Darkness swims through the streets in a tangled mess of inky blackness. Tendrils of shadow reach and curl, groping and probing the flickering remnants of brightness, impatiently waiting to swallow up the land the light is futilely defending. Underneath the lamps, crouched down and picking at their teeth, are the homeless, the starved animals that stare hollowly at the occasional passersby, hungrily waiting to pounce. They aren’t the true threat, however, rather, it’s the unseen figures, the strangers in the darkness that sit just out of sight, metal teeth gripped tightly in their palms as they stalk their prey. Monsters roam the streets at night, unafraid of the occasional patrol. In the day, security tightens, especially in the inner city, but at night, the beasts prowl unopposed.

With lumbering steps, Eli walks down the inner street. His expression is heavy, confusion and fear, hatred and self-loathing, dominant emotions drag his feet onwards, like a puppet being directed towards a cliff. He doesn’t bother hiding in the darkness. He doesn’t care if he gets targeted. He simply wishes to walk forward, to reach the end, to end it all. The voice in his head continues to whisper, to ridicule, to laugh, but Eli doesn’t listen. He remembers the night when this nightmare started. Back when he left his home. When he gave up on the present to pursue the future. It was a night very much like this one, a night of pain and grief. The only difference would be the direction. If the Eli of then was moving left, the Eli of now is moving right. Directly opposed. Heh, I was so excited… I couldn’t help but run, almost skipping down the street… How stupid…

He had lost everything that night. Robbed, beaten, discarded. He wasn’t even worthy enough to kill. Who wants some useless kid? His mom didn’t want him. She only wanted what he could provide. A better life. A better Tomorrow. There’s no meaning in a Tomorrow built on an impossibility. He would never have been able to provide his mother with such a life. He would never have wanted to. She’s dead anyways, so there’s no point in thinking about it any further. An unconfirmed death, but a certain one. As the sole provider of the family, ever since his father’s death, it was Eli that did everything he could to provide for his mom, to the extent that she became incapable of making her own food. Just from that point alone, her death is certain.

When the boy awakens from his contemplations, from the well of tar of unfettered resentment, he first hears the sound of rushing water. The blackness then enters his eyes, a dark wave of abyssal sludge, a force of darkness with no will, no fetters, no desire. It simply moves forward, rushing into the dark of the night. A single movement. A single purpose.

Looking at such a force, Eli can’t help but feel pathetic. He remembers his words from this morning, his declaration. He remembers the hope on the face of his beautiful companion, the determination and gratitude. Clutching his chest, the boy bends over. He feels… Incompetent. To go around saying such things, only to break on the very first obstacle. To lose himself to such an extent, for no purpose whatsoever. The urge to apologize, to tell his young companion that pursuing such a dream is impossible, dominates him. But he knows. He knows that at present, the girl is like him. A hopeless existence.

He pictures the girl before him. Her sad smile. Her empty eyes. He tattered apparel. He doesn't recognize such a face. For as long as he has known Audrey, she's been headstrong and confident. Undirected perhaps, but always self assured. She has a dream to return to the past, an impossible dream, but a dream that she ultimately believes in. How is that any different from Eli's own dream? He cannot see the girl's past. He cannot pry into her secrets. He has no idea what she might have done in the past for the sake of pursuing her dream. Whatever she's done, she obviously isn't weighed down by it. Why must I feel this way...? When I've already promised myself to accept my actions for what they are...?

In a sudden flash of self awareness, Eli feels doubt. Why am I acting like this? That doubt is immediately flooded with the memories of his past atrocities. Still, that doubt stays strong, like a jagged rock protruding from the center of a rushing river. I did what I did because I needed to do it! It was necessary! An urge to survive? The rearing of his tenacious spirit? Whatever the reason, the will inside him can’t allow him to jump into that rush of water, to drown without ever saying sorry or making up for his actions. To die now is to escape blame! I can’t give up, there’s too much to do!

The suppression subsides, the endlessly mocking voice quiets, as if waiting in anticipation for the conclusion of Eli’s inner will. I have no reason to kill myself! I made a promise, I did all of this to fulfill that promise! Dying now would make my promise meaningless! All of my past actions would have been meaningless...! The fervent urging of the young man, the desire to die is gradually replaced with the desire to finish what he started. I need to give Audrey her guitar back… At least that! If I do at least that, then I would have provided a future for her! I can only die after that… Once Audrey gets her guitar back, only then do I have the right to contemplate death…

It's a confusing, desperate attempt to rationalize and resolve. Whatever the case, he manages to convince himself at least partially. Just then, the voice that’s been quietly listening speaks up, mockery and venom dripping from his lips. You really are a coward huh?! Choosing to ignore the deaths of all those people? You know, if you ignore that, you’ll end up repeating your actions! You’ll turn into that heartless monster! Who knows, maybe you’ll never come back! He continues to rant. He words dig and stab into the deepest reaches of Eli's heart. Eli cannot allow his subconscious to consume him. This terrifying stranger has no place in this world. He cannot allow it to influence him.

Eli tries to push the words from his mind, feeling the corruption, the fear gnawing at his chest. He can’t bear to face such a reality. To consider such a future, where he’s nothing more than a devil in human skin, is to push himself over the edge. The chance of him ending himself on the spot simply to prevent the arrival of such a monster, is a very real possibility that he must avoid at all costs. So Eli ignores the voice, carefully dragging his feet away from the shore of the water, which he had approached without ever realizing.

You can’t ignore it Eli! That’s a part of you! You can’t give up on a power that has been with you since birth! You ultimately either face that part of you, or you die! There’s no other way!

“You’re wrong!”

Childishly. Brazenly. Eli rebukes the voice. There’s no way he’ll be able to face that monster, no way he’ll be able to survive that encounter. The only thing he can possibly do is move on, and continue down that path he’s set. He’ll use the power when he needs it, and he’ll suffer the consequences every time. It’s something he knows, an absolute truth he believes to be infallible. He can only accept it as a form of punishment.

So you’re saying you’ll happily become a monster, simply because you’re too afraid to face that part of yourself? Are you an idiot? What kind of dumbass sees that kind of future and gladly walks towards it?! Kill yourself now, why don’t you?! At least if you die now, the number of people getting caught in the aftershock will lessen! The next time you go off the rails, who knows how many people will die!

“There’s no saying people will die! I’ll just use it when I absolutely need it!”

Listen to yourself, Eli. Listen to me… Who do you think you’re trying to convince? It’s an obvious fact that you can’t control that part of you. The next time you use it, you’ll go on a rampage, enacting justice for the sake of a better “Tomorrow”, as you’re so fond of putting it. It’s a completely logical conclusion!

Logical. A completely logical conclusion. Those words, that sting with iciness and calmness, strike deep within Eli. He remembers when he followed such logical thinking. When he believed with absolute certainty that what he was doing was completely correct. The result of such a belief was the death of 57 living, breathing people.

Oh, c’mon Eli! Are you being serious? Are you really not going to listen to reason simply because you’re scared?! You have got to be kidding me?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! A hysterical reproach. Eli can barely understand the words, his mind a hazy mess of confusion that grows increasingly tumultuous by the second. It’s true, though. To follow absolute logic is to accept that monster, which, ultimately, Eli is unacceptable to accept. And so, before the voice can continue to berate him, he wakes up.

Snapping back to the fullest of his senses, Eli looks out at the rushing water. The black river filled with death and decay. He knows that ignoring an entire part of himself is beyond stupid, but the will to face that power is absurdly lacking. The most he can do is accept it.

“I… I can’t get caught up now… For the sake of mine and Audrey’s Tomorrow, I absolutely need to press on… There will be a lot of struggles in the future, but with her by my side, I’m confident that we can forge a better future…”

Uncertainty.

Fear.

Hopelessness.

Eli presses down such emotions, wiping away the heavy expression from his face, and plastering on a warm smile. He must move on. He cannot look back. For the sake of Tomorrow, he must keep running. His receding footsteps echo down the empty street. By the shore of the river, the wind whistles like a disappointed sigh.