THIRD PERSON POV
Tom woke up in a dimly lit place. He glanced around, trying to understand where he was, but everything felt unfamiliar.
"D-daddy?" he called out, his heart racing with fear.
"Uncle Saint?" he shouted again, confused about where everyone had gone. They had all been together just moments before. This place reminded him of the dark tunnels his favorite cartoon characters traveled through to save the day. So, he decided to take a few steps forward. As he moved, he noticed various things floating in the air.
It wasn't completely dark; he could still make out some shapes among the floating objects. One of them showed a teenage boy leaning against a wall, gazing at a woman who was looking at photos of a man. The boy had a sad expression and was wiping his eyes. Then, Tom watched as the boy walked over to the woman and hugged her from behind.
"Mum, I'm sure Dad is with the moon goddess, watching over and protecting us," the teenage boy said. The woman turned to him and smiled. "I know."
Tom recognized the teenage boy as Uncle Saint. Feeling relieved to find him in this strange place, he called out, but his young uncle didn't respond. He tried again, but there was still no answer. Tom continued to look around, observing the various things floating nearby. He spotted Uncle Saint again, this time in a different scene. Tom didn't recognize the people arguing with him, but he could see Uncle Saint getting upset and then running home to cry quietly in his room.
Tom felt sorry for him and wanted to offer some comfort, but this young Uncle Saint didn't respond. He tried a few times, but received no reply. "Maybe this Uncle Saint doesn't like me," he whispered to himself.
He decided that this place felt strange and unreal. So, he chose to move forward in search of the real Uncle Saint. As he walked, he entered another dimly lit area. It wasn't very bright, but it was certainly an improvement over the dark place he had just left. Tom observed that some of the floating objects around him had a dark energy, while others radiated warmth.
In this space, he saw several versions of Uncle Saint—none of them were the teenage one. Many of the floating items were filled with only Uncle Saint and his dad. Those were surrounded by a comforting warmth.
In some of the scenes, they were talking, hugging, and... Tom squinted, trying to see what his dad and Uncle Saint were doing in his dad's room, but he couldn't make it out. It looked like his dad was on top of Uncle Saint, but he couldn't tell exactly what they were doing. Were they fighting?
Another scene caught his eye when he noticed himself with Uncle Saint. He also recognized the woman from earlier, along with Uncle Saint's friend and Uncle Chris.
"But where is everyone else? I can't see Lily or Aunt Cee, and..." He trailed off, speaking quietly to himself.
"Tom?" A voice called out. He looked around but couldn't find the person. "It's me, Uncle Owen. I need you to keep moving, okay? We have to find out who's making Uncle Saint sick, and we have to do it before time runs out. Just keep walking."
Tom nodded, even though he wasn't sure if his strange uncle could see him. "Okay," he said aloud to be sure. Then he walked straight ahead. However, he didn't notice anything new. All he saw were blurry images that didn't make sense, and he felt a dark energy surrounding them.
Tom was getting tired of walking. "Should I tell the strange uncle that I need a break? Would he get angry?" he wondered to himself. He decided to sit down and wait for Uncle Owen to speak to him again. A few moments later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Tom froze, too scared to move. He thought the people around him didn't talk and couldn't see him. So who was tapping him?
He waited to see if he would feel it again, but this time, nothing happened. He looked back and saw no one there. Feeling relieved, he stood up and began to head back the way he came.
That's when he heard it—a sound of crying. He paused, unsure if he had imagined it. But then he heard it again. It was a child crying, and that voice felt oddly familiar. He glanced around but only saw the floating objects he had noticed earlier; there was no one else in sight.
Determined to find the source of the voice, he followed the sound and discovered a shirtless child sitting on the ground, their head resting on their knees as they sobbed into their lap. The child was hiding their face with their arms, so Tom couldn't see it.
"Are you okay?" Tom asked, feeling a surge of concern for this stranger. The child stopped crying, lifted their head, and looked up at Tom.
Tom gasped when he realized that this child didn't have a regular face. Instead, they had several mouths where their face should be, and there were no eyes or nose—just mouths.
Tom instinctively stepped back, horrified by what he saw. "Are you scared of me?" the child whispered. Tom recognized that voice; he had heard it before, which made him freeze in place.
"Tom, do you see something or someone? I can feel your fear. What did you see?" he heard his uncle's voice call out.
"Y-yes, I see a child," Tom managed to reply.
"Do you know this child?" his uncle asked.
Tom opened his mouth to reveal who he thought the child's voice belonged to, but the mysterious child interrupted him. "P-please don't tell anyone I'm here. S-she said I would get in big trouble if I ever mentioned I'm here," the child whispered.
Tom felt certain he recognized that voice. He was convinced he knew to whom it belonged.
"Tom, I need you to put your hands on the child and repeat after me. We don't have much time, so hurry," the uncle instructed.
"Can you stand up?" Tom gently asked the child, who nodded and lifted himself up. Tom slowly approached and placed his small hands on the child.
The uncle started to say some words, and Tom echoed them. As he repeated them, he noticed the child's body beginning to twitch as all the mouths started to merge. Tom quickly stepped back when he saw the child collapse onto the floor.
He gasped as he realized whose body it was. That body and voice had the same face.
Tom fell to the ground as everything went dark once more.
«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«
When he regained consciousness, he found himself no longer in darkness. He was back at home in his bed, with his dad, Uncle Chris, and the strange uncle watching over him.
"Tom, are you alright?" his dad asked. Tom felt a slight headache, but he was okay, so he nodded. Then he recalled everything that had happened. It all seemed like a dream, and he regretted leaving him behind instead of staying with him. Maybe this uncle could have helped him look normal again.
Tom couldn't shake his curiosity about why he was there. He was sure he had talked to him the day before. How did he end up there?
"You did great, Tom. You helped Uncle Saint heal," the uncle said.
"Really?" Tom's face lit up when he heard that Uncle Saint would be okay.
"Yes. But do you know, child?"
Tom's smile faded at the question. He wasn't sure how to respond.
"The child you saw a little while ago, do you know who they are?" the uncle asked again. Tom remembered how he had begged him not to tell anyone.
Tom shook his head. "I don't know who the child is," he replied softly.
He was determined to protect his friend.