Artificial Memory (DISCONT'D BUT WILL UPLOAD UNEDITED CHAPTERS)

Chapter 2: I Have Vampiric Tendencies and Lucid Dreams Are Hella Creepy

I brought my elbow back into Memory's guts, prompting a cough from him as he backed away with a laugh.

"Ok....ok chill. I'm going to bed now, since I'm not feeling great. I'll stop if you don't hit me again."

He wheezed.

I glared at him.

"Fine."

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I lay back in my bed, staring at the glowing green plastic stars decorating my ceiling.

Raindrops pattered on the roof with a calming white noise that let me relax. I was fine with rain, but any sudden loud noises like thunder or gunshots made me freeze up. Apparently, I had PTSD where I was permanently afraid of loud noises...you know, because I was shot.

I laid in the darkness, thinking of something to sing.

Finally, I came to a conclusion. I just began to murmur lyrics into the dark.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I've got sunshine...in a bag, I'm useless...but not for long, my future...is comin' on...."

I sang softly, closing my eyes and trailing off after I finished those few short lines.

Just before I drifted off, I heard a tiny voice in my head.

"Wake up...from the dream..."

I didn't know what that nonsense was about, but I just sunk into sleep.

Almost immediately, my subconsciousness exploded with dazzling orange flames. A second image of myself faced me, stepping out of the inferno. He was dressed in faded jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and a white hoodie, but his hair was also completely black. It was definitely me, though...I knew that much.

I locked eyes with myself, trying to understand what the hell was going on in my mind. I didn't think the Advil was responsible for this, but I was definitely confused.

As I thought that, the other me opened his mouth and his voice echoed around me.

"This is no hallucination. This is an omen."

"Are you me?"

I asked, dumbfounded.

He paused, shuffling his right foot.

"Well...you're actually me, I suppose. I pretty much died when you were shot."

He replied, then continued,

"Actually, I died long before that, but that's not important."

"Not important? I'd say this is pretty important, man."

I replied.

"Not for this situation, Memory."

He awkwardly said.

"Now's pretty much a good time, Memory!"

I argued, suddenly stricken by how weird it was to be arguing with myself.

He laughed, wedging his hands in the pockets of his pure white hoodie.

"I never thought I'd be stuck in an argument with myself! It's a weird feeling, isn't it? It's weird to me."

I nodded, then he reached out to touch my shoulder and grew serious.

"Now for the reason why I'm speaking with you. I don't have too much time to be here. I've opened the metaphorical 'walls' around your mind, and I'm not the only entity who wants to enter it."

With this statement, I stopped arguing and nodded.

"An Aberrant, walking hand in hand with Shale, will bring destruction to all nations and leave no survivors."

He murmured.

I felt myself shudder, thoughts running through my mind like lightning. I knew who Shale was, obviously, but I hadn't ever been possessed by him. Nor had I ever wanted to walk alongside him.

"That's...that's not me, is it?"

I asked slowly.

As if in response, the flames hissed and grew in size, changing from warm, golden colours to tones of ice-blue. The other me gritted his teeth and spun around.

"Damn it! Get out of here, you shitty demon!"

He snapped at a new figure which strode calmly through the blue hellfire.

He had unruly white hair that almost reached his shoulders, and a bloodstained mask concealing his face. One of the grinning mask's eyes was shaped like a heart, the other in the shape of an eight-ball. This one wore a white trench coat over white shorts, combat boots, and a red muscle shirt. A pair of human teeth dangled from a cord around his neck and everything he wore was stained with blood.

I stumbled back as the figure's maniacal laughter echoed around us, as if dozens of copies of him were laughing in unison.

"What the hell is that?!"

I exclaimed, shock and fear thrilling through me.

"I said stay back!"

The other me shouted at the masked boy.

Shadows extended from behind the masked one, rushing towards us in an obvious act of hostility.

However, instead of being overtaken, a burst of fire, made of every colour imaginable, exploded up in a ring around the other me and I. His form began to fade and he dropped to his knees. The enemy figure was swept up by the ring of rainbow flame and disintegrated, along with his shadow.

"However..."

The other me continued.

"Eight will rise, led by the half-blooded Aberrant, and destroy the darkness threatening to engulf us all."

"Hey, are you feeling all right-"

I began, concerned for the fading boy.

"Haha...never knew that would take so much out of me. I'm gonna disappear for a bit, but I'm not gone. I'm basically just gonna sleep until I regain enough energy to speak with you again."

He laughed.

I reached out to touch him, but he turned his head and murmured,

"Just know that sometimes, you have to embrace the darkness in order to appreciate the light."

He quickly grasped my wrist to shake it, and with that, he vanished. After a moment of shock and awe, I awoke in my bed. The dawn's light cast itself into my room and I let out a groan, laying my right forearm across my eyes.

"What the hell..."