r/nosleep

My name is Alan Bridges,

I don’t know how old I am,

and i’ve spent the past 100 years of my life trying to end it.

Humans have always been trying to improve life- make it longer, more comfortable, more luxurious- it was only a matter of time before they achieved the ultimate goal: immortality.

I can’t blame them, though- I’d be a hypocrite. I signed up for the experiments voluntarily, after all.

I don’t remember how old I was when I got approved. Life kind of turns into a blur when you lose your concept of time. I couldn’t have been older than 30.

I remember the morning of: I got a phone call, around 4 AM. The voice on the other end was automated, strangely apathetic to be sharing such great news: My first appointment for the W.I.N.G. experiments was scheduled for that same Friday at 2 pm.

The process went as follows: I was injected with a whole range of chemicals I don’t remember the name of over a course of 6 months. The end goal was to give me flawless cell division and a nano-technological implant that would stop me from hurting myself, accidentally or otherwise.

At the time, I couldn’t even imagine a scenario in which I’d want to bring my life to an end: I wouldn’t have signed up and gone though the countless physical exams running up to my acceptance otherwise. I was thirsting after a taste of indestructibility, a taste of what it meant to be a true superhero. In hindsight, that was a stupid thought- especially for a 30-something year old.

It didn’t take very long for the magic to wear off. I romanticised the idea in my head: immortality, being the most perfected human on earth.

I couldn’t have anticipated the amount of death I’d witness on the way.

Phone call after phone call after phone call, they were legally mandated to inform me: another patient has passed as a result of the experiments.

I must admit, I was afraid. My fear of death was the thing that pushed me to strive for immortality in the first place, and hearing that my attempts to avoid it might become the cause of my demise terrified me.

Another patient has passed as a result of the experiments.

I could almost reiterate the whole message by memory at this point, intonation and all. Even words as horrific as that become meaningless when you hear them that often.

Though, I couldn’t have been more relieved to receive that one anticipated call:

The experiment was successful.

I got my wish. My wish of being perfect, immortal, indestructible. Flawless. Life became paradise: to live without fear that time is running out, to live without fear of an accidental death.

I was fascinated by the effects of the nano implant at first: to stand at the edge of a cliff or in front of traffic and be physically unable to jump, even if i wanted to. It felt like I was going against my programming everytime I tried out of pure curiosity.

Though, once again, my dream was cut short.

It wasn’t called Weaponized Injectable Nanobots Guardian for nothing- my contract required me to perform certain tasks for them, no questions asked. My young and naive self had taken that as a downside I was willing to take, in exchange for perfection.

I guess I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon, and against my will, no less.

I complied at first: packing my bags, shaving my head, going into the army, just as they’d asked- Their promise still rang in my ears: 4 years of service, then complete freedom for, well, eternity.

But war is way different when you’re living it then when you’re a bystander.

They started off soft: bootcamp, non-violent tasks, learning to use my hands in combat and eventually, other weapons. But, as I should’ve anticipated: It escalated.

Plastic training targets turned into enemy soldiers, then innocent citizens, eventually even children. But please, please understand: I never wanted this. I tried so hard to resist, I did.

Have you ever imagined how it would feel to get possessed? To completely lose control over your body, yet still see and feel whatever you- or rather, something else- was doing from your perspective?

I’ve lived it.

I guess I missed the small font in the contract, or simply chose to ignore it. The nano implant wasn’t just there to protect me- it also functioned to keep me compliant. And, what happens when I don’t comply, you may ask?

It takes over. To this day, the memory of the feeling still haunts me. Being pushed away from the control room, locked behind iron bars in my own head, while an AI took over. I saw the terrified faces, felt the blood spatter onto my boots, heard the gut-wrenching screams of people, innocent people, whose lives I was bringing to an end- and for what? But it wasn’t my fault, was it?

My service was cut short by W.I.N.G. completely bringing the project to an end.

The experiments had failed. One by one, all of the surviving subjects had died. By side effects, I’m assuming, but either way- I was the only one left. One of a kind, bound to life forever by a contract I couldn't break.

I was discharged, and briefly, life returned to a shadow of what it once was: calmer, more careless, almost the paradise it had been. But even I didn’t expect it to last at this point.

My suicide attempts started slow. I tied knots, nooses, prepared poisoned food, even hired a hitman on myself at some point. Though I think I knew even if I was able to swallow the bite, pour down the acid, step into the line of the killer’s bullet, pull the trigger- It wouldn’t make a difference.

One of my attempts, I don’t even remember which one, landed me in the hospital. I don’t remember if someone else called or I checked myself in out of pure desperation.

I just know they were baffled.

They asked for permission to do tests, and apathetically, I complied. I complied like i’d been trained to, like I was a fucking dog. One day in that bed turned into two, then three, then weeks, months.

I started struggling after a while, but it was far too late. Their fascination by my condition overtook their concept of bodily autonomy and I was strapped down.

The chemicals burned in my veins, more than the experiment ever had. I hoped they’d get bored eventually, however long that may take- I had time. My hopes were based on the thought that I was truly indestructible.

But technology had advanced past the point of my seeming immortality.

Slowly, the torture had its effect. My vision went blurry, then disappeared in one eye. My hearing became muffled, until it disappeared completely, along with my sight. The left side of my body went numb, regained feeling, just to be completely paralyzed again. The right side soon followed.

I don’t know which chemical did it. They never told me. But they’d found it. My weak spot. My Achilles Tendon.

As an atheist, I never really considered the possibility of going to Hell. Now, though, I’m pretty sure I’m living the closest thing possible to it.

It’s dark. It’s silent.

The only thing I’m sure I still have is my voice: evident by the now chronic ache in my throat from overuse, from screaming in fear and agony in the hopes that someone, anyone, was listening, could help me.

And so I’ve been repeating my story, this story, over and over again. First, silently, as a mere thought. Then out loud, in whispers, then in panicked screams.

I don’t know if anyone is listening. For all I know, I could be in a coffin 6 feet under by now.

But if you’re reading this, or hearing it, or whatever, you’ll know that I failed.

My name is Alan Bridges, and I made a mistake.

My name is Alan Bridges, and it is dark.

My name is Alan Bridges, and i’m afraid.

My name is Alan Bridges, and if you were to, somehow, walk into my room, whatever state i’m in, and there’s an off switch

I beg of you. End it.

I stumbled upon the website when somebody on a forum I frequented posted a link to it. Supposedly you could submit your details and you would become the prey in a real-life game of cat-and-mouse. The user who posted the link claimed he had barely survived the game, and upon immediate skepticism encouraged other users to see for themselves. Upon clicking the link, I was taken to an outdated website with a sentence at the centre of the page in large bold letters.

"Want to be hunted? All you have to do is ask :)"

There was a basic form at the bottom of the page requesting my name, age and the date I wished for the hunt to begin. I typed in a fake name and my real age before asking for the hunt to begin next week. It was a cool name though, and I always wanted to change mine to it as a kid because it was the name of a character in my favourite TV show. Bobby Wise. After the form was submitted, I navigated away from the page and went about the rest of my evening having forgotten about it. I mean, it seemed to obviously be just some IP-grabbing link for most people and personal detail-scraping for those dumb enough to then input their actual names.

I woke up five days later and was about to head to work when a text came through.

Ding

"Your hunt will commence in thirty minutes. You will have an hour from the first sighting of your hunter to escape. At any point following the first sighting, there will be no warning period. The hunt will continue in perpetuity regardless of physical, mental or any other impairing factors.

Good luck."

I first saw him as I sat on the subway heading to work. A tall gentleman, wearing a long black coat and a fedora. He looked like something out of a history book. We locked eyes, and his lips curled into a wry smile whilst he gave me a slight wink. He looked down at his wristwatch, still with that smile on his face. I looked at mine.

Twelve minutes until I was to be hunted.

He left the subway car at the same stop as me, and I felt a warm whisper in my ear as I walked to the exit. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. At that point, I finally realised he was most certainly there for me, that he was my hunter. The logistics of it all didn't come into my mind at that point, because I was more concerned with how to win this supposedly unwinnable game. Looking back on that day, I don't know how he found me. I hadn't given my real name, nor had I been digitally vulnerable at the time I submitted the form. I was using a VPN, so I can't see how my IP might have been grabbed and the only real detail I provided was my age. Perhaps I was naive in thinking the sketchy corners of the internet I often found myself on couldn't live up to the stories we've all heard.

I eventually made my way to the office and plopped down into my reliably comfortable chair, presuming that the manned entrance downstairs would keep the man from the subway out. Not long after, I was proven wrong. I walked over to my colleague's desk to ask him about some mundane work-related stuff, only to find the man sitting there instead. I turned to run, but he grabbed my arm with an immensely tight hold and kept me in place. Whilst aware of the fact he probably wouldn't do me much harm in a relatively busy office building, my blood ran cold and I was terrified regardless. Without saying a word and with that same terribly unsettling smile on his face, he handed me an envelope. Plain white, with no markings or addressing on either side. He let go of me after I reluctantly accepted it and I promptly made my way to the bathroom in a panic.

I wish I had never read that note.

"Turns out there was a 27-year-old named Bobby Wise in this town. He just wasn't you. Poor guy didn't know what he was in for. Here's a photo, so you know what you made me do. So you have to live with it."

Behind the note, there was a small Polaroid picture with the word "Captured" scrawled in the white space below the photo in black marker ink. A young man sat upright, tied to a wooden chair with silver duct tape across his mouth. The ends of his flowing hair dripped fresh blood onto the white shirt he wore. His head had several holes across it, as did his face. You could see the exposed bones and brain matter through the various holes and blood seeped out of them all.

I threw up all over that bathroom stall. I didn't know that site would actually have people hunted, and I didn't know the stupid fake name I gave them would actually turn out to be a real person in our somewhat small city. I can't live with what I caused, and I'm afraid of going to the police because upon reading the local newspaper, a Bobby Wise who looked exactly like the photo I'd been given was reported missing four days before my "Hunt" began. I figure the texts and the countdown when I first encountered the man were a ruse, to make me at least somewhat aware of the game being real and so the man could approach me and give me the envelope that changed my life.

I guess I needed to get this out there, not just in a futile attempt to forgive myself but to warn others.

If you come across a site that claims you can ask to be hunted, please save yourself from what it can turn into.

PART 2 HERE

PART 1 HERE

“Slovenian: nickname for a cheerful person from vesel 'merry cheerful'.”

That’s the result I got when looking up his name’s signification on Google. Vesel, that’s his name. It is a very old name, it was mostly used during medieval times, which matches how old he said he was to Claire two years ago. That day, he told her that he was 584 years old, with a quick calculation, this would mean that he was born in 1438. I tried looking for famous historical figures born during these times and that were somehow referred to as “Vesel”, even once, but I couldn’t find anything, I guess he was right when he said that people tended to forget him.

That night at the motel, while I was doing research, Claire was “fake sleeping”. It was a bit weird at first. She was on her side of our bed, lying down, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. She insisted before that I should act just as if she was really sleeping, so I tried to ignore her. I wandered around the internet, looking for information, but I eventually lost my motivation after a few hours. I was wondering what I could do now. I promised Claire that we would only leave in the morning, but a part of me was thinking that we were just wasting time. After some long minutes of thinking, I decided to try what she was doing. I laid down like her and just, started to pretend I was sleeping. My mind went silent, and for the next few hours, there wasn’t a sound. It felt extremely peaceful.

Eventually, the sunlight started coming through the curtains. None of us were moving, but I decided I’ll be the one to “ruin it”.

“Claire, are you awake?” I asked, conscious of the irony of my question.

“Yes.”

“I think we should go.” I said.

“Yes, I do too.” She answered.

We both got out of the bed, packed the few things we had, and got back on the road. I had a quick thought about the people I left at home, wondering if they had already contacted the local police.

The drive was going to last at least 5 more hours from there, so I stopped at a small parking lot beside the road, we both had to drink, even just a little bit, we couldn’t take the risk of one of us snapping. While we were hiding behind the car, drinking, Claire asked me something.

“Do you want to live forever?”

“What do you mean?” Her question kind of caught me off guard.

“I mean, now that you can, do you want to live forever?” She said.

“Do you?” I asked.

She had a moment of reflection.

“No. I don’t want to die, but live like this, it’s not a life. Look at me, I’m 11 and I already feel bad about the way I look, what is it going to be when I’ll be 40, looking like a kid… Plus, there’s the guilt. I already killed one person and I have trouble living with that, what about when I’ll have killed more people… But it’s not like we can do anything about it.”

“What do you mean? Just stop eating or cut your own head off and it’s the end.” I said.

“Ho shit, you don’t know?” She looked at me with a confused face.

“What do I not know?”

“Well, we really can’t die, even if we try. If you don’t eat, as far as he told me, you don’t die, you just become more and more weak until your blood-thirsty instinct takes over and turns you into an animal. And, well, when it comes to harming ourselves physically, I don’t think you realize how resistant we are.”

There was a silence.

“Then we will have to get rid of this curse.” I said, trying to sound optimistic and reassuring.

We kept drinking for some time before getting back in the car.

On the road, between some small talks, she eventually asked me a very valid question.

“What do you hope to find at this park?”

I hadn’t thought about it. What exactly was I hoping to find there? Sure, Vesel had told me that he knew what happened to Martin after what I did to him, but it’s not like I was going to find him waiting for me and ready to answer my questions. I think I was really just following my gut more than anything else. I mean, not entirely though. Vesel had implicitly admitted that he was in part praying on our guilt, so, maybe I could assure myself a bit more protection against him if, by some way, I could come to terms with what happened.

We would still have to deal with Claire’s guilt over that teenage girl she ate though, and I had no idea how to do that. My story was old now, and there was still a lot of grey areas around its consequences at that moment, but Claire’s story was way more recent, and there weren’t many doubts as to what happened: she killed that girl out of thirst, and Vesel hid it for her, period.

“I guess, I hope to find closure. Plus, where else would you want us to start looking for answers?” I finally answered.

“Well, my mom’s museum, don’t you think? I mean, I didn’t know how to tell you that, but I think it’s pretty dumb that we didn’t went straight for the museum.” She said.

“We will, I just don’t think that running away from our life all of sudden and go infiltrate the private collection of your mom’s workplace immediately after would be very smart. I mean, if you think about it, to them, I kidnapped you.”

“Yeah, now that you say it, it makes sense.”

We still had a long drive ahead of us, so I decided to take this time to ask her a few more questions, any information could be helpful, and technically, she had more experience in that “lifestyle” than I had.

Some of you suggested that she may have seen or feel some parts of Vesel’s soul while he was possessing her, so, I decided to ask her about it.

“Claire, can I ask you some things about, you know, possession, and everything? Are you okay with that?” I asked carefully.

“If that helps, sure partner!” She answered.

“So, when… well, when he possesses you, and that you end up in this dark place, full of screams, what do they say to you exactly? The screams I mean…”

She took a few seconds.

“Just terrible things. Some of them have the same voice as people I know, not all of them, but some. They say horrible things really, I don’t really want to share it if that’s okay, I don’t think what they say is relevant, it’s just reproaches, insults, and mockeries.”

“Okay, you don’t have to tell me, it’s fine. Can I ask you what my voice was telling you yesterday? If you’re okay with sharing it of course…” I said.

“Yes. You were not screaming, but I could hear you very clearly, and you were telling me that I wasn’t alone, that I’ll be fine, that I could trust you and follow you.”

What she said made me more emotional than I’ve been in a very long time. She had so much trust in me.

“When you’re in there, do you feel, someone else, or something else with you? Or are you completely alone?” I asked.

“Well, I feel alone. But I don’t think I am. When I am there, I feel sad, and scared, but I’m not alone. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the beginning, but I feel like, all these voices, and even the place, whatever it is, is just as scared as I am.”

“Scared of you?”

“No, not me, I don’t know what scares it, but it is scared.” She said.

I figured I wasn’t going to dig more than that, I could feel that thinking about this stuff wasn’t great for her, and I had understood by now that, if I wanted to prevent Vesel from taking over her, I needed to avoid her any guilt or dark thoughts.

But it was too late. She gasped, stayed silent for a few seconds, and I knew who I was talking to now: Vesel was there again. Deep down, I was scared as hell because of what happened last night when he took over her, but I played it cool, I wasn’t going to show him my fear.

“Hello again you.” I said.

“Well, hi there Mark.” He answered.

“What do you want? You’re going to make us run over more people?” I asked.

“No, why would I? No, you see, I’m here for something else. Last night, we both know I didn’t chose to leave the Little Lady’s body by myself. So why was I kicked out of it? And why can I still not take over you? I have to admit, you two are something else.”

“So, what, you came to ask me?” I said.

“Ho no, I know what’s happening. I just never thought it would happen with you two. I really thought you would leave her alone and abandon everything behind you. But for some reason, you took her with you. But I don’t worry, I know what’s happening to you two, and I also know that it never last. Plus, I see you’re going to look for Martin, this will definitely break what’s happening between you and her.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Ha ha, let’s say, I have good sources.”

And Claire came back. She told me she could hear my voice even better this time, and that she had found me way faster. I decided not to reveal to her everything he told me. What he said was already making me a bit anxious, I didn’t want her to feel unsafe.

After a few more hours we arrived at the nature reserve. Seeing this entrance made a lot of memories resurface. We got out of the car and started walking towards the spot where Martin fell in the river. The more we were approaching it, the more I was anxious. I was stressing, breathing heavy. I was scared, my brain was so loud, I couldn’t think. Then, I felt her hand. Claire was holding my hand. She looked at me.

“Is that okay? Would it help you?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, thank you.” I said.

I was calm again, and we reached the spot. Nothing had changed. We watched, and I wondered what to do now.

“Maybe we could follow the river, we might find a sign or something.” Claire said.

“Yes, you’re right.”

We walked for a long time but saw nothing. I think it took us maybe two hours before we found some house. It wasn’t abandoned, we could see that someone was still living here. Without a word, we decided to knock on the door. We heard some noise inside.

“Are you thirsty?” I asked Claire while we were waiting.

“Yes.” She answered fast.

“Shit, me too.” I said.

“Let’s control ourselves, we’ll drink when we get back to the car.”

A man opened the door. He seemed surprised to see us. He looked like he was, 30, maybe more? He gave us a weird look.

“Hum, Hello.” He said, confused. “Sorry, I’m not used to see people around here.”

He was standing there, blocking the entrance pretty obviously. He seemed to be suspicious of us, so I decided to put on a little act.

“Hello Sir, yes, sorry for bothering you, are you a guardian in this reserve?” I said, with a joyful tone.

“Yes, do you need something?” He asked. He looked more relaxed now, so I guess my act was working.

“Huh, yes. See, me and my sister were hiking, but, we got lost, so, we’re happy to find you.”

“You can find the entrance by following the river.” He said.

“Yes, thank you sir, but, can I ask you, maybe you could, give us some water, or something to eat, we’re starving, I don’t know if we can reach there with our stomach empty.” I really needed an excuse to ask him some questions.

He stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Yes, of course, come on in, I’ll get you some things.”

We got in and sat at his table. Everything was dusty, and messy. He served us two drinks of water and apologized because apparently he didn’t have any food.

“So, I was wondering, do you know about the story of the kid who disappeared around here?” I asked.

“Yes, yes, of course. They never found him apparently, but if you’re hoping for some juicy facts, I don’t know anything more than what you probably do.”

This didn’t seem to be a good lead. After all, he was only 30 something, he wasn’t even old enough to work here when this happened. The man was rearranging some stuff when Claire patted my harm. I looked at her and she pointed her nose then shook her head no with a very concerned look on her face. I didn’t understand immediately, but I got it after a few seconds. I didn’t have to control myself since the beginning. This man had no smell. It was indeed the first time someone didn’t smell anything since I became like that. Claire probably noticed it at the moment we got in, she is more used to this.

Something was wrong with this man, there was only one possibility: he was like us. I decided to keep on acting normal, but I now knew that he was hiding something.

“And, were you already working here when this happened?” I asked.

“Yeah, it was a mess, but I didn’t see anything, trust me on that.” He said. I wasn’t expecting to fall in this trap so easily, but I guess he wasn’t used to speaking to people, so it made sense.

“Weren’t you a bit young to be a guardian here?” I asked. I decided to stop acting at that moment. He probably came to the same conclusion, as we did by now.

He turned to us with a serious face.

“What do you want you two? How did you find me?” He asked.

“We don’t want anything from you, we weren’t even trying to find you. All we want is to know what happened to Martin, after that, we’ll leave.” I said, trying to keep a relaxed tone.

“Why do you even care about that?”

“I knew him.”

There was a silence. He looked to Claire.

“Hey, don’t even try to hurt her, we don’t want to fight, just tell us wha…”

He interrupted me.

“No no, what is happening to your sister?” He said. He looked genuinely concerned.

I looked at her. She was sitting, eyes wide open. She was completely still and her eyes looked empty.

“Claire, are you there?” I asked, shaking her a bit. I could tell this probably wasn’t Vesel taking over, he would have been here already. “Claire, please come back, whatever is happening, it’s fine.”

She gasped, and she was back. She looked at me, she seemed a bit shaken.

“What happened, are you okay?” I asked.

“He, … He doesn’t want us to look behind the door.” She said.

“What are you saying?!” The man shouted.

“Go open it, I’ll handle him.” She whispered.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Go now.”

She got up, went to him, and punched him in the stomach. Her hit was so powerful that the man was thrown across the room. I was a bit shocked, but I went to the door as fast as I could. I opened it.

On the floor was a guy, about my age, and he looked absolutely terrified. I saw him, and deep down, I knew. The man started laughing while Claire was holding him back.

“There you go, you wanted to know what happened to him, well you can ask him yourself.” He shouted.

“Martin, is that you?” I asked.

“Yes, my name’s Martin.” He answered, his face lit up with hope. “Are you here to rescue me?”

I got to his level.

“Martin, I’m Mark.” I said, calmly.

“Mark? From school? What are you doing here?” He asked, confused.

“What happened to you Martin?”

“This man, he found me, he’s like, a vampire or something, and he has a gun. He makes me fill blood bags and he drink it, you have to help me!” He was panicking.

“He did that to you, for all these years?” I asked him. I could see how pale he looked, and all the marks of needles on his arms.

“Yes. Help me Mark, please.”

At that moment, I felt empty all of sudden. I would have preferred for him to be dead. He had suffered all these years. Because of me. I wished he was dead. I wished we were both dead.

And then I was in. It was all dark and empty, just like she said. Vesel had got me. I walked around, waiting to hear those screams Claire talked about, but there was no sound. It was just dark and silent. I couldn’t feel someone else either. It was just me. Eventually, I heard something coming from behind me. I couldn’t see it, but it was running, and it was closer and closer. I shouted: “Who’s coming?”. No response. Then, it was like a little thing, it came fast and like, cut my leg with some knife I think. I looked up and saw Claire.

“I’m there. I understand you. It must not feel good to learn about this. If only everything could stop, if you could just disappear, am I right? I can help you with that. Grab my hand, and you’ll be safe. No more pain, no more guilt, no more regrets, you’ll be finally gone.”

She was smiling. I looked at her. That wasn’t her, I knew it, but her offer was still very interesting. I was thinking when I heard something else. Behind me, her voice.

“Here Mark, my hand. You’ll be okay, you’re not alone.”

I turned, and there was only one hand, coming out of the shadows. I didn’t know what to do, all I knew was how much pain I was feeling, and one option promised me to make it all go away easily. If I was going back there, what would I find? More pain, I couldn’t take more pain. I was slowly turning to the fake Claire, when the real one said something.

“I need you, Mark. Don’t leave me alone.”

I stopped, and, in a second, grabbed the real hand.

I was back. I opened my eyes. I was standing in the living room of the house, and Claire was on the ground. In my left hand, I was holding Martin by the neck. I let him go immediately. On the other side of the room was standing the man. He looked at me, gasped, and Vesel was in him.

“You got away from me…” He closed his eyes briefly. “And I can’t get to the Little Lady over here.” He took a deep breath. “Haaaaa, you two… You are a lot of fun you know. I guess I’ll just have to take you two a bit more seriously from now on.” He started laughing, and his fingers started to grow. They were becoming more and more long and pointy, and his nails were sharper. His teeth were also getting pointier and sharper, and his eyes went completely white as his legs were growing. He turned to me and smiled.

“How do you like my look?” He asked.

He was absolutely terrifying, I never thought I would see something like that. He took two steps towards Claire.

“What about you Little Lady? Not so tough after this am I right?”

He was holding her head between his big and deformed hands. We were both paralyzed by the fear. Martin let out a little sound and Vesel turned to him immediately.

“Hooo, Martin, I almost forgot you were there. You know, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I didn’t completely eat someone. You would be perfect my dear Martin, and, well, at least, Mark would finally see your death.”

He put one hand on Martin’s shoulder while approaching him.

“Let’s see how much you still care about helping your little friend after this Mark.”

He was slowly grabbing him. I couldn’t move. What could I do, I was powerless against him.

“Let him go!” Claire shouted.

Vesel let go of Martin’s and immediately turned to her.

“I’m sorry Little Lady? Is a little respect too much to ask? Don’t you forget everything I did for you. Without me, imagine how many people you would have kill already. You’re nothing. Just a little child that doesn’t know what she’s doing, that’s all you are. You think you can do anything to stop me? Show me how strong you are you little bitch!” He sounded upset.

Claire stood up, stared at him, and immediately, he fell on the ground. Somehow, Claire knocked him out. The body got back to his normal form. I ran to her, asking her if she was okay. She fell in my arms and told me she needed blood. I shouted to Martin to go take the blood bags the man had immediately. He brought a bunch of them, and I made her drink an entire bag, while myself drinking another one. We hadn’t drink in some time and we were with a human so I couldn’t take any risk.

Eventually, she got back on her foot, and we decided to leave the place as fast as possible, before the man woke up. On our way to the entrance, I explained what we knew to Martin, and made him swear to never speak about it. At some point, he told me that he had forgive me a long time ago, and that I didn’t have to keep on hurting myself. This declaration filled something in me. I saved him, and he forgave me.

When we got to the entrance, I told Martin to walk to the closest town and to find the police. Then he had to make up a story that didn’t involved us.

Claire and I got back in the car.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” I asked her.

“About what?”

“You reading this man’s mind? Or you knocking Vesel out?” I said.

“Do you want to talk about you being possessed?” She asked.

“Not now, I guess.”

“Same for me. I know it’s impossible, but, I think I feel tired, but like, tired of the mind you know?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Maybe we could find a hotel close to a diner or something and take a moment for ourselves? Then, we could both talk…”

I laughed.

“Ha ha, you want to eat at a diner?” I asked.

She smiled.

“Well, even if it’s just pretended, I want to have a normal night you know.” She said.

“Diner it is then.” I said, starting the car.

We drove in silence for a few minutes.

“He forgave you.” She said.

“Yes.”

“I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m really happy I met you.”

There was a silence.

“I am too.”

Later that night, we ate at a burger place. The food had no taste, but we pretended that we loved it. We joked, acted like we were brother and sister for the people around us, I didn’t have this much fun in a while. We got to our hotel, and she went to take a shower.

I am now posting this update. I know we have to find a way to get rid of this, or to get rid of Vesel, because he’s not going to leave us alone by himself, but for now, I’m happy.

Tomorrow, we will talk about everything that happened today, but for now, I’ll let her rest her brain.

I’m open to questions or discussions…