Song for the later half of the chapter: Les Friction - Dark Matter

The day after Kenny had talked with Craig, his mind filled with many thoughts. Thoughts of things that he didn't really want to think of, but couldn't help. Talking with Craig again stirred some old emotions in him that he hadn't felt for a long time and wasn't sure on how to handle them. On one hand, he was grateful that Craig had helped him, but on the other, he didn't know if he wanted it. He certainly wasn't expecting to have seen him when he was lying out in the cold, barely conscious and contemplating life. When he'd been asked why he was outside for so long, he almost wanted to tell him the truth, but his last bit of self still attached to this world wouldn't let him. He didn't want anyone to know what was really going on, he didn't need to cause such needless worry, he could handle it himself.

He was lucky however, that Sally had allowed him to come over so late at night and spend time there, until having to leave before her parents woke up and caught them. She worried about him heading back into the cold, but he reassured her that he'd be fine and would be going back home. It was a lie of course. And he instead spent it outside wandering the still dark streets of the town, before finding that bench to sit on and eventually, Craig coming across him.

Craig's reaction and insistence on wanting to help him, didn't surprise him. Not with what he knew about their past. Talking with him again only reminded him even more of it. Of them. And the distant nostalgic warmth of it. He wanted to keep it away, like he had been. Despite it, Craig still offered his help to him, even after all this time. And the faint linger of guilt started to bubble again.

When he had left Craig's place, the other still offered his help should he need it. But all Kenny could do was give a silent nod before heading off without another word.

Craig's house was warm, he found. Much different in the way in which he found Sally's house to be warm...

Regardless of the two interacting again, it seemed as though they both had been thinking of the same thing. Their dreams of the past. Neither one of them seemed to know why this was happening exactly and could only theorize about it. But if their theory was true, then everything would suddenly be turned on its head, if he returned. Hell, Kenny had no idea how he would even react to seeing him again. Especially since the last time he saw him was when they all—No, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about any of this. This was all only speculation, nothing more than that. There was no real way to even prove that this was all connected anyhow. It was all probably just in their heads, and the two of them were overthinking this too much. At least… This is what he desperately wanted to believe.

Because in the end, if any of this did end up being true.

It would mean trouble.

...

As a new day arrives, Kenny has yet another dream of the past. Or so he thinks. There was something a bit… Different about it. Something about this one was not like the others he'd had up until this point. He was in a field, but not a normal one, this one seemed to be black almost. And it didn't seem to be set in the past either, as he seemed to be his current age.

As he looks around the field, he notices small black flowers. They slowly start to bloom and small red lights appear from their buds, all of them littering the ground like little red stars. Then they start to float up into the air and he suddenly is aware that he's not alone in the field. There's someone else standing only a few feet away from him. At first it's hard to make out the dark silhouette of the person, but as the red lights near them, he can make out their features more.

It was Craig.

Craig seems to be his current age as well, and seems somewhat surprised to see him. Kenny is about to say something, but his attention is drawn away and he faces forward as another silhouette makes an appearance. It's pitch black and no known features can be seen from it. An arm of some sort extends towards him. It stays there for a few seconds, before extending the other one out. This time towards Craig. There's a pause as Kenny and Craig share a small glance before looking forward. Hesitantly, the two end up walking to the outstretched hands, as if drawn to the dark figure's calling. Then they both lift up a hand of their own, at the same time, and each take one.

The moment that they do, a pair of red eyes suddenly appear from the pitch black of the figure's head and a slow row of teeth start to form a smile across the face. The dark shadow around the figure's hands starts to fade up along their arms. As it reaches the shoulders, a deep voice suddenly fills all senses.

"My boys."

Then as if suddenly being shocked by something, Kenny is suddenly jolted awake. He didn't know what had caused it, or why he woke up that way. It takes him a few moments to realize that he's also covered in a cold sweat now too. As he calms down from his sudden wakening, he sits up and decides to go wash off real quick, before heading out for school.

When he arrives at school, he tries his best to go about it as usual. However, that proves hard to do once he spots Craig. And like a cataclysm, all of it comes racing back to him. At first he tries to forcibly ignore it, ignore him and act like he usually does. But by the time the end of the day comes along, his mind is swirling with everything again. And that dream—just what the hell did it mean? Craig had also seemed like something was on his mind from the few times he did look at him, and he started to wonder about that dream because of it.

All of this becomes too much and Kenny can't help but need to find out about it. Which leads to him actually going up and talking with Craig after school. Asking him to meet him outside, which Craig does after he grabs his bag.

The two walk until it's only them and no one else is around.

"Did you have another dream?" Craig asks, before Kenny can even say anything.

"Yeah," Kenny replies, "but this one… this time…"

"Was it in a dark field too?"

"Yeah," Kenny says, surprised.

"I had a feeling," Craig murmurs, "I had it as well. We both were standing in this field with these small red lights, surrounded by darkness, and there was this shadowed figure there…"

"Sounds like we had the same dream," Kenny says, "either that or it was…"

"Connected?" Craig suggests, and Kenny nods.

"The thing I want to know though, is who was that figure we saw?"

"I have a feeling that you already know," Craig tells him.

Kenny falls silent at that and looks away. If he and Craig shared that dream, then could the third person really be…

"It felt so real," Kenny says, distantly, "like I actually could feel his hand."

"I know, it felt the same for me as well."

"If he was really there, in that dream, like we were… why would he only appear now? Why not before? Why is he only now trying to reach us?"

"I don't know…" Craig murmurs and looks off.

"Hell, I thought he like, died, or something, it's been so long since I last saw any trace of him."

"Same, I kind of thought we'd never see him again. But it seems like our dreams have other plans."

"Do you think he's… here already?" Kenny asks, unsure.

"Well aside from our dreams, I haven't seen him, like physically, but who knows," Craig replies.

There's a silence that falls between the two as they continue their walk. Eventually Kenny speaks up again, as another thought comes to mind.

"What do you think he wants, if he is back?"

"I… I don't know," Craig replies and shakes his head, "we'd have to ask him."

Something catches Kenny's attention then and he stops. A slow creeping feeling crawls up his back. Followed by a sense of déjà vu as he stops to look around.

"Wait… this, this is familiar," Kenny says.

"Familiar? What do you…" Craig trails off as his gaze lands upon an old big house that now loomed in front of them.

It was one that Kenny, nor Craig, had seen for a long while. And one that instantly made Kenny's pulse skyrocket. Like an old relic from the past that he had buried a long time ago, suddenly reemerging to the surface again.

Kenny half expects to find someone standing at the top of the stairs leading to the house's front door, but the two are alone. Something in him starts to rise.

"This is—"

"We should go," Kenny quickly says. "I don't think staying here will do us any good, so we should leave," and he starts to head off.

He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed they were walking to this place before, how he hadn't recognized the scenery around them at all. It was as if it all had been blurred from his mind somehow while they were talking. Like his feet had somehow guided him to this exact spot with Craig. As if they were subconsciously being pulled to it.

"Wait!" Craig calls after him and quickly grabs his arm, but Kenny yanks it out of his grasp and quickly turns back to him.

"I shouldn't have said anything to you about these dreams—I should have just ignored them. Then maybe I wouldn't have ended up here again. Maybe I'd be fine and wouldn't be thinking about the past. Thinking about everything that happened. Or you! Or—" Kenny stops as the faint sound of footsteps crunching in the snow catches his attention.

As they get louder, his body tension rises and his breathing stops. They were coming from behind him, which only made him all the more apprehensive about turning to face who they were coming from. He catches Craig's expression for a brief moment, there's something in it for the faintest of seconds, before he looks behind Kenny and it changes. The trepidation in Kenny grows to be too unbearable, that he can't help but give in and slowly turn around to look.

There's what feels like a long suspension of time as the familiar form of a dark figure comes into focus. It's stark contrast to the white snow around it, making it stand out all the more. And as time slowly starts to flow again, the two share a single word.

"Damien."