Fairly Normal People

-Chapter Fifteen-

Andy's knees grew weak beneath him as the rushing sensation of bodily control returned to him and Nightmare skulked back into the recesses of his mind. His balance faltered and he grabbed at the edge of the counter to keep from collapsing. Andy then questioned why he thought his arms would have more stability than his legs as his arms had also become jelly, gave no resistance to his fall and yet moving to clutch the counter had sent his head on a crash course with it's edge. His head cracked into the corner of the counter and he careened onto the floor.

"Andy!" Lucy's voice called out from the front of the store.

Just as Andy had made his way onto his elbows Lucy was by his side and helping him up onto his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked.

"Ugh... So you're talking to me now?" Andy asked as he rubbed his head with his other hand.

"Shut up and tell me what happened." Lucy demanded.

"Your friend's boyfiend is in the back office." Andy stated.

"Wait, what?" Lucy said as she immediately let go of Andy and he once again careened into the counter and then onto the ground.

"Ow." Andy said, his voice muffled by the floor.

"What did you do?!" Lucy asked after Duncan's foot thudded onto the floor when she opened the door.

"He was here when I got here and his knuckles were all bloody. I interrogated him." Andy said matter of factly.

"And he's asleep because...?"

"My interrogation worked, um, a little too well. Now he knows last night was me."

"So why were his knuckles bloody?"

"I never nailed down the reason actually, he said he punched an ambulance worker."

"So you didn't find out his secret and he found out your secret. That's the opposite of a successful interrogation!" Lucy flailed her arms around in disbelief.

"Everything will be fine." Andy said as he finally climbed back onto his feet and rubbed the two bumps on his scalp.

"And how do you suppose that?!" Lucy yelled as she held her open palm out towards Duncan's limp snoring form.

"The same thing we do every night, Lucy. Invade his dreams." Andy said as he shuffled over to her side. "You watch the store and I'll get to work."

"Can't we just kill him?" Lucy asked flatly, her eyes averted.

"Jeepers, Luc. That's a bit grim." Andy said as he moved Duncan further into the small office.

"No really. Let's just kill him." Lucy said, her voice free from compassion.

"That's a whole can of worms you don't want to open. Moral and evidence wise." Andy stated.

"I don't care. We can do it. I just want him gone."

"No." Andy said calmly and after a few moments of Lucy's quiet if not angry acceptance he continued. "Watch the store, I need to take care of this."

Lucy turned her back on him again and stalked to the counter. Andy closed the door behind him and pulled the small cord that dangled next to his head to turn on the light. He rubbed his hands together and rolled his shoulders to prepare himself. The bell on the front door of the store jangled, it's sound muffled by the door and Andy knelt down, tongue extended to once again penetrate Duncan's mind.

Inside Duncan's head looked like the viewing room of an interrogation room this time. Stood next to Andy was a totally identical copy of him except for a big bushy mustache that sat where a normal person's forehead would be. His copy sipped occasionally from the mug in his hand and Andy noticed both of them were dressed like the police detectives you see on TV.