I told her. I told her everything, from the dreams I've been having to the point where i wake up beside every dead victim with their blood all over me. I told her about my fears and about how i managed to disguise myself and escape the mall without my face begin caught on camera.

By the time i was done, her eyes looked like they were about to fall off their sockets. She was quiet for a good ten minutes, not uttering a single word, her mouth hanging open and her eyes spinning every five seconds like she couldn't keep her gaze in one place.

"Faye--"

"Mi-God I'm so sorry Dian!"

My mouth went dry and my voice caught in my throat. I expected her to blame me, Scream at me, hate me for not telling her about this and maybe even look at me differently. But when i looked into her eyes, all i saw was the total opposite. I saw confusion like i expected, i saw concern, i saw frustration, i saw guilt.

"For what? ".

"I don't know... Everything. For not being there for you, for letting this happen --".

"What? "i grabbed her hand "Faye you have nothing to be sorry about. This isn't your fault, you have nothing to do with it. "

Shaking her head roughly in a negative direction, she frowned. "it is, it's my fault. All of it, if i hadn't let my curiosity get the best out of me, maybe, just maybe you'd have never gotten into that accident, you would have never been on a hospital bed battling for your life and none of this would be happening... ".

"Faye stop speaking nonsense. You have nothing to do with... "i stopped mid sentence the moment i saw the tears shyly leaking down her eyes. I pulled her to me as we squeezed each other in bone crushing hug.

"That's why you have been beating yourself up about this whole thing isn't it? "i finally figured it out. I always wondered why she would put her life on hold because of all this. Her parents weren't happy about it but she didn't care.

She spent two months, doing research on this thing, all her smiles became rear, her jokes completely vanished, her ranting gone. All because she had been feeling guilty, she blamed herself for the accident and now she's blaming herself for my problems .

She didn't say anything, she just hugged me tighter, but i knew it, and it hurt. It hurt so bad knowing she was hurting because of me.

"None of this is your fault. Please don't feel guilty ".

****

"Are you sure this is going to work? " my voice sounded a little shivery, maybe be it's because i haven't said a word for the past hour or i don't know, maybe it's because i am scared it would work and all my theories would turn out to be right.

"It should " Faye tried to assure me, but that's not what i need right now, i don't need assurance.

"What if this thing is really inside me and can hear every word we are saying right now, what if it knows exactly what we are doing and tries to sabotage this? ".

"Then we would also have the answer we need, we would know that this... Thing is really --" she doesn't have to complete that statement, i already know what she's trying to say but doesn't want to say.

Letting out a shaky breath, i muttered a quiet "okay". If this turns out to be true, then I'm screwed, and if this turns out to not be true, then i don't know what I'm going to do. I'll probably lose my mind.

I'd found my camera under one of my shoe boxes and set it in record on top my wardrobe so it could tape the whole room and i would know exactly what happens over night while i'm sleeping. Damon got me that camera two months ago, the night that started all of this. The old one was already out dated and he knew how badly i wanted a new one, so he got it for me. I never would have thought that the first i get to use it would be to watch myself while i'm unconscious.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you? You know just in case something happens ?" Faye asked again for the hundredth time this evening. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit there.

"I'm fine Faye, i promise. Besides if what we think is true, then there is a chance it might kill you before i even get back to my senses ".

After staring at me for an awkwardly long time she finally gave in and made me promise to call her if anything happens then hugged me goodbye.

"Faye? "i called just before she could cross the door. Twirling her head back, she searched my face as if looking for any signs of change? Trouble? Panic?

"Promise me something. "

"What is it? "she turned giving me her full attention.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this. "

"I won't. "

"Not even Ming. " she contemplated this for a moment before nodding her head. She didn't bother to ask why, she didn't try to make me see that keeping things from my best friend isn't exactly right, because she knew, she knew all too well why i asked that. So without another hint of hesitation, she muttered those two words i wanted to hear and left me in the dim light of my, room shutting the door behind her.

"I won't. "

*******

The feeling of warmth, extreme warmth surrounded me. It wasn't like all the other times this happened, This time it was different. Unlike the other times when i'd been inside the darkness screaming and shouting for someone to find me, this time it was bright, i could see the light shinning brightly around me not the usual pitch black void i was getting a little fond of, but some how it felt worse.

I'd been running so hard it was becoming hard to breathe. The darkness kept flooding in like a sand mist to consume up all the light that i'd been trying so hard to reach.

My breaths were coming out strained, my legs were getting week, i couldn't keep up but the fear of getting drowned by the mist of darkness was overwhelming.

Suddenly, everything began to spin. My vision became blurry and my legs were giving out on me. I couldn't keep going and i knew it, but i still pushed my legs to keep going further no matter how painful it was. But in the end it was no use because no matter how fast i'd been running, no matter how hard i tried desperately to stay in the light, it still came for me.

It took me in and swarmed around me like quick sand so it was even harder to breathe. I was drowning in the ink of darkness around me with no one around to save me and all i could do was scream, to week to fight.

I screamed and screamed and screamed so loud until my lungs went sore but yet there was nothing. There was no one, and there was no light anymore. Just a pleading soul and the sinking darkness.

So i let it. I gave in and let the darkness take me, too strained to keep screaming knowing very well that no one was coming for me. My eyes were about to flutter shut completely when i saw her. The mistress within the darkness.

And as my eyes gave way and the darkness had me buried within it's deep overwhelming mist, all i could see was the blood red of her terrifying eyes.

*

I'd woken up to the sound of moving tires. My head hurt and i was panting like a hunter on the run. My head felt heavy and the sound of cars passing by wasn't doing anything to help my condition.

Wait...cars passing?

I cleared my eyes to observe my surroundings. I was lying at the edge of a deserted road with only about three cars passing. My heart began racing as i searched my self for any signs of blood. And i found my hands and mouth were covered in it. I wanted to scream but i couldn't. There would be a body, there always is.

I stepped into the woods but there was no body anywhere i could see. But then i spotted the smocking black Mercedes crashed into a tree not to deep in with the door open.

There was a girl in the drivers seat sitting with her back pressed to the sit, her head hanging carelessly behind the headrest and her eyes open in horror.

"Hello?" i called but she just remained frozen to the spot. "hello?" i tried again and still no response so i stepped closer, taking cautious and calculated steps.

I froze midway not getting to close i think i was going to gag. she wasn't breathing her eyes were open down but she was obviously dead. Her shirt was ripped open and her abdomen was stilt, blood oozed out around the car.

I took a step back but not without noticing the younger girl at the back seat in a similar condition. she looked so young ...sixteen maybe?

My legs were shaking but that wasn't all. there was another dead teenager just a few feet away from the crashed vehicle that looked just like the girl at the back.

Just like the woman in the drivers seat, her eyes were open down in horror, her left leg was twisted in an awful way and her arms where spread around, but most of all the similar gash below her abdomen was wider. She looked like she was trying to run but didn't make it far.

I wanted to throw up but i couldn't. And then i heard a car drive by so i hid behind a tree a few feet away from the them, trying desperately to control my breathing.

It was still very early in the morning, the clouds were still dark and the sun hadn't set, so i was wondering what people would be doing on this area of the road around this period, because by the looks of it i'm almost at the town border, far away from buildings and people.

The car pulled up at the corner of the road and a man stepped down going closer to the crashed Mercedes. he was tall and wearing travel clothes with a face cap so i couldn't make out his face.

"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed at the sight in front of him. "what the hell!".

"Michael?" i heard another feminine voice from behind him "babe? what is it ?".

"Come look" he said. there was a bit of shuffling and then ...

"Oh my god!" she practically screamed. "we have to call the cops".

"Already on it".

I didn't wait to hear anymore. I knew i couldn't wait around any longer because if the cops where to get here and find me, i have no idea what would become of me.

So i ran. I didn't stop running for one second even when i heard the woman with the man wearing a cap calling out to who it was that was there. they must have heard the sound of my footsteps because of the rattling sound the grasses made whenever i stepped on them. But i didn't stop for one second. I didn't even look back and i was glad they didn't follow me.

********

I made a stop at a closed gas station to find a restroom so i could wash off all the blood from my body and clothes but the whole place was swarming with flies and there was no source of water.

Just great!

I held my breath all the way while i desperately searched for something to rinse with. Lucky for me i found some little water in a small bucket in an empty stall, a very smelling and disgusting stall.

Did i say lucky? this is the opposite of luck. The water was dirty and greenish, it's probably stagnant and hasn't been used in years but i didn't have a choice.

I didn't think i could hold my breath for as long as i did. I couldn't bare the odor coming from the entire place but sill i managed to wash off and dry with expired toilet papers i found on the ground. I mean...toilet papers expire right? they didn't look too good to me, it kept on tearing and leaving particles on my body.

I walked my way down to town for a good hour until i managed to find a taxi to booth into. The driver kept staring at me weirdly through the review mirror. I probably looked like shit and smelled like garbage but who cares? That's none of his business so he sound stop looking at me like that or i'll go crazy and bite his head off.

Okay, i won't but seriously the dude should stop looking at me like a creeper. It's annoying.

By the time i got home, mum was no where to be found, probably at work. Faye was sitting in my study table biting her lips and tapping her fingers continuously on the table. Her green off shoulder tank top hanging loosely on her body, her hair in a loose bun with a pencil in-between.

"Faye?" she jumped up so quickly the moment she heard my voice.

"My God! where have you been?" her eyes trail down my body " and why do you look and smell like that?".

At that statement the memory of those girls in the car came to surface making my gut twist. I swallowed trying not to give away how mentally disturbed i am right now.

"Long story, what are you doing here?" i changed the topic.

"I called, you weren't picking up so i came over and i've been waiting for you to get back so we can watch the tape together".

"What time is it?".

"A little after nine" i forgot Faye is a morning person. " It happened again didn't it ?".

I didn't have to speak, the look in my eyes said it all. "We have to watch that tape right now".

If i have to spend one more second without knowing what is happening to me, i might just loose my mind. But still there was the fear of actually confirming what i knew and didn't want to believe was true. It was terrifying but i had to do it.

The moment i clicked play, i froze not believing what i was staring at. It can't be...can it? It just can't.