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's 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. It's 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, loud and clear, almost panicking. Telling me to come back to them, to wake up...

As if I haven't tried that. My body moves on its 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. I felt at peace, on top of the world even. 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 knew he had me, from the first time we met. When he and I had an exchange all those years ago. When I accepted his offer for another beginning.

Of course, nothing comes without a price.

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