With Me, Forever

I've seen this before.

I walk through it every time. This...tunnel. It always goes on and on. Sometimes i see a faint light at the end, but every time I near it, it disappears. Occasionally, I'll pass a figure. It is always the same. Neither male nor female; I can never tell. Always leaning against the wall, hunched as if in prayer.

I've seen this before.

While walking, I hear these noises. Voices. They tell me to turn around. They tell me to join them. When I try questioning them, I start choking, and end up having to catch my breath in the middle of the walkway. Sometimes, it isn't voices. Its just a strange static sound that gradually grows louder. That sound is usually followed by a sharp shock going through my chest, leaving me to writhe in pain. Sometimes the figure watches.

I've seen this before.

The voices have been growing louder lately. I can make out what they're saying now: "Turn Around."

As if i haven't tried that. My body moves on it's own accord. Never stopping, never tiring. The light has been getting brighter as well. Whenever I see it now though, the figure is always right in front of it. I never get closer, however. Just this endless walking.

I've seen this before.

One day (or night, I can't tell in this place), I found that I was able to stop, which startled me as I had tried it dozens of times before. A throat was cleared behind me, footsteps following after, until the figure that I had seen hunched over hundreds of times, was stood in front of me.

I've seen this before.

It was a "he" as I could now tell. He was clad purely in black and however much I tried, I could not focus on his face. He offered me his hand. I remember scrutinizing at it for at least 10 minutes; but did time even exist in this place? I accepted his offer, feeling myself relax completely at the cold feeling that rushed up my arm. It didn't last long.

I've seen this before.

The tunnel disappeared around me, leaving me falling into a dark abyss. The figure's grip tightened to a painful extent that left my arm burning from the feeling. I tried screaming, but alas, no sound was generated and I was left gasping for breath. The figure told me that he had been waiting, that he knew I would come back. He said I wouldn't have gotten to the light, no matter how hard I tried. He said that he new he had me, from the first time we met. When he and I had an exchange all those years ago.

''I'd seen this man before. I was looking at the devil.''