Jack bolted up, hyperventilating for a moment as he tried to see into the dark. He flinched when something clicked, then relaxed when he saw Stryker had turned on the lamp. They sat for a moment in silence, wondering what exactly to say; every time one of them opened their mouth they just closed it again.

"...So...we got out..." Stryker finally said.

"...Yeah..." Jack agreed.

"...And we're alright...mostly..."

"...Yeah..."

Stryker glanced over at him for a moment, then down at the blanket.

"...What was it like?" he asked carefully. "When...when-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Jack only half met his eyes when he felt them.

"Please...don't ask me to talk about it..." he requested. "I don't...even want to think..."

"Okay," Stryker said, nodding. "Yeah, that's okay."

They were quiet again, then Stryker shivered.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"That...that cloud...it looked like a dragon..."

Jack swallowed hard.

"I know."

"And...it's eyes were blue. Really blue..."

"...I know."

"Wasn't that-"

"Part of the prophecy? ...Yeah, it was..."

Stryker cringed. He had hoped his guess was wrong.

"Thing really is about me, isn't it?" Jack muttered, mostly to himself. "This whole thing just proved it."

"We...we still don't know-"

"Don't lie to me, Stryker."

They met eyes, and Stryker saw both fear and acceptance in Jack's expression.

"...Yeah," he croaked. "Yeah, I think it has something to do with you, Jack."

Jack's head nodded, but Stryker didn't know if he was aware of it. He looked down at Zephyr, who was sleeping soundly on the floor, his blanket strewn all over the place and his dreads surrounding him like snakes. Stryker envied how peaceful he looked.

"We're not going to sleep tonight, are we?" he asked quietly.

"Probably not," Jack mumbled, laying back on his pillow. "You'd think I would be used to that."

Stryker nodded, tossing his blanket off him and rubbing his eyes. He stood and started to stumble to the door.

"You want anything to..."

He stopped and shook his head in disbelief. Jack was breathing deeply, his eyes closed tight as he rolled towards the wall. Stryker went over and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to his shoulders. Jack shifted and relaxed more; Stryker gave his shoulder a squeeze, then furrowed his brow at something on his sheet. He picked up a tiny black object and held it in his palm, going to the lamp. After being sure he wouldn't step on Zephyr he put his hand under the light, feeling his spine freeze.

He was holding the Shadow of Fear.