Tommy screamed, wincing in pain and starting to glow. "What are you doing to him?!" I screamed, startled by the sight of him glowing. "Stop! What is this?! What are you doing to me?!" Tommy yelled, trying to punch the spirits to no prevail. "This might kill him, by the way." The voices said nonchalantly. "Then stop! He doesn't have to see you! I'll explain it to him!!!" I said, so angry and worried that I started crying. "I HEAR THEM!!!" A voice screamed from below. Me, Tommy, and even the spirits stopped. "We'll help you. Don't worry." The spirits whispered while circling me and Tommy, enveloping us in white.
"W-What the heck is happening!" Tommy said as an extremely bright light filled the vent and we get teleported into our secret room. "That was way too close," I said as we heard gas filling the vents. "WHAT THE HECK!? WE COULD'VE DIED!!!!" Tommy screamed with a surprising amount of animosity. "...Let's ignore that. I know this might startle you, but we're missing a spirit. The most powerful one, in fact. He isn't really a part of us now, but he's our buddy! We're supposed to be a physical entity." The spirits said. " I can't even see you! Reveal yourself!!!" Tommy yelled, visibly frustrated. "Calm down Tommy. Anyway, you were saying?" I said, looking at the spirits while putting my hand on Tommy's shoulder. "You don't know? I could've sworn that you heard him already. Well, I'll just tell you. He's in your head. Go to sleep, and he will talk to you. We call him the nightmare man." The spirits said, cautiously.
"Ok, I will," I said while laying down. "W-Wait, let me at least help you so that you aren't uncomfortable," Tommy said, pulling out a few burlap sacks and some straw that they had for some reason. He laid it down like a bed. I laid down on it, getting more comfortable and slowly drifting into the realm of sleep. "I was asleep, right?" I said, waking up in the middle of a giant room that had very little furniture but a lot of weird antiques. "Maybe this is... his lair? Okay, guess I'll call out his name then." I thought. "THE NIGHTMARE MAN!!!" I yelled. The whole room starts to shake and rumble. "Who are you and how do you know my name." A tall slender man said while making his way to me. He had a mask that was covered in engravings on his face. "W-Who are you???" I asked while scooting away because the room was shaking so much that I couldn't stand up. "Well, child, I think you can help me. First, I have to see if you are worthy enough to help me so I have a riddle for you. You'll need it to find out the truth, and to wake up. Ahem."
"Come with me to the secret place
So we can come face to face.
Your secret room is a secret kept safe
Unless someone exposes your trace.
So heed this little act of grace
So that They don't come to seal your fate.
And in the room that those things praise
For you to come, I will await."
And then he vanished. The room was smaller. It was our designated safe room, except I was alone. "Why am I here? What's even happening? A few days ago you weren't as creepy. Actually- scratch that I think back when I was you then you were still just as creepy. Still... what just happened?" I say mostly to myself, shocked and weirded out. "Well, I guess I have some exploring to do. It's useless to just sit here and do nothing but ask questions." I said, getting up and climbing into a vent. "I better brace myself for something pretty confusing," I said while replaying the encounter with the Nightmare Man.
I was crawling through the tunnel, trying to decipher the poem the best I can, then I smelled something terrible. "Uuugh... what's that smell?" I whispered, smelling a putrid smell. Just then a message appeared with a sketched drawing of what I assume is a Dweller, all engraved on the bottom of the vent by what seemed to be fire. "What? Is this from the Nightmare Man?" I whispered, not wanting Them to hear me. I read it out loud quietly so I could commit it to memory.
"They will come for you when you rest,
They will steal the air out of your chest.
If you don't want your fate to be sealed,
Then ask the Dwellers how they feel."
Then I continued walking after saying that. I heard crunching and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I heard ripping sounds and dripping sounds accompanied by the slightly metallic clicks of claws colliding with the metal vent. I was obviously very far from the safe room so I had nowhere to hide. I could only go forward, so I slowly crawled towards the noise, being careful as to be completely silent. the vent branched off and I looked to the left where the sound was coming from. I saw a sight that is probably one of the most gruesome and disgusting sights I saw on this trip.