"They did not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps, they never will." - Don McLean



Alexandra Callaway, eat your heart out; I can't help but think to myself as I look up into the night sky, surrounded by the cold and yet embracing glow of the full moon that follows every step I take. Anxiously, for a reason I can't put my finger on, I look up to the sky and back down to the path in front of me. To my right and a few feet in front of me, I can see the slight ripples of the water on the surface of a pond. Approaching closer, I can see the reflection of the night sky in the similarly lit surface of pond water.

Slowly coming unhinged at the seams, we soon find that the world is indeed what it seems. A den for the unholy, the Hell spawns, the bringers of darkness. To truly and honestly see the light that surges all around you, unbeknownst to those who aren't worth the warmth the light gives them, is to actively fight these spawns of the river Styx, to battle the darkness, drive it away from our hallowed ground.

Keep it together, Jessie. We're-fuck that, I mean I'm almost home. Yeah, that's the plan; keep it together on the way back, and crash once I step through the door. Anna sure would love to deal with me babbling nonsense at her, right?! My head jerks violently to the left, where over my shoulder I can see the pond that I had just passed.

Don't fight it Jessie; nay, embrace it! I am you and you are me, if anything we should be working with each other. Yet, here we are, fighting a futile and pointless war, all because you're too blind to see what I can do to help you, what the light can do for you.

No! Determined, I keep on pushing forward, a pain in my knees and head forcing me to take it slow. A slight limp, as it hurts to put pressure on my right ankle. That's fine; I think between winces after each step, it's not like I needed to get home as quick as I could any-fucking-way. As I continue to walk, my eyes once again drift up to the night sky, a tad darker than the last time. Unaware, I manage to get my right foot caught in a gap between two pieces of the stone path. Taking one more step forward, I hear the cracking noise of my ankle breaking in two like a pistachio, and falling hard onto the ground. My head bounces upward upon impact, and hits the ground a second time. Dragging it across the uneven stone and lifting it up once again, I see on the ground a trail of crimson following it from the point of impact.

Placing two fingers to the tender and already stinging skin, and pulling it away, I can see that the two are soaked in blood from a mere tap of the temple. Fuck, this is not what I need right now. I force myself to my feet, attempting to walk further until a mix of my ankle and possible concussion forces me to fall over off the trail, landing on a soft patch of grass, once more looking up to the sky.

See, Jessie? Don't you see how beautiful the light is? You have to see it, you aren't blind! Of course, you're just pretending not to see it. Yeah, I can see through that charade Jessie. We're the only ones here, you don't need to pretend anymore...

No, I'm the only one here. I can feel the left side of my face being drenched in a mixture of blood and sweat, attributed to the unusually high temperature of Seattle at night.

The night sky is definitely not as bright as it was just moments ago. Blurred and dulled as the remaining beacons of light in the empty space may be, there appears to be less and less of them each time I look up. Admittedly, I'm intrigued, interested to see if this is the truth or just another of my own self destructive mind games.

You feel safe in the light, Jessie. It's the darkness that wishes to hurt you, come with me; come to the light. You know it, I know it, we know it. We can't hide from ourselves, the light will save your soul!

I force my eyes shut, clenching them closed at all costs. A few moments pass and I lose the battle. My eyes force themselves open, to the sight of considerably less light in the night sky. The most glaring difference is the fact that the once full moon is now only a crescent. Another one of the stars fades out of existence within clear view of me. What the fuck is going on here?

I tried to help you, Jessie. You refused, so be it.

I lurch forward, into the safe embrace and cold darkness of my apartment, an ice cold sweat running down my back. Taking the moment of uneasiness as a cue to scan my surroundings, I look around the dark room, recognizing the layout nigh instantaneously. I take a deep breath, exhaling as I stand up, getting off the couch and placing both feet onto the carpet. The sun hasn't come up yet, but that's fine. I'll sleep when I'm dead, anyhow.

Rubbing my eyes, I continue standing still, right in front of the couch for a few moments. Once my eyes adjust to a level where they can function in the darkness, I begin to walk toward the front door, across the main room. I walk with a slight limp, compliments of the match I had with Santos just the night prior. Walking closer to the front door, I turn into a small rectangular (although it could be a square, I'm not going to measure it) indent in the wall. Wrapping my fingers around the handle of the door located on the southern side of the indent and pushing it open, I step into the pitch black bathroom. Taking other deep breath, I turn on the light as my right foot crosses the threshold.

The bathroom is almost as claustrophobic as the pseudo-hallway wide enough to hold a bathtub, barely. The lack of windows make the only light available from the lightbulb placed on the ceiling. Yawning, I walk to the sink. I make sure the drain is blocked before turning the handle on the right, causing a stream of cold water to flow from the pipe. Quickly, the bowl of the sink fills up around halfway, and I turn the handle on the right back it's stop position, abruptly cutting off the stream. Pushing my hair back, out of my face, I dip my head under the water and hold it for a span of ten to twelve seconds, pulling it out when I start to run out of air.

Brushing the water off my face, I feel more awake already. I unblock the drain, and all the water quickly finds a place to go, leaving the bowl of the sink at an alarming rate. Reaching my hand back, but unsure of where the towel rack was, I turn around to find it, but I'm startled by the sight that awaits me.

Anna, standing in the doorway.

Apparently, she was just as startled as I, jumping back when we locked eyes. Awkwardly, I try to reach for a towel, but instead my hand only hits the wall and returns itself to my side. With a smirk, I try to play off the blunder nonchalantly. Yeah, she's definitely seeing through that one.

An ever so slight smile crosses her face as she shakes her head, jokingly dismissing my attempt at hiding my error. Reaching her hand to the towel rack, she tosses one of its contents to me, which I catch with one hand. Juvenile level hand eye coordination? I got that shit on lockdown.

"Jessie, we need to talk."

I look down at my wrist, to see that I am in fact not wearing a watch. Irrelevant; I think as Anna walks out of sight, presumably to the table in the main room. It is some time between sunset and sunrise, I know that much. Surely this is too late for such an important discussion.

Nevertheless, I take the towel and dry off my face, tossing it in the hamper as I limp out of the bathroom. Making sure to shut off the lights and close the door behind me, I turn to walk toward the table, to see just what Anna wanted to talk about.