Town Darkness

Chapter Fifteen

       "Get up Matthew, we need to talk… right now."  A voice similar to his echoed all around.  He opened his eyes, squinting at the harsh white landscape that surrounded him. It stretched on infinitely, vast and empty… except for himself, and what looked like his doppelganger in kneeling in front of him.  The doppelganger's eyes were heterochromatic, the left glowed neon green, the other, neon red.  "Hellooo, we don't have much time, listen up."  He snapped in front of Matt's face, bringing his attention back.  "You need to get us the fuck out of here.  I can't be captured by 'Mare or else we're all dead.  You, me, and all your friends."  

       The confusion set on Matt's face, "What?  What do you mean, who's 'Mare?"  The dark half sighed frustratedly, raking his fingers through his hair as he began to pace around.  "Of course, of course I'd have to spell it out for a child like you and waste time. Fine. Whatever.  You're all in a Hellscape, specifically Blank's.  He's trapped in one of Damien's little mirror contraptions.  We need your friend Ethan to release Blank so we can make a deal to end this.  'Mare on the other hand wants to destroy Blank while he's weak… and he needs me to do it."

       "Why does he need you?"  He turned to Matt, looking annoyed.  "How do you not remember what we can do?"  Matt shrugged.  "We're an oracle, we can show him exactly what he wants to know, and we can hijack any Hellscape, not enough to escape, but enough to be dangerous."  "Can't we just not show him anything?"  The dark half began laughing sarcastically, "It's as if I hadn't thought of that!"  He knelt down, face to face with Matt, causing Matt to flinch back slightly.  "Don't you think I've tried before?  Once his strings attach, we're his puppet.  So don't let them attach."  He paused, tension filled the air, before his final words echoed through the air as darkness crept over Matt's vision once again.  "If you can't escape, kill ourselves."   

       Matt sat up, choking and gasping for air, the light from Mark's flashlight stung his eyes.  "Whoa whoa, take it easy, you're okay."  His vision adjusted to see Mark kneeling over him.  "What happened?  You just randomly passed out, freaked us the hell out… more than we already are."  Mark mumbled the last part quietly.  Matt glanced around the room, wondering who " 'Mare" was, his eyes locked with Nate's.  For a flash of a second, his expression changed from concerned to an expression of smug triumph that no one else saw.  No one but Matt, and in that moment, he knew the 'Mare was the dark half of Nate… his best friend.  "Leave now!"  The voice in his head yelled out, as he leapt to his feet, pushing past Mark and running out of the doorway into the hall.  

       "What are you doing!?  Come back!"  Most of the others protested as they scrambled to the doorway.  The clip on flashlights began to dim and flicker, then gave out, thrusting them into complete darkness. The sound of Matt's heartbeat echoed in his ears in unison with his footsteps as the hallway began to twist and turn at a dizzying speed.  The wallpaper flaked and peeled away in thick patches, revealing rust colored splotches along the metal walls, as the floor became metal grates.  The room started tilting, causing Matt to almost lose his footing as he ran blindly.  A dark, long silhouette caught his right ankle, snaking around it painfully as it pulled him backwards.  He fell face first with a choked cry, his body slamming against the ground with a resounding thud.