IT wandered aimlessly down an alley, akin with the darkness and aimless in ITs tasks for the night. IT still didn’t fully understand not just what had happened, but what IT was at all. IT remembered standing above the one that had killed ITs wife, waiting to taste the sweet nectar of vengeance. Yet IT also remembered cowering in fear at the feat of the one whose wife IT had killed, dreading the biting sting of a husband’s wrath.

The two images were one and the same, yet so different they tore ITs mind in opposite directions. Thus IT had given in to ITs remaining urges and set upon ITs task with the bound woman on the palette. Yet before IT could finish, a tiny voice in ITs mind had taken control and dealt pity and mercy.

Again, an irreconcilable difference – murder and mercy. Both coming at once from ITs mind, yet battling with one another in execution.

IT tore at ITs head in frustration, wanting at once to silence the schismed voices in ITs mind while willing them to speak louder at the same time. Driving them to battle would result in one vanquishing the other, a more lasting peace of mind than if both merely silenced for a time.

The part of IT that was John reveled in ITs victory over the police. Somehow, IT had died yet escaped the icy grip of mortality to continue ITs game with the woman. IT didn’t care so much how, but IT was mildly curious why the world looked so different. As if looking out through a new set of eyes, taking in every sight anew.

The part of IT that was Richard writhed in agony over what IT had done. IT had murdered a woman IT had intended to protect and had consumed the being of a man so black in soul that ITs own was mortally tinted beyond recognition. IT knew exactly what had happened, understanding the events not through ITs own reasoning, but through the blessed curse of Akasha’s infinite knowledge. IT had reached out with a thought and bound John’s soul to ITs own, consuming his vessel with fire and forever removing his individuality.

IT became one with the one IT had destroyed, binding his soul to ITs vessel and intertwining their ties to the library. IT was stronger than before, able to summon visions and information from lifetimes distant to ITs own, but IT was weakened by the very nature of ITs new strength. IT had destroyed a human life and by that act become unworthy of the collective knowledge of humanity.

Akasha rejected ITs reach, but was powerless still to prevent it. IT knew all that IT willed to know, and IT knew the other was as yet unaware of this.

The part of IT that was John walked the earth as a human, displaced from his circumstances and given new life with which to wreak havoc on the world. The part of IT that was Richard was bound in its resolution to protect what little humanity remained in IT – knowing that to surrender to ITs duality of being would be to loose an unfathomable evil upon the world. Read the rest of this story »

IV

Richard ignored the alarm clock and laid, staring at the ceiling. His eyes bored a hole that was filled in with static if he stared too long without blinking. He’d wink his eyes and re-wet the lens, then stare again for a few minutes or so. To his disappointment, though, this was a staring contest he would lose every time.

His mind drifted again to the whining alarm clock on the night stand and, once again, he forced his mind to ignore it, refocusing his energy and concentration on the ceiling. Not only was he haunted by the dream that wasn’t a dream, he really didn’t want to give that presentation this afternoon.

Mary had already gotten up. Their typical routine was, well, routine. If Mary was up before her alarm went off (as per the usual), they’d have time for a quickie before she hopped in the shower. Richard would go back to sleep while she went through her morning ritual. Then, dressed and freshly showered, she’d climb back into bed and nap for another 15-20 minutes, usually remembering to reset her alarm beforehand.

While he never understood the point of the post-shower nap, Richard welcomed the company. He wasn’t ready to be alone with his thoughts, not yet. Unfortunately, Mary had gotten up for her second alarm and set out for the day. Since he didn’t have to get an early start today, Richard had expected to snag an extra hour of shuteye before heading in to work.

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I

The wispy tendrils of someone else’s thoughts pulled at the edge of Richard’s thoughts. He could feel someone or something there, just beyond, but he couldn’t quite see them. They were hiding in the shadows, yet beckoning his consciousness to venture forth and join them. It was an ominous feeling, to have such a welcoming presence hiding in the shadows, and Richard recoiled from the inner core of his being at the other’s touch. A sinister, foreboding voice in his mind told him to run farther, but it was matched by a tone of curiosity from his inner child.

Richard reached out with a thought and probed the other’s hiding spot. Gently at first, then more aggressively when the other ignored him. Then it was Richard who was the hostile one, cutting through and pushing through the darkness trying to grasp onto the ghostly lines cast out from the other. A jab in one direction yielded nothing, so he turned his mind and thrust out in the other direction, momentarily finding purchase before faltering. He could almost hear the inhuman laughter of the other as it danced out of his reach.

It laughed, and he lunged again. It continued to laugh, and Richard ran hopelessly in circles. Then it was silent and Richard was alone.

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