~15 Years Ago~

As 5 year old Ricky Dillon stepped into his dark room, a chill swept over him. He immediately flipped on the light switch. As the soft white light illuminated his room, Ricky immediately felt safer. He pulled open a drawer in his dresser and got out his favorite Pikachu onesie. As he threw back the covers and climbed into bed, Ricky's parents walked in. After they said goodnight, they turned off the light.

Now, Ricky Dillon is not afraid of the dark. He's not afraid of monsters under his bed and he's not afraid of murders coming in through his window. So when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and the room got chilly, the young boy knew something was wrong. A scuffling noise sounded from right beneath him. The color drained from Ricky's face and his heart started pounding. As he sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth to scream, a cold, clammy hand clamped over his mouth. Ricky struggled against the hand, only to realize that the thing was much stronger than him. As he slumped back against the bed, a face appeared in the corner of his eye. He turned his head, only to see himself. Well, it wasn't him, but it was. He had pitch black eyes, a nose ring, his ears were stretched and the tops of them were pointed, like an elf. All of his features were sharp, more jagged and angular. His thin lips were pulled up into a malicious smirk. The darker version of Ricky grabbed his chin and forced his head to the side.

"Disgusting," he said, his top lip curling up into a sneer. "You're a disgusting, filthy rug rat." All of a sudden, he let go of Ricky's face. His face hardened and he said, "You can call me Dark, because I'm the thing that comes out in the dark." Dark turned around and walked into the pitch black part of Ricky's room. Ricky didn't dare get up, afraid of Dark. This continued for many more sleepless nights, until one night he just didn't show up. Ricky slowly forgot about Dark, dismissing him as a creature from his imagination. There was a small part of him that doubted this, though.

~15 Years Later~

"Thanks for the help Connor," Ricky said, slapping his friend since he was 8 on the back. Connor had just moved all of Ricky's boxes into Ricky's apartment while Ricky was finalizing and signing the documents.

"No problemo dude. I'm always here to help," Connor replied. "Anyway, I've got to go. It's pretty late. If you need anything else, my door is always open and literally right next to yours," he finished. Connor left, lightly punching Ricky in the shoulder as he walked by him. When the door had shut, he started looking at the boxes, trying to find the one that said 'Bedroom'.

Once he had found it and had set up his bed, he found his toothbrush and toothpaste. He brushed his teeth ad got into bed. He turned off his lamp and pulled the covers up to his chest.

Later that night, Ricky woke up freezing. "Is the heater off or something? I swore it was on," he mumbled to himself. Grabbing the top blanket off of his bed and draping it over his shoulders, Ricky got up to check the thermostat. It was on, but set to 30 degrees? "What the heck?" Ricky questioned. He set it to 68 degrees and walked back to his bedroom. He glanced at the time and saw that it was 3:37. "Why does the temperature plummet now?" he grumbled.

All of a sudden, he was spun around and slammed into the wall behind him. Ricky groaned in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was greeted by a familiar pair of black eyes. Gasping, he shoved Dark away, shocked.

"Miss me Ricky?" Dark taunted, grinning his poisonous grin. "No? Well, that's a shame because I sure missed you! Besides, I've got something to tell you," Dark sang as he advanced towards Ricky.

"Wait! Stop please!: Ricky begged. Dark paused in his movements and looked curiously at Ricky. "Why did you come back now? Why not in a year, or better yet never?!" Ricky said, getting louder towards the end.

"Because of me," a deep voice boomed. It sounded vaguely familiar to Ricky.

"Oh no, the big bad meanie is back! Whatever will I do?" Dark cried sarcastically.

"Watch your mouth Dark," the voice said. Ricky glanced around, trying to find the source of the voice. Finally he noticed it; a shadow behind Dark. It reached up while Dark was giving another sarcastic comment and hit him on the head. Dark immediately ceased his taunting and passed out on the floor. Ricky ran for the light and flipped it on, surprised to see Connor gazing sadly at where Dark lay.

"Connor? But. . . I thought tha-" Connor interrupted him.

"Ricky, I'm so sorry that I let him escape. I-I wasn't watching him," Connor stuttered out. "I was assigned to get rid of Dark and it took me too long to do that." His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"So, it was you who made Dark go away?" Ricky questioned.

"Yes, and I should've spotted him as soon as he showed up. Instead, it took me three years to catch him," Connor replied.

"Connor, it's not your fault. He got away, so? You came and got him," Ricky replied, trying to make his friend feel better. Without warning, Connor fell down. Dark was behind him with a baseball bat. Ricky's eyes widened as he was hit. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Dark with a smug look on his face.

"And the thing that I had to say was the you are never escaping me. I will always be there, in the shadows. You can never run, I will always find you. So say 'bye bye' to your last little bit of happiness and hope, because I can guarantee you that you are never going to experience either of them ever again." Dark then threw back his head and laughed. Ricky then closed his eyes, accepted his fate and went willingly into unconsciousness.