Looking left then right, I walked out the door to see if anyone was there. No one is around.

“Do I touch it?” I asked myself. “It’s certainly something new, though on one hand it can’t get anymore ominous.”

A black glowing circle, no bigger than a paperweight. It’s small, small things are nearly always bad, I can recall a certain small cat that’s bad, I thought as I looked at it. The swirling line of white in the middle being it’s only redeemable feature.

“Hmm, more of an orb,” I said, noticing it wasn’t flat.

Jason snored between breaths. “Yeah, he’s out completely. No harm in trying I suppose.” I shrugged my shoulders and stretched my hand for it.

“Ah, this is a weird feeling…” I said, a tingle shocking the tips of my fingers as my hand wrapped around the black marble.

“Ugh!” Gripping the orb, the tingling shock transformed into an intense burning, increasing more and more as it traveled up my arm. “My hand, I-I can’t get it off!” I yelled. Grabbing my wrist with my other hand I yanked and pulled to get it off, to no effect my hand laid still attached tight around it.

“W-What is all this?” I said, my mouth gaping open as the orb expanded in size, like a lion eating its meal it swallowed up my hand.

“Aghhhh!!!” I screamed out as though mad and started seeing flashes of white in my vision. With its growth, came more pain.

Inching up my chest, I attempted to stop it with my free hand, “C’mon,” I said with clenched teeth, pushing it. What a mistake I’ve made, I thought, my hand now stuck in the deep black.

My sanity thinning, I yelled, “Sam! Sam, please help me!”

But, the eyeball I rely on didn’t show as I wanted it to. The black touched on my chin and I… Passed out before reaching my end.

.

.

Holding my knees, I spun around. There was darkness with my eyes closed and darkness with them open. Everywhere that’s where it was, no walls, no floors, nothing to see or feel.

“Ah, so I’m here again …Laughable that the cycle repeats.”

I grabbed my head as a voice bellowed from within, “…Look…”

“Look?” I asked, “Look at what?”

“Her… Your daughter.”

My daughter, I thought as images began revolving through my mind. A baby, a little girl appeared in the arms of a woman. The ends of her hair were dark red, if I could see her face I bet she would have rosy cheeks.

“She’s beautiful isn’t she, honey?” she asked.

A deep voice came from me. “She really is, such a little angel,” they said, and my view fogged up.

“Don’t cry,” she said and laughed, “you’ll make me cry too.”

Tears, huh.

“Alright,” the voice said and then the image turned black for a few moments before appearing on the woman’s face.

A lot of sweat, but there are those rosy cheeks.

“A name, we need to decide on a name for her, Alisha!” said the voice in excitement.

Alisha… This can’t be, Jason?

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Did you forget? We already decided on a name,” she replied.

“But, Rebecca doesn’t seem fitting for her.”

“Jason, we looked through so many books, I’m not doing it again.”

He let out a small groan and said, “Fine, Becky it is then.”

“What the hell kind of name is that?” She asked, her brow squinted together.

“A name she’ll grow to love,” he said, pride in his voice.

“I’m writing Rebecca down.”

“C’mon Alisha, she’ll love it, I promise.”

“No!” She yelled. “Look at what you’ve done to Eline and Sophine, my sister can’t even call them by their full names anymore.”

“That’s because they like them,” He said, crossing his arms. “Hmph, either way, I’ll call her Becky.”

Hearing a clank from behind, Jason turned around and there was a nurse with a crib.

“Excuse me, ma’am, do you mind?” She asked, holding her arms out.

“No, not at all,” Alisha replied.

The nurse took Becky, placing her in the crib and rolling her not so far away from Alisha. “You should get some rest, in the meantime we’ll keep a watch on her for you.

“That’s how it is,” She said to Jason. Putting her index finger over her lips and winking. “You mind sneaking me some food in though?”

“No problem,” he pounded his chest, “I’m on it.”

He turned, facing the door, nothing but black on the other side and walked through it. Time seemed to skip forward as Becky appeared again, but now she was a toddler.

Jason held his arms out to her. “Come on Becky, walk over to daddy,” He called out to her, to which she turned and coined a cute smile.

She struggled to force herself up, so he encouraged her. “You can do it! Go, go Becky, daddy is here.”

She bit her lower lip and squinted her brow and after much effort, she stood up. Jason smiling at her, clapped while yelling, “Yeahhh! That’s good Becky, now come over to daddy.”

She started slow. …Her first step after looking at her foot for a few moments. Her second after realizing this wasn’t as hard as she might have thought. Her third, to her fourth, to her fifth, and several more into her father’s arms.

Jason laughed and rubbed her head. “That’s my girl, like father like daughter." He ran to the kitchen and yelled, “Honey! You missed it, our baby walked!”

“What? Ugh, I can’t believe you let me miss it,” Alisha replied.

“But, you were cooking, I couldn’t let the food burn.” He gave his hair a soft ruffle as he scratched the back of his hair. Winking, he gave her a small apology.

“That does-,” she started, but was interrupted by a thud. “Ouch!” yelled Sophie.

“Here,” Jason said, handing Becky over to Alisha and dashing for the stairs. There Sophie lied on her side, her arm hanging on the bottom stair. “Sophie, What happened!?” He asked.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” She replied, but with the blood streaming down the side of her forehead, Jason must have doubted her.

“No, I’m taking you to the hospital.” He picked her up into his arms and made for the front door. As the door opened, it too held a black veil, making me unable to see beyond.

I don’t understand, why am I seeing all of this? I wondered as he stepped through the door.

Time skipped again, but this one confused me. In my sight was a brick wall, the bricks browning on the edges. Faded red paint lined the wall; shaped as though it were a large door.

“This is it Jason, someday I’ll have my life again. Thanks to this door and the one that will come from it,” Said a voice I’ve not heard so far.

“Really? How would you do that, Ollie?” A child-like voice asked.

“With the help of your family, of course.”

“Yay! I’d be happy to help you.”

“Thank you, Jason, your sacrifice will mean ple-,” the voice was interrupted by another.

“Jasooon!”

“Ah, looks like your grandma found you.” Then Jason turned to the voice, and there a transparent man wearing flamboyant clothes sat on a crate. “Bye Ollie, I’ll come back again,” Jason said, waving at him.

“Sure, kiddo, I’ll be here for a very, very long time.”

Then Jason looked at the top of the stairs that were beginning to fall apart, the door at the top swinging open.

“Jason, there you are,” Said a woman withered by time.

“Nana, you found me!”

She came down and nabbed him by the arm, forcing him up the stairway with her. “You know you’re not supposed to be down here, I shouldn’t have to warn you so many times.”

“But, nana, it’s fun to play in the basement.”

“I said no!” Once they made it up the stairs, she swung him around to face her and looked into his eyes, her gray eyes so resolute but rattling a fair much.

“Jason, a great monster is sealed under our house, you mustn’t take a chance and release it.”

“B-but.”

“No buts,” She said, then she sighed and held her forehead. “If you won’t listen to me, I guess I’ll have to seal it off.”

She embraced him in her arms, her chest blackening my vision. “I don’t want you to experience the same fate as your father…”

Within the dark a small light chipped away at it, until it burst forth. The image changed to that of the map, The present? Why am I seeing the present now? I thought, feeling somewhat dizzy at the same time.

Odd, I can feel something on my face, I moved a hand to feel it, drool?

I felt the sticky liquid between my thumb and index finger, “Hmm,” a deep voice moaned, “I-I’m able to move and feel things by my own will.” I touched my face and head. “This hair, I know it… Am I controlling Jason’s body?” I asked myself, my nerves shaken by this new epiphany.

That couldn’t have been Jason’s memories, I thought, shocked by what I saw.