A Mind Can Be A Dark and Dangerous Thing, Part 2

Chase was quickly approaching a breaking point and she reached for her ear but the overflowing tide of maggots began to sprout into thick, fleshy tentacles from the blood pooling all around her and they reached out to grab her, coiling around her ankle and one of her arms but she managed to struggle free thanks in part to the slipperiness of the tentacles before they managed to get a tight enough grip on her and she was glad because when she escaped the enclosing coils sparks flew and space seemed to distort within their grasp.

Dr. Meridian scrambled to her feet and ran in the opposite direction from The Wolf, Tentacles shooting from the floor trying to grab her. Every door she ran past had a different name on it but she was so frightened that she only noticed a few of them and they were all written in some strange language she didn't recognize.

A̶͙̥̹̩̼̽̀̐͝n̷̲͓̲̯̲̪̭̍͐͠ͅt̶̬͔̰̘͚̫̘̹̪̞͌̿̀̽̃̒̇͊̕ơ̸̧̛͔͎͖͚̩̖͇͛̊͗̈͐͘͘ń̵̰̖̱̮͕͉̣͖͖͌͛́͊̀́͠͝ ̸͇̹͉͇̻̀͊̈́̋͊̏S̶̟̟̘͓̹̙̳̽̃̈́̽̏̒̔ȩ̴̧̺̎̆͆ͅv̶͈͔̝̠̬͛̃͝ę̵̡̟̜̼̼͐̿r̴̝̝̣̤̅̿͂̉̋̈́̓̈͠͝

A̴̺͎̓̐̉̎̿͘͘͘r̶̦̪̼͈̜̭̜̺̎̇́́̽́̕̚ͅv̶̲̞͕̹̣͖̥͇͆̾͑͛e̵̢̪͖̞͍͛͘͘͠k̶̖̠̒̀̓̅̈͘ͅ ̷̲̘͇̊̓͐́̾̒̎̅C̷͕̣̭͎̫̏͂̍̒̀̈́̂̕̕̚a̵̢̠̘̤͖̰̳͇̮͊̈́̏͗͂͗̓̀̔͠l̶̯͍̥̮̫̈́͌̇̈́̃l̴̟̭̹̩̫̹̺͂̑͌́ͅą̸̘̤̪̰̥̪͓͊g̷̼͒̈́̂̋ǎ̶̭̞̪̣͉ş̷̨̗̲̟͚̗̺̳̓͆̂̾͂͌̆̀̑̋c̸̨̼̹̙͙̳͚̮̘͓̒͂͊̾̋́ạ̸͙̠͕̦̿̕

C̸̡̧̛̻͉͓̒͂͌̈ļ̴̺̮̩̥̼͔̥̼̱̊̅ã̵̬͙̮̆̀̑͌̆̒̒̑́v̷̞̽̍͒͒̑̓͜͠è̷̢̡̢͖̻̙̠͈͋͜ͅ ̸͙̟̥̟͍̼̙̠̦̌̀̀̚L̴̦̪̻͕̦̃̎́̿̄͒ȁ̸̠̤͊̍̄͑̋͆́r̶͓̲̩̜̅̈́̏̋͗̅k̸̢͈̠̳͚͙͙̳̀̆͂͆̓̈́̚ͅi̸̥̜̪͒͋͐́n̷̙̳̫͔̝̦̲͈̟̾̉̍͆̅

Ḓ̵̬̳̜̖͓̍̍̈́͊̚͘a̶͇̾̀͌̆͜x̷̩͚͕̻̲͒̀̊̈́̐̍͌̕͜͝ṹ̵͍͈͠s̴̫̼̺̗̬̦̯̠͗͒̍͜ ̵̖̞̱̖̒̀V̶̢̢̟̥̻̣̮̮̮͓̈́̀̌̾̈́̍̊̅̕͝ȩ̸̡̦̝̜͚̒̂͛̃͊̆̀̍͜ģ̵̧̻̗͈̪͕̥̌̓̒͘͘̚͠å̷̧̢̻̮̹̥̮̙͕̹͋̽̾̅̊͘͝

J̴̭͊̀͐̊͊̓ò̴̡͈͇͉̙̬͎̣͔͇̹̞͉͓̳́͒̓̃h̵̡͈͙̻͌͗̇̏͋̍̆̋̃̋͗̃̑͘̚ǹ̴̩̥͔͔̩̞̻̙͚̺͔͝ą̶͖̟͐̂̓t̶̢̟͔̗̖̲̣̹̘̟̦̩̆͆̐̽̋̊̾̓͛̒̿̃͝͠h̴̛͖̱̱̱͐̈̓̊̈͋̂̃͝a̷̦̍̓̀͛͛̌͝͝n̶̢̛̤͍̜̙̮̫̳̮̘̦̭͜ ̸̩́́̋̀̈́̅̎̎̑̽̓̕͠M̸̛̠̗̭͈̬̫̲̘̮̖̔͆͋͌̆̆̄̃ó̴͈̦̪̮͚͖͔̰̲̾͗̉̒r̴̛̭͍̞̗͌͗͂̀̎̈́̿̚ņ̶̢͉͕͖͚̲̤̼̩̣̞̀͒̓į̷̧̢͔̟͇̦̤̺̞̩̱͔̹̿̅̒̓̂̑̏̑̾̔̂̏̕ņ̸̧̯̥̘̝͕̼̻̻̯̹̗̲̀̐̈́̐͊̃̎̾͘͘͝ͅǵ̵̡̨̬͈̼̼̱͓̳͋̈̏̒̄̀̈̔̈́ͅs̵̛̘̗͕̟̄̽̄́̐́̈́̊̂̈̑͘͝t̸͚̭̠̯͙̟́̂̏͋̍͋ͅa̸̪̟̍̂̌̋̋̑͆́̆̕r̸̡̛̫͎̞͚̞͓̗͍̞̜͈̓̌͊̎́͒͊̀͘

Ṙ̸̢̢͈̜̤͚͚͚̈́̅̽̃̈̇̚͝͝o̵̟̳̖̰̣̰̙̍͋̍̅͐͘ḱ̴̨͚̻̙̰͕̞̕ḛ̴͉͔̥̼̻͔͊͊̈̊̅̈̂͝g̵̪͎̲͉̗͎͑͝ ̶̱̦̼̹͈͙̤̟̤̄C̴̢̧̧͍̹̮̙̉o̵͈̫̩̭̦̤̲̞͉͋̌̿n̴̯̱̦̰̜͙̺̜̉͌͗̚ĩ̵̖͕͔̳̫͎̅͋̆͐̿g̸͚̓̑͑́̅̆͝͝l̷̨͔̖̞͇̖͕͍̂̓̔͜͠ͅi̸͙̗̮͈͐̽̇́̓̑̽̽͂ą̴̝̼̞͈͈̫́̽̐̽̓̆̓͐͝͠ŗ̸͙̟̬̥͙̞̪̠̾̓͂̌͘o̴̺̙̹̥̥̟̰͙͛̃

R̷̛̖̆̃ȩ̶̢̞̞̻͖̮̦͓́͗̇n̸̖̺̰̑ỡ̶̜̦̼̺̫̞̆̇ń̷͈͖̼̄̂̈́̚͘͝͠ ̵̣̙͓̺͂̓̒̑̃̐̿Í̷̳̖̫̞̤̠͙̲̻t̶͇͎̓̒́̀̔́̅͘͠s̵͔͉̭̳̀̿͠ù̵̗̥̠͚̚ͅ

S̶̮̝̥̉͒̇̒͝ą̵̢͕̹̙̰̻͍̪͚̥̈́̽̃̌͗́́̐̈́̎͊͐͘͘̕ͅr̵͙̼̖͂̊̓̐̀̎͛͂͑̐g̶̫̞̭̦̗̍̽̋̑͑̑̌̅̚͝ ̸̨̢̡̣̹̣̼̹͇̉͒̇̉͐̎̍̊͋͠Ḷ̶̢̝̟͒̄̏ͅi̸̥̬̜̒͗̾̔͆͠͠g̶̛̼͓̫̬͌̊̒̃̉̏̅͝ḩ̴͇̞͔͙̣̙̭̉͝t̴̳̳̞̮̮̰͑͗͒̆̕͝c̸̡̢̠͇̫̜̤̮̖͔͙͔͉̈͛͐̀̊͆̈́͑͋̓̚o̴̡̪̠̰͉͖̹̳̬͔̾̂̆̑̍̄̋͛̿̍̑͘̕̕͜l̵̢̲̹̝̖̜̖̩͇̳̣̗͖̑̋̈́̾͂̾̑̓̋́̚͜͝ͅt̵̪̲͎̙̰͚̆͂̀̂͆̀̐͋̕̕

V̵̗̱̖̪̥̱̯͆̉͋̚͜ï̴̡̢̧͔͚̹̭͔̮̞͊̓̓̀́r̷̡̨̗̘̼̽͗g̸͚̘̮̔̎̋͊̌̈́͛͋̑́̿͘͠į̸̱͓̰̤͓͑̓͗̇͂́̌̉̊́͝͠͝l̷̟̀̔́͝ ̴̡̢̡̛̳̮͚̭͈͚̘̯̹̾̾͗́̉̃̒͂̃͂V̴̢̜̥̞̹̘͌̀́͌̔͛̑̓ǫ̸̡̜̞͉̘̠͕̼̲̍̂͐x̶̛̝̞̦̺̝̗͚̲͍̓́̐̐̽̎͝͠

V̶̮̬̟̹̼̲̩̮͆͂͆͆͌̕͘ó̴̰͇̞̒͂̄̎̎̓̏͘̕l̷̨̲̟̥̰̽͂́ͅṣ̷̩̃̓̊͌̊̚͝â̷̤̮̪̻͐͑̋̎͑͛̓l̷͈͙̭͌̓̚å̸̪̣̟̋̿̎̅ş̶̲̦͍̬̰̰̙̝͌ ̶̳͕̠̰͇̹̹͖̉̅̾̿͆͊̀̉̎͒K̷̢̭̱͎̭̩̳̪̠̩͋̾̽̈́͐͊̕ŗ̸̫̎̓̀̈́͜͠i̷̢͓̣͍̝͐͌̊̏̎̎̓̄̕̕͜é̶̡͎̠̠̱̺̞̱̆̄̑͛́͜g̷̡̧̛͇̹̰̞̩̦̞̖̈̀

She didn't know when the tentacles stopped trying to grab her but after running for what felt like miles she eventually had to stop and rest. Without even thinking she used her hand to brace herself and found herself leaning against a wall trying to catch her breath and that's when she realized while she was trying to catch her breath that she was in one of the hallways from before. When she realized that she was standing still she quickly turned and saw the enormous Wolf not more than a couple of yards away, pacing back and forth just 3 feet from where The Darkness met The Dull Grey Floor.

"It Doesn't Seem To Want To Set Foot In This Hall or...," Chase thought., "... Maybe It Can't... Which Means There May Be Something Here Even Worse. Something Even That Thing Is Afraid of."

That thought gave Chase a chill.

"Alright Think... Just think. Maybe one of these doors can provide me with a clue."

Chase reached out for the handle of one of the nearest doors but she flinched at the last second when heard The Wolf she had almost forgotten about growl and she looked down the hall to see it staring right at her and snarling.

"Can't Get Me Can You?," She yelled confidently at the angry Wolf which only stared back from the dark holes where its eyes use to be. Feeling emboldened by a feeling of safety, Dr. Meridian smiled back at The Wolf which gently shook it's head from side to side as if to warn her that she was making a mistake.

"Don't want me to peek inside huh?," Chase asked, not really expecting an answer., "What are you hiding?"

Dr. Meridian studied the name on the ornate gold plaque affixed to the door perfectly at eye level but she couldn't make out what it said, The strange script kept changing and rearranging itself at random and when she attempted to touch the plaque the entire door began to crack and bleed. In Horror, Chase withdrew her hand and the door reverted to its previous form.

Chase stared at the name on the plaque:

S̵̢̙͈̗͔̖̱͐̋̾̀͒̐̋͋͜ͅo̷̱͆̎̕ȏ̷̪͚̣̬̦͚ͅn̴̹͈̬̥̩̭͋v̵̧̺̱̜͇̬̉͐̀̚ả̴͎̗ ̴̢̢̱̻͇̗͇̔̿̃͋͒̋͋̄͝ͅS̵͙̠̈͌̀̔̑̀̓͒̕ẗ̶̯́͐̈́̈̿́͠á̷̡̧̻͉͚̥͕͓̣̔́̄͊́̓́͜͝r̴̬̎̊ķ̶̧͕̘̮̬̈́̌

But she still couldn't make any sense out of it so she took a deep breath, summoned all of her determination and took hold of the door's handle but before she could open it she was assailed by experiences of events she had never had and by thoughts that weren't her own. It was as if the memories of someone else's life were invading her own mind through her and Aaron's link but that should be impossible.

Dr. Meridian's entire body convulsed as sights and sounds and thoughts she had never experienced coursed through her mind like a raging river. It was strange... They were obviously someone else's memories but instead of taking on their perspective as the memories unfolded she felt more like a disembodied ghost **** to watch, unable to interact.

Chase found herself in a prison cell where a Man, a Solider was tied to a chair and he was being interrogated by what looked like a Nazi Commandant judging from her uniform and rank insignia. That's right it was a Woman but what made Dr. Meridian really pay attention was the Man and not because he was a Man but because he bore an extremely uncanny resemblance to Aaron... His hair, his eyes, even his skin were the exact same color as Aaron's.

"Why are you forcing me to hurt you Herr Stark when I could think of so much more enjoyable things we can do together?," Chase heard the Commandant whisper in her captive's ear while caressing his bare chest with her finger.

Chase watched for any reaction but this "Stark" was a rock, I mean he literally looked like he had been carved from stone. There was no expression at all.

"Very well Herr Stark... As you wish. I will have to resort to more archaic methods to get you to talk. It really is a shame...," The Commandant said with a pout as she walked over to a near by table and retrieved a pair of what looked like pruning shears and walked back over to where Stark was tied and grabbed his hand, trapping one of his fingers between the blades.

"This is your last chance Herr Stark.," She paused giving him time to consider his response but he didn't say or do anything., "Very well then have it your way."

With a wet, sickening crunch followed by the sound of metal scraping back and forth against metal, Stark's finger was sheered cleanly from his hand and the only noticeable indicator that he felt anything was a brief twitch in his left eye. Dr. Meridian on the other hand tore her hand away from the door, screaming at the top of her lungs as if she had just stuck her hand into a pot of boiling water. What she saw and felt was so real that she actually looked at both her hands to see if all of her fingers were still there and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that every finger was accounted for.

"That was a little too real for my tastes... I think it may be time to leave.," Chase said in a shaky voice as she reached up to her ear but before she could send the signal to break the connection the heel of her right shoe broke throwing her off balance and sent her falling toward another door. Without thinking Chase reached out for anything she could find to keep her from falling and grabbed the handle of a door on the opposite side of the hall. As she pulled herself up she saw the name on The Door:

Ṙ̸̢̢͈̜̤͚͚͚̈́̅̽̃̈̇̚͝͝o̵̟̳̖̰̣̰̙̍͋̍̅͐͘ḱ̴̨͚̻̙̰͕̞̕ḛ̴͉͔̥̼̻͔͊͊̈̊̅̈̂͝g̵̪͎̲͉̗͎͑͝ ̶̱̦̼̹͈͙̤̟̤̄C̴̢̧̧͍̹̮̙̉o̵͈̫̩̭̦̤̲̞͉͋̌̿n̴̯̱̦̰̜͙̺̜̉͌͗̚ĩ̵̖͕͔̳̫͎̅͋̆͐̿g̸͚̓̑͑́̅̆͝͝l̷̨͔̖̞͇̖͕͍̂̓̔͜͠ͅi̸͙̗̮͈͐̽̇́̓̑̽̽͂ą̴̝̼̞͈͈̫́̽̐̽̓̆̓͐͝͠ŗ̸͙̟̬̥͙̞̪̠̾̓͂̌͘o̴̺̙̹̥̥̟̰͙͛̃

Chase had no more than gotten her balance and kicked off her shoes when just like the previous door her entire body began to convulse and more memories fought their way into her mind. This time she found herself observing another Man and he also bore an uncanny resemblance to Aaron as well as the Man from before. It appeared that instead of a Soldier he was a Priest. He was sitting in an ornate hand-carved wooden chair. He was young and dressed in a Priest's Cassock, a loose-fitting double-breasted Ankle-length garment incorporating a Clerical Collar and a blood red sash trimmed in gold and silver at the waist. The front of the cassock had a wide white strip down the center giving those that saw it the impression of a continuation of his white cotton clerical collar. This section of the Cassock had six visible black buttons on it with cross designs that were symmetrically separated on opposite sides of the white part of the Cassock. The sleeves had white crosses on them and the sleeves ended with a short length of chain about five inches long and at the other end of the chain was a cross hanging from it.

On a table in the room near where the youth sat was a Pair of glasses with yellow-tinted lenses, A white Zucchetto (Roman Catholic Skullcap) he wore for a hat, A Deacon's Cross with a macabre skull and sickle design, and a pair of White gloves with black crosses on them. Also near the chair where he sat were a pair of black Italian loafers with three upside down crosses embedded in the back of the heel. Chase was mesmerized by The Youth and she almost didn't notice that there was a scantily clothed buxom young woman washing his feet as he relaxed or that The Woman had a set of curled black horns emerging from her long white hair.

Chase was fascinated but before she could see any more she felt an intense burning in the back of her skull and a thundering roar cut through the haze of pain and confusion., "LIAR!"

Chase jerked away from the door and in a terrified panic she hurried looked all around and she didn't see anything, even The Wolf was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief then something large and powerful enveloped her body and everything went black. She had the sensation of tar flooding her lungs as she tried to gasp for breath and her entire body felt like she had been submerged in ice cold water. When The Darkness receded, Dr. Meridian found herself in the same Dark Void that she started in.

She looked around and at first she didn't see anything but an endless black space devoid of anything at all of substance then she heard something... a gentle tapping coming from somewhere behind her and as she turned Dr. Meridian caught sight of something that took her breath away. It was a Naked and ridiculously well-endowed Man sitting on a throne but it was a strange throne because it was utterly massive and incredibly ornate. It was blacker than the blackest obsidian and harder than The Densest Metal. The throne itself defied all logic as it was neither solid nor liquid. It was neither real nor unreal, neither metal nor stone.

She tried to focus on the face of The Man in The Dark but it was obscured and constant movement at his feet kept distracting her. Dr. Meridian could see women writhing and moaning in obvious pleasure at the feet of this mysterious figure.

"So You've Finally Arrived My Sweet!," Boomed The Man's voice and again she felt it tear through every fiber of her being.

When Chase didn't respond The Figure slowly rose to his feet and Chase felt her cheeks flush as she turned her head away from his towering Manhood. He walked down the steps leading down from his throne and when he reached the floor he walked across the prone, writhing bodies of the naked Women scattered all around his seat of power. Chase bit her lip, seeing how the Women reacted when he walked across their supple bodies like they weren't even there. It was obvious to Dr. Meridian that even his indifference towards them was immensely exciting as all of them moaned in Ecstasy at his slightest touch and a few of them experienced what Chase could only describe as a transcendent orgasm.

Chase was in awe in the presence of this Magisterial Entity and his apparent Dominance over all he surveyed. He stopped just a few feet from Dr. Meridian who had a hard time looking at him.

"Having Trouble Darling? Here Let Me Help You.," The Mysterious Man raised his hand and with a snap of his fingers he was embraced by The Encroaching Dark and when Dr. Meridian was finally able to look at him he was fully clothed. He wore s black suit which was strikingly similar to the ones Aaron wore and that wasn't the only thing she noticed because for the first time since coming face to face with this strange Entity she could actually make out some real details about its form.

"Better?," The Mysterious Stranger asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Chase was surprised at first by what sounded like heartfelt sincerity then she nodded hesitantly., "Who Are You?"

A Ghastly Grin split the figure's lips and he took a small bow. The voice that followed was as jovial as it was sinister., "Me? I Am He That Must Not Be Named. I Am The Silent Tragedy and The Unspoken Agony. I Am The Pain That Was... Is... and Is Yet To Come But You May Call Me Outis If You Like." The words themselves dripped with blood if such a thing were possible.

"I Think I May Be In Trouble!," Dr. Meridian thought in the face of this Smiling Terror.