Chapter 2: Apocalypse
"No luck finding Ms. Takao," Isamu informed them as he walked down the stairs. "I even checked the men's toilets."
Chiaki groaned. "I didn't need to hear that. Kashima and I are in a conversation anyway, so don't interrupt."
"Sure, whatever. . ."
Naoki gulped, wondering if it was possible to block your ears without being noticed, but eventually decided it wouldn't help. The evil would still be able to get in through his nostrils and mouth, anyway, All he could do was lean as far back on his chair as possible and try not to hear too much of what was being said.
"So Kashima, like I was saying, this Hijiri guy reports that there's the super evil cult in Japan, right here in Tokyo, that is planning on causing the end of the world. They've apparently got this book of prophecy, called the Scripture of Miroku, that says that "Chaos will befall the world", and they're actually trying to make it happen. The reporter didn't know what that meant, whether it was like a terrorist attack or an assassination of the world's leaders.. . "
"Let me guess, more to come in the next issue, right?" Isamu smirked, but the smirk quickly died when Chiaki shot a death glare at him.
"Do not interrupt again. But that's not the most disturbing part, Kashima – apparently this end of the World Cult has a base. . .and it's right here, in the basement of Shinjuku Hospital. See here: A hospital on the east side of Shinjuku is closely linked to their plans, but the reason is currently unknown."
"AAAAAHH!" Naoki shrieked. I'm in the same place as a Demonic Cult. I'm breathing their air, sitting in their seats... Only his worry about Ms. Takao prevented him from jumping up and sprinting out of the hospital then and there.
"Jeez, don't be so dramatic . . " Isamu sighed. "But you know .. . I have heard rumours about this place, like how they use to experiment on patients here, how they used the basement to house a cult. . . and how a psychic medium came here once to do a study, and saw something so awful she ran out the room screaming . . ."
I'm not hearing this, I'm not hearing this.. Naoki could have sworn the colour was draining out of his shirt, let alone his face.
Chiaki looked up from the magazine. "Really? I didn't know that. Kashima, you shouldn't have brought us here. There's definitely something wrong with this hospital."
"I'm sorry . . " Naoki cringed. "This is all my fault – I'm too much of a pathetic coward to come here on my own. I'm worried about Ms. Takao. Why . . . why did she ask us to come here? To this place?"
"We'll only know the answer if we can find her," Isamu replied. "Like I said before, there's only two places we haven't checked yet, the basement and the annexe. Naoki, you check the basement, I'm going to go check the annexe."
"Scared of going into the basement, Isamu?" Chiaki smirked.
"N-no, of course not!" Isamu stammered. "I'm one hundred percent positive that there's nothing down there – it's the safer job. That's why I'm sending Naoki down there! Whilst he's down there, I can meet Ms. Takao in the annexe and talk to her. . . about my schoolwork, of course."
"Suure .. . " Chiaki muttered.
Isamu tossed something at him.". "Here you go, Naoki – one key card for the basement. If you see anything scary, like a flying girl and a guy in a tinkly hat, then just run like hell, got it?"
"A flying girl and a kid in a tinkly hat?"
"Never mind! Just get down there, would you? If we don't find anything, then at least we'll know there's nothing bad here, right?"
"Oh. . . okay. Chiaki . . . what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to stay here," Chiaki replied. "This'll be our meeting place, if either of you finds anything. Now, GO!"
Naoki took off sprinting. "Yes Maam! Right away!"
Chiaki sighed into her hands as he watched him leave. "Kashima. . . he's an absolute doormat. I just can't believe what I'm seeing sometimes."
Naoki just couldn't believe what he was seeing sometimes.
He had taken the stairs down the basement, just as Chiaki had told him to, and he hadn't been able to see anything because it was dark, a complete inky blackness. So he'd stumbled around, stepping on some sort of spilled liquid on the floor, then some sort of strewn paper. Whilst he's hands had waved around in an attempt to find his direction, he had cut his right hand on something sharp, like glass.
Then he'd managed to make his way to the access point, and swiped his card. The light flashed green with a satisfying tinkle. . .
. . . then the entire basement lit up as all its lights and screens switched on.
Naoki screamed.
The windows of the security station leading to the basement were broken, smashed into pieces. Everything was broken and in disrepair, from the crackling ceiling lights which flickered randomly, to the pieces of paper strewn haphazardly across the floor. The security monitors in the station were malfunctioning, showing nothing but a gigantic blue flash of light that made his eyes hurt when he stared at them. . . but more than that, there were the footprints on the floor, and the handprint on the wall.
They were in blood. And he'd stepped in it, cut his hand on broken glass, and the blood was even now dripping on to the floor from his cut hand, mixing with the blood already there. . .
He wanted to run. He really did. And he did run. But it was in the opposite direction – he ran forward, tearing through the basement complex. And in each new room there was a new horror, from some sort of occult symbol on the floor, to literal red flags surrounding said symbol on the floor. It was clearly a room used for deominc ritualistic prctises.
And the blood. . It was everywhere, on the walls, on the floor, on the medical instruments, on the pentagram. It was a sea of red that couldn't be escaped. He went through one room, then another and another.
It was on the fourth door that he tore open and burst into, looking around madly for more blood, that he finally found somebody. But it wasn't Ms. Takao, it was a man. A man in a black chair, with black hair and black clothes, sitting in a black room that was completely dark except for the glow of half a dozen computer screens.. He was sitting on the black chair, examining a tall pillar covered in bizarre symbols which seemed to pulse and vibrate.
". . ." Naoki tried to speak, failed, tried again. ". . . I-I'm sorry, I'm looking for – for someone."
The man didn't seem to have heard. Naoki didn't know whether this was a good or bad thing.
"Have. . have you seen my teacher? Her name is Ms. Takao, and I heard that something terrible had happened, and she –"
Finally, the stranger spoke. "A well known poet once said, April is the cruellest month. Why?"
"Wha – Huh?" Naoki blinked. "Uhh. . ."
The stranger answered the question for him. "Because it is then that must one must wake up from a long sleep, and face the brazen world." He spun around his chair, turned to face Naoki.
Naoki gasped, recognising the voice and face as that of a well known and generally well loved company executive. "You – you're Hikawa, that guy in charge of the communications company, the company that was in a fight over in Yoyogi Park . . that –"
". . . that was a simple front for the Gaea Cult and is now no more, it's members having been destroyed in the purge at the park," Hikawa replied. "You are not one of the followers. Who are you? Who dares to disrupt my stillness?"
"I'm . . . Naoki Kashima. . .sir. Sorry, I'll just leave. . ."
"Wait." The man held up his hand, revealing a small necklace firmly in his grip. "You said you came here to visit your teacher?"
"Yes. I heard she'd been in an accident, and I came here as soon as I could."
"Ah… I understand now. How . . . IRRITATING. Well. Since you've come all the way here, let me at least indulge your curiosity before you. .. go."
The man stood out from his chair and stared Naoki in the eye. He cringed beneath the glare.
"Now. Listen carefully. Looking back on the past, it is evident that the history of mankind is comprised of meaningless events. The worthless overgrowth of a civilisation blind to its sins, continuous bloodshed and war, and thousands of years of repeating the same mistakes again and again and again. Do you agree?"
"Uhh.. . " Naoki didn't know what to think. ". .. I guess. . . "
"Good. Then you too must agree that this world must be destroyed and start over from the beginning, sinking like a setting sun before a new world arises in its place?"
"Wha – I –"
"Think about it. It has happened before. Do you remember? A worldwide purging of mankind? Just as now, mankind had devolved into sin and vice, and was irredeemable. Therefore, God sent down a great flood to kill every last living thing, cleanse the world and start anew. And was it not foretold, in the book of revelation, of a great Apocalypse?"
Naoki stared, nodded.
"Yes it does. It is God's will, the way to salvation foretold in the Scripture of Miroku. I have spent the past few years putting god's will into action, and today is the day for it to be fulfilled. I pity you, boy… "
Naoki blinked. "Why. . . why do you pity me?"
I'm being pitied by a madman. I'm staring at a freaking lunatic.
"I pity you as I do all of mankind's children who have gone astray. Yuko may have sent you here in an effort to redeem herself, but even a tiny pebble casts ripples when it is cast in water. "
He raised his hand, and the temperature of the room grew noticeably darker .. . . and then there was a . . .crackle? of electricity, emanating from the necklace in Hikawa's hand. . .
"What is. . ." The question froze in Naoki's voice, unfinished. Behind Hikawa, the pillar with the strange symbols began to spin and blaze, and at the top . . . there was a dark spot, an area of blackness, blacker than Naoki had ever seen in his life.
"Your life ends here!"
It materialized, and Naoki realized the horrible truth: The black spot was changing, morphing and altering its shape, until it seemed to coalesce into a figure.
A figure with a goat's head. . .and horns . . .and blazing red eyes of pure evil. . . and claws and teeth . . .and hair of burning flame . ..
He's summoning a monster. He's summoned a monster to kill me.. He's SUMMONED A MONSTER!
Naoki freaked, fell to the floor, his back crashing into the door that had shut behind him. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. . ." He knew he was blaspheming – something that he was not supposed to do. He hoped God would make an exception in the circumstances and forgive him.
"Do not be afraid, boy," Hikawa said, seemingly completely unfazed by the fact there was A GIGANTIC FUCKING DEMONIC MONSTER floating merely a meter above his head. "All of the inhabitants of this world will follow you before long.. . your end has merely come a bit sooner, that's all. . ."
But Naoki wasn't listening – he was recoiling, cowering onto the floor, fear flowing through him in a flood. I can't move. I have to run away, RUN AWAY, but I CAN'T MOVE! Oh god… .
Hikawa frowned at the pathetic sight of Naoki curling up on the floor like a coward. "Fool.. . what a futile attempt. One should face their death honourably, not grovel around on the carpet. Baphomet! As your master and summoner, I order you to put this unfortunate–"
"STOP!"
The voice cut through everything – the fear, the darkness, the evil – and the monster vanished into thin air as Hikawa dropped his hand, banishing it to wherever dark dimension it had hailed from. Instantaneously, the pillar ceased spinning and returned to its normal state.
Naoki blinked in the sudden glare, glanced behind his shoulder, and found himself staring up at Ms. Takao, as she strode into the room and placed her hand on Naoki's shoulder.
"Wha. . . Ms. . . Takao. . . .? You're.-"
She was standing there, dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing earlier that morning when she was teaching the class. For an emergency admission to hospital, she looked strangely healthy and uninjured. It also appeared that she knew Hikawa.
Hikawa glared. "You brought him here."
Ms Takao nodded, taking out her handkerchief to staunch the bleeding on Naoki's hand. "Yes I did. What, can't you let just one person go? It'll have absolutely no effect on our plan. He's just one kid."
Plan? Don't tell me that she's involved in - "Ms. Takao, what 's happening? What's going on?"
Hikawa was defiant. "The insignificance of the gesture makes no difference. I will not allow any exceptions, for personal reasons or otherwise. If you didn't want to watch him die, then you shouldn't have brought him here. He would have died peacefully then, in complete ignorance of what you had done."
"What you've – Ms. Takao, please! What's he talking about?" Again he was ignored.
"If you don't spare him. . ." Ms Takao's eyes darkened. She raised her left hand to her throat. "Then I'll stop working for you. I'll go somewhere you can't reach, and I'll ruin everything for you."
Naoki gasped in disbelief, realized she was holding a knife.
She's going to-
He grabbed her by a leg, pulled at her pants. "Ms. Tak– No. . . NO! Don't do it!"
Not again. No, don't' leave me. . . Please!
"Foolish woman," Hikawa snarled. "You'll turn your back on EVERYTHING we've done, purely because of this youth!"
"I WILL! I WILL do it if you don't save him!"
"You're bluffing!"
She smirked at him. "I'm doomed anyway, aren't I? You said it yourself – the world is going to end today, no matter what I do – but you need my help to recreate the world. If I die, all of your little plans fall apart – a cult leader's no good without a cult to boss around, after all!" She pressed the knife closer to her throat, drew blood.
"Grrr…." Hikawa frowned, lookng as though he was about to summon the goat monster or something worse. . . but then he spun his chair back around so that his back was to them. "Such a troublesome maiden. Very well, I'll leave the teaching to the teacher. Kindly leave this room at once, you pitiable coward. I wish to enjoy this blissful end in complete solitude and silence. That is, without cowardly whining.."
Naoki stared up at Ms Takao, who smiled back down at him, returning the knife to wherever it had come from "Naoki, let's go."
"Go? Go where?"
"Up to the roof – we'll have a good view of the city from there."
"Why? What's going to happen?"
"It's better if you see it with your own eyes. . . that which will change the world. . . come, we have to hurry."
Naoki stood up, rubbed his sore hand and tried to tuck his jacket around him, a defensive gesture he often did when he was nervous, or in this case completely scared shitless. But he had forgotten that he wasn't wearing it, that it was still folded around Chiaki's feet. He shrugged, followed Ms Takao out the door anyway.. "Okay. .. "
I'll follow you anywhere, Ms.Takao. Just don't leave me.
The two of them entered the elevator together, taking it up to the roof. Behind them, as the door closed, a small boy with long blond hair walked out from seemingly nowhere. With him was an old woman, holding his hand securely and wearing a veil which completely covered her face.
The boy pointed at the departing couple.
"What's wrong, young master? Ah, are you wondering about those people that just left?"
In answer, the boy cupped his hand around his mouth, then whispered to the old woman and she tilted her head to listen.
". . . Oh. I see. My, my. . . really?"
The boy nodded.
"I see. But, we're busy at the moment. . . we'll meet him later…"
And just like that, they were gone. It was almost like they were never there.
Up on the roof, the elevator door opened. Yuko Takao came out first and walked over to the edge of the roof, admiring the incredible view before her – you could see the whole city scape from here. She turned back to Naoki, smiled, and extended her hand, beckoning him over. Hesitantly, he followed. She smiled brighter as he came to stand by her side.
"I'm so glad I made it to you back there, in the basement."
"Yeah, me too." Naoki replied, cheerier now that he'd finally found her again. "I still don't understand much, though. .. What happened back there? What was that terrible monster?"
"A demon," Ms. Takao replied, causing Naoki to gasp. "Hikawa tried to kill you by summoning a demon, just like he did in the park when the others tried to stop him. He and I, we're the only ones left of the Cult of Gaea."
"What? Ms. Takao . . .you? You're part of a demonic Cult!"
"Yes, Naoki. But please, let me explain."
"Oh . . okay, Ms. Takao."
It had to be a mistake. Cult members dressed in black and had piercing and tattoos and hooded cloaks. They were evil people who skulked around dark alleys and smoked drugs and drank alcohol and had unprotected . . . procreation. They were people like Hikawa who were rude to strangers and immediately tried to murder them with supernatural powers. They were not like Ms. Takao, his teacher, who was nice and friendly and cared for him.
"Thank you.," she smiled, as though she'd heard his thoughts. "Naoki. You heard what Hikawa said, right?" Naoki nodded.
"Good. It's called the Conception . . .the destruction, then rebirth of the world. . . an event which no human has ever witnessed before and may never again. It was foretold in the Scripture of Miroku – for every world, there is a tipping point of sin, a point of no return, if you will, when the world has to be destroyed., it has to start again from the beginning. Naoki, this world is too far gone – the tipping point has passed. We can't save it, Naoki. . . we have to let it . . .die.
Naoki stared. ". . . What?"
"Look . . " she whispered. Naoki looked out over the balcony, beheld the City of Tokyo in all its glory. .The sky, previously bright and sunny, had started to darken. "It's starting. . . "
"Huh?"
"In a few minutes, every living thing on this world is about to perish. Everyone except those in this building are about to die. Shinjuku Hospital will be immune to it, but every other living thing on this planet will perish and disappear. . . even the people who will hate me for doing such a terrible thing…. But it's too late, too far gone."
Naoki couldn't believe what he was hearing. The end of the world? As in, THE end of the world? Right now? Today! But. . . but he was too young! He was only fifteen and he hadn't married anybody! Why now? Why couldn't it wait until he was eighteen, could marry, could lose his virginity, could truly love somebody beyond mere kisses without feeling like God was staring at him?
She was still taking – not talking to him, especially – more to the world in general. "I've known that it would be my fate to survive the Conception, to bear the burden of the old world's sins and nurture the next world in its rebirth. It will be in a state of limbo until someone fertilizes it with their ideals. That shall be my task – I will be the Maiden of Stillness – the one who shall return light and order and hope to the world."
Naoki wasn't completely comprehending – he was still stuck all the way back at the bit where everybody was about to cark it. Everyone except . . ."Is. . . is that why you brought me here?" Naoki asked, slight irritation in his voice as he began to grasp the reality of the situation. "To live? To live through a disaster!"
The temperature was dropping. A few seconds ago it had been a balmy 26 degrees. Now he was breathing out steam and beginning to tremble more from cold than from nervousness. Ms Takao remained seemingly unaware of any discomfort, content to merely stare out at the darkening sky.
"The whole world is about to die," he snarled through chattering teeth, "and the only one you wanted to save was ME?"
She wants me to survive the freaking apocalypse. Not my friends, not my . . . family, not anybody else, just me.
Just me and her.
Oh, and Hikawa.
A deep swallowing as she didn't answer for several minutes. Then finally:
"Yes. I didn't want you meet the same fate as the others. I wanted to help you hold onto your life, give you a chance you've never had. "
"Why did you do this, Ms. Takao?" Naoki was insistent. "Why did you do such a terrible thing? Why you? Why are you –" She shook her head, and Naoki could see the first vestige of. . .tears? Yes, they were tears, falling from her face. His fury was quashed instantly and his heart melted. He spoke again, this time in a softer tone. "Ms. Takao. . . you're crying. . . "
"Yes, I am," She replied. "I'd promised myself, that I wouldn't shed another tear, not even at the world's end… and I told myself that I wouldn't have any regrets. . . but it still hurts. I defied fate and brought you here, in order to let you live. It's a terrible thing to do, isn't it? What a terrible person I am."
Naoki tried to protest, tried to tell her it was a lie, but suddenly he couldn't speak, because in that instant he realized that it wasn't a lie. She WAS a terrible person,
She's going to kill everyone. She was going to kill Chiaki and Isamu too . . . she wanted me to come alone. She doesn't realize that they'll survive too because they're here. . But WHY? They're her students! You're supposed to protect your students, aren't you?
"How. . ." he whispered. "How could you do it, Ms. Takao?"
"Because. . . we're the same. . ."
Yes, they were, Naoki remembered now. They had been drifters, trying to find a place in a world that didn't fit them. Naoki Kashima didn't fit in – he didn't have something the others had, something important – where the others had happiness and trust, he had only an empty hole that tore at him constantly. He knew he was damaged, that something terrible had broken within him that nobody could see. That nobody could understand.
Then he'd spoken to her one day, or she'd spoken to him – he couldn't remember now, and she'd asked questions of him that he didn't want to answer. He'd tried to brush her off, thinking that she'd be like everybody else. But she wasn't – she was a kindred spirit, who had also lost something important and now had a terrible aching loss within her as well.
Two people – a student and a teacher – two inherently damaged and shattered people inside, felt a connection. A connection of loss, of terrible grief that each tried to hide to the world but tore at them so much that it was oftentimes unbearable. They were two shattered people, 2 halves of a person. . . but when they were together . . it was as though they were whole again, the pain of the other's sorrow would fade when they were in each other's presence.
"Yes. . . yes, we are", Naoki replied.
Ms. Takao nodded, smiled, wiped her face. "" Look at me – I'm trying to be kind to you, but I end up hurting you anyway. Living through the conception will probably be even more painful than death, and I'm supposed to bear the sins of this world alone. . . but I can't. I just' can't." The tears came freely, now.
"I've done terrible things, Naoki, things I can't tell you because I don't want to cause you more pain. I've tried to do the right thing, tried to help people, but it's all gone pear shaped and fallen flat on its face. I can only hope that the end will justify the means. If I can return the world to light and goodness, so that nobody has to feel what you and I have experienced in our life. . . all the pain and sorrow. . .
Then it will all be worth it, in the end."
"You – Ms. Takao . .. I don't. . . "
"I know how difficult it is for you to understand, Naoki. . . I promise, if you can find me in the new world, I'll tell you everything. . . the answers to all your questions. . . and what my true feelings are. . . "
She turned then, looked him straight in the eye, wiped her tears. "Naoki, please believe me.. No matter what happens to the world, I'll be your strength. I'll provide you with guidance. I know how strong you are, that you'll be able to survive when everybody else falls, I know that you'll never give up on your dream of happiness. I believe in you, Naoki.."
"I know, Ms. Takao." He was crouched onto the ground, trying to stop himself from shaking. "It's cold. . . "
Ms Takao followed him to the ground, wrapped her arms around him in a hug, held him close. "I know. . . don't worry, Naoki."
They stayed like that, student and teacher in an embrace, as the sky continued to darken until the sun had gone completely.
For several seconds, nothing happened. In the distance, he could hear the sound of thunder, the sudden silence of Tokyo as the electricity went out and all of humanity came to a sudden pause. He knew that below them, people would be peering out from their offices and homes, curiously looking up at the sky, wondering, not comprehending.
"I'm scared… ." he whimpered. There was a strange sensation in the air, a vibration of the building and the air – almost like an earthquake, but more subtle, and it was dark, completely dark. He could FEEL Ms Takao hugging him, could feel her tears dripping onto the back of his neck. . . could feel his own arms wrapped himself, but he couldn't see anything.
The sun. . . where is the light? I can't see… where is -
"AAAAHHHH!"
Then there was light, blinding light that tore at his eyeballs even when he shut his eyes in an effort to stop the blinding glare, but through his eyelids he could see an unbelievable sight.
The sun has fallen, fallen from its usual position in the sky!
It was true! Where before the sun was a mere speck in an ocean of blue, it was now a roaring ball of white hot flames that seemed to take up the entire sky, as though it was hovering just meters up from the ground. All that it beheld in its vengeful glare was set aflame – animals, humans himself.
I'M BURNING UP!
He screamed, tried to curl into a ball to escape the glare. Dimly, he could hear screaming from everywhere, on the ground, behind him, from Ms. Takao . . the whole world was screaming, it seemed. And he was burning, incinerating, burning alive, his shirt catching fire and burning chunks of his back, and he screamed from the pain. Plants shrivelled and died where they stood, everything from singular blades of grass to fifty foot tall trees. The people. . . Naoki couldn't see what had happened to the people, but he somehow knew that they were gone, evaporated where they stood. 2 Seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds and still it went on.
The noise. . . the silence of a few seconds ago was gone, traded for deafening noise, as buildings swayed, buckling under some unnatural strain, and gigantic fissures were ripped in the ground. Some of the buildings held out, the Hospital remaining still and silent, as though unaffected, but other buildings, even those more structurally sound, were not as fortunate. They were crushed like tin cans, thrown into the air.
Then came the laughter. The laughter of a million insane minds that couldn't be human, and the screeching and cackling of infernal voices as if the gates of hell had been swung open. Naoki cringed, tried to look up, but was instantly forced back down.
"Don't look," Ms Takao instructed, shouting in an effort to make herself heard above the noise around them..
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! Ms Takao, what's –"
"DON"T LOOK!"
He didn't and he couldn't, Ms. Takao making sure of the deal by pinning him to the ground beneath her and covering him with her body. He flailed and struggled against her, punching and kicking her in his panic and agony, oblivious to her own discomfort as he rolled. Finally he managed to roll completely over and found himself face to . . . and his hands were .. . .
OH HELL NO!
I'm burning in hell. I'm burning in hell. I'm burning in hell.
. . . he pushed her back, gasped for air and clawed for his eyes in the misguided belief that if he couldn't see the horrible, indecent thing he'd just done, then she couldn't either. It whilst he was clawing that he finally cracked an eye open, stared as Ms Takao, who had now repositioned herself that it was her face now that was eye level with him. She was sobbing.
Behind her, he could see the sky – a sky full of flying buildings and blood and gore that spun around and around a gigantic shining sphere that pulsed in time with his own heartbeat, and in time with his head, which was hurting now, and he felt tired. . . so tired. . .
The sky was flashing now, flashing in colours of blue and black and orange and white, causing everything to turn those colours. He glanced as Ms. Takao – she was leaning back against him, her eyes closed, and he saw for the first time that the terrible burning had burnt her as well, that by lying atop him she had taken the brunt of the fire, and she had passed out from the pain.
"Ms.. . Takao . .. "
It was all too much for him. The stress from the train, the caffeine from the drink, the terror in the basement, the shock of seeing a gigantic goat headed evil demon trying to kill him, the sheer unbelievable fact that the WHOLE FUCKING WORLD had just ended, the pain from the sun, the bizarre feeling he'd just felt lying next to his teacher as she held him close and when he found himself face first in her –
Too much. His eyes were rolling back into his head and losing focus. The world was blurring, and the noise was becoming an indecipherable whoosh of sound, and he was tired. . . so tired. . . too tired to fight it off, and he was gone, gone spinning into darkness . . .