Who Is The Dark Afraid Of?*
Jeremy lay awake for the second consecutive night. So tired, yet unable to close his eyes. Every time he tried, the fear washed inescapably over him. "Once I close my eyes, I shall never open them again." He knew it was true. Ah, but he was so tired. If only he could sleep. "To sleep, perchance to dream..." Who the fuck was saying that?
Raising his head, he saw the bard sitting at the foot of his bed, calmly and coolly appraising the young man now staring at him. "Leave me alone, Bill!" shouted Jeremy, "For the last time leave me alone!"
The apparition chuckled softly, "But that is not up to me, for you already are alone. Alone forever, never to awake." With that the ghost of Shakespeare faded as Jeremy shot upright in terror.
He turned to the man next to him. "Help me goddammit! Do something Abe, please, help!". Lincoln just smiled a cagey smile, however. No quips, no silver tongue, just a silver gleam in his almost skeletal eyes, underneath the top hat, too shiny for its own good.
"Quiet, lad, I'm trying to watch the show." Suddenly Jeremy realized he was no longer in bed. Looking around in terror he recognized Ford's Theater. No, this couldn't be happening. He had to stop it. He could see Booth emerging from the shadows. He had to warn Abe, had to stop this from happening! He tried to open his mouth but was unable to. He watched helplessly, in silent terror, as the assassin fired. Finally, too late to change anything, he found his voice. "No! Abe! Don't leave me!" he cried, but it was too late. This vision, like the last, faded and left him alone. No Booth, no Lincoln, no theater, just Jeremy alone in his bed. And the bullet.
The bullet was still there, and it was coming straight for him. Time slowed, nearly stopped. A truly infinite sequence of discrete moments, as the bullet slowly sped toward its mark. Jeremy was frozen in place; could not move, could not make a sound, could only watch as the end drew ever closer. As the bullet neared him he decided it wasn't worth it. Nothing mattered this much, nothing mattered at all, he couldn't bring himself to watch this. He closed his eyes and never opened them again.
*Alternate title: Dying Peacefully In Your Sleep
