The therapist playbook

EYES THAT SAW THE VOID

It had been three months since the unsettling vision of the dark figure with glowing eyes had plagued Raphael’s sleep. Since then, he had tried to push it to the back of his mind, focusing on school, friends, and the everyday routine of being a senior. But as time passed, the unease continued to gnaw at him, a shadow lurking just at the edge of his thoughts.

On this particular night, Raphael found himself slipping into sleep more easily than usual. The exhaustion of the day had weighed him down, and he welcomed the embrace of slumber, hoping for a peaceful rest. But peace was not what awaited him.

He stood in a vast, empty space, shrouded in an impenetrable darkness that stretched out endlessly. The silence was deafening, and the only sound that could be heard was the rapid thumping of his own heartbeat. Raphael looked around, disoriented, trying to find some semblance of light, some clue as to where he was.

Then, out of the darkness, he heard it—a faint, chilling whisper that sent shivers down his spine. He spun around, searching for the source, but there was nothing. The whisper grew louder, more insistent, until it became a cacophony of voices, all murmuring the same word.

“Run!!.”

Without thinking, Raphael broke into a sprint, his feet pounding against the invisible ground. He didn’t know what he was running from, but the urgency in the voices left no room for doubt—he had to get away, as fast as he could.

As Raphael ran, the darkness around him began to take shape, forming a twisted, nightmarish landscape. Trees with gnarled, twisted branches loomed overhead, their skeletal forms clawing at the sky. The ground beneath his feet was rough and uneven, causing him to stumble as he ran.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw them—four other children, all running in the same direction. They were terrified, their eyes wide with fear, and their breaths coming in ragged gasps. Raphael felt a pang of recognition; he had seen these faces before, though he couldn’t quite place where.

Isaac was the first he recognized, a boy his own age with a determined look in his eyes, though it was clear he was just as scared as the rest of them. Tony, who looked about twelve, was right behind him, his small frame darting through the trees with surprising agility. Savio, who seemed around fourteen, was close by, his gaze constantly shifting back, as if expecting something to jump out at them at any moment. And then there was Jasper, the youngest of them all at just seven years old, struggling to keep up with the others, his tiny legs pumping furiously.

They didn’t speak, didn’t exchange words of comfort or plans for escape. The only thing that mattered was running, staying ahead of whatever it was that pursued them. But despite their efforts, Raphael could sense it getting closer, feel its presence looming over them like a dark cloud.

As they ran, the path ahead of them began to narrow, the trees closing in, their branches twisting and curling like the fingers of some unseen monster. Raphael could hear the breathing of the others, frantic and uneven, echoing in the suffocating silence.

Then, without warning, the scream pierced the air.

It was Isaac. Raphael skidded to a halt, his heart pounding as he turned to see him standing stock-still, his hands clawing at his face. Isaac’s eyes were wide with terror, and Raphael realised with horror that the glowing figure had caught up to him.

“No!, run!” Raphael shouted, but it was too late.

The figure emerged from the shadows, its glowing eyes fixated on Isaac. A dark, twisted smile spread across its face, and with a sickening sound, it reached out and grasped Isaac’s head.

Isaac’s screams intensified as the figure’s hands tightened around his skull. Raphael watched in horror as the figure slowly, methodically, dug its fingers into Isaac’s eye sockets. Blood poured down Isaac’s face, mixing with his tears as the figure pulled, and with a final, bone-chilling scream, Isaac’s eyes were ripped from his head.

Raphael turned away, bile rising in his throat. He couldn’t bear to watch, but the screams echoed in his ears, the sound of Isaac’s agony imprinted on his mind.

“Run!” Tony shouted, grabbing Raphael’s arm and pulling him forward.

Raphael stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet, but he forced himself to move, to keep running. Isaac’s screams faded into the distance, but they remained seared into Raphael’s memory, a reminder of what awaited them if they didn’t escape.

The children ran as fast as their legs could carry them, their breath coming in ragged gasps. The nightmare landscape around them seemed to shift and change with every step, the trees warping and twisting as if alive. The darkness pressed in on them, suffocating, as the ominous figure pursued them relentlessly.

Jasper, the youngest, was struggling to keep up. His small legs couldn’t match the pace of the older boys, and Raphael could hear his desperate whimpers as he tried to push himself faster.

“Keep going, Jasper!” Savio urged, his voice strained with fear. “Don’t look back!”

But Jasper was already falling behind, his steps faltering as exhaustion took hold. Raphael slowed down, grabbing Jasper’s hand and pulling him along. The boy’s small fingers were cold and trembling in his grasp.

“It’s okay, we’re going to get out of this,” Raphael whispered, though he wasn’t sure he believed it himself.

Just as they rounded a bend, the air around them seemed to grow colder, and Raphael knew what was coming. He glanced back just in time to see Tony stumble and fall, his face twisted in terror. The figure was upon him in an instant.

“No, no, please!” Tony begged, scrambling to get away, but the figure was merciless.

It reached down, gripping Tony’s head with those same monstrous hands, and with a sickening crunch, it began to dig into his eye sockets. Tony’s screams filled the air, high-pitched and desperate, as Raphael and the others watched in horror.

Savio grabbed Raphael’s arm, pulling him away. “We have to keep going! We can’t stop!”

Raphael nodded, tears streaming down his face as they left Tony behind. The sound of his screams echoed in their ears long after they had run out of sight.

Time seemed to lose all meaning as the nightmare dragged on. The children ran through the twisted forest, their legs aching and lungs burning, but there was no escape from the horror that pursued them.

Jasper was the next to fall. His small body simply couldn’t keep up, and he collapsed to the ground, sobbing in fear and exhaustion. Raphael tried to pick him up, but Savio pulled him away.

“We can’t save him, Raphael! We have to go!” Savio’s voice was desperate, but Raphael couldn’t bring himself to leave the boy behind.

But it was too late. The figure appeared once more, its glowing eyes locking onto Jasper. The boy’s cries were heart-wrenching as the figure reached for him, its hands moving with a cold, calculated precision.

Jasper’s screams were the worst yet, the sound of pure, unfiltered terror. Raphael covered his ears, trying to block out the noise, but it was no use. The sound of Jasper’s eyes being torn from his head was a sound Raphael knew he would never forget.

Savio tugged on Raphael’s arm, and they ran, the two of them the only ones left. The darkness around them seemed to close in, the trees bending and twisting as if trying to trap them. Raphael’s heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing with fear and desperation.

“Why is this happening?!” Raphael shouted, his voice breaking. “Why us?!”

Savio didn’t answer. He was too focused on running, on putting as much distance between them and the figure as possible. But Raphael could see the fear in his eyes, the same fear that gripped his own heart.

They ran until their legs gave out, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. The darkness was suffocating, the silence even more so. Raphael’s body shook with fear and fatigue, his mind racing with thoughts of the horrors they had witnessed.

Then, out of the silence, came the sound they had been dreading—the slow, deliberate footsteps of the figure approaching.

Savio scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with terror. “We have to keep moving! We can’t stop now!”

But Raphael knew it was too late. The figure was closing in, its glowing eyes piercing through the darkness, locking onto them with a cold, unrelenting gaze.

Savio tried to run, but his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. Raphael watched in horror as the figure reached for him, its hands moving with that same terrifying precision.

“No!, no!” Raphael shouted, but there was nothing he could do.

Savio’s screams were the loudest yet, echoing through the night as the figure dug its fingers into his eye sockets. Blood poured down Savio’s face as the figure ripped his eyes from his head, leaving him to collapse to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Raphael was the only one left.

He stood frozen, his heart pounding in his chest as the figure turned its attention to him. The glowing eyes bore into his soul, and Raphael could feel the darkness closing in around him. He wanted to run, to scream, but his body wouldn’t respond. All he could do was stand there, paralyzed by fear, as the figure slowly approached.

The figure was close now, so close that Raphael could see the twisted, malevolent smile on its face. It reached out with its long, bony fingers, its touch as cold as death. Raphael felt the pressure against his temples, the sharp pain as the figure’s fingers dug into his skin.

“No... please... no...” Raphael whispered, his voice trembling with fear.

The figure leaned in closer, its breath cold against Raphael’s face. “You cannot escape,” it hissed, its voice low and menacing. “You belong to me now.”

Raphael’s heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing with fear and desperation. He tried to pull away, but the figure’s grip was like iron, holding him in place. He could feel the darkness closing in, suffocating him, as the figure’s fingers pressed deeper into his temples.

And then, just as the pain became unbearable, everything went black.

Raphael awoke with a startle, his heart pounding in his chest, his body drenched in sweat. He was back in his room, the familiar surroundings of his bed and walls a stark contrast to the nightmare he had just endured. His breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

It was just a dream, he told himself. Just a dream. But the fear and the pain felt so real, so vivid, that he couldn’t shake the lingering dread that clung to him like a shadow.

He reached up, hesitantly touching his eyes, half-expecting them to be gone. But they were there, intact, though his head still throbbed with the memory of the figure’s grip.

Raphael sat up in bed, his mind racing with the images of the nightmare. Isaac, Tony, Savio, Jasper—all of them were gone, their eyes ripped from their heads by that monstrous figure. And Raphael had been next, just seconds away from meeting the same fate.

But had he? The dream had ended so abruptly, leaving him hanging in the balance. Had the figure taken his eyes as well, or had he somehow escaped?

The uncertainty gnawed at him, making it impossible to shake the fear that gripped his heart. He needed answers, needed to know what the dream meant, if it meant anything at all. But deep down, he knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t over.

Raphael glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was still early, the first rays of dawn just beginning to filter through the curtains. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, not after what he had just experienced.

He got out of bed, his legs feeling weak and unsteady beneath him. He needed to clear his head, to shake off the lingering terror that clung to him like a second skin.

As he moved to the window, pulling back the curtains to let in the morning light, Raphael couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread lingering in the back of his mind. The nightmare might have ended, but the fear it had instilled in him remained.

The darkness might have receded for now, but Raphael knew it was still out there, waiting for him, just beyond the edge of his consciousness.

And he wasn’t sure if he would be able to face it when it came for him again.

Raphael stared out the window, his thoughts racing. The sun was rising, casting a warm, golden light over the landscape, but it did little to dispel the chill that had settled over him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the nightmare was more than just a dream, that it was a warning, a premonition of something terrible to come.

He tried to push the thoughts away, to focus on the day ahead, but the memory of the figure’s glowing eyes was burned into his mind. The fear lingered, gnawing at him, making it impossible to think of anything else.

As he turned away from the window, Raphael caught a glimpse of something in the mirror across the room. He froze, his heart skipping a beat as he slowly turned to face it.

There, in the reflection, was the dark figure from his dream, its glowing eyes staring back at him with a cold, malevolent gaze. Raphael’s breath caught in his throat, his body frozen with fear as he stared into those eyes.

And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the figure was gone, leaving only Raphael’s own terrified reflection staring back at him.