Hellfire

Night ten

Connor is standing on some kind of platform. He steps off it and onto the floor, which is, to his surprise, an actual solid floor, not the scratchy red rock he is used to. He feels hands slip around his waist, and he smiles.

"Hey Kev." He says warmly.

"Hey," comes the familiar whisper. Kevin turns him around, but keeps him close. "This whole dream stuff... Not really fun is it?" He cocks his head to the side.

"No... It's not..." Connor sighs back. "But you're here now so, it might be okay for a while..." He finishes timidly.

"Mmmhm." Kevin nods in agreement. "I'll protect you." He leans down and whispers in Connor's ear "In fact, I'll do whatever you want." When he resumes his previous position, he takes Connor's hand and leads him through the darkness. A frown is on his face.

"Hmm, too dark." He says in disapproval. Kevin claps, and the place is filled with white in every direction as far as the eye can see. "You see, Connor, you can do anything in a dreamscape." He waves a finger and a bed appears in front of them. To demonstrate his point, dream Kevin sits down on the bed and pulls Connor onto his lap. He clicks his fingers and suddenly Connor feels intense heat and the buzzing of Mosquitos that can only mean one place- Uganda. The sun has just set, and the stars are above them. The bed is on the roof of the mission hut and there is a figure sitting at the edge of the roof, gazing up at the stars as well.

"Woah..." Connor whispers. "This is amazing." He frowns when he notices the figure. "Hey, who's that?" He asks curiously.

Dream Kevin chuckles. "It's me... Or at least some version of me." Kevin answers.

"Are you there right now...?" Connor asks.

"I don't know I only know as much as you, I'm in your dream." Kevin replies.

The figure shifts and gets up, making its way across the roof with precaution, before jumping off and onto the branch of a tree and into the darkness below. As he leaves, another figure climbs up from the other side of the building. The figure takes the place of the other, and sighs.

Connor refocuses this one- it's him. Is he always this close to missing Kevin on nights like this? What a shame.

Connor looks back at Dream Kevin and places a kiss on his forehead. Kevin sighs and the dream collapses around them. Connor blinks and finds them back on the bed in the white dreamscape from before.

"That was... Incredible..." Connor whispers. "Can everyone do that? Can I do that?" He asks, curious.

"I don't think you can," dream Kevin says with a sigh. "I'm part of the dream, so I can control it, you're having the dream so I don't think so." He stroked Connor's hair with one hand. "I will always be here for you, okay?" He whispers.

Connor remembers the hand and the bright white light from one of his earlier helldreams. Maybe that was-

"Yes that was me." Kevin smiles. "As part of the dream, I can see what you're thinking too, you kno- hey stop thinking about me without any clothes on!" Kevin pouts.

Connor giggles. "I was just testing." He says.

"Well, I'm just letting you know you can check at any time," kevin says playfully, pushing Connor backwards and pinning him to the bed. "And I mean any time." He whispers.

"Oh I will~" Connor whispers back, looking up at Kevin with hooded eyes. Kevin's leans down to kiss him, but as soon as their lips meet, a voice calls out.

"Now now Kevin this is NOT your job." Came the voice. Connor's eyes widen and he recognises the voice as his own. He feels Kevin thrown off him and he comes face to face with himself.

"W-wait but you're me!" Connor shouts in horror. "H-how does that work!?"

"I'm you alright," dream Connor replies. "Well I was you, once." Briefly a look of sorrow flashes across his eyes, but it is quickly gone and replaced with a look of malice. "And now, I've been whipped and tortured, and slashed and chained," he spits the words and his voice breaks. "And actually," he snarls "there's no hope for you. This is what you will become!" Connor lets out a small whimper and cowers away.

Dream Connor laughs and walks over to where Kevin had been flung. He keeps facing Connor, and doesn't look over at Kevin. "Look at him," he snarls. "He is what ultimately caused your downfall." He kicks Kevin, who coils up and cries out. "I SAID LOOK AT HIM!" Dream Connor shouts. Connor feels his head snap up anyway, he isn't in control anymore.

Dream Connor claps and the previously white dreamspace takes on the usual red rocky atmosphere of hell. The bed disappears and Connor lands on the hot, scratchy ground. Dream Connor yanks up Kevin by his hair, causing him to let out a small whimper. He pulls a blade out of his pocket, and traces the side of Kevin's cheek gently. When he reaches Kevin's neck, he leaves a small cut on either side, before pulling Kevin into a kiss, smirking against his lips, and then slashing his arm. Kevin gasps out, but makes no attempt to stop kiss and break away.

After leaving another slash on the other side, dream Connor wipes his blade on his shirt. "So he lets me. or should I say you, hurt him." He handed Connor the blade with a twisted smile.

"No!" He screams, "stop hurting him!" He knows this is a dream, he tries to get out, by turning the dagger to face his own chest and stabbing himself. However, when the blade reaches his chest, it disintegrates in his hand to dust. Dream Connor simply laughs, picking up the blade as it rematerialises on the floor, and twirling it in his fingers. "Uh uh uh," he chides and wags his finger at Connor. "You're not getting out that easy."

Kevin lets out a gasp when he looks down and notices the pool of blood from the gaping wounds on his arms.

Dream Connor whips his head round to face him. "I didn't say you could make any noises." He says sharply. He turns Kevin's wrist sharply and Connor hears a sickening crunch. He wants to be sick. He looks over at Kevin, who is silently screaming and clutching his hand, which looks mangled and broken.

"Stop!" Connor screams. "Stop it!" He runs past dream Connor and falls on his knees by Kevin's side. "No, no, no!" Kevin looks up at him, begging him not to do anything before doubling over again, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of him mouth.

"Oh Connor, when will you learn to leave him alone?" Dream Connor says patronisingly. He clicks his fingers and kevin turns back to Connor, a dagger in his unbroken hand. "I'm sorry.... I'm so-" he whispers before his hand jolts forwards, straight through Connor's chest and twists sharply.

Connor gasps, and then falls backwards, the last thing he hears are his and Kevin's screams of pain before a wave of black washes over him.

Connor didn't even open his eyes this time when he woke up. He just didn't know how long he could last with this. They still were getting worse, and not just in terms of pain, but also temptation. The things that he and Kevin did sometimes... He couldn't even look the clean cut missionary in the eye sometimes.

Connor heard Kevin shift and he pretended to be asleep. Kevin knew what was up, but outside of night time, they didn't speak about it. He had no idea that he frequently, if not always appeared in them. Connor didn't want him to know, goodness knows what it would do to him.

Connor felt Kevin's hand brush against him and it took all his will power not to tense up. Then, he felt warm fingers entwine with his own and nearly jumped. It was probably just a comfort thing, nothing more. The touch soothed him and soon he was reclaimed by sleep again.