thoughts of that creature out of his mind. That monster that had first introduced himself as Dark all those years ago.