“Humiliation has never tasted so good, has it?”
“You’re not Moe…” I finally say in a moment of clarity.
She smirks. She doesn’t confirm it or deny it.
“How does it feel, Nyk, to be the main character for once?”
“What?”
“It’s you. Always you. Only you.”
She steps away. Slowly.
I stare at her in disbelief. The background flickers with movement.
The four males from before all reach for their masks at the same time, pulling it off their face.
They’re…
I blink.
They’re allme. All four of them. They’re me. I’m them.
Then they start laughing, an evil sound that continues to haunt me.
“No… No… This isn’t real. You’re not real… You’re not?—”
“Nyk!
My body is being shaken by something—someone.
My eyes snap open and my surroundings have completely changed. I’m staring at the ceiling of our room. Moe’s face comes into my field of vision as she leans over me.
“Are you alright?” She asks, her expression worried. “You were screaming in your sleep.”
I frown.
“I was?”
She nods. “What were you dreaming about?”
“I—” I pause. “I don’t remember. Did I say anything?”
“You were just making some sounds and kept sayingno.”
“I really don’t remember,” I say honestly as I pull myself in a sitting position. “Perhaps it’s the stress of being in this place. It’s finally getting to me.”
“You stayed all night to study that book, didn’t you?”
“You…know?”
“I felt you get out of bed. I tried to sleep but I was worried about you.”
“So you didn’t sleep either?”
She presses her lips together. “I had to be awake to make sure nothing happened to you in that meditative state,” she grumbles.
“So now we’re both tired, and it’s already a new day.”
