36. P̶ O̶ W̶ E̶ R̶ :̶ D̶r̶e̶a̶m̶s̶ | Blacksdale

CHAPTER XI

Veronika was in that house again.

She sat on the shredded couch in front of the television, watching more unfamiliar events play out on the screen—events that were becoming more and more familiar with every dream.

The two scientists were shown playing with their six-year-old "daughter", throwing a ball back and forth between the three of them and laughing.

"Feh. Look at you. So enraptured vis zese lies."

Veronika looked up.

There, clinging to the ceiling above her, was the twisted version of herself with multiple eyes, an elongated tongue, and razor sharp teeth and claws.

The other Veronika rotated her head ninety degrees, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. "Your subconscious feeds you deception to suppress your guilt," she sneered. "Such veakness. Instead of preying on ze sinners, you retreat into ze darkest recesses of your mind."

"Leave me alone," Veronika whimpered, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as she stared at the TV again. Tears ran down her face—as they usually did when she went through this experience.

"I vill NOT," the other Veronika hissed, scuttling toward the upper right corner of the room. "Not until you accept who you are... and vhat you'ff DONE."

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" Veronika screamed, standing up sharply and glaring at the creature. "I'm not you! You're not me! Stop torturing me and leave me be!"

The other Veronika let out a cruel round of laughter. "Deny ze truth all you vant," she taunted. "Vhen zis is all over, and ze fiction fades... you vill see." She dropped down from the ceiling and walked up to Veronika until they were face-to-face.

"Zis," the Devourer breathed, "is vhat you vere ALVAYS meant to be." She grinned widely. "Such is ze vill of ze Lord."

Veronika shuddered, staring into the eyes of the beast... and her mouth spoke words of confirmation she never wanted to utter.

"So shall it be..."

~*~

Veronika opened her eyes.

She was still lying on her side in bed.

Her pillow and sheets were illuminated by an amber glow.

Veronika raised a hand to her face, but paused before touching it. She could see clearly now: the light was emanating from her eyes, and it revealed yet another disturbing detail.

There were inch-long claws of bone in the place of her nails.

Veronika gritted her teeth—her razor-edged, sharklike teeth—and curled up into a ball, shivering as she began to cry again. "Leave me alone," she whimpered.

~*~

Jack was screaming.

He didn't know why or when he'd started, but his mouth was wide open and a horrible, throat-tearing sound of terror and agony was emanating from it.

Disoriented and confused, Jack stopped screaming, panting as he scrambled backward and looked around wildly. As he gained his bearings, he got a better sense of his position and his surroundings.

He was sitting in what appeared to be a jail cell with bars on all sides, surrounded by a dark purple void filled with floating black spots that moved through the nothingness like viscous bubbles.