[ FIC ] the rest
The truth is a harder pill to swallow than he thought. He walks in a daze away from the altars, away from the body of his little brother (the little brother he killed) unthinking, unaware. His hands are shaking, his steps are uneven, and eventually he just - stops. Leans against a wall somewhere, pulls his knees to his chest and stops.
He doesn't know how much time he passes just sitting there like that, alone, vulnerable. It doesn't matter. Not under the weight of the truth, the truth about Josh's disappearance (death) (the little brother he was supposed to protect) the town's state, being responsible for all of it.
When he looks up again, the man - the creature, the monster with the knife, the Bogeyman - is standing before him again. Silent, towering over him, eyes obscured but Alex can feel it - him? - watching anyway through the jagged red metal. There's a dull, residual pang of fear, but he's too tired for anything more than that. There's nothing left.
"You gonna kill me, too?"
There's a long moment where nothing happens. And then slowly, ever so slowly, the pyramid moves, shifts, shaking from side to side once in a silent no. Alex finds the energy to get to his feet, wondering what that means for him.
"So what happens now?"
The rest. The voice is in his head, dull, hoarse from disuse, tired like his own - like his own. It sounds like him, and a fresh spark of panic manages to lance its way through Alex at that realization.
"What do you mean?"
The empty hands raises. Reaches inside the helmet (even a single finger is barely able to fit through the hole around the neck) and tugs something out. There's a familiar jingle as it falls out to rest on the monster's chest, a gleam of metal in the dull light, and Alex's mind reels when he figures out just what it is.
Dog tags. It's wearing dog tags. His hands are shaking as he reaches up, runs his fingers over embossed letters, reads them even though he doesn't want to. The dog tags are more worn than his, rusted over and streaked with something Alex doesn't even want to try to identify, but he can still read the letters because he's read them so many times before.
A. Shepherd.
"Oh god." His voice is little more than a whimper, barely words at all. "You're... me?"
A part of you. What you will become.
There's sound from the shadows. Alex's head turns, and there's a second Bogeyman coming towards him, bearing one half of the pyramid torture device. The inside is lined with spikes. A third is coming from his right, the other half cradled in his hands. He stares at them for a moment, then looks back at the one in front of him - the piece of him. There's no panic anymore. Just resignation, a sense of finality, a sense of... being whole? Maybe. He wants to laugh. He wants to cry. He doesn't do either, but instead smiles, a bitter thing.
"So this was always going to be it."
A long moment of nothing. And then, slowly, as if it's an arduous task, there comes a nod.
Alex closes his eyes, lets his hands drop. He's still smiling that bitter thing when the helmet is closed over his head and the man known as Alex Shepherd ceases to exist.
[ Inspired by the Bogeyman Ending of SH: H, this picture and the comments, and My Secret Friend by IAMX and Imogen Heap. ]
He doesn't know how much time he passes just sitting there like that, alone, vulnerable. It doesn't matter. Not under the weight of the truth, the truth about Josh's disappearance (death) (the little brother he was supposed to protect) the town's state, being responsible for all of it.
When he looks up again, the man - the creature, the monster with the knife, the Bogeyman - is standing before him again. Silent, towering over him, eyes obscured but Alex can feel it - him? - watching anyway through the jagged red metal. There's a dull, residual pang of fear, but he's too tired for anything more than that. There's nothing left.
"You gonna kill me, too?"
There's a long moment where nothing happens. And then slowly, ever so slowly, the pyramid moves, shifts, shaking from side to side once in a silent no. Alex finds the energy to get to his feet, wondering what that means for him.
"So what happens now?"
The rest. The voice is in his head, dull, hoarse from disuse, tired like his own - like his own. It sounds like him, and a fresh spark of panic manages to lance its way through Alex at that realization.
"What do you mean?"
The empty hands raises. Reaches inside the helmet (even a single finger is barely able to fit through the hole around the neck) and tugs something out. There's a familiar jingle as it falls out to rest on the monster's chest, a gleam of metal in the dull light, and Alex's mind reels when he figures out just what it is.
Dog tags. It's wearing dog tags. His hands are shaking as he reaches up, runs his fingers over embossed letters, reads them even though he doesn't want to. The dog tags are more worn than his, rusted over and streaked with something Alex doesn't even want to try to identify, but he can still read the letters because he's read them so many times before.
A. Shepherd.
"Oh god." His voice is little more than a whimper, barely words at all. "You're... me?"
A part of you. What you will become.
There's sound from the shadows. Alex's head turns, and there's a second Bogeyman coming towards him, bearing one half of the pyramid torture device. The inside is lined with spikes. A third is coming from his right, the other half cradled in his hands. He stares at them for a moment, then looks back at the one in front of him - the piece of him. There's no panic anymore. Just resignation, a sense of finality, a sense of... being whole? Maybe. He wants to laugh. He wants to cry. He doesn't do either, but instead smiles, a bitter thing.
"So this was always going to be it."
A long moment of nothing. And then, slowly, as if it's an arduous task, there comes a nod.
Alex closes his eyes, lets his hands drop. He's still smiling that bitter thing when the helmet is closed over his head and the man known as Alex Shepherd ceases to exist.
[ Inspired by the Bogeyman Ending of SH: H, this picture and the comments, and My Secret Friend by IAMX and Imogen Heap. ]