Its Name Is Nightmare

A string of black smoke poured out of the being's eyes, mouth, and ears, forming halos around its head. With his bloodied medical gown and a face drowning in ecstasy, it was evident that the man in question was not the doctor. Its appearance was a mirror to Cedric's, sure, but his demeanor and aura were far too different. Unlike the others there that seemed like they were pulled directly from his memories, Cedric's doppelganger had a conscience.

It roared in laughter as he gazed at the doctor's widened eyes. The being laughed, its teeth grinding and its jaw shaking from side to side. Contrary to how Cedric always stood, a posture of pride and elegance, the being in front of him had drooping shoulders and bent legs . . . as if a toddler who was only learning how to stand in two feet.

Tucking its hand together, the being tilted its head, flashing his blackened teeth " "Well, aren't I handsome?" A grin as wide as the crescent moon, yet as dark as the abyss that surrounded it appeared out of the doppelganger's thin lips. Its face lost shape, breaking, diminishing.

Cedric roared in protest, "Y-you . . . you're just a figment of my imagination." Although muffled, his voice remained audible.

"That, I am," the being said. "Among other things."

"What do you mean?" Cedric tried to step back to no avail. He couldn't shield his face, nor cover his eyes. His body was as fixed as his surroundings, as though they were all gargoyles sitting under the sun. He was kneeling on the pavement like his knees were glued onto it, but he could not feel the minute tingling of the contact between his pants and legs. Everything was numb.

Replying to the doctor, the being raised his foot, "I am you, and your anger, and your regrets." It took a step. "But most importantly, I am also the anger and the regrets of your friend right there." Its almost-twisted finger flexed open to point at Stiller. "And not only him, but everyone around here; everyone in this world and the world beyond."

Cedric did not talk back, fearing that entertaining his delusions would pull him further into madness. He merely stared at it, observing . . . much to the being's annoyance. The creature glared back with twice the intensity, disrespected by Cedric's silence. At that moment, he never expected to see his own face contort as it did; it was though the being itself was a calm lake, and Cedric was witnessing his own reflection.

Their long, tense eye contact remained unbroken for a few minutes, all until his doppelganger broke out in a rageful fury. It sent Cedric's heart beating so fast that adrenaline practically replaced all of his blood.

"Useless! Useless!" it roared. "You're supposed to be the final key, oh Cedric!" It stomped on the ground, first battering the floor, then proceeding to grind his boot against everyone he saw. Like a child on a tantrum, it pulled Stiller by the collar before slamming him against the pavement. "Rage. Rage. This is what you feel, right, Cedric?'

With every kick against the boy's cheeks, Cedric winced. He was a pin cushion getting stabbed by a needle every time Stiller's head bounced off the floor only to be smacked again. Bones cracked as the pungent odor of blood oozed into the air, but not a note of sound came out of Stiller. The demonic being was beating up a senseless mannequin . . . It was not him, Cedric reminded himself. It was not his Stiller.

And yet, no amount of denial could hold the doctor off. Mustering all the strength of his darkest, most vile emotion, he yelled.

"Stop!" With his cry, he broke out of the invisible constraints that bound him. He rushed to Stiller's side, his instincts kicking in, and immediately started CPR. What was in his hands seemed like a fleshy fruit churned to a pulp by a pestle. However, in spite of every bruise that swelled out of his face, Stiller showed no pain in his eyes. Then, it clicked. Of course, it didn't.

It was not real. It was his Stiller. The doctor put the boy down, then rose from the floor. He whisked the blood off his palms as his face hung low, tears coursing down his chiseled face. "What do you want?"

"Still don't get it, huh?" the being retorted before lifting its slender arms to wave into the air. With the motion of its hands, the boy rose off of the ground, its bruises fading. It did not take long before Stiller returned to where he once was as everything was set back into place. Even the puddle of crimson liquid that once stained the ground dissipated, along with any traces of the being's sudden outrage. The smirked, aware that what he did intrigued the curious doctor. "It's not about what I want; it's about what you want," he said.

"W-what I want?"

Cedric's doppelganger flicked its finger, and with it, the police turned their aim against each other, as though they were puppets under the being's control. The doctor's eyes gaped in shock.

"I can give you the life you want . . . the life you deserve," it said before making the officers drop their weapons.

"W-why?" The doctor shook his head. "This is what I deserve."

"Oh, throw that pity act down the gutter! We both know that is not what you think, Cedric."

The doctor clutched his hair, stepping back. "You don't know what I think, what I want!"

"I can see your soul like I can see your face, Cedric." It shifted closer to the doctor, slowly reaching toward him. Its hungry eyes dilated. "You were a man of honor and wisdom, and it was all taken from you because of one mistake. A mistake led you to make more of them, and here you are now, feeding off the same garbage you were throwing years ago."

"Y-you . . . you don't know me, and I don't know you."

"Aha, of course. Well, let me introduce myself.." The being extended its arm. "Call me, uhh," it paused as it thought of a name.

But before he could think of one, Cedric interrupted. "Nightmare. That's what you are; you're just a nightmare. A vision in my head that torments me."

The being chuckled. "Nightmare has a nice ring to it, then call me by that if you please, Cedric." Grinning, it turned its back, then pulled its sleeve. Its long, veiny digits flexed out, showing off the tip of its fingers that were as black as coal before snapping.

The world around Cedric shifted once more as he returned to where he really was all along—the interrogation room. The doctor was sent back to his corporeal self; his depressing, gloomy, and dull reality. Everything seemed to return to normal. The light was still flickering, and the loud buzzing from outside was still there.

Cedric rubbed his hands together as he felt the cold once again. And just as he thought he got rid of his hallucinations, his eyes strayed toward the mirror. There, he saw himself, standing and looking at him. It was the being, the Nightmare he was talking to.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Cedric's reflection mocked. "What if I tell you that you don't have to spend all your life surrounded by these lousy, overweight bullies in uniforms?"

The doctor gulped. "Y-you're still here?"

"Yes, but don't you worry. I have no plans sticking here for longer than I have too, Cedric." Nightmare sat on the table, his legs crossed. "So what do you say? This is a one-time deal, doctor."

"I'm listening."

"Very well," said Nightmare as it interacted with the various objects inside the mirror.

Whatever changes he made in the reflection did not manifest in Cedric's reality. That was what the doctor concluded as he watched the being flail around the table, bored to his mind.

"But how exactly are you going to change my life?" He straightened his voice but the fear could not be erased. His facade was weak, for the malicious being was staring right through it. There was nothing he could hide from the devil, not even his own feelings.

As the doctor rambled in his mind, Nightmare giggled to himself. "You need not fear me, doctor. I can make it, so you can rewrite your fate and change your greatest regret. Don't you understand that? I am your savior."

Cedric scoffed, then leaned back. "But why? Why me?"

"Well, ain't that obvious? Because you need me, you shithead!"

"And what makes you think I would need help from a demonic, profanity-spouting shapeshifter like you?"

"Because you summoned me here . . . You and your anger and your pain and your regrets. It's all on you." Nightmare leaned forward, its body not escaping the plane of the mirror. It grinned with the ends of its lips stretching its elastic face, and with its decaying finger, Nightmare pointed at Cedric.

"So you're just going to help me? Just like that?" The doctor's brows creased. "I bet you're trying to trick me into selling my soul."

"I am not the devil, Cedric. I'm like you, not a human bound by selfish needs, but a creature plagued with misfortune. I am just trying to save myself as you are trying to do too." As Nightmare uttered those words, its face glitched, revealing its blackened nature for a second. "And plus, this world already feels like hell, doesn't it? So what's the harm in taking your chance?"

The doctor nodded and crossed his arms. "But still . . . how are you going to fix my life?"

"You, a human, cannot grasp the secrets of beings like me. But I know deep inside you know I can do it, isn't that right?" it said before breaking into laughter.

The doctor sealed his lips. "What's funny?"

" I just love how fragile you humans are. Though I'm not the one to say, for I am not whole myself. But soon . . . I will be. Both of us will be." Nightmare's voice was a strike of a bell, with every note echoing inside the interrogation chamber. "So is it a deal, Cedric? Are you willing to change your life?"

Cedric's tongue inched down his closing throat. "I don't know."

"Y-YOU DON'T KNOW?" Nightmare yelled. Its body shook and trembled as its face burned in unparalleled hatred. Its jaw quivered like the surface of a broken machine, and its eyes twitched as if following a bird darting across the room. "You are supposed to be the final key . . . h-how can this be!"

A crack formed in the mirror, although it did not shatter into pieces. The anger that sprouted waned as fast as it appeared. The fractures in the glass healed by themselves while the being inside it took a deep breath. It was almost cartoonish how much Nightmare's emotion shifted. It was as if the being was losing his control.

"I'm sorry for lashing out." Its lips curved into a slight smile. "Now, where were we?"

Cedric replied, "You're telling me who you are and what you want from me?"

"Beyond your own lies a world far more gruesome. And I? I came from that world," it explained as he ground his boots against the floor. "I am looking for champions who will act as my avatar. Champions who are corrupted by doubt, distrust, despair, sorrow, and in your case . . . regret."

"I can't say I'm surprised. You never seemed like a good guy to me."

"Oh, I can be worse." It chuckled. "Anyhow, I am telling you this because I know we're both victims of life. You understand me; you feel for me. And that is why I see no need for deception or trickery. This is a blunt request, an honest one."

The man scratched his head as memories of the recent events flooded his mind. With everything that he lost, would losing his morals be any more of a loss? Cedric Cross stood from his chair and sauntered to the mirror. Nightmare followed his lead, and they stared eye-to-eye, both of which fueled with desire.

"So how do we do this?"

"Just place your hand on mine," it said as it rested his palm against the barrier.

With one last glance behind him, Cedric closed his eyes as if bidding goodbye to all his painful memories. He took a deep breath and laid his hand against the mirror's cold surface. And as he opened his orbs, he tumbled inside, into a world he never knew.

"Destroy a feather, Cedric. To fulfill our deal, you must destroy a feather, a phoenix's feather. And with it, your pains and worries shall too be destroyed."

Dedicated to my friend who supported me by reading the past two chapters <3