NIGHTMARE SEQUENCE
~ Timbre of Treasures short story ~
Featuring Rilun, ██████████████, and Geo
Some time before the friends' arrival on Pop Star, Rilun had been suffering from recurring nightmares. This was by far one of the worst.
(CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of unsettling imagery/gore/body horror, themes of depersonalization)
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Closer. Closer. Closer. Closer.
No. Stay back.
Closer. Underneath my skin. Inside my skull. In my veins. Bulging out of my head. Leaking out of my eyes. Wriggling in my ears. Spiders inside my brain. Pulsing under my claws. Ripping out my claws. Biting off my claws.
Stay away. Get out of me. Get out of my head.
Get out of my head.
GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
It’s under my skin. It’s under my skin. It’s crawling through me. I can’t move.
I called for help, but there was no answer. Everything around me was nothing. All that was and all that would be were me… and that monster inside my scars. I was bleeding out. The blood welled into a fountain, soaking back into me only to be spit out again. I felt glued to myself - frozen in a block of intangible ice. So much of my blood had poured that I could see it dripping down the false walls around me now. If I focused.
But it’s hard to focus when you’re fighting so hard not to give in, isn’t it?
I told you. Stay back.
It’s alright. I can still use you for a while yet.
Why do you do this to me…?
There is little reprieve from this. My only option is to relive that horrible day over and over again. That stars-forsaken tomb that I never should have gone into…
Come now, my little fool. It wasn’t that horrible. You helped me, after all.
I wish I hadn’t. I really wish I hadn’t…
You only suffer so much because you refuse to compromise with me. You are a stubborn girl.
But what would happen to Geo? I have to be there for them. I have to protect them. Maybe if… I had no one like them, would I have given up sooner?
It’s a shame I must keep myself hidden for now. Else, I might take the liberty of wiping out our first obstacle myself.
Obstacle? Are you talking about Geo?
What else?
I…
If I weren’t so exhausted, I would scream. I would rip out my own eyes. Rip out my heart, lungs, brain - all for the slim chance of destroying this parasite inside me. Instead, I just cry. The tears on my face feel thick, and sticky.
She saw herself, her harrowed and lightless gaze, face stained with streaks of red. She could see the bloody trails beneath her eyes as they ate away at her skin.
I feel my face start ripping itself into shreds. Finally, I can scream. Finally, I can move. I lift my hands up, pulling and tearing at my flesh. Suddenly, the outline of a figure in the dark enters my vision.
Stay away from me!
The figure only knelt down to her, staring with hollow eyes. It reached out with a spindly, clawed hand. She could do nothing to turn away, or to run - she could only watch as it grasped her by the chin. Gently at first, she thought, until she felt spikes digging into her. The figure gave her a mock pitying look.
Poor fool. Someday, you will have to accept that you and I are one, until I’m finished with you. Until I have sapped every last morsel of your power. It will all be mine. And by that time, there will be nothing left of you to save.
Gingerly, I can feel it run its hand up my cheek. But in its wake, there is fire.
She felt another piercing cry escape her. An agonized wail that only crescendoed as the fire spread across her. As it consumed the left side of her body, she could only imagine it pulling her apart like taffy, and destroying her atom by atom, until nothing remained. Within the heat, something frigid stuck out to her.
I can feel something cold hovering in between the torturous flames. It must be the hand of the parasite - although its glare is icy as well. My flesh is… It’s dripping. The left side of my body feels like melting plastic. The parts of my face, or what remained of it, are sloughing off, being pulled away by that hand. My body is melting, and it’s being absorbed directly into the parasite’s open palm.
I can’t tell if I’m talking to myself or not anymore. I’m in pain, but I’m… healing. There was something I was worried about before. Something that caused me to get myself into this mess in the first place. But I feel that I may be forgiven for this. Maybe I will be offered help. A warm place to stay. Where I don’t have to think about anything anymore…
Suddenly unable to make sense of things, she focused her gaze on the figure before her as the light warped around her. It still bore into her with its insectoid eyes, but to her, they now seemed… soft.
This is what happens when you disobey me. Do you understand?
I… think so…
You say that, and yet, it feels as though I must teach you this lesson every night.
I won’t… I won’t fight anymore.
I have heard this excuse from you before. Do you promise, this time?
I… promise…
She locked eyes with the figure, unable to blink. The soft light emanating from its face began to flow outward like an expanding fog. A gentle, cozy warmth swaddled her, a far cry from the fiery pain consuming her only moments ago.
I promise… I’ll…
I’ll…
…
“... I’ll always protect you. I promise. I swear it, Lun, on all my heart. You’re okay. You’re okay. I’m right here.”
All of a sudden, Rilun’s eyes flew open, and she found herself gasping for breath. Her face and pillow felt damp with the remnants of tears that had been shed through the night. Only moments after waking up, she hadn’t entirely registered yet that Geo was lying in front of her, looking gravely concerned. They looked close to tears themself, in fact. When Rilun had found a better grasp on reality, in between shivering and breathing heavily, she managed to focus her bleary eyes on them. Geo brightened up a little. “Rilun…?”
As she fully came to, she found herself thinking how grateful she was for them. “G-... Geo…” Her eyes welled with tears anew. She felt Geo gently stroke the side of her head with one hand. “It’s okay, it’s okay… You’re awake now. You…” They hesitated worriedly. “You started screaming in your sleep. W-were you having a bad dream?” The vivid memory of the nightmare was still fresh in Rilun’s mind like a new laceration on her body. She shuddered; unable to stop herself, she leaned over and buried her face into the other alien in a frenzy of choked sobs. “Oh, Lun…” Geo’s voice wavered.
Although the intense sensations of the dream rang in her mind, the feeling of being torn asunder did not disturb her quite as deeply as the memory of forgetting Geo. She had had this nightmare several times by now (and allegedly had woken Geo in the night once or twice with her whimpering), but never had it been so visceral in such a personal way. Maybe later, when she wasn’t still sobbing, she would find the time to be angry at herself for daring to think of the monster lurking inside her as a refuge.
But in the meantime, Geo simply held onto her and allowed her to cry as much as she needed to.
Rilun could not tell how much time had passed when she finally felt the storm of tears lighten. She kept her forehead pressed into Geo, and sniffled. Geo - bless their soul - remained where they were, holding Rilun closely and petting the back of her head. “Do you… n-need to talk about it?” they finally asked, their voice soft. Rilun shook her head, before she could feel the suffocating pressure in her skull come back. How she would spill over, pour out every thought and worry in her mind to her beloved, if she only could. But the parasite had threatened to kill them if she so much as hinted to Geo that it existed or that anything was wrong with her. It would often bore into her brain, squeezing it like a fruit, if it suspected anything.
“That’s okay! Th-that’s okay,” Geo reassured her. “You don’t have to talk about it. It’s okay.” Rilun felt a pit in her chest whenever she had to lie. She had always told Geo everything. Finally, she lifted her head to stare miserably up at Geo. “... Sorry…” Her limp ear drooped beside her face. The other alien gently brushed it out of the way. “D-Don’t be sorry!” they reassured. “It’s okay, I promise.”
Rilun knew how clever they were. She would be shocked if they didn’t suspect something was wrong with her. But she still had to try her best not to let anything slip. “What time is it?” she finally croaked. Geo tilted their head to look at the clock across the room. “Um.. early, but not too early,” they answered. “Do you… want to get up? Maybe, um… make some breakfast?” Rilun nodded quietly. She didn’t think she would be able to go back to sleep after that anyway. Maybe not for a long time. Tired as she might be, spending time with her favorite person would be better than lying in bed feeling sorry for herself.
Still shivering, she grasped Geo’s hands, gazing into their gentle pink eyes. At least one thing that could always warm the fuzziness inside her was thinking about how dearly she loved them. Sniffling one more time, Rilun pressed her face into Geo’s in a nuzzle. They let out a small trill. She felt them return the gesture - and for good measure, plant a kiss on her forehead. Hoarsely, the poor, cursed alien tried to offer a purr in response.
“Let’s maybe go make some waffles or something.”