Darkness. The store lay in total darkness, and as David rolled over on the floor he could see nothing of his surroundings. His stomach was burning, aching for something he could not identify. The pain was overpowering, but where could he go? What could he do? A sliver of light appeared under the door of the storeroom.

Kicking aside his coat he began to crawl toward the flickering light, too consumed by the empty, starving feeling that clutched at his gut like a clawed hand. The door swung open on its own, and he was able to use the doorframe to hoist himself to his feet. The flickering light, he saw, was coming from the back room where Max took inventory. Bracing himself on the wall, he slowly made for the door. I need to get to Max, he thought to himself. He can help me

The light flickered again, and he saw shadows move across the wall. It must be Max; no one else would be here this late. Staggering into the doorway, the sight that met him took all thought of hunger pain away from his mind.

Blood pooled everywhere as it poured from a mangled corpse on the ground. The man's face was gone, and his left arm had been twisted around unnaturally. Two gashes in his wrist and two more on the throat spilled most of the gore that David could see. To the left, David saw the desk chair, turned to face the door with another man sitting in it. No, he was tied to it, unconscious and bleeding from his temple.

Standing just to the side of the desk was Max. He was looking at the live hostage calmly, though his face was contorted sharply. He was nearly unrecognizable. The pain returned in full to David's already shaking body, and his vision blurred as he once again doubled over. He felt his knee hit the ground and caught himself with a hand, the other still clutching his stomach. Sticky, he thought. The floor is sticky. He wrenched his hand off to see it covered in cold, dead blood.

"Max, what's going on?" He heard himself say. His mouth was filled with the same coppery sweet taste of the wine he drank that night and he found himself looking at the unconscious man in the chair. The horror was gone though, and curiosity began to fill his mind as his eyes focused on the blood oozing from the man's hairline.

"Your future, David," Max replied, "Is right here. This man holds life. Eternal life and youth. And you can take it from him." He ran a clawed finger along the man's cheek, just enough to bring him out of consciousness. Dazed, the man lolled his head forward and looked at the floor through half-open eyes to see his dead companion on the floor. He had no time for a scream to escape his mouth before Max placed a large, twisted hand over his face to stifle any noise. "This is your future."

David's eyes began to burn, and his vision – already blurred severely by the convulsive pain – tinted red. He shut them and cringed, trying to clear his head of the flood of feelings and confusion. The taste of last night's wine still lingered in his mouth. I'm dreaming, he thought, and tried to reassure himself. This is a dream, when I open my eyes this will all be gone. The blood, the bodies, everything will be gone.

He peeked one glance, but saw only red as he looked at the floor. "No!" he gasped. "This is madness!" He looked to Max for reassurance, but was only met with that contorted face, twisting into a sharp smile. "NO!" he cried again and heaved himself away from the doorframe. By now the blood was spilling into the hallway under his feet and he slipped on the wet surface. BAM!

David hit his head hard against the shelves as he woke with a start. He had thrashed himself two feet across the room and rolled into the side of the shelves. He looked up to see the books and folders wobble threateningly, but not fall. Rubbing his head where he hit it, he sat up and kicked his coat away. Then he remembered.

He pulled his hand away from his face and looked at it, expecting to see the dried blood from the night before. Nothing. His shoes were clean, and he was covered in cold sweat rather than blood. His breathing was heavy, and his head was starting to pound from its encounter with the shelves. As his vision cleared, he saw he was back in the storeroom and there was a sliver of clear, natural daylight coming in under the door.