Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | twenty-seven

The door slammed shut tightly behind me. My hands reached out ahead of me as I grabbed at nothing. The building shook with delight as it captured me in its pitch black claws.

I floated in the zero gravity of the house, bending and twisting around like a rag doll. Sweat formed on my forehead as my fearfulness grew and I clambered about, unsuccessfully trying to persuade myself I was all right.

My back hit hard against one of the rotting walls and instantly I pressed the palms of my hands against the splintered wood. I could feel warm liquid seep from my palms as they pressed further against the surface, the stinging pain of the wood ripped into my flesh felt like nothing compared to the pounding of my heart.

I couldn't breath and I lurched forward grabbing at my shirt with a bloodied hand, trying to find some way to get air into my lungs. But then I fell. My body slumped down against the dusty floor of the shack my shadow had led me to. I should have known better.

My back hunched over my knees as I tried to muster up enough strength to stand. The blood that still dripped from my hands mixed with the dirt on the ground, clumping up on my fingers before I wiped the substance on my jeans.

A soft glow illuminated the floor in front of me and created a pathway surrounded in the shadows. I turned my gaze upward and squinted my eyes to find that the window I had seen from outside the building was once again in front of me. The light coming off the lamp looked foggy as the frosted window kept me from seeing it entirely.

Was I back outside again? No. My mind was just playing tricks on me. I stood slowly, wobbling on my legs as I braced myself back against the wall behind me before I heaved myself forward toward the window. I hit the cold glass and I steadied my body quickly, feeling my chest tighten as I peered out through the window.

The jagged branches of trees and the bright white of the snow caused my eyes to squint as I pushed my face closer to the glass. My breath hitched and my throat dried out as the hooded figure stepped out from the darkness. I felt the urge to puke as the red scarf tied around their neck blow softly in the breeze as the person stood momentarily alone, basking in a warm light I couldn't see nor feel.

My hands banged against the window, my eyes wide as my shadow stepped up next to the figure. A multitude of red smudges were left on the glass as I continued to try and gain the attention of the stranger. I couldn't make a sound as I parted my lips to call out.

My voice caught in my throat as the stranger turned to my shadow and without question embraced him. The echoing of his laugh stung my ears as he wrapped the figure in his arms and absorbed them into nothing. As though he knew I was watching, he turned to face in my direction.

"See," He growled. "Now you see."

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