“Ahh!” Diane woke up with a start, quickly sitting up and looking around. The room around her was dark, but she could still see around her mostly due to the low moonlight coming from the window. A quick glance at the alarm clock on the table telling the time at 2:32. The only noise coming from her own quickened breath. She let out a sigh before falling back down onto her bed. A hand moving up her chest before resting on her heart, feeling the quickened pace. Only after it started to slow down could Diane notice the faint sound of the tv coming from outside her door. She wiped away a little sweat that was on her forehead and got out of bed. The girl slowly opened the door, letting a small creek escape the hinges. She looked down the hall, carefully walking down its length approaching the living room. She peaks her head around the corner hearing a level of obnoxious snoring only possible from her father. Diane let out a sigh as she slumped up against the wall, sliding down till she was sitting. What was that dream about? The thing said that she didn’t make him up, but could that be right? She couldn’t remember ever seeing something like him before, so she had to have made him up, right?

  “Ugh, I need a walk.” She needed to get out of the house and get some air, her thoughts were all tied up and confused. With a small grunt, Diane stood up and walked back over to her boots, putting them on. Her room wasn’t very big, and almost just as empty. The walls were a standard plain white, a twin bed pushed up against the corner with a small desk sitting next to it and a small chair pushed neatly under it. On the desk was a small lamp, her book, some papers and her phone which she grabbed. On the other end of the small room was a small dresser under a window. She approached the dresser while zipping up her thin jacket, stepping on top of it. Her hands moved to the window, undoing the lock before pulling the window open. A cool breeze blew into the room, causing a slight shiver to run down Diane's back. She didn’t mind the cold, instead thinking it was kind of refreshing. She stepped up to the window sill and hopped outside. She quickly closed the window, leaving a small crack so she could get back inside later.

  It wasn’t the first time Diane had snuck out through the window, she frequently needed some space from her father and the park was a nice secluded space to go be alone. Her footsteps echoed out through the street, the only other noise beside the sound of crickets chirping and an owl's hoot. Being alone like this was different from when she was in the void of her dream, feeling the emptiness all around her as all she could see was black nothingness. Now, when she looked around her vision was met with the world around her, and looking up at the stars shining in space. Even the darkness of the sky was a different feeling than the void. The feeling of being alone in her dream was empty, maybe that was why she didn’t want the thing to leave? Thinking back to the dark figure that spoke to her made her mind race. What was he? Why had she dreamt of that thing, why couldn’t she forget about him?

  “Ugh..” she smacked her cheeks lightly, trying to get the stupid dream out of her head. Looking around she quickly noticed that she wasn't far from the park, the exit of the neighborhood already behind her. She was glad that she lived so close to school and the park, because she knew her father wouldn’t have given her a ride. She pulled out her phone and checked the time, seeing 2:45. The girl then noticed that she had ten missed messages from Hannah. Dang, that girl was persistent. Diane was glad that the two person family plan was cheaper than the one person otherwise there would be no way that Diane would even have a phone with service. She let out a sigh and checked the messages.

  “Diaaane”

  “Pleaaase!!!”

  “Just give people a chance, you’ll have fun!”

  “:( :(“

  “Stop ignoring me!!”

  “>:(“

  “(T^T)”

  “Oh you’re probably asleep.”

  “Stop going to bed so early!!!”

  “And come to my party!”

  “But people suuuck”

  Diane replied to her friend and she waited around for a reply for a few minutes but nothing came. With a soft chuckle she continued on her walk. The park was visible, so she quickened her pace.

  She arrived before the lone street lamp in the center of the park and next to a bench. She sat down on the cold bench and let out a long breath. The sound of crickets surrounding her as her feet crunched on the snow surrounding the benches base.

  “This is nice.” she said to no one, relaxing in the cool night air. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, just relaxing in her solitude. It wasn’t long before she was interrupted, a drop of something cold and wet falling onto her nose. She looked up, seeing that it had begun to snow softly. Diane smiled, it was always nice when it snowed, very pretty and relaxing. She stood up and stretched her arms, feeling the wind start to pick up. She looked around one last time at the quiet park, snow falling around her before turning and quickly walking back to her house. She didn’t notice how the shadows under the bench almost darkened as she stood up to leave.

  The snow had slowly begun to fall heavier, covering the tracks that Diane had left on the sidewalk. She walked around the side of her house, coming up to her window. She pushed it open and climbed up into the house. The window was only about five feet off the ground, so it wasn't that hard to climb up. She pulled her legs in, and sitting on the window sill she took off her boots and tossed them inside. She then slowly set her feet on to the dresser and closed the window all the way. After stepping down onto the floor, she walked up to the door and cracked it open. She pokes her head out, hearing the sound of snoring. She closes the door slowly, trying not to make a lot of noise. She steps back, and looks at her bed. Should she go back to sleep she wondered, thinking back on the dream. Throwing a glance at the clock Diane could see the time was 3:14, and she needed sleep for school in the morning. With a shrug she took off her jacket and crawled back under the covers. Turning off the lamp and returning the room to darkness, she closed her eyes to get some rest.

  The loud alarm sounds through the room, waking the sleeping girl. Diane rolls

  away from the noise, wrapping a pillow around her head. The alarm, despite being ignored, continued to be loud. She hadn’t had another dream, but she still felt tired.

  “Uuuggghhh….” Diane groaned out, letting the pillow fall off her head as she reached to silence the alarm. She pressed down the ‘stop’ button and sat up with a yawn, stretching out her arms. The sun shone through the window, hitting Diane In the face as she looked over at it. She rubbed her eyes and moved the blanket off, realizing that she slept in her clothes from yesterday. She shrugged and stepped onto the floor to get ready for the day.

  Diane stepped out into the hallway, looking towards the living room. Thankfully the tv was off so her dad probably already left for ‘work’, so at least she wouldn’t have to deal with his terrible attitude in the morning. It was hard to tell if he was worse in the morning or afternoon. He probably just sucks at all times. She lets out a small chuckle as she opens the door to the bathroom, looking towards the mirror.

  “Oh jeez.” She looked terrible. The dark rings under her dark blue eyes were ever growing, very visible against her pale skin. Her black short hair was a mess, strands of hair sticking out at all angles. She reached over and grabbed a brush, and began the process of undoing the mess of tangles that was on her head.

  “Frick frick frick frick frick.” Diane was not having a good day. After getting ready for her day, and taking probably way too long, she left for school. She was already going to be a bit late, but if she hurried it would only be by a few minutes. After locking the door and walking for only a few minutes, a dog ran out from some bushes a few yards ahead of her and started growling at her. It was a large black dog, with short fur showing off its unusually fit physique, and teeth that were unusually white. Diane didn’t have long to really think about it as it began to chase her. Diane had to turn around and start sprinting as fast as she could to stay out of its reach. Houses fled past her vision as she ran, the dog chasing her. Its barks almost drowned out by the wind racing past her ears. She turned into an alley behind some houses to try and lose the dog, only to be greeted by a dead end.

  “FRICK!” Diane quickly looked around the blocked pathway. Garbage cans, old boxes and chunks of wood littered the alley, a tall fence blocking her safety, too tall to climb over in time. The barking was getting closer and Diane was running out of time. She quickly ran behind some boxes and crouched down to hide, picking up a piece of wood like a club. She was shaking, but she held onto the club so hard her knuckles turned white. The barking got closer, until it was right outside the alley. Diane couldn’t see the dog, but could tell it was close. The dog stopped barking as it slowly walked down the alley. It sniffed the air, before it growled and let out one last bark as it jumped. Diane closed her eyes and tensed up, holding the club close for protection in fear of what was going to happen.

  But nothing did. Diane opened her eyes and didn’t see a dog. She couldn’t hear anything either, so she slowly crept out from cover. A loud crash echoed through the alley.

  “AAH!” Diane jumped back in surprise, swinging the club out in a wide ark. After a few more minutes of silence Diane looked out from behind the box. The alley looked the same, except for a trash can that had fallen over. “Oh.” Diane lets out a little chuckle. It was only a trash can, that's what made the crash, but where was the dog? Diane looked around but couldn’t find any trace of it. She tossed the club she had to the side and picked up the trash can, setting it up right. He grabbed the handle to the lid and opened the can, black smoke pouring out of the opening. Diane started to cough as the smoke went into her face, and she put the lid in front of her like a shield as she stepped back, coughing. The smoke slowly faded away and Diane stopped coughing. She approached the trash can again to see what was inside, and was surprised.

  The can was empty except for a small roll of money and a large, white tooth. Diane reached down into the can and retrieved the items. The tooth was about two inches long, ended in a sharp point, and was the same bright white the dog had. She put it into her pocket and unrolled the money. It was a roll of fifty dollars in fives held by a rubber band. Diane looked around as she contemplated taking the money. She had no idea why somebody would leave a tooth and some money in a trash can, it was strange. Nobody was around, so she pocketed the roll.

  As Diane began to leave, she heard her phone buzz. The girl pulled out her phone to see what it was, and saw an interesting notification. Right above a few missed texts from Hannah asking where Diane was, was a purple bubble, written in fancy white texts. It read [YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN! WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE?] followed by two buttons with [yes] and [no]. Diane pushed the [no] button and the bubble disappeared. She returned the phone to her pocket and ran out of the alley to school despite being incredibly late.

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  “And if we use the answer in our problem and replace x, we can find the length of side b.” Mr. Davis said to the class as he scribbled some more notes on the whiteboard in front of him. The students behind him copy whatever he writes as they go over some answers from the assignment for the day. Mr. Davis was a tall, well built man that you wouldn’t expect from a math teacher. His hair was short and black, with a short beard to match. He pushed up a pair of glasses that rested on his face as he continued to work out the equation. The door opened and the teacher paused writing to look over. Standing in the door was Diane, looking slightly disheveled. Her short black hair, while usually messy, was less uniform than it was usually. She looked slightly winded like she had been running, and part of her jacket had slipped off her shoulder.

  “Sorry I’m late.” said the girl as she handed a tardy slip to the teacher. Mr. Davis took the slip and read the note under ‘reason for tardiness’ and was surprised.

  “Chased by dog?” Mr. Davis looked up from the note and stared at Diane as she took her seat. Diane just shrugged as she got out a notebook.

  “It was a big dog.” Was all she said, earning a few weird looks and a few chuckles from her classmates before they returned to their work.

  “Alright then,” Mr. Davis places a worksheet on Diane's desk and he turns back to the white board. “We are working on question five now.” he says as he begins his lesson once again.

  The rest of the day wasn’t eventful. School went by as it always did, a long stretch of time with varying levels of boredom and engagement. A few people asked Diane about the dog, but she didn’t really have much to say. She showed a few people the tooth she found, but it wasn’t that interesting. The day went by and eventually the day ended. Diane was walking down the hall, and was once again stopped by Hannah.

  “Diane!” Hannah called out as she almost sprinted down the hall. Diane sighed and just leaned against the wall, looking over at her friend.

  “Hey Hannah.” The tired girl said as Hannah came to a stop.

  “Diane, why don’t you want to come to my party?” Hannah looked down at Diane with a sad look.

  “I just don’t like going to parties and stuff.” Diane felt a bit bad at how Hannah was looking at her, she wasn’t trying to hurt the redheads' feelings. Diane just didn’t like going to places with a lot of people, especially loud places.

  “Do you not like it because you don’t like me?” Hannah asked, her voice starting to waver as her eyes began to water.

  “Of course I like you!” Diane said quickly, looking around to see if anyone was watching. A few people were staring, but there weren't many. Hannah continued to look down at Diane with a sad expression.

  “Then why don’t you ever go places with me?” Diane looked to the side to avoid eye contact. She felt bad making Hannah sad, and just going wouldn’t hurt… Diane sighed and looked back to her friend.

  “Alright, I’ll go.”

  “What? Really?” Hannah asked, surprised.

  “Yah. I’ll go, can’t be too bad, right?” Diane gave a small smile to her friend. She didn’t really want to go, parties always made Diane feel uncomfortable. But making Hannah upset wasn’t worth the discomfort.

  “Thank you!” Hannah, on the other hand, was very happy. The redheaded girl changed her disposition almost immediately. A happy, bright smile replaced the frown that she had worn as Hannah wrapped Diane in a hug.

  “Oh, okay. We’re hugging now.” Diane was starting to regret her decision as a light blush spread across her face.

  “You are going to have so much fun!” Hannah declared, almost like she was stating a fact.

  “Yaay..” Diane had to stay strong, and hopefully if she went to the party then Hannah would never ask again! Being filled with resolve, Diane awkwardly hugs Hannah back with a little pat on the redheads back.

  As Diane was walking home, her phone buzzed. Thinking Hannah was texting her, she pulled out the phone and looked at its screen. She was confused as all that was on the screen was a familiar purple bubble with white text. [YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN! IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU CONTINUE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO?] with those same buttons. Diane was a little annoyed, but didn’t think much of it as she dismissed the notification and continued her walk through the park, as it once again started to snow.

  The front door was open. This was a little worrying, but the fear of a break in wasn’t what worried Diane. Opening the door a few more inches so she could look inside, and her fear was confirmed. Sitting on the chair was her father. Drinking and shouting at the tv every time the football team he was rooting for didn’t score. Diane just sighed as she opened the door and stepped inside. Her father didn’t even look up from the match as he became unpleasant.

  “You’re late. Hurry up and go and make me a sandwich.” He half shouted at her. Diane just quickly walked to the kitchen and tried to make something as quickly as possible. As she reached for the bread, Diane noticed that only two pieces were left, and one was an end piece. Great, he wouldn’t like that. She just sighed and put together the meal on a plate with another beer. Her father wouldn’t like it, but there wasn’t much the girl could do. Diane picked up the plate and brought it to the drunk, and again, without looking up he grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. After chewing for a few seconds, Diane's father actually looked at what he was eating.

  “Are you serious with this?” He asks Diane, glaring at her.

  “That’s all the bread we had left.” She defended.

  “Are you talking back to me? I can’t believe thi-” He was interrupted as the announcer for the match started to cheer as the team Diane's father was cheering for did something that got them a bunch of points and put them in the lead. Her father gasped and looked between the television and Diane before he glared at the girl. His face visibly got red in anger as he fumed. Before Diane could do anything, her father raised a hand and slapped her across the face.

  “AAH!” Diane stepped back as she clutched her face, her skin hot with pain.

  “And now I missed it! I can’t believe you, freaking worthless! Go to your room.” He yelled, sitting back down and grumbling as he ate the rest of the sandwich. Diane shakily walked into her room, just tossing her stuff and shedding her clothes onto the floor as she crawled under the covers where she cried until sleep eventually took her.

  Diane was crying, curled up into a ball. She slowly sat up, and looked around. She was back in a void of darkness that stretched far into the distance.

  “W-what?” She looked around again in confusion, wiping away the tears on her face before she looked back down at herself. She was fully dressed, even though she had just taken off most of her clothes. As she looked down, her hand rested against the floor. She hasn’t actually touched the void yet, but it had a solid floor. The floor of the void had an almost glassy feel, smooth with no noticeable imperfections. While it was interesting, she was still confused.

  And her confusion only grew when she noticed a familiar weight in her pocket. Diane moved her hand to investigate, finding the tooth and money she had gotten from the alley. She left the money and just pulled out the tooth. It glowed slightly in the darkness, the almost bleached white contrasting against the black of her surroundings. She returned the tooth before she felt a familiar buzz in her other pocket.

  Diane pulled out her phone and turned on its screen, slightly confused. The entire screen was purple, and written in fancy, white letters was a message.

  Diane pressed no and put away her phone. She was so busy being annoyed by the ad that seemed to follow her, even into her dreams, that she didn’t even notice the dark smoke that started to surround the girl.

  “You’re back.” Said the voice in the smoke, surprising Diane, who jumped a bit.

  “AH!” She placed a hand on her chest for a second so she could catch her breath and calm her heart. “Dude! You scared me!” Diane stared into the smoke where she heard the voice. There was no response for a few seconds, before a confused voice replied.

  “You were scared? It didn’t feel like fear. Why aren’t you still scared?” Diane chuckled a bit at the response.

  “I mean you startled me a bit.” She exclaimed, looking around the smoke for the figure.

  “That is strange. Being both scared, and yet not.” Diane shrugged a bit in amusement as she stood up and stepped closer to the smoke. It moved out of her way and just moved behind her. She didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable in the void. Even though she was so scared of the thing in the smoke, he felt strangely familiar. Maybe she just felt better being here than back home with…

  “What happened?” It asked suddenly, shaking the girl from her thoughts.

  “W-what?” Diane asked, confused.

  “Your cheek. What happened.” It asked again, sounding concerned.

  “Nothing happened…” Diane looked down at her feet to avoid the question. Suddenly, the smoke moved closer. It had held around a foot distance from Diane up until this point, but the smoke moved closer to be in front of her, and from the smoke peaked a familiar face of white bone, with sharp fanged teeth along the bottom. Diane took a step back out of instinct as the hollow eye sockets looked at her. Again, she could feel the emotions behind the gaze. It was anger, but it wasn’t directed at Diane, which was a pleasant change from her…

  “Oh. Oh. I see.” The figure spoke suddenly, a tone scarily calm compared to the previous intensity of its gaze, interrupting her thoughts as the skull began to retreat back into the smoke.

  “W-what do you see?” Diane asked, a bit concerned about what the figure thought.

  “Don’t worry, everything will be fine soon. I think I'm going somewhere else. Interesting, it’s been a while since i’ve been somewhere. Well, other than with you. Hmmm..” A hand reaches out from the darkness, made of that same shiny onyx skin of the figure. His right hand is held up, a bit further away from Diane’s face, and additionally, the bruise across the left of her face. Diane looks at the figure's face… skull? Was that it’s face? Whatever, Diane looked to where it’s face would be and nodded reassuringly. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt really comfortable with the figure in the smoke. She wasn’t sure how she felt, safe? Maybe? Diane felt safe with him, so she leaned her face into his hand. His hand almost seemed to freeze for a moment, but he gently cupped his hand against her skin. It stung a bit, the contact against her skin, but it was comforting. Strangely enough, his skin felt so much like the floor of the void. It felt like glass, but unlike the floor, still soft like flesh. His thumb rubbed up along her face and he let out a concerned hum.

  “Could you take a deep breath for me?” Diane raised an eyebrow in confusion, but did as she was asked and took a deep breath. Smoke rushed to her face as she took a deep breath and she inhaled the dark smoke. She stepped back and coughed in surprise, expecting the smoke to irritate her lungs or for it to choke her as she breathed it in, but nothing happened. The smoke almost soothed her throat as she breathed in. The girl looked up to the figure's hand, which had retreated back slightly, pulled back as if to give Diane space. Her gaze returned to where she estimated his face would be, confusion evident on her face.

  “Ah, sorry. I should have warned you. I thought the pain might be a bit uncomfortable. And its appearance might be, too.” The figure sounded, embarrassed? Diane raised a hand to her face, and sure enough, the touch didn’t sting.

  “You can do that?” Diane asked, still a bit confused. There was a moment of silence as the figure's hand retreated into the smoke.

  “I suppose I can,” the figure said finally, after a moment. “Why don’t you wake up now? There is something I have to do.” Diane wanted to protest, but her vision started to fade and everything went black. And then, there was a terrified scream.