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There is something outside of his window, and he sits and waits for it to go away, but it never goes away.
Alex dreams about the tapes sometimes. He dreams, because he actually sleeps now.
He dreams that his head is split open. Blood runs down into his eyes. There are hands hovering over it and every so often, they dip down to pull at the black tape and unwind it from the reels. (There is something outside the window.)
Then, he wakes up.
Amy sits on a bench, kicking her feet and looking up at the trees overhead. She says, "I told you a day in the park was what we needed."
Alex is sitting near her, not close, arms crossed, so tense that his back is starting to ache. That's when Jay comes up from behind him, and he's not the one who splits Alex's head open, but he is the one who begins to pull on the loose black tape, and Alex can feel the memories slipping away, and then he wakes up.
Amy is walking down the forest path, and she keeps motioning for Alex to keep up. (There is something outside the window.) Alex just stands and watches her, arms crossed, and she keeps motioning for him to keep up. (There is no window here.) Alex just stands there and watches her, and Jay comes up behind him (There is something outside the window.) Jay comes up behind him, but Tim is the one who splits his head open. Jay pulls out the loose black tape, unwinding it from the reels inside.
He begins to turn around. He begins to shout "There is something outside the--"
Then, he wakes up.
Amy is somewhere in the forest.
He can hear her voice. He can hear her calling his name, over and over. Alex. Alex! What is that? What is that? Alex!
He doesn't go after her. He doesn't want to find her.
If he finds her, he'll make it worse.
Alex! ALEX! What is that?
Jay and Tim are behind him. Tim splits his head open. Jay unwinds the tape.
"There's something outside the window," Alex whispers.
"No, there isn't," Tim says.
"No," Jay agrees. "There's something inside the house."
Then, he wakes
Amy isn't yelling anymore. Jay and Tim are behind him. Jay is unwinding the tape. Jay is wrapping the tape around Tim's hands like yarn. Blood runs down into his eyes. He doesn't remember when he met Jay. He remembers bits and pieces of friendship that keep slipping away as Jay unwinds the tape and wraps it around Tim's hands like yarn. He doesn't remember sitting on the floor while Tim played the ukulele and the power went out. He doesn't remember rewriting the script with Jay. He doesn't remember leading Tim out to the hospital.
He doesn't want to.
"There's something..."
"We already told you," Tim snaps back.
Jay rolls his eyes. "You're missing the point."
"It's inside the--"
Then, he
Jay is unwinding the tape. Jay is wrapping the tape around Tim's hands like yarn. Blood runs down into his eyes.
"Alex."
Jay is unwinding the tape.
"Alex."
Jay is unwinding the tape.
"We have to get out of here."
Jay is unwinding the tape.
"Why did you do that?"
Then,
Blood runs down into his eyes, but no one is behind him. There is no tape left to unwind.
Blood runs down
No.
Blood runs down his fingers. He's holding up his hands and looking at them, and blood is running down his fingers, his palms, his forearms, pooling in the crook of his arm. Blood is smudged on his glasses.
No.
Jay is standing in front of him, eyes huge and terrified. There is nothing outside the window. There is nothing outside. And Tim is behind him. And then Tim is standing over him. And Jay is gone. And all Alex can say is, "There's something inside." And Tim tilts his head, because he doesn't understand, because he's not Tim.
That's when it comes. Tim is twisting on the floor. Alex lies next to him, staring up at the hole in the ceiling, at the light filtering down on him. He watches the dust particles dance in the light, and he waits. He sees the black shadows snaking toward him, he can feel his chest tightening, he can hear Tim gasping for breath, and he waits.
Alex waits to wake up.