Rev grunted and rolled in his sleep, twitching as the fire crackled beside him. But in his dream, there was no fire—only endless black stone and the echo of a voice he couldn't remember.
"You were never supposed to wake up," the voice hissed. "And yet… here you are."
His hand shot to his chest as pain surged through him—and then he awoke, gasping for air.
He looked around and saw the campfire burning in the night. Fink was asleep in his bedroll, an empty flask of milk in his hand. Akemi sat by the fire, stirring the coals with a stick.
Rev got up and walked over, settling across from Akemi in front of the fire.
"Can't sleep, huh?"
Akemi tossed the stick aside, then laid back in his bedroll, staring up at the stars. "Sleeping's not really something I do a lot of. Seems like that big guy over there does... Watch this."
He picked up a small stone and threw it at Fink. It bounced off him. Fink didn't move—not even a twitch.
"See what I mean? That is one weird dude."
Rev laughed. "Yeah, that much is apparent."
Rev let the silence settle for a moment, the warmth of the fire licking at the edge of his boots. The dream still lingered in his chest like a fading bruise.
"You ever… feel like you're being watched, even when you're alone?" he asked, eyes locked on the embers.
Akemi raised an eyebrow but didn't turn to look at him. "All the time. But that's just paranoia. Hard to tell."
Rev frowned, rubbing the center of his chest where the pain had bloomed in his dream. "This felt different. Like someone... knows I'm here. Like they've been waiting."
That got Akemi's attention. He sat back up, glancing toward him with a more serious look than usual. "You remember something?"
Rev shook his head slowly. "Not exactly. Just a voice. And a place. Black stone everywhere. Cold. Familiar. It said I wasn't supposed to wake up."
Akemi went quiet, the usual casual smirk absent from his face. He looked at Rev like he was trying to solve a puzzle without the edges.
"Well," he finally said, "you did wake up. And if someone didn't want that to happen, it means you've already pissed off the right kind of people."
Rev chuckled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He leaned back, looking up at the stars like Akemi had earlier. They blinked down innocently, as if they hadn't heard a thing.
Fink suddenly let out a loud snore and rolled onto his side, the empty milk flask rolling into the firelight. Akemi snorted. "Sleep of the dead, I swear."
Rev allowed himself a smirk. "Let's hope he doesn't start glowing too."
"Don't jinx it," Akemi muttered, already pulling his blanket tighter.
Rev lay down again, the dream still echoing in the back of his mind. But this time, he didn't close his eyes right away. He watched the sky, the flames, and the shadows dancing at the edge of the camp.
Because whoever that voice belonged to... he knew they were still out there.
Watching.
Waiting.