Ideal

    Darkness had filled most of the room, leaving Drake with only the small patch of light illuminated by the weak light bulb hanging above him. The floor he lay limp on was cold, sending shivers up his spine, making him shutter uncontrollably. Every two minutes, he'd shut his eyes for a few seconds then open them, hoping he'd be somewhere else. As horrified as the young writer was of the dark, it wasn't the blanket of blackness he feared this time. It was what waited for him inside the darkness. His thoughts raced with cries and pleas for his life, making his attempt at gathering his thoughts and leaving, out of the question. He had broken out in to a cold sweat, his light brown hair now saturated in perspiration, which ran down in to his blue eyes. From his safe zone in the small patch of light, he tried to cry for help, only to choke on his words. Two more minutes went by before he heard a familiar voice call him from the darkness.

"Drake..."

With a shaky hand, Drake wiped the sweat out of his eyes. "Tom...." He managed to choke out.

Someone stepped out of the shadows, only enough so that Drake could not see his face. He was dressed in leather, from what Drake could tell. He also noticed a familiar tattoo on his left hand. It was a rose petal. He knew from that moment, it was not a stranger, but Tom. The man he'd spent his life writing about, the man that paid for his house and child support, was standing in front of him.

"It's good to finally see you, Drake." His voice was just as he imagined it...created it to be. Raspy and intimidating, yet soothing. "I'm sorry I shut off the lights like that...I knew it was the only way to get you to stay put."

Drake took a deep breath, trying to still his voice so he could speak. "Tom....Tom Frederick..."

The man stepped out of the darkness, now hovering above Drake, who's eyes widened at the sight of his face. From the silky blond hair to the cold blue eyed gaze, he was exactly how Drake always pictured him. It was Tom Frederick down to the last detail, straight out of Drake's mind.

Tom smiled, kneeling down beside Drake. "You look so scared..."

Once Tom closed that space between the two, Drake managed to use his arms to pull himself further apart. This landed him further in the darkness, making him panic a bit. "Stay away..."

Tom chuckled, grabbing hold of Drake's feet with both hands and pulling him closer, out of the dark. "Don't freak..."

Drake shakily sat up, inadvertently bringing his face closer to Tom's. "You...you've been tormenting me...in my own home, for the past few weeks."

Tom's head tilted to the left, his big blue eyes making the transition from cold to almost...innocent. "Pardon?"

Drake was startled by the change of his eyes, remembering that as being a special trait Drake had given him. Tom had the most expressive eyes he had ever seen.

"You've been turning off my lights...making noises...coming in my dreams...." He trailed off, thinking of all the horrors he had endured the past couple of weeks.

Tom's face appeared sympathetic. "Drake...I wasn't trying to scare you...I was trying to get your attention."

"W-what?" He moved away a little, trying to avoid the dark blanket behind him.

"At first, I tried to get to you in your dreams. Then, when I gained enough recognition, I tried to manifest...but I couldn't fully. I was more like a ghost...so I turned on and off your lights. Hm...watching you squirm in the dark was pretty fun...."

His kind face went back to it's cold form, making Drake cringe. "Very....fun...."

Drake shut his lids and began to tell himself it was all just a dream. It's not real. He thought. Tom isn't real...he's in my head...that's all. He began to count down to ten, but by the time he got to two, he felt Tom's lips on his own. As quickly as his eyes shot open, Drake pulled away. He shot up to his feet and began to claw frantically in the darkness. When he turned around, the patch of light was gone. This is it. He thought to himself. After all he's been through, after his near death experience in a plane crash, after being stalked by crazed fans, after the truck that almost hit him, at this point and time...he had never been more afraid his whole entire life. Not simply because of the dark, but because of what was in it. And he knew exactly what it was capable of, and exactly what it was weak against. Nothing. He felt strong hands on his sides, turning him around and pushing him against the wall.

"You made me...why are you so scared?" His breath was hot, and his voice was unsettling.

Drake almost choked on his own words. "Please...go away...."

"Hm...is it because you know what I'm capable of? Surely you trust me enough to know I would never do such things to my....creator."

"Shut up..." He spat out. Being called Tom's 'creator' made him feel uneasy. It's one thing to create a monster and put it in a novel, but it was another thing to bring it in to this world.

"Oh, Drake. There's no need to be so harsh to me...I mean no harm. I only wish to be with my creator."

The combination of Tom's voice and the thick blanket of darkness made Drake's head spin. He knew exactly what happened when Tom wanted something; he went for it. And he had the feeling that Tom wasn't going to go easy on Drake, even if he was his creator. "Hm...I think I've had enough fun for tonight..." He whispered. "See you later."

Suddenly the lights went on, and Tom was gone. Drake slid against the wall, to the floor. His heart had been beating a mile a minute, and he began to sweat profusely again. He noticed something in the middle of the room, on the floor. It was a light pink piece of paper. Drake managed to crawl over to the paper, lifting it close to his face so he could read it clearly. His heart sank, a low groan escaping his lips. He dropped the paper, falling to the floor. As he tried to push the events to the back of his mind, he began sobbing uncontrollably. He knew he was lost, for good this time. There was nothing left, just as the note said. All he could see now was a solid image of the pink slip, and the message that was scrawled over it.



Your mother



Your brother



Your father



Your son



They're all like you



They're all done....