The nameless chased me again. Each night is the same. I surrender to sleep only to be pursued. I stumble along, frightened by the unspeakable horrors that will befall me should I be captured. They that follow cry out for me, desperate to draw me in. I manage to keep but one corridor or corner ahead, just beyond their reach. Their colors are otherworldly set against the landscape of this dark and dreary place. One blazes the color of blood. Another is clad in blue. The third is pale in a mustardy yellow. The last frightens me the most. His is every shade of grey.

It is Grey who tracks me the longest. It is Grey who refuses to yield. My mindless flight of terror climaxes as Grey reaches wildly to grab me. A stone, pushed up and unsettled with time, trips me. I plummet, accidentally saving myself in the process.

The fall startles me awake. I frenziedly scramble from my makeshift bed as if the collection of discarded papers might open up and swallow me whole. It and somnolence have become my greatest enemies.

My hands feel rough and scratchy as I rub my face. Can't I bury them deep in my eyes? I clench them into fists and at least cover them briefly. Nothing helps the sunken ache behind them. The persistent stabbing pain in the back of my head has finally dulled. How long has it taken? Days? I should count myself lucky. I shift my weight to one hip and wait. My heart will stop racing soon, I know. Then I'll convince myself that sleep is for mortals and move on with the rest of my miserable existence.

The sound of rain falling outside raises me up from my pit of despair. There is a whole world on the other side of these walls I have yet to explore. Perhaps I will find my answers there. Perhaps I'll find nightmares more terrible than the ones inside my head. The renewed sense of purpose invigorates me.

Heavy clouds blanket the sky but the wind is still. The downpour drenches me in seconds. I turn my gaze up, letting it hit me full in the face.

For a moment, I remember what it's like to be alive.