1 Fear of the Dark

He's panting. His ears are ringing. The panting quickly transforms into desperate gasps for air.

He clasps his chest. It's burning.

Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!

But it doesn't. The burning intensifies. The ringing grows into throbbing.

He's on the ground. Everything burns.

Even though his vision is blurry, he can't mistake her. She's there. Looking at him. Her face is calm and her posture relaxed.

'What is happening?' he wants to ask. But he can't voice anything other than his agony.

A new hot wave hits. His eyes shut. Unshed tears fall and he loses the little air he was battling for.

And then… nothing.

Silence.

But he's conscious?

He cracks an eye open. He's still on the ground. His hands are still on his chest.

And she's there.

He pushes himself up to a seated position. Effortlessly.

He frantically examines his body. It's covered in black marks. There's no pain, no ringing in his ears, absolutely nothing. But his arms are covered in black marks!

"What the hell just happened?"

"You want the short explanation or the long explanation?"

"What the hell did you do to me?!"

"I cursed you."

"What?"

"I cursed you."

"I heard you fine the first time! What do you mean you cursed me!"

"Well, it's quite self-explanatory, really. A curse is a curse and now you're cursed."

"With what?"

"Well, I barred my pet inside you."

"Excuse me?"

"It's no bother, really. I was not fond of that wild thing anyway."

The black marks which you could best compare to weird overdone tattoos suddenly lighten up.

'I was never her pet!'

The young man shrieks. Wide-eyed, whispers:

"Who said that?"

'Me!' A voice answers. 'I was maybe her pet once but then I escaped! Well, she got me again but…'

The young man jumps on his feet as if burnt. Who is this being that is talking? It has no face? No body? Just a voice... inside his head?

"There's a voice inside my head!"

"Correct." She taps her chin. "You need a name."

"Huh?"

"You need a name. Do I have to repeat everything for you?"

"What do you mean I need a name, I have a name!"

"Really? And what is it?"

He thinks. He tries to remember. Hard. But there's nothing.

"I don't know," he says almost defeated.

"Precisely and that is why you need a name."

"Who are you?"

"I already introduced myself to you but it's, of course, you don't remember. I'm Gaia."

"Who are you, Gaia?"

"I'm a guardian. Well not officially but on the quest of becoming one. And I chose you to be my companion. The voice you hear, my pet, that's an ancient spirit. You were the first person I found and I am kind of in a hurry so we better get going, I will explain everything on the way."

"Go where?"

"To do the quest!"

"No! I'm calling the police on you!" He hisses and takes his phone out of his pocket.

Gaia sighs and rubs her forehead, murmuring. "I thought this part is going to be easier…"

"You are mental! A psycho!" As she takes a step towards him, he yields back. "No, don't come close to me!"

"I already had this conversation with you. I said 'Hey, do you want to help me complete the Guardian's quest?' and you said 'Sure!'. Now, I told you you'll have your whole life erased when I curse you and you said 'Sure!'. Why is it a problem now?"

"You're insane, stay away!"

"Can we stop with the name-calling? Or, say, what do you want to be called?"

He unlocks his phone with shaky fingers.

"How about Phobos? It's kind of fitting if you ask me, with how scared you are."

He goes to dial. The digits are before his eyes. But he doesn't know what to dial. Who was he going to call?

"Since I have a Greek name, I figured we can just continue with the pattern."

He lowers the phone to look at her. Breathing in deeply, he says:

"I am losing my memories."

"Correct."

"I don't remember my name."

"Correct again."

"You cursed me with, with these tattoos."

"I thought we were over that one…"

"And there's some voice inside my head that's not my own."

"We all talk to ourselves anyway, take it as an additional perspective that's going to be always there…"

"And you're asking me how I want to be called?"

"I figure it'll be better if I know how to call you."

"I don't want a new name! I have a name! Undo what you did!"

"I can't. I told you I can't undo the curse before I cursed you and you said 'Sure'."

"I must have not believed you!"

She presses her lips and nods. "Might be."

"Might be? That's all you have to say?"

Her eyes light up and she snaps with her fingers. "I got another idea for a name! Dion! Like the God of theatre, Dionysus!"

"Is this theatre to you?"

"No?"

He takes a step towards her. His wild eyes search hers. Then, without saying anything, he turns around.

He hears traffic from somewhere behind the big building surrounding them and heads towards the noise. Traffic is good. But why? He can't remember. Can't say. He just knows that the noise of traffic is better than the noise coming from behind him.

"I mean it doesn't have to be Dion if you don't like it, it was just a suggestion!"