"Give in...give in...give in."
Nathaniel's conversation with the physciatrist had been very exhausting both physically and mentally. Long after she had made her discreet exit, he had continued bitterly weeping; his sorrow over his actions was compounded infinitely by the fact that he understood so very little about what had occured. Would it happen again? Could he stop it? Could he at least control it? Much to his distress, the only answers he could find to all his questions pointed to a recurrance, almost certainly worse than the first. Eventually, he had drifted into sleep.
"Show the world your true self."
Ever since the "outbreak," he had had the same exact nightmare every time he fell asleep. Everywhere he looked, it was completely black; there was ground beneath his feet, but he couldn't even see that. It was a darkness not only to be "seen," however, but one that could truly be felt. He was completely lost in the darkness, and no matter how far or how fast he ran, it still engulfed him. Then the voice would begin, pounding at the very core of his being, wearing him down and eating at his resistance.
"You know who you are...embrace it."
As the voice continued, he slowly sunk to his knees, completely defeated. He felt such an all-consuming despair, and he found couldn't remember anything else but that despair. It had consumed his entire life, and it was still devouring him now. All he could see was darkness; all he could feel was darkness; all he knew was darkness. He used to know a way to escape it, but he couldn't remember anymore.
"I will show you the way."
That was it! He could remember now. It was those terrans who had caused his suffering. They had created the darkness he wasnow foced tolive in, and the only way to break free was to destroy them like the filth that they were. How dare they! He was going to shred every single one he could get his claws on...but first, they would feel the darknesshe felt. Oh, yes, he was going to make them suffer. Then they would know what they had done.
"Yes, you must destroy them all if you want to find peace."
A terrible rage was forming over him, and he could feel his natural state returning. Even though he knew it was only a dream, it was comforting to shed the Terran skin for his familiar wolf-like body. Soon he would awake, fully returned to his true state and ready to wreak havoc upon the world of men.
But then the people began appearing; he could see many of the people he had killed during his first awakening. There was a despair in all of their eyes; it was, in fact, the same despair he had experienced within himself. "Go away! You're dead!" he snarled. He lashed out at several with his claws, but he merely passed right through them. Still, they continued to surround him, piercing him with those eyes. After a few moments, his resolve faltered and he turned away, only to be faced with the friends he had killed at work. Someone then tapped him on the shoulder, and he whirled around to face Benjamin. The gaping wounds he had inflicted were still there, and the other boy was staring at him with accusatory eyes. The two had been very close...
"You have no friends! They'll all turn on you, just like they did before!"
Suddenly, his rage returned, tremoundously greater than before. Whoever owned that voice was trying to manipulate him, and he wasn't going to stand for it anymore. It was as if a fog had been lifted from Nathan's mind.
"NO! I refuse to kill anymore innocents! And I refuse to listen to you anymore!"
He wasn't sure how he knew, but he just knew that he could affect the speaker just as the speaker had been affecting him. Somehow, the speaker had mentally linked with him...and that would be his downfall.
"Oh, is that so? You might as well face it! Youcan'tescape your true self now that it's awakened!"
Building up energy born of rage, he dashed fowared. Leaping up, he brought a tremoundous force crashing down upon an invisible object, creating a bright explosion. As he jumped back, a dark figure appeared that instantly reminded Nathan of the Grim Reaper.
"Why? Why do you resist?"
He didn't answer; if he stopped to bandy anymore words, this creature would have him killing those close to him yet again. He merely snarled as he rushed foward again. "Rot in hell!" The energy rushed through him again, and his claws moved at incredible speed. Within seconds, the being was torn in more than two dozen places, and blood gushed from him in turrents. Although none of the wounds were physical, of course, they still represented damage inflicted in the mental realm. Backing up a few paces, Nathaniel prepared a final attack. Clasping his claws in front of him, he fired a beam of energy at the ground directly in front of the being; it created an explosion so intense that the being's mind would be completely destroyed. Unfortunately, it unlinked from the mental realm only a moment before, and Nathaniel wasn't quite ready to chase him down.
His rage spent, Nathaniel slowly returned to his human form. He had taken no damage during the encounter, and he felt a peace and contentment he hadn't experienced in quite some time.
Unlinking himself from the mental realm, he fell into a deep and refreshing sleep. One with no dreams.