Sloane woke up with a painful gasp. She grabbed her head and for the next following minutes after that, inhaled air like she had never before.

As the spots in the corner of her vision disappeared and she was left with nothing but a tight chest to remind her of the pain she went through, her mind gained clarity and she was able to stop and think.

What just happened?

Her time in that dark place was still so vivid in her mind that she could recall everything that happened, down to the seven benefits offered to her and which of them she took for herself.

But was it real?

Ignoring the strangely bright light coming from outside her window, Sloane picked up the flashlight next to her gun and pointed it at the spot where the shadow was killed.

It was still there. Definitely smaller than last time, but it was still there.

Sloane eyed it with severity before turning away, guess her dream had been real and now she had what? Better nerves?

The lingering pain in her arms and chest felt endless at the thought of the drawback and now that she was thinking about it, her body began to itch, especially her wrists.

A feeling of constriction wrapped around her head and began aching at her temples. Sloane nursed her head with her hand, it felt like it was going to explode- she closed her eyes tightly and let the tears fall.

When the pain subsided, Sloane was on the floor, eyes red and exhausted.

Guess that's what the drawback meant by enhancing her pain.

The lingering ache throbbing at her head was also a bit more pronounced.

But that wasn't proof though, was it? For all she knew that was just the side effect of the shadow creature.

Sloane scratched her wrists and winced.

Maybe she should have thought of her cuts when she picked the enhanced nerves in that lucid dream, because if it was truly real, she couldn't imagine what firing a gun right now would be like.

The resulting recoil will not be kind to her wrists, and Sloane could only hope that the creature outside her room is dying after she already shot it twice.

She removed her focus from the pain and turned it to the thing which had been bugging her ever since she woke up; why was there bright light shining down her windows?

Sloane pulled on the edges of the curtains and began lifting them up, the loud rain was still audible to her un-aided ears so the storm was obviously still there. This couldn't have been sunlight, what was going on?..

Sloane paused when she saw the sky. Or rather, the large, intercontinental wound that now marred it.

Wha-

How had the sky been?..

No, that- clearly she was still dreaming-

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Sloane jerked her gaze towards the door, someone was banging on it just now. Or something was banging on it rather, the voice that followed was something she chose not to trust, "Sloane? Are you there? Something weird is going on!"

She wouldn't have trusted the voice to begin with, seeing as she never trusted anyone in this neighborhood. Still, knowing that it didn't come from a human was unnerving. The acting, the concerned tone- it was simply perfect.

Panic, that was what the thing was perfectly imitating.

It also sounded eerily similar to a woman next door, in fact, it might have even copied it after killing her, did that mean the Callicians were now dead? What happened to everyone else? Would she soon follow?

If she dies, where would she go?..

Sloane grabbed her gun and pointed it at the door. She pulled the trigger and a loud screech erupted from the other side. It didn't sound human.

Sloane flinched when the thing started banging on the door hard enough to cause the walls to start shaking, all the while it just kept screeching like some kind of wounded animal. But animals didn't sound like that.

Sloane fired another shot, the banging stopped, everything stopped shaking, and then the creature went back to its previous act.

"S-Sloane?!" More panic, this time it was tinged with pain, whether it was genuine or not, Sloane didn't know, "you hurt me Sloane! I-I need help!"

The stammers were perfect and the ragged breathing that accompanied the words were pristinely tailored to the manipulative orchestra of the creature. It was a perfect, well crafted show.

Sloane didn't fall for it, after all, she wouldn't be able to hear anything without her hearing aids. She pointed the gun at the door.

But she only had one bullet left, what if she encounters something far more dangerous inside the house? She could kill the creature from her bed or...

... The creature was weakened, wasn't it? Could it even fight back? The shadow monster didn't seem to be able to after she shot it.

"Ahh-" Sloane quickly realized that attempting to talk, even in this situation, was simply pointless.

Sloane replaced the flashlight and revolver in her hands with a box cutter, she stepped out of bed and shakily held up the weapon.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She listened in, the creature's words were clear to her ears but...

... No answer. She gulped. Did the creature catch on? Or was it waiting for her outside in ambush?

Sloane placed a shaky hand on the door knob and tightened her grip on the box cutter. She twisted the lock open and with a yell, shoved the door outward.

She felt resistance, it only encouraged her to push even harder.

A dulled thump told her that the creature had crashed against the wall thanks to her efforts. Sloane let go of the door and used both her hands to hold the box cutter. This was the perfect time to kill it.

She ran out of the door and froze.

Why was she here?

N-no- this was a monster taking her flesh-

Sloane's heart raced at the thought.

Why did it only make things scarier? Now she was what? Capable of killing her? Harming her even more?

Where were the wounds?

"A-" Sloane froze, she knew what that sound was, it wasn't of pain, and it didn't come from her. "AHAHAAHAHAAH!"

Sloane quivered under the boisterous laughter, she flinched and curled into herself when a glare was directed at her, "you bitch!"

No- no- this was fake-

Adriana stood up and pushed a strand of golden hair behind her ear, she raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her cocked hips, the madness she was showing moments prior disappearing and turning into arrogance, "who the fuck do you think you are?"

She smirked, the simple change in expression made Sloane take a step back, "a cripple." Sloane whimpered and- and pointed her box cutter at the girl, "really thinks that she can stand up and fight?"

Adriana stepped forward, Sloane opened her mouth in warning, to say something, to tell her to take a step back. She knew it never worked- why is she even-

"Mute."

Sloane's world fell apart and she froze.

Adriana stepped forward and reached out to grab Sloane's face, she could do nothing but stand there, frozen. Her hand moved on its own then, swinging her box cutter in warning, it made... Adriana pause?

Clarity came and Sloane stared at the creature. This was a monster, and the worse part? It was probably less sadistic than the person it's disguised as.

If this was the real deal, she would have pulled on Sloane's hair by now and slammed her head on the wall.

"Fuck off," the creature disguised as the last person Sloane wanted to see right now got its confidence back and scoffed at her, "do you really think your crippled ass-"

With a cry that sounded more pained than angry, Sloane ran for the creature and tackled it to the ground, she stabbed its chest before it could react- before Sloane herself could react.

The creature began flailing, its fingers going from regular, smooth human flesh to sharp claws that left gashes across Sloane's body.

The pain only made Sloane react more violently and she quickly pulled out the box cutter from its chest and plunged it into the creature's head, it screeched, Sloane cried out in response and the two of them began attacking each other in tandem.

Sloane repeatedly stabbed at the creature's head until it was nothing more than a bloody mess.

Breathing heavily, Sloane got up and stared at herself, her right arm had a massive gash running down from her shoulder to the center of her forearm while her chest and stomach had shallow wounds letting out enough blood to dye the bottom of her shirt red.

She forced her shaking legs to get up and stumbled back into her room.

She didn't stop glaring at the pair of bloodshot eyes staring at her from the darkness until the door was locked behind her.

She slumped against the wooden surface of the door-

Sloane winced when pain erupted from her wounds and with gritted teeth, she fumbled her way into the bathroom where she began cleaning herself.

The biting pain from the alcohol-soaked cotton ball she was rubbing on her wounds kept her dizzying thoughts away, clearing her head for long enough to fully sanitize her wounds and wrap bandages around them.

When she was done, Sloane's weakened body fell limp and the only thing preventing her from falling to the floor head first was her quick reaction. She managed to grab the edges of the sink just in time and keep herself steady.

Slowly, she let herself fall to the ground until she was sitting in a hunched position, her forehead was pressed against the cabinet at the bottom of the sink.

With a breathless cry, Sloane began weeping.