A/N I'm really sorry about the short chapter. My mental health imploded on itself and this was all I could manage. I promise I will come back next week having better planned out my schedule so that I won't be so stressed and I will be able to upload a well-written, full-length chapter. For now, take the scraps of my sanity mixed with the tears I shed while sobbing while I wrote this during my chorus class (I'm doing better now, don't worry).

Tobi's journal:

It was the cold that caused me to force my eyes open to finally face the horrors that awaited me that night. It was a nipping cold. Enough to be uncomfortable.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes, letting them adjust to the light before taking in my surroundings.

This dream was new.

A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling. It illuminated the entire room. Except for the corners. I decided it was best not to look directly into them. The light was obnoxiously bright and the room was small, making for a poor pairing.

I sat on a bed at the far end of the room.

A green door on the wall opposite. The only method of ingress or egress. It was most likely locked.

The walls, ceiling, and floor of the room were a white concrete. Cracked in several places.

The only piece of furniture besides the bed was a small brown desk.

I glanced around the room suspiciously. This dream was certainly odd. No blood— my own or otherwise. No morbid instructions from an unknown source. No punishments. No voice. Just the room. Silent, apart from my breathing and the buzzing of the lightbulb.

The light flickered.

"Wonderful," I muttered.

A chill went up my spine as I felt a presence behind me. I whipped around, surprised to find I was alone. The bed was pushed against the wall. It wasn't possible for someone to be there.

Something however...

The lightbulb flickered once again.

I stood from the bed and walked to the small wooden desk, hoping to find something within the drawer. Nothing.

This dream, I decided, was a special kind of torture. Truthfully, it was the wait and not the event that scared me. I was on edge, paranoid.

I explored the small room further. I kept expecting to find a body, a hidden door leading to horrors. There was nothing.

The paranoia began to set in. I felt as though I was being watched. Eyes from unknown sources burned into me from all angles. There was something behind me at all times. No matter how fast I turned. There was nothing there but a feeling.

I'm having a normal dream for once, I thought. I didn't believe myself.

I ran my hands along the walls, searching for secrets. I found only rough concrete.

The door appeared to be the only option.

I approached it slowly, half expecting it to open and swallow me into a void.

It didn't.

Hesitantly, I reached out to the doorknob and turned it. Locked. As I expected.

What is the point of this dream? I wondered. To keep me locked in this room until I go insane and kill myself?

Deciding the dream was pointless, I attempted to wake myself.

I could not.

I sat down on the floor, more confused than on edge.

The shadows at the foot of the door moved and twisted. Curiously, I moved closer, trying to peer under the door. My eyes were met with darkness.

I noticed a keyhole. I had no key. I pressed my face to the chipping green paint of the door and looked through the keyhole. More darkness.

As I was about to pull away, two glowing blue eyes flashed from amidst the void.

My heart leapt into my throat and I scrambled backwards, away from the door.

The light flickered.

Perhaps, if I ignore the problem, it will go away.

The light flickered once more.

Perhaps it will stay on that side of the door. That is the dream. Locked in the room, stalled from outside.

Flicker.

Distance from the door is safety.

I climbed onto the bed and pressed my back against the concrete wall.

The light strobed violently.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Curled in on myself. Prayed. Prayed that I would not have to face whatever awaited me outside the door.

The bulb popped.

The room was engulfed in total darkness. I couldn't not see anything. It was completely silent. My breaths were rapid and shallow. My heart pounded. Something shifted within the room.

I craned my neck to see the two glowing eyes, staring down at me from the ceiling.

They say every face you see in your dreams, you've seen in the waking world. But I would have remembered this face. It's possible that rule only applies to humans.

This— whatever it was— was not that.

Its eyes illuminated part of its face. A cheshire grin stretched too far. Sharp teeth bared, dripping with a black saliva-like substance. It dropped onto my face. I didn't dare move.

As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I took in more of the creature's appearance.

It was tall. It only fit in the room if it hunched over slightly. Long, dark hair framed its face. A necklace with large, circular beads that resembled eyes hung from its neck. It dressed sharply in a striped suit, accompanied by a large hat of the same color that cast the top half of its face in dark shadows. The light from its eyes glinted off a red jewel in the center of its forehead.

I stared up in horror into its eyes— the same color as mine.

I opened my mouth to speak. To ask it what it was. What it wanted. What it was going to do to me. My voice would not work. I gaped at it for a minute before snapping my mouth shut.

I was pressed against the wall as far as physics would allow.

The figure drew closer, not dropping its grin for an instant. I flinched as more of the black substance dropped onto my face. Slowly, its maw parted as it came nearer.

I woke up.

Screaming.

A/N Happy Wednesday, everyone! Hope you're having a lovely week. Happy early Easter to those who celebrate it! Chapter title from "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy. I'm literally obsessed with the lyric "Burn everything you love then burn the ashes" from this song.