Insanity (Skillet Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: 20 Years Later

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! (Time from my country) Hope y'all get to do your New Year's Resolution!

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*Beep Beep Beep*

The alarm woke John out of his slumber. He gasped for air due to the shock from his dream. He realized that it was all just a nightmare. Those happenings were 20 years ago, but it still haunts his life until to this very day.

He sat right up and rubbed his brown shining eyes. He tried to relax his breathings for a bit.

It's been a few weeks since he's been having these reoccuring night terrors. He just couldn't bring it up to his wife Korey. He's afraid that his wife might think he's going nuts again.

"After all, it's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything peculiar, right?" he thought.

John heard footsteps coming from the stairs. It came to a stop outside his door. The door swung opened and it revealed Korey with the usual morning beaming face.

"Good morning, babe! Breakfast is ready."

John forced a smile. His heart was pounding heavily but he can't tell why. Korey seemed to notice her husband's feelings and began to worry right away.

"Hey babe, you all right?"

"Uhh... just... I just want to go out with you guys!" he made an excuse.

Korey smiled and nodded. "Oh. Okay. I'm sure you miss your Dr. Pepper already!" she teased.

John chuckled and said, "Yep. I'll go down in a bit. Just give me a few minutes, Kor."

Korey followed John and she headed downstairs, leaving him all alone to do his morning rituals. John stood up from the bed and went towards the mirror to comb up his black silky hair. He looked at it for awhile and shuddered at the thought of his old blonde girly-like hair that he had since birth. He doesn't want to go back to being a blondie again. It doesn't make him 'tough'. At the same time, he pondered about how his obsession of Dr. Pepper began.

He's pretty sure it was Chad's fault. He always gave John Dr. Pepper when he was just a kid. He gave him more when they were both hired at Mc Donald's.

Chad.

John froze at the thought of his best bud. Chad was the only one who made him laugh through his darkest times. And Chad was the only one who saved him when they were almost got hit by a car. Oh, how he loves his best friend. If only he could turn back time where he would play with him all night long with video games and exchange telling horror stories.

Chad was more than a friend to John. He treated him as he was his big brother. He was better than his real brother to be frank.

Remembering all of that almost made John cry, but he swallowed it all up. He went downstairs to eat with the others. A small boy with blonde hair suddenly blocked his way. He looked down and saw his son smiling from ear to ear.

"Daddy!" he excitedly said, jumping up and down.

"Hello, Xavy!"

John ruffled his son's hair and carried him downstairs.

*TIME SKIPS TO THE MALL*

"They both sure are having fun." Seth said as he was looking up to the mini rollercoaster Jen and John riding.

Seth was the band's lead guitarist and also, John treats him as his step son. The girl he mentioned, Jen, was their red-haired drummer. She's very goofy and mostly the one who makes jokes along with John. On the other hand, Seth is very quiet the same with Korey their guitarist and keyboardist. Together, they formed a Christian Rock band named Skillet.

The ride finally came to a stop. Jen and John got off and walked tipsy-like towards  them. Jen's hair was sticking out in all sides of her head anf John was panting and sweating heavily.

"You guys look like you just came out from a tornado!" Alexandria, John and Korey's daughter, teased.

"But we still look hot!" Jen giggled.

They all laughed and continued on to stroll around. However, John was feeling different. A few of them noticed that he wasn't making any jokes as the usual these past few days. He feels that something is going to happen that will make their family fall apart. He just doesn't know when and how.

"Hey Doggy, you okay?"

John snapped out of his thoughts and saw Jen with a worried look on her face.

"Y-Yes. I was just wondering when will I be having my next peanut and Dr. Pepper."

Jen giggled and gave him the soda he's been craving for.

"Here ya go, Johnny."

John took it and drank some. While he was drinking, there was some kind of a shadow that went pass his peripheral vision. He turned around just in time to see an unknown muscular figure waving at him.

John's eyes widened and he he rubbed it to see if he's mind was just playing tricks on him. After he had rubbed, the figure he saw just now vanished.

"John, why'd you stop walking?"

John turned his attention to Korey who was now 7 feet away from him. He shrugged and went with them again.

On their way home, he heard someone or something calling out his name eerily.

"John... John... John!"

From a faint whisper, it turned into an angry sinister voice.

John spun around nervously. "Wha-What? Who's there?" he called out but there was no one at sight.

He turned his direction to get in their car but the mysterious voice spoke one more time.

"Kill them... Kill them, John! They hate you! They hated you from tbe very beginning. Ever since you were just a fetus!"

John was getting impatient and at the same time, scared.

"Get away from me, you freak!" he yelled.

Korey stuck out her head from the car's window and called out to John.

"John, stop mentally talking to yourself out there and get in here! We need to go home. It's very late."

John shook it off as a figment of his imagination, but it did raise his apprehension a lot. Is his dark self visiting him again? It can't be! They taught him his dark side was all in his head and everything bad that had happened in his teenage life was his own fault and not a beastly creature's one.

"Wait, if it's not my dark side's fault, does it mean that I'm mad?" he pondered.

They've reached their house and John lazily went to his and Korey's room without uttering a single word to his children nor to Seth and Jen.

"Weird, Seth thought, John would usually good night to us and say a joke before he goes to their bedroom. Something's off."

John slammed the door and stripped off his clothes and clothe in his pajamas. Korey slowly went inside and did the same. John threw himself on their bed without minding Korey.

"I don't know what's going on with you but we have a practice tomorrow for our next show so you better stop acting weird and make some sense."

He heard his wife say as he dozed off in a sleep.