Chương 26: Stuff of the nightmares

A/N: This chapter contains violence that some readers may find disturbing.

Simon sat up upright and adjusted his vision to the darkness. While sniffing about, he blinked many times.

["What is this noxious stench?"] His nose was squeezed, and his eyes darted around the cell.

["I'm sure there's a decaying corpse over here..."] Then he noticed something in the corner of the cell that appeared like a hand.

["Shit...It's not just a dead rat here."] As he stretched his foot to poke the hand, he grimaced at the odor it was releasing.

When he touched the hand, it smacked his foot, prompting him to quickly retrieve his leg.

"It's alive!" Simon gasped, then covered his mouth after realizing he had spoken it out. Simon crept a bit closer to the hand as it disappeared in the darkness of that nook. Like a cat exploring a woodland after nightfall, he made small steps and approached the corner that appeared darker than the rest of the cell, staring in curiosity.

He extended his leg once again to see if anybody or anything was there, but to his surprise, the same hand-pulled his leg firmly, almost causing him to slip into the blackness of the cell's edge. Simon attempted to shrug it off with his other foot, but another hand aggressively grabbed his other leg.

["This is the stuff of nightmares; it's drawing me deeper into the abyss! These awful hairy hands of a beast are leading me to another dimension! Tell my wife that I love her! Oh my my, that was hilarious...no, seriously, what the heck is going on here? "]Simon was baffled as he saw the hands vanish into thin air or perhaps thick darkness.

As he drew closer, he sighed and wondered if he was hallucinating or dreaming. Unexpectedly, someone leaped at him and tightly wrapped its arms around his neck.

"Ugh...Who the...devil?" Simon flinched at the unsightly appearance of what appeared to be a human and fiercely grasped its hands, his face pallid than a one-week-old cadaver. As he thrashed his legs about, he struggled to catch his breath.

"You little brat, I'm alive- Ahhhhh!!" Simon began bending and crushing his wrists and fingers. He was able to loosen the hairy person's grip, which he thought to be a man based on his voice and body, but he couldn't force him off since the weight differential was simply too large, limiting the amount of oxygen he could take.

"Why you-" The man massaged his fingers and was about to strike Simon until another man shoved him aside.

"Small boy, what's your name?" The second man knelt down and locked his gaze on Simon, who was breathing heavily and touching his neck.

["What? Was it true that there were two people in that spot? Better not tell me there are more."] Simon tried to talk, but he couldn't make a sound. He tried over and over till he could talk, but only in a hoarse voice.

"And why should I tell you that?" Simon stood up and lifted one of his brows. The guy got up and stood in front of Simon, towering over him. Simon rolled his eyes backward but didn't raise his head. The man chuckled slightly before bending down to match Simon's height.

Simon clenched his teeth as he felt inferior. He smiled suspiciously and waved his hands around. "Just curious who is our new cellmate~"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah~"

"Then blow yourself." With his chin, Simon gestured to the shadowy corner. The man twitched, but that was it; he beckoned the other man and, with his chin, pointed back at Simon. Simon drew his brows together and flashed his gaze between the two strange men.

"Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!" The man who tried to strangle him screamed in a high-pitched voice and lunged at him again, but this time he missed him as he quickly stepped to the side. Simon was no longer surprised when the other man just vanished. The man on the floor sprang to his feet and charged at Simon, pushing him into the wall and knocking the wind out of him.

["What's the matter with him? Does he have a resentment against my breath? Tsk, so annoying..."] Simon inhaled deeply and dipped under his arm, twisting it from underneath before pulling the same arm out of its socket. He then drew him towards him and struck him under his arm, landing a direct blow to the ribs.

The man withdrew a few steps back, clutching his side. Simon grinned slightly but his grin didn't reach his eyes as he sprinted towards him. The man was startled by Simon's abrupt motion and tripped on his feet, almost falling. He managed to straighten himself out but couldn't see Simon's feet inches away from his face until it landed o his face.

He crashed on the ground and a loud thud echoed in the dungeon startling the other inmates.

Simon approached the fellow holding his face and dragged him closer from his shirt, sat on him, and began punching him; each strike was more powerful than the last, and each blow caused his grin to fade away until there was no trace of enjoyment on his face. With a blank expression and vacant eyes, he continued his assault.

After a fit of coughing, the man spat blood and gave Simon a dreadful gaze, but Simon merely stared back and delivered his final blow, putting him out cold.

Simon stood up and took a long breath before settling down on the ground and staring at the gloomy corner.

He could see the other man's face, a hideous mask hovering in the darkness, looking malevolently back at him with a broad grin and beaming eyes. Simon scoffed at the man and shook his head as he looked through the bars of his cell. He rubbed his stinging eyes and gave another glance at the man before his eyelids grew heavier with each passing second and ultimately closed, transporting him to a nightmarish realm.

...

Simon gaped and peered about him, but there was nothing there. The longer he stared at the blackness, the heavier the atmosphere felt, dragging his shoulders down. Due to the immense pressure on his back, he knelt and struggled to breathe.

Blood dripped from his nose, rapidly forming a puddle of thick crimson liquid beneath his knees. Blood flowed down his chin and into the bloody pool, deepening its color. Simon became agitated and tried to move, but his attempts were futile; he felt his feet sinking deeper and his face cutting away, and his eyes trembled as he tried to make a sound.

Simon slowly raised his head to see a spitting image of himself standing in front of his eyes when a pair of pale feet emerged in front of him. Everything about him looked the same, except for one thing: his other self had an expression he had never made before in his life. Simon's hair sprang up on the back of his neck as he peered at his other face.

His brows were furrowed and his nose flared as he grinned till the corners of his lips reached his twitching eyes; it was the expression that his other self's face wore. Strange laughing noises emitted from his second persona as he clenched his jaw until Simon's ears were assaulted by loud cracking sounds. Small fragments of his teeth dropped into the red pool, followed by larger pieces until his teeth were crushed together.

Simon flinched as a loud cracking sound resonated in the vast darkness, causing him to stare at himself whose face was covered in blood and then at the shattered teeth all about him.

Simon raised his head to find his bloody self looking at him with his jaw dangling inches away from his face, blood poured from his mouth as his other self began laughing again. Simon tried to take a step back but couldn't because he couldn't move his legs. His alter ego cradled Simon's chin with one hand while stroking his unkempt hair with the other.

["What is this crackpot up to? I want to punch him in the face, but I can't move anything but my head and eyes! Damn it!"]

"Oh, please don't say that... it hurts my feelings..." His nails on his other persona got longer and penetrated his face.

"How did you...no- who are you?" Simon gnashed his teeth and regarded himself with disdain.

As more blood poured out of his mouth, he grinned at Simon. "I'm you." Simon twitched as soon as he heard that.

"You are me? What a joke, Hah. Also, keep your hands off of me." He wiped the dried blood under Simon's nose. Simon shook his head and frowned at his alter ego, who returned his look with smiley eyes.

"It's true." He got to his feet and turned around, his back to Simon. "You are me, and I am you. We make each other whole." With a huge gory smile, he turned back to face Simon.

"How exactly do we complete one another again?" Simon fixed his gaze on his newly healed teeth.

"Simon, you're asking the wrong question." He vanished without a trace after clicking his tongue. Simon took a quick look about him, but everything went white. He felt the pressure on his hands ease, but when he lifted them, his flesh began to decay, eventually exposing his bones. When he looked down, he noticed that his legs were going through the same process.

Suddenly, amid the endless emptiness, an ear-piercing scream reverberated, followed by a familiar voice. "We will meet again soon. Simon ph..." When Simon was brought back to reality, the voice was interrupted halfway through.

Simon was startled awake by an uncomfortable sensation, and as he slowly opened his light green eyes, he saw water gushing on him. While attempting to figure out what was going on, his face and shirt were drenched in water, causing him to shiver significantly.

["What the...ugh!"] Simon didn't have time to absorb the situation before another splash of freezing cold water greeted him. The water got into his nose and mouth, causing him to cough and indicating to whoever was tormenting him that he was awake.

"Oh, he's up and about, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. Take that away now."

Simon wiped his face and shifted his gaze to the folks in front of him. One was holding a bucket that he didn't identify, and the other was Jasper.

"So, Jas, what are we waiting for?" The black-haired boy who looked around Simon's age pressed his lips and glanced at Jasper.

"Put the pail down; this guy is wild." While approaching Simon, Jasper pointed to the bucket.

When the other observed Simon's inmate's condition, he tossed the bucket to the side and whistled making his dimples sink. "I suppose you're correct; yet, the fact that he hit you three times is persuasive. Despite the fact that you aren't particularly strong." When Jasper elbowed between his ribs, he snorted and immediately regretted it.

"Ash, be careful of what you say." He locked his gaze on Ashton, the googly-eyed youngster.

They bound his hands, then took him by the shoulders and lifted him to his feet, but he didn't fight back and merely gazed at his feet, much to their surprise.

They exchanged silent nods and swapped looks. Simon came to a halt and lifted his head as soon as they exited the dungeon. "Wait." He peered at them while he waited for them to come to a standstill.

"What?" Jasper inquired, a little cautiously.

"Can you tell me why and where you're taking me?" As he gazed at Ashton, Jasper's eyes widened and his brows furrowed.

"Well, to the viscount...to be executed..."

"Aha..." Simon murmured while nodding

As soon as Ashton saw Simon, he raised his brows and blinked several times, then looked at Jasper, who was equally perplexed and astonished. They began their bewildered walk towards the mansion, but Simon was smiling like it was the finest day of his life, and when they both observed his grin, they knew he was a gone case.

["They believe they can just execute me like that? You chuckleheads make me laugh!"] Simon laughed maniacally as he violently flung his head back.

"AAahahHHAAHhaHAhhAaahHa!!!"

"Jasper I'm scared..." Ashton made a grimace on his face, as if he wanted to cry but couldn't because his eyes were dry.

["These are the stuff of the nightmares...argh!!"] When Simon's hair flew directly into Jasper's eyes, he tightly squeezed them and wondered what this lunatic was up to within his mind.