Barney stirs, his sleep unsettled…
The air feels wrong. Heavy. Too thick, like trying to breathe through damp cloth. Shadows dance along the walls, stretching in ways that make no sense, as if they have their own secret life, moving to a rhythm you can't hear. You try to blink, to shake off the sensation of being watched, but everything feels... off. Is this your room? It should be, but the corners keep shifting, slipping out of focus.
And then, from somewhere inside the shadow, her voice slides through the air.
"Barney..."
A memory stirs, a voice remembered, Josaia Niemczyk. Her voice is familiar, almost teasing, but there’s something darker beneath it. You see her now, stepping out of the swirling black, her form half-solid, like she’s carved from the shadows themselves. The smile she gives you is knowing, like she's been waiting, watching.
"You’ve been keeping some strange company lately, haven’t you?" she asks, her voice lilting with amusement, but there’s a chill beneath it, something cold. "That nasty little spirit in your head... Sudworth. You thought you’d gotten rid of him, didn’t you?" She shakes her head softly, as if disappointed.
Sudworth stirs at the mention of his name. You can feel him, even in this dream.
But Josaia just waves it away, stepping closer though her feet never seem to move. "We’ll save him for another time. Right now, I’m here because it’s time we settled up." Her eyes glint, and suddenly, you remember. The favor. The deal.
"You signed an agreement, darling," she purrs, circling you like a predator playing with its prey. "And now, it’s time to collect."
The room warps again, and for a moment, you feel as though you’re falling. The shadows twist, pulling the walls further away, then snapping them too close. You try to move, but your limbs are heavy, stuck in place as the dream bends around you. Josaia’s smile widens, her voice a teasing murmur.
"There’s someone my... friend needs taken care of. She says that you and your acquaintances are the perfect people for the job." She laughs softly, though the sound seems to come from everywhere at once.
You try to speak, but nothing comes out. The shadows press in tighter, and Josaia leans closer, her voice now a soft, intimate whisper.
"There’s footage, Barney. Footage from The Sanctuary. Real footage, not that little show of toxic masculinity on Instagram. It shows you and your little crew doing things, strange things. Things that could ruin everything for you. She has it. She’ll make it disappear, but only if you do this for her."
The name drips from her lips like poison. "Brightside's illustrious mayor, Emmett Tailor. He’s standing in her way, and she wants him gone. You do that, and she wipes the footage clean. You walk away... no one ever needs to know what really happened."
You try to shake your head, to argue, but the dream holds you fast. The shadows throb, growing darker, colder, as her voice presses in around you.
"This isn’t a request, Barney. You owe me. You owe her." Her smile softens, though her eyes remain cold. "And you don’t want her as an enemy. She’s already watching you, already knows what lurks in your head. Do this, and we’re even. Refuse, and... well, she is not a nice person..."
The shadows seem to pulse with her words, wrapping tighter around your chest. Josaia takes one more step closer, her form flickering in the dim light.
"But..." Her voice drops to a sly whisper, and for a moment, her tone shifts, as though offering you something sweeter. "You hold up your end, and I’ll give you something in return. You’ve been chasing after that little artifact, haven’t you? The one your father found?" Her smile widens again. "I know where it is. Help my friend, and I’ll tell you exactly where to find it."
She steps back, the shadows swallowing her figure as she fades into the darkness once again, her voice lingering in the air.
"You know here to find me Barney..."
You wake with a start, drenched in cold sweat. The room is quiet, no sound except for the pounding of your heart.
