A Zoo in the Fog (PersonaxZoophobia)

The Midnight Channel

            Jackson sat in front of his tv, waiting for the hour to strike to midnight. He had a few lively conversations with Damian's friend group. Sahara or Damian would normally start them, and Jackson and Addison would usually be the ones to respond. Jackson smiled a little bit at the idea of new friends. Maybe he would sit with them more often should Zill not be at lunch. The rain continued pouring even now, which had Jackson listening to the rain patter against the window to his home. It was fairly calming, which almost lulled Jackson into sleep. Each time he almost closed his eyes, he remembered that he had something to do. The clock read 11:59. In a minute, if this was real, something would come on the tv screen. Jackson had it switched off though. Does he need to turn the tv on? Is there a set number of things he had to do before it would even work? All these thoughts jumbled in his head until the tv flickered on by itself. Although the image was covered in static, Jackson saw a figure. It looked to be a dark-skinned woman with red hair. She seemed to almost be writhing in pain. The sight almost made Jackson rush to shut it off, but he just couldn't. He watched for a bit then recognized the figure as Autumn, a fellow student and a deer shapeshifter's cousin, Camilla. He was scared now. Was this someone hurting? Someone who was actually getting hurt by something? Jackson felt powerless as he tried to make out any distinct items in the background, but the image was too blurred by the static to make out anything in the background. Lightning struck outside, making the power switch off. Jackson almost let out a cry of "No!" He was so close to seeing something worth recognizing. As lightning struck again, a splitting headache came over him, and he had to steady himself as to not fall forward.

Jackson then heard a voice, like his own, but it felt different. It spoke to him. "I am thou, thou art I... thou shalt open the door and grasp the truth within." Before he could even ponder these words, his hand pressed to the tv screen. And the most shocking thing, was that his hand went into the screen. He watched in terror. It felt like touching the surface of water and rippled in a similar way. Jackson took a nervous gulp as he attempted to move his hand out of it. Something immediately seized his arm and pulled him further in. Despite the force pulling him in far enough to see what was beyond the screen, an empty chasm going deeper and deeper, Jackson managed to pull himself away and smack his head on a coffee table, hard. This, doubled with the headache made Jackson slowly succumb to unconsciousness.