Time Seemed To Have Lost All Meaning.

I struggled against an unseen force, my body bound as if by invisible chains.

Panic surged through me as the cold, unblinking eyes transformed into gaping maws, descending rapidly towards me.

"Aargh!!"

My voice cracked, strained by the sheer terror that gripped me.

Instinctively,

I raised my arms to shield myself.

Munch!

It bit onto my skin.

Munch!

It took another mouthful of blood and skin.

Aghyn!

Each sickening bite sent pain coursing through me.

Veins tracing jagged paths across my sclera.

I started to convulse.

Munch!

My mouth soon hung open, in a scream that felt endless.

"Aaaaargghh!!"

But,

This wasn't the end.

If anything, it was just the beginning.

The pain grew- unceasingly.

It was merciless.

The maws tore faster and faster, gnawing away as I screamed, each cry louder and more desperate than the last.

Aaaaaarggghhhh!!!

Blood soaked my surroundings, a grotesque sea of crimson.

At this point, I could no longer tell where my body ended or began.

How many parts had been torn off?

I didn't know.

B-ut then,

Just as suddenly.

The gnawing stopped.

What if this is all an illusion.

The thought clawed its way into my tortured mind.

Maybe none of this is real.

Perhaps this nightmare only exists in some twisted corner of my subconsciousness.

Desperate,

I shut my eyes, clinging to the idea like a drowning man to driftwood.

My heart thundered In my chest.

Ba-dump!

Each beat a defeaning drum against the fear that clung on to me.

Ba-dump!

"It's all in your head, Dean." I whispered, my voice barely audible over the storm that was raging around me. "It's all just an illusion."

I repeated it, over and over again, forcing myself to believe in it.

B-ut,

The pain refused to fade.

Each stab, each wave of agony was as real as the icy water crawling over my skin.

Stay calm, Dean.

Stay Calm.

The mantra was my anchor.

My only way of salvation.

Slowly, I retreated deeper into myself, into a space numb to the horror that raged outside.

Time dragged on, each second felt like a brutal eternity.

When the water finally stilled,

I dared not move.

The unseen predators might be gone, but their presence lingered around me like a shadow.

Eyes shut, I stayed In the cocoon of fragile consciousness, unable to trust my senses- nor revel in the safety of illusion.

Time blurred.

Seconds bled into minutes, minutes into hours.

At last,

I dared to open my eyes.

I was now standing before a door.

When the hell did I get here?

I shivered, dread settling deep into my bones.

I scrambled for answers, but none came- nothing but a chilling realization:

Everything I had seen, felt and suffered... had been nothing but mere illusions.

The thought sent my heart racing,

Ba-dump!

My hands trembled even faster as my breath came out ragged and uneven:

"Huff- Huff.'

Taking a deep breath, I reached for the door.

Creak!

The door opened slowly, revealing an endless darkness stretching far beyond my sight.

The moment I stepped through and shut the door behind me, I bolted.

I didn't care where I was going- only that I needed to escape.

The world warped around me and the house collapsed into the ground, swallowed by an unseen force.

But,

I didn't stop.

I couldn't.

My frantic footsteps echoed on the cobblestones, each step a desperate bid for survival.

I ran until my lungs burned, until my legs began to scream in protest.

B-ut,

I kept running.

The illusions, the horrors- they were slowly consuming me, twisting my mind into something ominous.

I needed to get away.

I needed to find others- humans, survivors.

Anyone.

There have to be others.

I convinced myself as I ran.

But doubt gnawed faster.

Despair coiled and pooled around my chest like a vice.

The cobblestone street stretched endlessly before me and time soon became meaningless.

My legs seem to move on autopilot, carrying me forward even as my strength ebbed away.

At some point,

I no longer felt my heartbeat or heard my footsteps. The world around me grew indistinct, a haze of grotesque force and shapes that defied mortal understanding.

My mind screamed in protest but my body pressed on.

I trembled under the weight of fear and exhaustion.

But I never for once stopped running.

"Huf-Huff."

How long had I been running?

What was I running from?

I didn't even know.

Finally, I stumbled, collapsing onto the cold ground.

"Please... someone... anyone!"

I screamed, my voice breaking down.

Desperation slowly consumed me.

My cries dissolving into the stifling silence.

My eyes burned red, blood boiling with a futile rage.

Still,

I forced myself to push forward.

My body was in ruins, my mind torn beyond redemption.

The line between reality and this nightmare of mine slowly blurred.

And time slipped away, leaving me adrift in this void of desolation.

Yet,

Beneath the crushing weight of despair that held onto me.

One thought burned within me:

Survive.

I had to survive.

Who am I?

Where do I come from?

What brought me here?

The questions pounded relentlessly against my fragile mind.

And so,

Because of them.

Tok-

I moved forward.

Tok-

I pressed further.

Pressing deeper into the endless darkness that would either consume or overwhelm me.