Swirling shadows suffocated his mind, strangling his every thought. His mind felt murky, mottled. A feeling of pure dread overtook him as he tried to sit up in his bed. He wanted to flinch, wanted to move his limbs, but it was as though an invisible force was holding him against his will. His sanctuary felt tainted. He couldn't feel the softness of the bear that he had held close when sleep had taken him.

Whispers penetrated the deafening silence, but he could not understand the words. It sounded ancient and foreign to him, a voice that he wasn't sure if he could hear, or if it were telepathic. He let out a silent scream, but it did not escape his lips. No. It resonated in his mind, but took on no sound. He could feel the vibrations that should have rang boisterous and shrill. Trapped inside his body, inside his mind, he felt an invisible force lifting him higher, and higher…

STOP

The word rang out in his mind in the same voiceless manner as the plaguing whispers that echoed around him. The panic bore into him, filling him with a tingling numbness that made him feel weak and formless. He felt like he was dissipating, disappearing into the shadows that were suddenly encompassing him.

A scream, sharp and unforgiving, pierced through the darkness as he flew up from his unseen prison. He continued to scream, ripping the bedsheets from his body and stumbling to the door, his hands were trembling so violently that he could not turn the doorknob. His body felt damp, and he knew that he had broken out into a sweat again. "Come on, come on," he begged to himself, his voice breathy and afraid. His hands wrapped around the cool metal, turning it back and forth in his grasp. The door wouldn't open.

Ryou tried to calm himself, tried to reason that he was just scared from a nightmare. That's right, it was just a nightmare. He opened his eyes, which had been screwed shut while he reasoned with his own mind. A realization dawned on him. The room was dark. He had fallen asleep with the light on, he was sure of it. Reaching for the switch, he flipped it on. Nothing. He flipped it again, rapidly flicking the switch up and down. There was no light. He felt his stomach drop, and the prickling numbness spread from spine down into his limbs. "Maybe the power's out," he spoke aloud, trying to distract himself from the situation. He tried the door handle once more. There was a clicking noise, as though the door was locked. But the doorknob didn't have a lock on it.

The small boy backed away from the door slowly, stumbling in the dark until he felt the backs of his legs hit his bed. The sheets were in a mess, tangled onto the floor. He could barely see a thing, his eyes unable to adjust to the almost unnatural darkness that surrounded him. The whitenette balled his hands into fists, clenched tightly at his sides. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" he shouted into the emptiness. Was he insane? There was nothing there with him, there couldn't be. Frantically, he began to pat down his body, searching for the planchette that he had gone to bed with. He dropped to his knees, feeling around the comforter that was now stretched along the floor. He scrambled around, clumsily patting down the surface until he felt a small prick from the pointed end of the glass.

A quick sigh of relief graced his lips as he picked up the glass pointer, lifting it to his dominant eye. He spun around the room, looking through the planchette, searching for something to validate in his mind that he was not going crazy. He froze, rigid and stiff. The hair on the back of his neck rose on end, and goosebumps littered his pale skin. A freezing touch brushed against both sides of his face, tickling his hair as he watched the locks lift up on their own. It felt like there was somebody standing behind him, and what should have been warm breath upon his left cheek felt like an arctic breeze. He dared not turn around, and he stood, staring straight at the wall with the planchette still glued to his eye. His breathing halted, caught in his throat.

Yadounushi

The word echoed in his mind, and it made him feel dizzy. He felt his body growing colder, seeping slowly into his back. Ryou shivered violently and let out a shout, leaping forward with great ferocity. "STOP IT!" he screamed into the darkness, his knees buckling beneath him. He held the planchette as though it was a weapon that could defend him from the unknown presence as he backed himself up against a wall. "Stay away!"

The glass pointer found its way back to his eye, as he peered through it. When deep earthy orbs met cold, yet fiery crimson, the planchette fell from his fingers. His eyes widened, and he braced himself against the wall, another scream ripping from his throat. He felt trapped, like a rabbit being hunted by a wolf, calculating and dangerous. He quickly turned his head to the door and then his body followed suit, bolting for safety. His hands grasped the handle once again, but to no avail. Cold, invisible hands wrapped around his head once again.

A hysterical laugh ruptured through the boy's throat. He was trapped. What did it want? Who was it? What was it? He wasn't sure if he wanted to wait around to find out. His eyes met with the window, and he ran for it, throwing his arms out in front of his body, using his weight to open it. Except, it was bolted shut by the same force that had locked his door. A deep frown marred his pretty face and he spun around the room once again, his planchette was on the other side of the bed.

Yadounushi

That formless voice was in his head, louder than before. The voice was deep and velvety, but dripping with poison. 'Forget the wolf idea, I feel like I'm being hunted by a snake.." he thought to himself. No sooner did he finish that thought than he heard a cruel, wicked laugh. The being was close. Adrenaline filled his body, as his body's fight or flight system activated. He ran to the wall directly across from the window, and turned to face the window, taking a deep, purposeful breath. He ducked his head and crossed his arms in front of his face. He forced himself not to scream as he began to run, full force at his only escape. He heard the crash before he felt it. Glass shards sparkled against the night sky, flying outward along with his body. The glass stuck to his hair, and left gashes in his arms both shallow and deep. Pieces of the glass embedded into his cheeks and his clothing. His body fell against the ground with a loud thump, digging the glass into his flesh further.

"AHn" he grunted, letting out a harsh breath. His eyes were blurry, and it hurt to move his head. The laughing continued, surrounding him from every direction. He whimpered, trying to grasp his bearings, skittering along the ground pathetically. He hadn't noticed the tears streaming down his face until he tried to suck in another breath, only to find that his nose was congested. He let out a watery cough, rising to his feet quickly, yet wobbly. He was limping, desperately trying to get away.

You belong to me.

That sentence made his heart stop and his blood freeze in his veins. He didn't have to turn around, because the otherworldly being was everywhere. He couldn't pinpoint the exact direction, so he just assumed he was everywhere at once. "Wh-who are you?" the voice left his lips, but it felt foreign, and his brows furrowed.

Your new friend.

The words came out threatening, intimidating. No. This isn't what he wanted. This isn't how he pictured it. He opened his eyes once again, forcing his body to move forward. He saw a light flicker on across the street. One of his neighbors was awake. Newfound hope filled him as he started toward the house, "Help me! Please help me, I've been attacked!" he shouted, waving his arms around. Well, he hadn't really been attacked yet, but he was bleeding from the self-inflicted wounds that he gifted himself by jumping through a window. He assumed the neighbor would lock his doors if he told him that an invisible assailant was chasing him, so he kept that on the down-low.

The door swung open, as an older gentleman still dressed in his pajamas came running out to see what all the commotion was about. "What's going on?" he looked angry, but concerned, looking around to see if the attacker was still nearby. Ryou felt the energy begin to fade from his body, and he stumbled forward, the world spinning around him. The gruff man stooped forward, pulling an arm around Ryou to help balance the boy. He was friends with the boy's father, and knew about Ryou through acquaintance. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Those were the last words that he heard before the world went black. He was trapped in his mind again, but he didn't feel alone. He couldn't feel his body being transported in the ambulance, or when they placed him in the hospital bed. The noises and bustling of the busy hospital fell upon deaf ears. He observed the darkness, feeling lost in the abyss. His own thoughts were jumbled and incoherent. In the darkness, however, he could still hear the faint laughter from before.

Send my regards to your father, yadounushi.