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His Friend and his Demons
Prompt: Old Man Consequences warned me about the demon.
Everything is so strange at the pond. Nothing looks real and nothing feels like it truly exists. He feels numb as his fingers brush over the false grass. He can't remember the last time he was human, so to see the human hand where his own is feels surreal. He can still see the IVs hooked into the back of his hands, which hang off on the ground unused; his personal strings.
"He will turn against you eventually."
He raises his head and looks to his companion curiously. The thing sitting in the grass alongside him is a mash of distortion and pixels, but he can faintly make out a mouth full of sharp teeth through the reddish mix. It should've been scary, but the creature toted a fishing rod and sat comfortably, as though they were just having a lovely day at the park.
"He knows you trust him," Old Man Consequences warns. "He won't let you go willingly."
It reels in its line and casts it out again into the red water of the pond. A few drops of the hot water land on his hospital gown and stain it immediately. Though it mixes in with the old blood stains well. He remembers the last time he bled and knows it shouldn't still look fresh. Though this place seems lost to time.
"He will try to hurt you," Old Man Consequences warns. "If you disobey him, he will gladly take what he gave you."
"But he's my friend," he limply argues. "He... He would never do that. He cares about me."
"He cared about you... He doesn't care about things anymore." It turns its head, with the teeth now facing him. It's almost unsettling to have them that close to his forehead. "I know you've noticed it. He's changed. He's become obsessed in getting revenge, and now he's stopped letting souls move on. He keeps them here and he makes them suffer, so that he may get what he wants."
He hates it, but it's right. He has changed. His friend has been so cold, so distant recently. Especially after the fire. It used to be that they were working to help souls get closure, so that they may be released to whatever waits beyond this existence... But recently, his friend has been clingy.
He doesn't want to move on, but he can't help but notice that his friend has stopped letting anyone move on. They no longer get the choice. His friend just gathers them all together, makes sure they'll do what is 'needed', and then watches silently.
"What should I do?" he asks as he looks out at the pond. "He's all I have..."
"Don't let him take your mask. That's all you have. And be careful, for he is only going to get worse. Leave the demon to his demons and save yourself," Old Man Consequences warns again. "I would help you if I could, but I can't leave this place. I must stay here and sort the fish in the pond."
He understands and stands from the grass on wobbly legs. The red and black world seems to distort around him as it fades away. Soon, he will be waking back in the real world.
Though now he has a bad feeling he won't be escaping the nightmare.