When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a blue and black void.

"Oh, great, another lucid dream. What'll it be about this time?" I asked aloud, not at all surprised when I received no answer. My dreams had been...strange lately. They all involved people in my school, from Tempest to Eli, and they only started when Dallas told me about the Squip. It made me feel like my mind was trying to tell me something. Something important.

There was a bright flash of flame-colored light, and I was suddenly standing in the center of a living room that I didn't recognize. The coffee table was flipped over completely, the couch looked torn in places, beer and soda cans littered the floor, and the windows were smashed. In short, it looked like a tornado had touched down and ripped through the room. Suddenly, I heard Dallas's voice shout from the kitchen.

"I won't let you do this!" He came stumbling out, phasing through me in the process. He looked terrible. His hair was disheveled and hung in his face, neon blue circuits seemed to sear themselves into the skin below his eyes and on his neck, and he was desperately clawing at his throat and head.

"And how do you plan on stopping us?~" The voice made my heart almost stop. Not only were the words spoken completely out loud, as though the speaker was literally right next to me, but they were spoken in the same condescending-yet-threatening tone as the way my Squip said certain things. The voice itself sounded like Daisy Ridley - Rey from Star Wars - with heavy autotune and an almost demonic distortion. Dallas looked around frantically before his eyes widened. I saw determination, fear, and defiance in those hazel-green eyes.

He scrambled down two flights of stairs into what I presumed to be the basement, opened a door that led outside, and sprinted to a shed that was in the backyard. I followed close behind him, curious yet afraid. After we reached the shed, he wrenched the door open, rummaged around inside, and pulled out a rather heavy-looking container of gasoline.

"With this!" He said triumphantly. My eyes widened.

"Oh my God. Dallas, Dallas, you gotta think this through, man!" I said, not caring that he couldn't hear me. I could only watch as he ran back into the house, me hot on his heels, and started pouring the container on everything in sight. After everything was properly doused, he pulled out a box of matches from a drawer, lit one, took a deep breath, and hurled it with as much strength as he could.

The last thing I saw before I was thrown backward was a house in flames and one of my closest friends collapsing onto the ground, screaming his head off. I landed flat on my butt back in the blue and black void, closed my eyes for a moment, and tried to process everything.

"Did I just witness one of my closest friends attempt to burn his house down because...because..." Realization crept into my voice, and I almost clapped my hands over my mouth, choosing to let out a loud gasp instead.

"Dallas has a Squip!" I said in alarm. Then, another thought entered my mind.

"His Squip said something about 'us'...how do you plan on stopping us..." I murmured. Before I could even think about elaborating, I felt a wave of fatigue hit me like a truck. Groaning in slight pain, I collapsed onto the ground and closed my eyes, falling asleep near instantly.