The Second Phantom

Alone and Unseen

It's so dark, cold and the area around me was empty. Just an abyss of what had been there so long before. A ghost of what was. A reflection of my being. I was all alone in this hell that I call my own, coming here night after night with no end in sight. No matter how much I run. No matter how much I scream out. No one comes. No one is there. There is nothing but the unseen here in this hell...

"Kuroko!"

My head snapped up, that voice it seemed so familiar yet foreign to me. It made me feel a glimmer of hope in my pit of ultimate despair.

"Kuroko-Kun you can do it!"

I stood and looked around, my legs feeling numb underneath me. This was the first time in two years that I heard another person here," Hello?" I called back out. My voice bounding off the walls, echoing obnoxiously through the abyss.

"Kuroko?"

"Help me!" I screamed, my legs folding in on themselves, my body felt limp. Like every ounce of energy was being sapped away from me from some strange being. The empty was all that I was now, this cold unrelenting feeling was all that I am and all I will ever truly be.

"Kuroko-kun. Stand up, you can't stop now."

The voice growing increasingly comforting to my ears, easing the tension inside of my heart, but still, I couldn't find the strength inside of me to stand.

"I am always here."

"No! Don't go!" I yelled, tears welling up in my eyes. I knew who it was. It was him. It had to be him.

"Wake up Kuroko-kun." He whispered, it sounded like he was right next to me. A hand was placed gingerly on my shoulder," Just wake up. I promise it all be over."

"Stand up, fool" A deeper, far more harsh voice yelled out. Causing bumps to arise on my skin.

I shot up as if by reflex, my heart pounding inside of me.

"Run..." He spoke.

I trembled tears pouring down my face. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and I felt... warm.

"You are never alone."

I gasped and shot up, a cold sweat dripping down my face, my hand extended completely out in front of me, reaching out to nothing. Slowly placing my arm down onto my lap, I buried my face into my hands, wiping the sweat and tears from my face. The soft glimmer of my scars on my arms caught my attention. Although they were barely visible, something that you would have to be looking for to even notice. The ache inside fading away with the break of day, although replaced with a numbing feeling. It was better than what it used to be. Could the person in my dream have been him?

"Yo, Kuroko-kun."

"Huh?"

"I have to leave here. For a while."

"What?!"

"Don't worry, I won't ever leave you alone. When you call for me, I will be there. I promise."

I clenched my jaw tight and balled up the blankets in my hands," Liar..." I wiped the sweat from my face and climbed out of bed, seeing as it was still early I decided to wash up before heading out to school. As I walked into the bathroom, the light stung my eyes for a moment before I could see properly. Sighing I looked into the mirror and gritted my teeth. I looked like crap. I chuckled slightly.