DarknessDreaming

I sprinted down alleyways, unable to stop. My mind plotted out my route. I wasn't going home. He knows where I live. If that thing was drawn to me because of Jacob, then I need to cut that part of me off.\n\nI need to see Jacob.\n\n[[I didn't know what I would do once I found him, but it's the only thing I had.|Scene 42]]

I withdrew the handgun I had purchased earlier and leveled it at Jacob.\n\nI yelled out.\n\n<<replace "I pulled the trigger.">>\n\n''BLAM''\n\n<<timedinsert 3s>>Nothing. The creature was unaffected. A fresh hole in its robe smoked, but Jacob only smirked at me.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 9s>>@@color:green;Is that all, Octavian?@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 12s>>I loosed another shot.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 14s>>''BLAM''<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 17s>>Still nothing. Terror began to creep up my spine as I realized the futility of my actions.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 21s>>''BLAM. BLAM. BLAM.''<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 24s>>@@color:green;Oh, Octavian...when will you learn?@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 27s>>Then, Jacob...began to change. His face split along his mouth and cracked open like an egg. The top half of his head flung open and more of the awful tentacles spilled out of it. More pieces of him cracked open and his terrible form began to take control of the alleyway, twisting around lightposts and signs.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 37s>>As he transformed, I felt the tendril around my neck loosen ever so slightly. It was just enough for me to throw it off.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 42s>>[[And then I ran.|Scene 39]]<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<endreplace>>

The End.\n\n[[Restart?|Start]]

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By the evening, I usually felt better. Well enough, at least, to receive Jacob. Tonight was no different.\n\nWe made love, loudly, eagerly, as if it was the first time.\n\nAs we finished, sleep threatened to overtake me almost immediately. I struggled to stay awake and managed to murmur, "I want to know what's going on."\n\nBefore I fell unconscious, I heard his reply. "You will."\n\n[[Next thing I knew, it was morning.|Scene 32]]

We continued in this fashion for a week. I would work for the day, come home, and wait for him. When evening fell, he would arrive, dressed the same.\n\nWe would make love. Beautiful love.\n\nThen, in the morning, he'd be gone again, a fresh note by my side saying he would be back in the evening.\n\nSomething was wrong, though. I was beginning to suffer.\n\nI don't know what happened--possibly an illness?--but after a few days I started feeling much weaker each morning. I decided to stay in bed and rest, skipping work. The next day it was the same, and the day after that. It was becoming difficult to move when I awoke.\n\n[[Something was dreadfully wrong with me, I feared.|Scene 31]]

The statue had continued to grow in this past week, but now it was as if it had blossomed like a flower. The tentacles had engulfed the desk that the statue rested on and had begun to invade the rest of the room.\n\nNow, though, there was something else. A figure had emerged from the top of the statue, hands raised to the sky. The tentacles, it could now be seen, were coming out of the figure, from under its robes and out of its sleeves, its hood.\n\nThis figure looked familiar. The robes...\n\nMy stomach dropped. Those are the exact robes Jacob would wear, that the figure in my dreams wore.\n\nThe feeling that was something was very, //very// wrong began to creep up my spine.\n\n[[That person who I was making love to every night...he...they...were not Jacob.|Scene 34]]

None of this made sense. Jacob is writing to me. It must be him, surely? Nobody else knew about our...attraction for each other. God knows I haven't told a soul, and considering his marriage, I doubt he would have either.\n\nWhy is he writing to me now? Far more distressingly, he references my dream last night. How would he have any idea of that?\n\n'We shall see each other again soon?'\n\nThis is...too much. I quickly locked up the office and headed home. Someone is trying to trick me. I do not know who. A rival of my father's? A jealous, hateful person who seeks to break me down? Somehow they found out about Jacob and I and are using this emotional blackmail against me. But why?\n\nI didn't have any answers. Only more questions.\n\n[[I returned home and slammed the door shut behind me.|Scene 22]]

I wailed on the statue for what felt like hours but was not able to so much as chip a fragment off. It was impervious.\n\nI stared uselessly at the thing. I wouldn't even be able to take it out of the house by now, with how it had worked and winded around every bit of furniture in the study.\n\nI was going to have to go about this a different way, it seemed.\n\n[[I began to prepare for the evening.|Scene 36]]

They look like Jacob, sound like him, smell like him, make love as fiercely and beautifully as he does, but this figure that has been visiting me is ''not. Jacob.''\n\nI've allowed myself to fall for this doppelganger, in the hopes that I could reclaim the life I had with him. But no, Jacob is not here, he's with his wife, safe and sound, not thinking of me.\n\nI fell to my knees. Has my life become this? I started to cry. I missed him. God, I missed him. Is it so wrong that all I wanted was him back in my life? Damn it all, I just want him!\n\nI wiped the tears from my eyes. Crying now wasn't going to help anything.\n\nI need to fix this.\n\nAnd it starts with destroying this statue.\n\nI went through my supplies, digging until I found a large hammer.\n\nI hoisted it above my head, and brought it down hard on the statue.\n\n[[It bounced off harmlessly.|Scene 35]]

His head lifted as I approached, his eyes meeting mine. He still wore the frayed robes, though the hood was down. He spoke, and his words froze me in place. His voice had taken on an otherworldly cadence. It was the voice that spoke to me in my dream, what seemed like so long ago.\n\n@@color:green;Octavian. You came. I'm so happy.@@\n\n"J...Jacob? You...you're going to tell me what's going on now, right?"\n\n@@color:green;Of course, my darling boy. But first, an apology.@@\n\n"For what?"\n\n@@color:green;I came to you, Octavian, because of the ache in your heart. I soothed that ache, did I not? And in exchange, you gave me life. Sadly...I am not yet complete. But tonight, I shall be.@@\n\nJacob...//lifted// off the ground, blackened tendrils spilling from the bottom of my robe.\n\n[[One of them came for me, reaching towards my throat.|Scene 37a]]

Evening came soon enough.\n\n"Jacob's" words were cryptic. I would know where to find him?\n\nHe can't mean where we first met, could he? Jacob and I had met while we both happened to be visiting Boston at the same time. A small bar, now condemned. How would this being know that information?\n\nSome small part of me still clung to the feeble hope that this really was Jacob, but the rest of me could not believe it anymore.\n\nI stalked the streets and alleys of Boston, avoiding strangers' gazes. Soon, I turned down an alleyway. There it was.\n\n[[And there he was.|Scene 37]]

I am chasing a figure dressed in a long, graying robe. They move effortlessly down alleyways and side streets, and I feel like I am walking in knee-deep water trying to catch them.\n\nEventually, the streets begin to subside, giving away to inky darkness. I trudge on, my foots echoing off the nothingness. Eventually, I reach the person. Their back is to me.\n\nI begin to approach, but I am suddenly jerked backwards. I turn and look. A shadowy tendril has come forth from the darkness and wrapped itself around my wrist, holding it tight. Another pull from the other arm, and I realize that I have been immobilized!\n\nThe figure now turns towards me, achingly slowly, and moves towards me. They move with a strange grace, almost as if they are floating, not walking.\n\n[["Who are you?" I call out to them.|Scene 14]]

I panted, sweat running down my face, my fists clenched, as I stared down at the broken painting. What...what had I just seen? Was it really him? Was it really Jacob?\n\nNo. That's impossible.\n\nI looked to the statue. I suddenly felt wary of the thing, as if it had somehow inflicted this...illusion. I let out a sigh, allowing myself to relax. This is just all in my mind. It has been a long day. I just need some rest.\n\nI think, briefly, of taking the statue with me, but I decide against it. It can stay here for now. I...do not feel comfortable taking it into my bedroom for now.\n\nI go to bed, my mind still churning through what had just happened to me. I lied in my bed, awake, for a while, staring into the darkness. Eventually, sleep took me.\n\nOnce again, I dreamt.\n\n[[Though this time I remember it vividly.|Scene 13]]

Much to my surprise, as I put the finishing touches on the piece, it seemed to match the statue rather closely, despite my struggling.\n\nThere was something curious about the painting, <<replace however...>>\n\nYes, there was something that caught my eye, though I wasn't entirely sure of what...\n\n<<timedinsert 5s>>It seemed, as I changed my own perspective, the painting changed as well, as if it was building a picture. I just had to find the right angle.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 11s>>@@color:green;Octavian...@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 12s>>Yes, it seems if I crouched down low, almost lying down on the ground, and stared up at the picture, I could see something.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 18s>>@@color:green;I still feel you, Octavian...@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 19s>>I grunted as I shifted my body slightly from side to side, trying to see what I was looking at. Then, all at once, it snapped into place, like a jigsaw puzzle.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 26s>>@@color:green;I still see you, Octavian...@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 27s>>It was a face.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 30s>>@@color:green;I still need you, Octavian...@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 31s>>His. Face.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 35s>>@@color:green;<big><big><big><big>''OCTAVIAN!''</big></big></big></big>@@<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 37s>>At once, I sprang to my feet and smashed the easel to the ground. I felt the painting crack.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 43s>>[[I stood over the wreckage.|Scene 12]]<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<endreplace>>

As I returned home, I decided to study the statue in greater detail, while there was still light. I resolved to paint it. Doing so would allow me to drink in its detail, I believed. Still life was the one method of painting I was any good at (and the irony that my only talent was at replication was not lost on me).\n\nI brought the statue into my study and set up my easel and paints. I adjusted the statue, turning it this way and that, until it caught the waning sunlight in a particularly captivating way. Then, I went to work.\n\nFor some odd reason, the task was more difficult than expected. Each time I looked from my painting to the statue, my subject seemed to have shifted ever so slightly. This feeling quickly changed from curious to frustrating. I cursed my place of work for tiring me so easily. Clearly that was the source of this. Nevertheless, I was determined to paint it to the best of my ability.\n\n[[After a challenging number of hours, it was done.|Scene 11]]

I stared at the thing in the reflection of my mirror. I twisted around to look at it.\n\nIt was still there.\n\nHow had it moved from the study? Is it possible I had moved it while I was dreaming? That seems...unlikely.\n\nGingerly, I hoisted it and returned it to the study. With that done, I returned to my bedroom and sat on my bed. Do I trust myself to sleep? I suppose it is unavoidable. I extinguished my light and laid upon the bed, staring up at the ceiling.\n\nWhy have I seen Jacob so many times? The strange artist's words echoed through my mind.\n\n//"This piece will guide you to what you seek."//\n\nNonsense. Utter nonsense.\n\nI felt...\n\n[[Alone.|Scene 17a]]\n\n[[Happy.|Scene 17b]]\n\n[[Afraid.|Scene 17c]]

A flurry of sensations assault me all at once. Daggers of water pelt my naked flesh. I am kneeling, outside, in the rain. How...how did I get here?\n\nI suddenly realize that I am freezing. I throw my arms around my bare chest and move out of the alleyway I am in. Once I get to a main street I realize I am not far from home, and after a few minutes of quickly plodding through the wet, I am there.\n\nI dry myself in front of the fire before I catch pneumonia. My mind is still racing, trying to figure out the series of events that had just occurred. What affliction had gripped me so to wander the streets of Boston, half naked and in the rain? I was never prone to walking in my sleep, and even if I had, surely the cold would have stirred me.\n\nAnd that dream! And Jacob! It felt...so real. My throat still ached as if it were real. In fact, as I studied myself in my bedroom mirror, I could swear that I had light bruises...\n\nWait. I spotted something in the mirror's reflection.\n\nThe statue.\n\n[[It had moved.|Scene 17]]

The tendrils holding my arms suddenly pulled me down, forcing me to my knees. The one around my neck was like a vice. I tried to breathe, but could not.\n\n@@color:green;Oh, Octavian...pain is passage, do you not see? As we bleed, we move forward. As we choke, we grow. Understand?@@\n\nI gasp.\n\n@@color:green;Ah, yes, of course.@@ They kneel down, their visage still hidden even though it loomed in front of me. @@color:green;You are beautiful, even as life leaves you, Octavian.@@\n\nMy vision began to swim. My lungs were crying out in pain.\n\n@@color:green;You used to love my hands around your neck, Octavian. You used to love losing your grip on this world. And each time I would bring you screaming back.@@\n\nA hand goes to their hood, gingerly pulling it back.\n\nJacob.\n\n[[My eyes snap open.|Scene 16]]

@@color:green;Octavian.@@ Their voice swims through my mind, grazing my consciousness like a knife. @@color:green;Do you not remember me?@@\n\n"I...I don't know what you mean."\n\nThe figure drew close, a mere few inches away from me now. Still, I couldn't see their face under their hood. Just...void.\n\nOne arm raised, and the sleeve fell to the side, revealing a hand. The hand touched my face. Its touch was like an icy dagger. I flinched away, but there was nowhere I could go. The person ran their hand through my hair, and though it was bitterly cold, I still...adored it. I hadn't been touched this way in a long time.\n\n@@color:green;There there, my darling boy. I have hurt you. Dearly. For that, I am sorry...@@\n\n"Hurt me? What do you mean?"\n\nAs I spoke, I watched with horror as a tendril slid out of their sleeve, just under the hand stroking my hair.\n\nIt lazily worked its way up my chest to my shoulder, then, with lightning speed, wrapped itself around my throat.\n\n[[It began to squeeze.|Scene 15]]

The office was dark when I arrived. A note on the front desk informed me that my manager was home sick. Fine. Normally, I would relish the chance to return home, but I had plenty to busy myself with and I was not ready to face my study again just yet.\n\nAfter an hour or so of filling and filing paperwork, I heard the bell of the front door being opened. Had I left it unlocked accidentally?\n\n"I'm afraid we are closed," I called out.\n\nNo response. Perhaps they saw the office was dark and left?\n\n"Hello?" Still nothing. I got up from my desk and slowly rounded the corner to the front of the office.\n\nThere was a letter on the desk. On the front was written, in neat handwriting, "My Dearest Octavian."\n\n[[The handwriting was familiar.|Scene 20]]

I woke to the sun peeking in my windows. Lifting my head, I slowly looked to my dresser. The statue was not there.\n\nI breathed a small sigh of relief. I spent the morning readying myself for work, avoiding the study at all costs. The rain from last night had continued into the day, casting the city in a gray pall. I did not mind the rain so much. It brought a certain calmness to the usually busy town. I liked the rain, in a small way.\n\n//As long as you're not chasing specters in it,// I thought to myself. No, no, push that thought aside. Last night was...strange, but everyone is owed a bit of strangeness now and then. I walked to the offices, keeping my umbrella overhead. For once, I craved the drudgery of the working day. It would take my mind off...recent events.\n\n[[How wrong I was.|Scene 19]]

I converse with a friend, a fairly new acquaintance for a while. He is a painter about my age. His longer hair is tied in a ponytail, and he regards me with icy blue eyes that send chills up my spine when he looks at me. I want to say something, to tempt fate, to compliment his looks. But I say nothing.\n\nNothing good could come from it anyhow.\n\nThe night progresses, and before I know it, people are beginning to leave.\n\n[[I linger a bit longer, then make my way home as well.|Scene 4]]

The words spilled out of me faster than I could control them. I told him everything; the statue, the dreams, the creature with his face, the sex.\n\nWhen I finished, he gave me an odd look and laughed. "Is this a ploy of yours, Octavian?"\n\n"W-what?"\n\n"Oh come on, you think I'm going to buy that some...//thing// that looks like me is chasing you? And you...am I supposed to be jealous or something? Let me guess, a kiss will make it all better, is that it?"\n\n"I...was hoping for the opposite, actually.\n\n[[I want you to tell me you //don't// want me."|Scene 46Truth]]

"How am I supposed to find someone else like you, Jacob?" I pleaded.\n\n"I'm nobody special, Octavian."\n\n"That's not true! You are special. To me."\n\n"That means a lot to me, Octavian, it really does." Jacob sighed. "It won't be easy, I'm sure, with how society views...men like us. But you...Octavian, //you// are special. I know you will catch a handsome young man's eye and steal his heart."\n\n[[I tried not to, but I cracked a smile anyway.|Scene 47]]

"What do I do now?" I asked, as much to myself as to him.\n\n"You keep going. You're going to wake up in the morning and you're going to carry on with your life. There is going to be someone else in your life at some point, of that I'm sure. Until then, you have dreams to achieve. I know you do."\n\nI smiled at him. "Thank you, Jacob. You always did know just what to say."\n\nHe shot a smile back. "Thank //you,// Octavian."\n\n"I...suppose I should go. I have something to attend to back in Boston."\n\n"More monsters?" He laughed.\n\n"Something like that."\n\n"Octavian...you're welcome back at any time. Please remember that."\n\n"I will. Thank you, Jacob."\n\n[[With that, I left.|Scene 48]]

In Darkness, Dreaming

Above all, I wanted nothing greater than to lay by his side.\n\nBut he wasn't here.\n\nTears stung my eyes.\n\n[[Eventually, I fell asleep.|Scene 18]]

This is more than a case of sleepwalking. //Something// was wrong, but I couldn't tell quite what yet.\n\nNo matter what, I was afraid.\n\n[[Eventually, I fell asleep.|Scene 18]]

I rented a car and began to drive out of Boston. One of Jacob's letters lie in the seat next to me. My sentimental foolishness paid off for once. It had an address. I prayed that he still lived there.\n\nLuckily, he was still in Massachusetts, so it would only be a couple of hours to get there.\n\nWhat would I do when I got there?\n\nWhat would I say?\n\nI had nothing. No prepared heartfelt speeches. Just fear and desperation. I tried not to think about it as I drove. The only thing I cared about was stopping this.\n\n...well. Not the only thing. Seeing him...the //real// him...again still made my heart flutter. How would he react?\n\nThe miles seemed to drag on, but before I knew it, I was there.\n\n[[Lights were still on in his house, at least.|Scene 43]]

I threw the covers aside and attempted to get out of bed. As soon as my feet touched the ground, however, my legs buckled. I fell into the wall, sliding down it to the floor.\n\nWhat is happening to me?\n\nIt took some time for me to gather enough strength to stand. When I finally had, I opened Jacob's note, like I did every morning.\n\n"My Dearest Octavian,\n\nIf you want to know the truth, seek me out tonight. I will be in the alleys. You will know where to find me.\n\nJacob"\n\nI will know how to find him? My mind began to race with this strange information.\n\n[[I stepped into the study, nearly tripping in the process.|Scene 33]]

Maybe I should feel like I missed my chance.\n\nMaybe I should break down into tears again. Perhaps.\n\nAll I feel, however, is that a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.\n\nAll that has happened has melted away. The weakness I felt is gone.\n\nI got back into my car. With one last look at his home, I drove off.\n\n[[I prayed that I wouldn't be returning to a Boston in ruins.|Scene 49]]

The city was still standing when I returned. The sun was beginning to rise, casting a grey pall over the city as I arrived.\n\nI returned the car and walked home. The few who populated the streets at this early hour looked...normal. Not panicked or shifty. Was this past week just a bad dream?\n\nOr is that creature waiting for me at my home?\n\nI peered into the windows of my residence, not able to spot anything.\n\nHesitantly, I fit the key into its lock, and slowly pushed open the door.\n\n[[Silence greeted me.|Scene 50]]

"Of course! My wife isn't home right now."\n\nI prickled at the word 'wife,' but tried not to show it. I walked inside.\n\n"Can I get you something? Tea?"\n\n"No, I...doubt I'll be staying long."\n\n"Well...what can I help you with, Jacob?"\n\n[[I confessed my love for him.|Scene 45]]\n\n[[I told him the truth.|Scene 45Truth]]

"I...can't stop thinking about you, Jacob. I know it has been some time since college. I know we haven't had the chance to see each other since then. I know you are married now...but...you are all I can think about still.\n\nI...I love you, Jacob."\n\nHe looked shocked for a moment, then his features smoothed. He looked...sad. "Oh, Octavian..."\n\nThat's all I needed. I tried to choke back the tears, but they came all the same. He put an arm around me and led me to the couch. We sat and I sobbed.\n\n"I'm...I'm sorry," I coughed. "This is the last thing you need, I know. A foolish boy showing up on your doorstep proclaiming his love for you. But...I had to say something!"\n\n"I understand, Octavian," he sighed. "I wish I could return those feelings. I do. You are a special person and I do not regret our time together. Not for a second. But...life goes on. It must, mustn't it?"\n\nI wiped my eyes. "Yes, I suppose it must."\n\n"I'm sorry."\n\n"For what?"\n\n"For all the pain I've caused."\n\n[[I looked into his eyes, trying to discern some meaning.|Scene 46a]]

"You were always too sweet for your own good," I chuckled, then sighed. "What is her name?"\n\n"Catherine," he said.\n\n"I hope...I hope you treat her well. And she does the same for you."\n\n"Thank you, Octavian." Unexpectedly, he hugged me. Tears threatened to overtake me again, but I held them back this time.\n\n"I...should go."\n\n"Are you sure?"\n\n"Yes. I feel...like I'm a stranger here. I should let you get back to your own life, and I should return to mine."\n\nHe smiled. That beautiful smile. "Write me sometime, Octavian."\n\n"I will."\n\n[[I left.|Scene 48]]

@@color:red;WARNING:@@ The next scene contains graphic descriptions of two men having sex. Do you wish to read this scene or skip it?\n\n[[Read it.|Scene 25]]\n\n[[Skip it.|Scene 28]]

I sat in the car, staring at Jacob's home for a while, slowly gathering the courage to talk to him. I breathed in deeply, then exited the car.\n\nI gingerly knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes, it opened.\n\nIt was him.\n\nI immediately couldn't believe that I fell for his facsimile. He was far more handsome here in front of me. Was my loneliness that great...?\n\n"O-Octavian?" He stammered, surprised.\n\n"H...hello, Jacob."\n\n"What are you doing here?"\n\n[["I...came here on important business. May I come in?"|Scene 44]]

We had barely stepped inside when I felt his hands pulling my shirt off of me from behind. He wrapped his arms around me and we kissed. Then he pushed me onto the bed. He pulled his robes off, revealing his bare chest and pants that cut off at his knees. He crawled on top of me. My hands pawed at his pants, loosening his buttons before pulling them off entirely. He did the same for me.\n\nWe laid naked, kissing, using our lips and our tongues on various parts of each other. It was beautiful Paradise.\n\nI laid him down on his back, then kissed my way down his chest, down his stomach. I wrapped my lips around his dick, moving my head up and down it. He moaned in appreciation. I continued in this fashion for a minute or so, until it was properly wet.\n\nThen, I straddled him, pushing his dick inside of me. It...hurt...it's been a while since I've done this...but, //god// does it feel good. I let out a gasping sigh once he is completely inside me.\n\nI start to ride him.\n\n[[We make love like this for quite a while.|Scene 27]]

It was incredible, better than it had ever been. I was still in disbelief that he was here, but I didn't have much time to dwell on it at the moment.\n\nEventually, the pleasure was too much for me to bear. I wrapped a hand around my own dick and finished the job, ejaculating onto his stomach and chest. He grinned up at me, a wolfish smile. Then, I felt him thrust up inside me and climax as well. His groans matched mine in those final thrusts. After he finished, I laid on top of him.\n\n"Amazing as always, sir," I murmured, sleepily. I was suddenly incredibly tired.\n\n"Octavian, you flatterer," he smirked. He wrapped his arms around me and held me.\n\n[[We slept, wrapped in each other's embrace.|Scene 28]]

His face. His gorgeous face. Everything was how I remembered it, as if he hadn't aged a day since we parted ways.\n\n"Jacob...is that really you?" I asked in disbelief.\n\n"Why wouldn't it be, Octavian?" He offered me a hand up, and I took it.\n\n"I don't understand, Jacob. Did you cause all this? Why the secrecy? How could you have--" he put a finger to my lips.\n\n"Shh. Do not think of that now, my darling boy. It's been so long since I've seen you. I want to enjoy this moment." As he spoke, his hand stroked my cheek, then worked its way to the back of my head. He ran his fingers through my hair, then lightly pushed as he guided his lips to mine.\n\nIt was just as I remembered. Gentleness that belied a hunger just under the surface.\n\n[[As I kissed him, all of my feelings for him, my memories, came flooding back.|Scene 25warning]]

As we kissed by the open door, I felt my mind wander. I remembered our first time we had found ourselves like this, the confusion and excitement I had felt. Those feelings were coming back to me again. I didn't realize how dearly I had missed him.\n\nHe pushed me up against the wall, his hands feeling their way up and down my torso. He pushed my head to the side and began to kiss up and down my neck, offering little bites every now and then. I was in ecstacy.\n\nAfter a while, he pulled back. "Where is your bedroom?" he asked.\n\nI nodded in its direction.\n\nHe smiled. "Show me."\n\n[[I took his hand and led him there.|Scene 26]]

I immediately realized that while I had much motivation to do something about my current situation, I had not a clue as to where to start.\n\nThis all started with that artist, but...I do not have a name. I do not even know their appearance!\n\nAt this point, it seemed best to stay home and wait. If Jacob...or whoever it really is...was intent on making good his promise to see me, then it seemed obvious enough he would visit me at my home. So I will wait for him.\n\nI busied myself as I waited, cleaning, writing journal entries, and reading. Every so often I would check the study, making sure the statue hadn't moved. It stayed where it was. Eventually, night fell.\n\n[[An hour or two later, there was a knock at the door.|Scene 23]]

My heart immediately started to pound within my chest. I walked, slowly, to the door. I put my ear to it and listened.\n\nNothing.\n\nGingerly, I began to open the door.\n\nSuddenly, it flew open, knocking me backwards. Before I could scramble to my feet, I saw who was on the other side and froze.\n\nThe figure in grey from my dreams.\n\nI simply could not move. I was transfixed by the nightmarish figure made manifest. They strode through the doorway, the fraying robes they wore brushing against the frame. With one smooth motion, they removed their hood.\n\nMy eyes widened. "It can't be..."\n\n[["Can't it?" Jacob replied.|Scene 24]]

I slowly opened the envelope and withdrew the parchment within. I unfolded the letter and began to read.\n\n"Octavian,\n\nFirst, I must apologize for my eagerness. It has been so long since we have seen each other, and I admit that I may have been overzealous in my approach last night.\n\nI understand that you may be confused. Do not worry, my dear. I will explain everything to you. We shall see each other again.\n\nSoon.\n\n-Jacob"\n\n[[I let the paper fall from my grasp.|Scene 21]]

Bryce Duzan

I scan the crowd before my gaze alights on a boy across the way. He is gorgeous, my age, laughing with a group of others. He turns his eyes away from his friends to take a drink. For a moment, our eyes meet.\n\nHe narrows his eyes, then turns back to his friends. A slight. As if I should expect differently.\n\nThe night progresses, and before I know it, people are beginning to leave.\n\n[[I linger a bit longer, then make my way home as well.|Scene 4]]

Some perverse part of me felt a surge of joy at the experience, despite everything.\n\nI had seen his beautiful face. Why does any thing else matter?\n\n[[Eventually, I fell asleep.|Scene 18]]

The beauty of drink is that alcohol never judges your choices. It will not reject you, even as you reject it.\n\nI lose myself in it, feeling the room begin to swim. I let the dull roar of the crowd wash over me and drink it in.\n\nThe night progresses, and before I know it, people are beginning to leave.\n\n[[I linger a bit longer, then make my way home as well.|Scene 4]]

My home was empty. I walked into the study, and saw that the statue was no more. It seemed to have dissolved into a strange black powder, like charcoal.\n\nI finally allowed myself to breathe. Is it over?\n\nThe next day's paper confirmed it. Police had found a grey robe amidst a patch of odd black muck. The creature was no more.\n\nThere was still much I didn't understand. How the artist found me. What that creature even was and how it invaded my dreams.\n\nBut it didn't matter. It was over. Nobody would know about this strange incident.\n\nFor me, it was a new day.\n\n[[I decided not to spend it alone.|End]]

I felt it wrap around my neck, just as in my dream. I managed to put my hand around it before it started to squeeze, allowing myself a small bit of air.\n\n"What...what are you?" I gasped.\n\n@@color:green;I've come from beyond the stars, Octavian...I've been drawn to you since that fateful day that Jacob loosened his ties with you. Your heart ached...it called out for intimacy, for flesh to caress...and I heard your call. Haven't I been giving you what you want? Haven't I provided what you need? And in return...you help me grow.@@\n\nThe tentacle squeezed and every muscle in my arm tensed as I tried to pull it away from my neck.\n\n@@color:green;Once you are dead, my transformation will be complete. I ruled over this planet once, and after tonight, my reign over this world will begin anew.@@\n\n[["I won't let that happen."|Scene 38]]

I woke to an empty bed. I blinked away the sleep, then bolted upright when I realized. A note was resting on the pillow next to me. I hastily opened it.\n\n"Dearest Octavian,\n\nI will visit you again tonight.\n\nYours,\n\nJacob"\n\nTonight? But why? Where did he go?\n\nI was incredibly tired. Weak, almost? Nevertheless, I dragged myself out of bed and prepared for the day.\n\nThen, I stepped into the study. I froze at what I saw.\n\n[[The statue had grown.|Scene 29]]

Three black tentacles were now reaching out of the top of the statue. I slowly approached it, gingerly reaching out a hand. I touched one of the tentacles. It felt like stone.\n\nI breathed a small sigh of relief that they were not real. But still...how did this happen? Was it something that coincided with Jacob's visit?\n\nI pushed my thoughts to the side for now. It was something I would have to deal with later.\n\n[[I left for work, eager for Jacob to come back.|Scene 30]]

He looked confused. "Don't...? Why the story then, Octavian?"\n\n"I don't know, Jacob, maybe it's all in my mind. Maybe the thought of you drives me to the brink, maybe I'm making this all up...either way, I need you to tell me it is over. I need closure."\n\nHe sighed. "I care about you, Octavian. Deeply. But I can't be with you."\n\nExactly what I wanted to hear. So why am I crying? I put my hands to my face, tears already streaming down my cheeks. I felt his arms around me, leading me to his couch.\n\n"Please, sit down, Octavian."\n\n"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I don't know why..."\n\n"I do. It's what you wanted to hear...but also not what you wanted to hear, right?"\n\nI felt ashamed. "I suppose you're right. I hoped that...even after all this..."\n\n[["I know."|Scene 47Truth]]

@@color:green;In Darkness, Dreaming@@\n\nBy\n\nBryce Duzan\n\n[[Our Story Begins...|Scene 1]]

It is a beautiful sight to see in the morning light. Now that I can see it more clearly, it's difficult to truly understand. The statue twists and curls on itself, a strange abstract piece. And yet, as I get dressed for the day, I catch it out of the corner of my eye and swear there is a face carved into it. Another trick of the light, I suppose.\n\nI go to my drudgery-filled place of employ and fulfill my duties. One strange incident occurred, however. I was poring over files for a case, when I came across one in particular. The name "Jacob Hayes." At once, his face appeared in my mind's eye. Jacob...? I blinked to clear my vision, and the name was gone, replaced by another. Why is it he sticks in my mind now, of all times? I shook off the strange sensation I felt and resumed the task at hand.\n\n[[The rest of the day proceeded apace.|Scene 10]]

I returned home without further incident. Once there, I went to my bedroom immediately. Usually, on a night like tonight, I would languish awake for an hour or more, working on dull poetry or trying to paint a sloppy watercolor. //Pretending// to be like them.\n\nTonight's encounter, however, left me so strangely exhausted that I could do little more than place the statue on the dresser opposite my bed before I decided to retire.\n\nI slept fitfully that night, strange dreams washing over me like a torrid tide. I couldn't remember much of them after the fact, just whispers at the edge of my mind.\n\n[[I woke in the morning and the statue was the first thing I saw.|Scene 9]]

They pulled me close and spoke to me in a hushed whisper.\n\n"Trust me, my lord," they hissed. "This piece will guide you to what you seek."\n\nMy eyes went wide. "What I seek? How do you know what I seek?!"\n\nI got only a mocking laugh in reply. The artist pushed the statue into my hands. I looked at it, //into// it almost. It seemed to contain multitudes within itself. How is it polished to such a shine...?\n\nI looked up, and the artist was gone.\n\n[[I quickly walked home with the statue in tow.|Scene 8]]

"Then you must purchase it, sir," the figure said. I could not tell, but they appeared to be...grinning?\n\nNevertheless, I found myself reaching into my pocket. This is not how patrons work, I was certain, but when an opportunity like this presented itself, I was not going to deny it. "How much?" I asked.\n\nThe silhouette hemmed and hawed for a moment. "$100."\n\n$100? The price seemed more than anticipated, but it would surely be enough to help this poor artist get on their feet. "Very well," I said. "It's a deal."\n\nI pulled the money free from my clasp and handed it to them. They snatched it from my grasp greedily and secreted it away into their shawl. I reached my hand towards the statue and--\n\n[[--the artist grabbed my wrist in a grip of iron.|Scene 7]]

A shawl was wrapped so tightly around them that I could not make out their features. My hand instinctively went to my pocket, where I hid a small knife.\n\n"Please, sir," the wretched figure wheezed. "Help out a struggling artist?"\n\nThe grip on the knife loosened slightly. An artist? "What's an artist doing wandering the alleyways of Boston this late at night?"\n\n"Why, looking for one such as you, of course. A patron of the arts like yourself cannot be found just anywhere."\n\n"What...what kind of art do you create?"\n\nThe figure pulled a satchel off of their back. After digging in it for a few moments, they withdrew a statue. It was magnificent. Although the alley was lit only by a streetlamp, the dim light danced across the surface of the statue, as if it was made out of precious metals and not stone.\n\n[["It's gorgeous," I murmur.|Scene 6]]

As I stumble outside, I can't help but think of nights similar to these. My mind turns to another, a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. His name was Jacob.\n\nWe were friends in college, and on nights like tonight, he would walk me home after a night of drinking. One night, as we said our goodbyes on my doorstep, he had awkwardly lurched forward, kissing me. After kissing on the step for a few minutes, I pulled him into my home. We spent many evenings locked in each other's arms.\n\nWe graduated, as students do, and went our separate ways. We corresponded for a time, until I received his last letter a few months ago. He simply stated that he was getting married to a woman and that our letters had to cease. We would never see each other again, and that was that. I remember crying hot tears that night, tearing the letter into pieces over and over again until they were so small I could not anymore, then tossing the pieces into the fire. I watched his letter burn and my own heart froze.\n\n...Again, so lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice that I was not alone in the alley through which I currently walked.\n\n[[A figure stood in front of me.|Scene 5]]

These establishments, due to their nature, always attract a more brusque crowd than the haunts I used to frequent in my college days. At first I feared them, but soon I realized they just came here to drink, same as everyone else.\n\nMy friends and I caroused and drank for many hours. I've made it my goal to seek out and surround myself with creators; those who pave the way in terms of art and thinking. These men and women will rule the world someday, of that I'm certain. Some are older, but most are around my own age.\n\nI...try to hide my station as best I can. Most of these folk were not born into my sort of circumstances, and I must admit some amount of shame in my upbringing. I feel robbed of the wisdom and creativity these people developed by having to survive on their own. I have heard of wealthy patrons funding struggling artists. Perhaps that is something I can do as well...\n\nI snap out of my thoughts and look around the speakeasy.\n\n[[Make eyes with a stranger.|Scene 3a]]\n\n[[Talk to a friend.|Scene 3b]]\n\n[[Continue to drink.|Scene 3c]]

Call me a man bored with his own station in life, as privileged as it is. It is Man's nature to feel restless, it seems. So I go to these depraved places to feel detached, unhinged from the drudgery of the day.\n\nCurrently, I work as a paralegal for a renowned lawyer in town. My father's reputation granted me the position. It is his wish that I follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer just as grand as he.\n\nTruly, I'm more interested in the inner workings of the human mind and what it is able to create. My father settled estates, wrestling money from one member of the bourgeoisie to give to another! What concern of mine is that? There is art, //true// art being created on the streets, of worlds unknown and states of being unheard of! //That// is where life is to be lived!\n\n...but I waste my time arguing with ghosts. That will do no good, especially now. Tonight, I release myself from the angst.\n\n[[Tonight, I live.|Scene 3]]

My name is Octavian Drammus. I am a recent graduate of Harvard University and now a resident of Boston. My father was a famous lawyer, and it is with his esteemed estate that I am able to follow in his footsteps. If only that's what I wanted.\n\nIt is 1920 and the country is still reeling from a massive war that spanned the globe. The tragedy was so great that its ripples are still felt. The populace has reacted to this event in varied ways, and it is these ways that fascinate me.\n\nNew forms of art such as surrealism and dadaism are forming. Drug and alcohol use is on the rise to such an extent that the government has banned the trade and consumption of alcohol entirely.\n\nBut you cannot remove an opiate the masses so desperately crave. Secret establishments still trade in the so-called Devil's Drink, and it is to one of these places I now go, to visit friends and to get lost in a shared haze.\n\n[[It is not a night I will soon forget.|Scene 2]]