And Miles To Go Before I Sleep

After what felt like hours of tossing and turning, Aaron finally managed to fall asleep but it was a fitful sleep. Very fitful, So much so in fact that Aaron wasn't even aware of getting up during the night until he found himself standing in front of the closed door to his bathroom rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"W-Wha-What...," Aaron stammered, looking from side to side and shaking his head to clear it., "When did I?," Still feeling a bit groggy, Aaron scratched the back of his head and tried to figure out what was going on.

"I must have been more tired than I thought.," Sighed Aaron as he turned to head back to bed and nearly walked face first into his bathroom door. Confused, Aaron looked around but everything was normal except that he was still standing in front of the door to his bathroom.

"Gods! I must be even more out of it then I thought.," Chuckled Aaron as he turned to walk away again but there was the same door staring him in the face.

Every which way Aaron turned he came face to face with his bathroom door., "This is getting old."

In a moment of frustration, Aaron let the situation get the best of him and let a punch fly at the door. There was a loud thud followed almost immediately by Aaron grunting., "OOOOW!"

With a pained look on his face, Aaron looked at his fist and found the middle knuckle bent unnaturally to the side. His hand was numb so he had to pry it open using his other hand.

"Well that's not good.," Aaron stated with a pained smile as he took in his broken middle finger which he grabbed. Aaron took a deep breath and after a second of hesitation he pulled it back into proper alignment with a crack then used his thumb to **** the knuckle back into place. When the knuckle slipped back into place Aaron flinched slightly from the pain. Aaron's little cosmetic readjustment didn't change the fact that his finger was still very, very broken but as odd as it may sound it helped. His hand didn't hurt as much now... which I guess was something.

"Gog What's Happening? Why Do I Feel Like My Brain Is Upside Down Inside My Skull...?," Aaron expected to hear Gog's chipper voice but instead he didn't hear anything not even static., "Gog Are You There...? Talk To Me!"

Nothing.

"Alright ENOUGH OF THIS!," Aaron grumbled internally, forcing his way through the door in front of him but instead of his bathroom he found himself falling forward and tumbling head over foot down a flight of stairs. When Aaron finally came to a stop it was with a thunderous crack as he collided with the floor hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs and make him see stars.

Aaron groaned, shaking his head as he looked around.

"What?!," Aaron's own surprised voice rang in his ears after realizing that he was laying on the floor in the hall outside his room. Aaron looked around again and struggled to get to his feet but when he did he was even more confused than before., "This Is Definitely The Hall Outside My Room But How The Hell Did I Get Here?!"

Aaron reached toward the door to his room but the handle evaporated with a loud hiss the moment his skin made contact with the polished metal, leaving him grasping nothing but empty air... Much to his growing irritation. Aaron didn't consider himself an angry person but the feelings were still there... Feelings that he had struggled with all his life... The Anger, The Rage, The Helplessness... Just bubbling to the surface like an awakening volcano preparing to erupt.

"Get A Hold of Yourself Aaron... Let's Just Take A Breath and Think This Through Logically...," Aaron's mind raced, trying to make sense of the bizarre situation he now found himself in but he just couldn't get a grip on himself. It felt like The Entire World and Everything in it was conspiring to make him lose control and it was working because Aaron was close to snapping. He was on edge and as hard as he tried it was difficult to control the increasing sense of anxiety and paranoia growing in the back of his mind along with a sort of itchy feeling in the back of his brain that was driving him crazy.

Aaron took a deep breath and twisted his broken finger 180 degrees and then back. Aaron grunted from the pain but the rush of adrenaline helped clear his head and with some semblance of clarity Aaron studied his surroundings. He was definitely in the hall outside his room and he was definitely in front of the door to said room but the handle was still missing. Aaron felt his way around his door and pushed with all his strength for several minutes but the door didn't budge. Aaron wiped the sweat from his eyes and reached out to push again.

"WHAT?!," Exclaimed Aaron in surprise as his eyes settled on a spot in front of him but instead of a door there was nothing but a solid wall staring back at him and as if to add insult to injury the handle to the now non existent door had reappeared and was sticking out of the wall like some kind of sadistic taunt.

"You Can't Be SERIOUS!!!!!," Aaron growled at the bare wall before angrily turning and looking around. It was quite dark but Aaron could still make out every detail of the familiar hall.

"This Isn't Working... I Need To Find Another Way.," That was Aaron's current line of thought as he turned away from the wall where his door use to be and looked around. The hall was almost completely dark but there was a scant smattering of light filtering in through a partially obstructed window at the far end which Aaron made his way toward.

"This Hall Is Alot Longer Than I Remember.," Aaron thought, struggling to put one bare foot in front of the other. His body felt like he was wading through water up to his chest but he pushed forward. When Aaron reached the end of the hall be found that there was a heavy blanket covering most of the window. Aaron grabbed the corner of the blanket and pulled it out of the way. Aaron winced as the harsh light streaming in felt like a knife in his skull.

"BARS?! There Shouldn't Be Any Bars On This Window.," Aaron thought as he absently paced back and forth in front of the unfamiliar window. Motion to his left caught Aaron's attention and he stopped, looking closely down a narrow hall just off the one he was in. After a couple of minutes of observing, Aaron didn't see anyone but he found the source of the movement. It was a faint flickering light coming from beneath a cracked door about 50 feet down on the right.

Curious, Aaron quietly crept toward the heavy looking door but the closer he got the more uneasy he felt. Ever since Aaron found himself outside his room there had been a strange buzzing in his right ear but as he drew closer to the partially opened door he realized it was actually the sound of whispering and it was getting louder.

"He's soooooo clueless.," A Female voice moaned.

"Yeah! We've been fucking like rabbits for years and that pathetic squint hasn't even noticed. What a moron.," Aaron heard another voice, Male this time and also familiar like someone he knew but he couldn't place it., "Uuh FUUUUCK Babe! You're Even Tighter Than That Bitch KIM!"

"You Know It Now FUCK ME! Oh God I'm Gonna Cum!"

"Oh God Me Too BABE!"

"Hello... Is anyone there?," Aaron asked as he hesitantly pushed open the door unsure of what he might find on the other side.

To say that what was waiting for him on the other side of that door was out of the realm of Aaron's wildest expectation would be as big of an understatement as saying "He just doesn't get it" when trying to explain quantum entanglement and superpositioning to a Cave Man living back when dinosaurs still roamed The Earth.

The room was dark but not a problem for Aaron as a collection of candles scattered about the room gave his sensitive eyes more than enough light to see what was going on.

Aaron was intimately aware of every inch of The Masters Estate, having tested his Surrogate Technology extensively by using them to explore The World outside his room while confined to his bed and aside from a sparsely furnished room that shouldn't exist the only other immediately noticeable thing in the room that Aaron could see was the naked form of a tall, broad-shouldered and substantially muscled Man. He was obviously a dedicated athlete from his imposing physical size and impeccably sculpted build. While Aaron wasn't into Men he did feel that there was something strangely familiar about about this one and that was when the Man spoke again., "Heeeey Budddy!"

Aaron's brow furrowed and everything came into sharp focus., "Da-David? David is that You?"

David Anderson, One of Aaron's only friends turned and greeted him with a smile but something about it was strange... malevolent even. Aaron instinctively took a step back but before he knew it he was Surrounded by faceless figures in dirty brown robes closing in on him from all sides. They reminded him of the people he had seen meeting down the hall earlier in the night.

"What Are You Doing Here Young Master?," A weary voice asked as one of the robed figures approached Aaron.

"Greg-Gregson is that you?," Aaron asked, a bit unnerved by the odd characters surrounding him but he was even more taken aback by the robed figure in front of him. The mysterious figure pulled back their hood to reveal the stern but smiling face of Gregson, The Masters Estate's Head Butler.

"What are you doing here?," The words slipped from Aaron's lips.

Gregson's smile deepened as he put his hands on Aaron's shoulders., "We've been waiting a long time for you Aaron but... Its not time yet."

"Waiting...? Not Time...? What are you talking about Gregson? What's going on?"

"Soon Aaron but not yet. You're still not ready to hear the truth."

Aaron was reeling and he suddenly felt anxious, like everyone was out to get him... Like everyone was hiding something crucial from him. Aaron winced, raising his hands which felt like someone had placed hot coals in the palms of his hands.

"See Aaron...," Gregson said as he looked down at Aaron's hands, a small barely visible incandescent orb taking shape and growing in the palm of each hand and as each orb grew the bright white light it gave off increased until it appeared that Aaron was holding a small Sun in each hand.

Aaron looked up to see Gregson's weathered but still handsome face and stony gray eyes filled with awe as his smile grew even more., "It won't be long now Aaron...," Gregson squeezed Aaron's shoulders harder and the light from the orbs in his hands intensified.

Everything was happening so fast that Aaron felt like he was drowning... Too many things were happening that he didn't understand and there were too many threads he couldn't yet grasp. Aaron already felt overwhelmed but even after everything that had already happened to him and his own growing anxiety the thing that sent a chill up his spine and made his blood run cold was something as innocent and non-threatening as a giggle but not just any giggle. It was one that Aaron was very, very familiar with but at the same time didn't immediately recognize or at least not consciously.

Aaron turned his attention from Gregson, much to the Old Butler's displeasure and looked over the Man's shoulder. Aaron saw a still naked David standing to the side, a large table visible beyond where he stood but that didn't matter because Aaron's focus was centered on something draped over the table. As Aaron focused, trying to make out what it was he blushed.

"Don't Aaron!," Gregson warned but it was too late. The sound of giggling echoed through the room in an unnatural timbre and Aaron found himself unable to look away despite Gregson urgently shaking him and imploring him to look away.

David was smiling like a Demon as the light from the candles flickered violently all over the room. Aaron's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. The 'Thing' draped over the table was in fact a person, a very naked person, a very naked Female person.

Aaron took in her features... They seemed as familiar as they did alien. Aaron watched, a sense of profound horror squeezed his chest and made it hard to breathe as the naked Woman stood up, her long blonde hair cascading down her back.

"Heeeey Budddy! I Got Something For Ya!," David cackled maliciously in a deep demonic sounding voice.

"Don't Aaron...," Gregson yelled, shaking Aaron violently., "... LOOK AWAY!!"

Aaron was barely even aware of what Gregson was doing or saying as all of his attention was focused on the Woman in front of him. As the mysterious Woman slowly turned, Aaron took an instinctive step back. Aaron was finally going to find out who this gorgeous apparition haunting him was or at least that was what he thought.

As she turned, Aaron was mesmerized by the apparition's medium-sized but very firm breasts, long shapely legs, and her impeccably shaved mound but while she was fully facing Aaron her head hadn't moved an inch meaning that Aaron was face to face with the back of her head.

Aaron's face twitched and his hands were clenched tightly into fists as the sound of rusty nails across a chalkboard resounded through the room and the bizarre beauty's head slowly turned. However, Just as the side of her face came into view a blinding flash of searing white light blinded Aaron and a high-pitched ringing perforated his ear drums. Over the near deafening ringing in his ears Aaron could hear the grating sound of laughter.

Aaron jerked loose from Gregson's grasp and tried to cover his ears then his eyes. Aaron was in agony as he stumbled backward. As painful as the loud ringing sound piercing his brain like a thousand knives was the light was worse. It might not have been as bad as having someone cut open your skull with a rusty spoon then pouring thermite into the hole but at this moment you couldn't prove it by Aaron as blood streamed down his cheeks. Aaron would have done anything to make it stop which is what lead him to rip his own eyes from their sockets with his bare fingers.

Aaron howled in pain and continued to stumble backward, pushing the robed figures out of his way as they tried to stop him. Aaron was **** to get away from the light and soon found himself back in the hall before slamming into the wall. The moment Aaron made contact with the wall a huge section of it swung open and Aaron found himself falling backward.

Enveloped in Darkness, Aaron fell... It could have been for hours or days, Aaron had no way of knowing but when he finally stopped falling he landed with a loud splash instead of a bone-jarring thud. Aaron struggled to escape what could very well become a watery grave but he didn't know which way was up so his struggling might very well become the same fruitless struggle as any other dying Man.

After what must have been at least an hour of holding his breath, Aaron finally broke the surface and inhaled deeply. Aaron was exhausted but he started swimming anyway... Days he swam in that unending sea but eventually he made his way to a beach where Aaron **** himself away from the water, The sand stinging the two empty sockets where his eyes once were but Aaron was too exhausted to care.

After crawling on his hands and knees for at least three hundred feet, Aaron flopped down on his back and breathed deep.

At some point Aaron must have passed out, Who can say how long he was out but he eventually jerked awake and sat up with a start., "Is someone there?"

Aaron's voice mingled with the sound of crashing waves and Aaron's ears twitched, still experiencing a faint ringing Aaron thought he heard a noise coming closer. It sounded like metal scraping metal, a kind of slow grinding like a heavy metal chair being dragged across a metal floor.

"Please Is Anyone There?!" Aaron asked again.

"Finally Awake I See.," Came a deep, raspy voice.

"I'm Injured I Need Help Please!," Aaron pleaded.

"I'll say you're injured but what did you expect when you decided to claw out your own eyes?," The raspy voice asked in a mocking tone.

"How Did...?," Aaron asked in shock but there was no answer at least not in words.

Aaron was struck in the head by something hard and solid. Whatever it was it had his brain doing flip flops inside his skull. Aaron fell in a heap face down in the sand.

Sometime later Aaron woke up. He no longer heard the waves or the ringing in his skull nor did he smell the sea or feel sand underneath him. Instead he felt hard, unforgiving metal. He was sitting in a chair. He tried to get up but he couldn't. Aaron tried to twist his body to get a sense of why he couldn't move and found that he was strapped into the chair. Their were wide leather straps or metal bands across his wrists, ankles, upper arms, chest... even around his throat and forehead. Whoever did this didn't want him to go anywhere.

Aaron looked around and found that he was in a small room with no windows and apparently no doors. There was surgical equipment and trays containing all kinds of surgical instruments everywhere.

"Finally awake I see.," The same deep, raspy voice from the beach commented from somewhere behind Aaron.

Aaron heard heavy footfalls approaching from behind and he tried to turn his head but he couldn't. The leather straps holding his head in place creaked but did not budge.

When the owner of the raspy voice appeared before Aaron it was someone he was all too familiar with.

"Hello Again Aaron.," Dr. Elkhurst offered, amusement obvious in his voice., "Shall We Begin?" Aaron was sure the emaciated Doctor was smiling under his mask and it was making his skin crawl.

"Begin? Begin What?!," Aaron demanded.

Dr. Elkhurst pulled his right hand from the pocket of his lab coat, revealing a battery operated drill.

"Stay Away FROM MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"