Derek tried to straighten out his panicking thoughts.
Damn it! He thought, and it had been going so well too.
There was something wrong; the Demon was winning; the fact that he was hallucinating was being pushed further and further away.
Hallucinating, who’s hallucinating? The darkness seemed to say. I’m not; I’m right here and I’m not going away.
There was fear now. Fear, and humiliation, and pain. Derek waved his gun, but there was nowhere to aim; just darkness beating like a heart. Stupid boy! The darkness called, idiot child! There’s no gun in your hand.
Derek looked at his hand, and it was empty, and there was no hand; and no arm to put it on, and his legs were gone too, and there was nothing but the fear, and the pain, and the darkness, and it was laughing at him.
Derek collapsed; a meaningless being in an uncaring universe.
