Villains and Damsels Pt. 03

She was less impressed by this idea than she might have been under different circumstances, letting out a strange, dark laugh. "Maybe if he is in there, with her, you can still find out who he is."

"Maybe," he said, though the Master's actions had thoroughly convinced Sam that he'd lost the element of surprise. The Master was a part of Natalie, after all, even if it was a part of her that she didn't like or had little control over. It had the potential to know anything that she knew. Usually, he didn't have to use subterfuge with his clients. He would tell them his plan, and the object of their concern would be so deep within their psyche that it wouldn't be an issue.

But if the Master knew what Sam had been planning, that might mean it was closer to the surface of Natalie's mind than he thought. What exactly that meant, he didn't know. Someone better at this than he was probably would.

Fuck, why did they let just anyone do this?

"If he's in there," he said, looking Natalie in the eyes, "I'll figure out who he is. One way or another." He had no idea why he was still so compelled to make promises like this to her, but it was a habit he was starting to resent.

Natalie, however, clearly loved it. Her whole body relaxed when he did it. Well, there it was right there. The reason he couldn't stop.

He stood. Even in here, his legs got stiff. He headed towards the door, Natalie closely behind him. He held the iron poker out from his side, brandishing it like he expected the Master to come back out at any moment.

His mouth was dry when they got to the door. He looked back at Natalie, whose eyes were shining. "I should go with you," she said.

Part of him wished she would, but she could very well end up being more of a liability in there than anything. "No. No reason to stress yourself out more. Just wait out here."

She opened her mouth like she might try to argue the point further, but then closed it and nodded.

The door was heavy, white, painted with tiny flowers and gold filagree accents. Sam pushed on it. The space beyond looked like a black, empty void, though that didn't necessarily mean it was empty. Just that Natalie's mind hadn't built a threshold from one room to the next. She was a marketing manager, not an architect.

If there was nothing beyond it, then when Sam tried to step through, he would just keep walking but get nowhere, like a video game character made to walk against a wall. He half expected this to be what would happen. But he shouldn't have been surprised when a moment later, the room from the night before came into focus.

Nothing about tonight had gone as planned, after all. Nothing had been quite what he'd expected.

For example, he'd expected to see Lindsay in the same position that Natalie had been in when the Master had taken her. Lying on the bed, disheveled, crying under the demonic body of her assaulter.

But neither of them was on the bed.

They were on the rug. It took Sam a moment to realize he was looking at the Master's back. It was standing, quietly, almost contemplatively.

No, wait, no it wasn't.

Lindsay was there. Sam didn't realize that at first, either. She was at the Master's front, so she wasn't easy to spot, but he noticed her billowing skirt at the Master's shadowy feet. It took Sam a moment to assess what was going on, because surely what he thought was happening couldn't be what was...

Lindsay withdrew her face from in front of the Master's waist, peering around the shadows to look at Sam.

She smiled. She giggled. She licked white beads of precum off her lips.

"You like her, Sam?"

Sam jumped at the voice, at the sound of his name. He almost dropped the poker.

The Master laughed. "I asked you if you like her."

Sam swallowed, though his mouth was dry. Alright, this thing, this nightmare wanted to play a game? Wanted to match wits? He'd give it a try. "What does it matter if I like her?"

"I took her for you, Sam." The Master's voice was less echoey than it had been in the main chamber, less booming, more human, but still deep and authoritative.

"Me?" Sam almost laughed. "Why? This isn't my dream."

"No, you're right. Then again, in a way, it is."

Riddles. He...it was talking in riddles. "So, she's what, a gift for me?" Sam challenged. His voice shook, and he gripped the poker tighter for support.

The Master laughed, still staring at the wall. Sam looked down to check on Lindsay, who was sitting lazily on the rug, staring at nothing, eyes glazed over. She looked like an animatronic in sleep mode. "Cute. No." A dark tendril patted Lindsay's blonde hair. "She's bait."

Sudden panic jerked inside Sam's chest. Natalie. He'd left her alone. He turned around. The door was gone. "What are you doing to Nat?" It was entirely possible for a nightmare to exist in more than one place within the dream, especially one as intimidating to the dreamer as the Master.

"Nothing. Right now, she's where you left her, pacing back and forth, waiting to find out what you've done in here. It's probably the most boring dream she's ever had. No, Sam. I wasn't trying to get to Natalie."

The shadows around the Master began to retreat towards its body, revealing a more humanlike form than ever. A black suit, just like Sam had sworn he'd seen the night before. Perfectly tailored, perfectly flattering of a slim frame.

Sam blinked, feeling like something about the Master was familiar. Something about the color of its hair, and the way it sat on its head. Something about the way it held itself. Something about its voice. It was almost like...

The Master turned, and Sam almost fell backwards.

"I was trying to get to you," the Master said.

The iron poker dropped to the floor, and Sam didn't even realize he'd let it go until he heard it clatter.

The Master wasn't just familiar.

The Master was Sam.

To Be Continued