Chapter One

How do you save someone, who doesn't know they need to be saved? I watch, day by day, hour by hour as the world around her decays. I speak reason and truth and I get a confused stare. She looks back at me with glazed eyes, but I still see her inside. She's trying desperately to connect the dots but she doesn't see the lines. My heart aches because I can't make her see, she has too accept the truth of her own free will. I wish God could show me a way to begin saving the world. God please help me help others. I know in my heart you're listening to this. I know that you can help me. Something is inside of me that I can't stop. Help me  to defeat them. Give me the strength to know where to go from here. Tonight, my dreams, show me. Is there someone you can send to me? I know I can do this. I am ready. Let the wars begin.


As Tristienne awoke, a pain had crept into her chest. She sat up, wiped the moisture from her eyes and sighed. Another nightmare, worse then all the others. She saw herself ripped in 2 halves, both whole. She made her way to the sink in the kitchen washed her face. The cool water was a sweet relief, it always was, the feeling reassured her she was awake, The pain in her chest worried her but then she thought of all the other random pains she had become accustomed too.

Something about today felt different for Tristienne, but that was the story everyday. Feeling weird, then after awhile she becomes calm. She didn't understand but she also became accustomed to that too. When she came home from work that day she had a message on her answering machine. Unusual, her bills were paid and no one else really called. She lived a solitary life, work, home, books, rinse and repeat. She dropped her bag by her desk and hit play. She went too her closet to change while the tape played. Nothing, just static filled the apartment as the tape played going over a minute.

Tristienne quickly changed out of her work clothes, and walked over to delete the message. She figured it was a hang up but the white noise began to give her the creeps, especially since she was alone. Her finger tapped the erase button and a pain shot through her arm. She buckled from the shock and fell too her knees, her hand still on the machine. Tristienne pulled her hand away, gasping for breath she attempted to get up, her chest burned like her t shirt was soaked in acid. She crawled to her bed, hoping that lying down and collecting her thoughts would make sense. She had no history of heart problems, she was breathing and conscious. She sat at the edge, her hands pulling at her pajama shorts and the thoughts whizzed around her mind. The pain, only lasting a few seconds each time, was immense.  But just like that they disappeared. She had not a moment to process what was happening. She curled up under her blankets, leaving her light on and went to sleep hoping for a dreamless night to put her mind at ease.

The next morning Tristienne opened her eyes, a dark figure parallel too her body inches from her face was staring back at her, she went to scream but she couldn't open her mouth, she couldn't move. She felt a wetness around her body like she was in shallow pond. Her eyes darted around looking for a reality to grasp but she found nothing but blackness. The burning was back, but this time it was everywhere. Her body was being minced but she could see nothing.The liquid she was in began to rise slowly consuming her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dark red syrupy liquid covering her body, closing in on her face. She struggled but in vain, a minute passed and she took one last breath and held it as she was submerged.

Tristienne came into awareness, again in the dark but then she quickly realized her eyes were still closed. She breathed a giant sigh of relief as she began to recover from that nightmare. She was scared to open her eyes but then she realized how silly that was, but it didn't make her feel better as it usually did.  She gave herself a countdown from three and feeling childish about it she counted backwards.

"Three, two, one..."

Her eyes opened and she wasn't in her bed. Her heart crept into her throat as her worst fears began swirling around her head. The room around her was pure white. The stone slab where she was lying, was also pure white. There were no doors, no windows. She was trapped. She began speaking out to herself ..
"Okay, I'm still dreaming..okay..I'll wake up I just have to give it time"

Time was passing and she was still not waking up. She sat up, and walked around and approached one the white walls when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello Tristy, my sincerest apologies for the ordeal but we have a certain way to do things and I hope you forgive me the crudeness of it all."

Tristienne didn't want to turn around, though the voice behind her was soft and alluring and sounded sincere but after what she's just endured it could be just another twist to this awful dream. She stood quiet, and continued to face the wall and then it spoke again.

"You don't have to fear me at this moment Tristy, if I may call you that. I am not going to hurt you but you must face me so we can discuss what needs to be done. You may stare at the wall as long as you like but time has no hold here so you will be waiting quite a while if you think the situation will change. Now, turn around...please."

Tristienne stared hard at the wall, her mind bending at the lack of reality. She absently thought to herself she didn't mind being called Tristy, actually she preferred it but no one ever called her that. She shook her head as she felt she was accepting a false security while being convinced to possibly face a nightmarish monster but then she might as well get this nightmare over with because her mind was being stubborn instead of waking up. She took a breath and turned to face the voice.

Sitting on the stone slab was a male figure, dressed in a stunning all black suit but his features were blurry. Tristy rubbed her eyes and again tried to focus but her eyes wouldn't allow it. This doesn't make sense she thought, she saw his suit clear as day but she couldn't make out his face. It was like looking at a ghost. She couldn't reason with herself the answer for anything that was happening so she figured she'd just begin asking questions.

"Where am I and what's happening and can I wake up now please?"

The figure let out a small laugh and answered "You haven't moved, you're being awakened and you're not sleeping."

Tristy tried to wrap her head around what was happening, but she couldn't. She tried to tell herself she was dreaming but it didn't feel like a dream.

"This isn't possible, I have to be dreaming, if I am not dreaming then why does this room have no doors?"

She shook her head, feeling ridiculous for trying to reason with nothing and getting no where. She felt helpless, and yearned for her alarm clock to jolt her from this craziness.

The figure stood up, still blurry in her eyes and she felt a warmth on her face.

"There are no walls, you have not gone anywhere, you visualized a mental block because you're mind had to brace itself to receive something so drastic, look around you."

She was about to argue when she realized he was right, she was in her room by her answering machine where she first felt the pain that started it all. She stared around her room, wide eyed and in disbelief. Tears begain forming behind her eyes because she felt insane. She locked on to him, and he stood as tall as a statue at the foot of her bed. She tried to force his image into focus but again he appeared like a mist in clothing.

"What am I supposed to think? This isn't normal!, I've lost my mind look at me talking to myself and hallucinating."

Shaking her head Tristy turned around, ready to call the men from the booby hatch in white coats to lock her away for good. Except she couldn't, her arms couldn't lift, her mind wouldn't work, her heart won't let this go. She figured if she were actually going insane she might as well go out with a bang. She decided to humour herself and spun around and ask another question.

"Ok, I'll go along, but just who are you?"

Although she couldn't see his face she could tell he was smiling slightly.

"I am a part of you, I've always been there. Remember every time you felt like something you were about to do was a bad idea? Well I told you that."

Tristy stared at him as hard as she could, like if making him appear clearly would make a difference to the nonsensical ideas and words floating around her room at that moment. She didn't know what too do, what he wanted or why this was happening. A thought came to her, what if he's lying? Maybe he drugged her and he was going to kill her or worse. She looked at her apartment door and that very second he spoke.

"I won't kill you, hurt you, do anything to you. I am you and hurting you would hurt me and I'm not a masochist, thank you."

He blurry face smirked and she became frustrated with the abundance of words and still no answers. She was ready to collapse, her head just couldn't handle anymore and before she knew it she was taking the most peaceful nap of her life.

When Tristy finally came to, she was back in her bed and covered in her comforter.  She was getting ready to assure herself that she had finally woken up from that nightmare when he reappeared just like that. Right beside her bed, that man in the black suit towered over her.

"Look I don't know what you want from me other than to drive me insane, what is it? What do you need please, I can't take this.."

For the first time he appeared taken a back, his clouded face frowned along with her heart. Her emotions playing over his entire body like a silent film. Her sadness and confusion radiated from within him, like a physical apparition of her cartoon drawn heart.

"I need you...to do something, a lot of things and this will bring about an entire life change.  I don't like that you're going to have to do this and I wish I could take your place, but I cannot. But I will guide you, and protect you as well I can."


Tristy shot up, she started to get the feeling like she was in danger and a cold chill made its way into her spine. A cold burst of wind pushed against her body and his ghostly face became dark. He was emulating her emotions, physically. He was a giant mood ring, and she wondered in the moment if he would turned red is she was angry enough. She quickly pulled herself back into the mess she was in, ready to ask what he was talking about. She couldn't, she couldn't handle anymore of this.

"I'm sorry...."

He was trying to comfort her, assuring her of things and talking for what seemed like forever and she heard none of it. Her mind was tired and exhausted from...she couldn't even figure out what the answer to that was.

"Look I know I'm asking a lot of you, and if I give the impression that this is a choice..I assure you it is not.
I am offering you a better way to enter this and without my help you will suffer more.
If you do not do this my way you will suffer for it.
I came to give you a comfort and an ease.
You can refuse but I promise you will regret it"

Tristy shot back, aggravated at everything because she couldn't get just the comfort of an explanation.

"How dare you?!
I have not even the slightest clue what you're telling me and then you threaten me?"

He broke in before she could continue.
"I am not...


"No, don't talk, that's all you've done and I still don't know what this is, I'm talking now and you listen.
You need to tell me what the fuck you are doing in  my home and what's happening to me.
I am tired of these riddles and shit that's pouring from the mouth I can't even see.
Do you even have a name because you sure don't look like a Tristienne?"

The room became extremely hot, and she knew that it was her own temper rising the temperature.

"My given name is Jarei, you are going to acquire a talent that you didn't have before and some people are going to come for you.
You will become a servant too them, but and idol for the world too admire. You will disgrace yourself, you will do things that repulse you.
You will be immersed in a world you never knew existed even though it has surrounded you your whole life.
You are special, but you are weak.
That will change and when it does I will be clearly visible to you.
No one must know you see me, you will refer to me as Jared when you speak my name and never anything else.
After today you will not see me, nor hear me but you will know I am with you.
Get dressed, you have 48 hours before they knock at your door.
No need to go to work today, you quit.
Let me guide you, do not stray"


As his words played like a song between her ears she was mesmerized and after his last one he disappeared. Tristy looked and the space, now empty. Her window visible again as her memories of him began to fade. She started to panic, she felt her memory slipping. She spoke to herself out loud.

"Wait, 2 days, wait, 2 days for what? What's in 2 days again?"

She scratched her head and walked over to the fridge. She had a studio apartment and she loved the one room with everything deal. Easy cleaning, perfect room for one person. Her thoughts continued to trail off and she spotted a date circled on her calender. Two days from now she had an interview,  funny she knew she had one but she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was for. She had a weird feeling but that was normal for her. Yeah everything was normal, just like every other day she felt weird. After collecting herself for a moment she got a burst of energy thinking about her interview. She opened the fridge, poured herself a glass of orange juice, and began filling her mind with expectations to pass the time.