Power Swap: El Condor Pasa (Josh)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had always been a light sleeper. Ever since childhood, he had woken relatively easily, even in the midst of intense dreams; the manifestation of his meta-human abilities had only contributed to this, since the constant stimuli kept him awake, and also helped to jolt him back into wakefulness from the Land of Nod.

However, even with his insomnia, Sean dreamed as much as the next person. His dreams were vivid and complex, although not always personal. One of the side effects of his telepathy was that he often dreamed for other people. He didn’t dream the same dreams as others, since his telepathy couldn’t pierce the boundaries of sleep, but he dreamt fort them. His subconscious mind absorbed and blended the information he gleaned from other people the same way it did with his personal stimuli.

As a result, his dreams were often...colorful.

Except when his dreams were focused primarily on him.

Sean’s dreams, free of external psychic stimuli, had their own symbolism. The psychiatrist recognized it well in the mornings, and he was typically able to trace the concerns or guilt or yearnings to a specific conscious situation.

Tonight’s dream was one that Sean hadn’t dreamt in a long time, not since his psyche had shifted to balance adult responsibilities with the pain he carried with him.

Tonight, the telepath walked the streets of Pilot Ridge alone in the dark, surrounded by shadows.

There was no sound.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh had very specific recurring dreams. Death, zombie invasions, embarrassment at school and work. Intimacy with Sean. Terrifying, shameful, and sometimes erotic, he knew each recurring dream by rote now.

This was not one of them.

He was aware that he was in a dream in that vague, fog obscured way that people often do, though it certainly wasn't a familiar one. The setting itself was familiar enough; he had traversed Pilot Ridge so many times. But the depth of the darkness coupled with the lack of any sound chilled him in a way that even his grimmest dreams often failed to do.

Then from the corner of his eye he caught movement. Slinking cautiously towards it he recognized a tall, handsome figure.

Sean.

His spine straightened and he made his way toward the other man more purposefully.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s night vision in the waking realm could be described only as “adequate.” Within dreams, his night vision was hardly any better under good circumstances; it was worse with the discomforting darkness and the shadows which rose around him from every corner. Twisted, gargantuan forms that enveloped everything around him.

If there were people, he couldn’t find them, which added to the ill wind in the air and the general atmosphere of eeriness.

Sean wore his overcoat, although that did little against the chill in the air. With careful steps, he walked through the streets of downtown Pilot Ridge, trying to find some indication of other people. As he walked, his steps made no sound against the pavement; there was only utter silence.

He tried to ignore the discomfort in the pit of his stomach as he groped along.

Then, a shadow shifted behind him, and he had a sense that someone, or something, was nearby. He spun around quickly, squinting at whatever it was, and found himself staring at...

Josh.

He frowned, knitting his brow as he took a step forward and mouthed the younger man’s name. He raised one hand, reached out to try to touch his partner’s shoulder as a way of assuring himself that Josh was real.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Despite the uncomfortable atmosphere Josh couldn't help giving Sean a smile. The circumstances couldn't lessen the affection that he felt well up with Sean's presence.

Until he tried to speak.

He opened his mouth to greet the older man and...no sound cams out. He furrowed his brow, perplexed, and tried again.

Still no sound.

The hand on his shoulder felt solid enough, but the lack of voice was distressing.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Josh looked and felt (physically) real, although Sean found that somewhat peculiar, if not also relieving. The last time he’d been in a situation like this, it had been New York City and not Pilot Ridge, but the situation had been the same. The darkness, the shadows, the silence, and the crippling sense of solitude. In one sense, Josh’s presence was comforting. In another sense, the psychiatrist was quite sorry that Josh was in this eerie shadow realm at all.

Worse yet, Josh’s voice had also been taken by the unrelenting darkness.

Sean was certain that it was Josh’s voice and not his own sense of hearing, entirely because his partner reacted to his speech attempts.

Selfishly, the psychiatrist was glad that he wasn’t deaf. Not that having nothing to hear was appreciatively better than not being able to hear, but the former preserved the possibility. He didn’t want to contemplate the notion that it could be both.

Reassured that this was Josh, and that he was real, Sean slid his hand down the younger man’s arm, to take his partner’s hand in his. With his free hand, he gestured at the darkness around them. “Something’s very wrong,” he whispered.

As though that wasn’t readily apparent.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh accepted Sean's hand, stepping closer and squeezing his partner for reassurance. Although he was glad that Sean, at least, could speak, the fact that he couldn't was concerning.

At least Sean was a telepath; with that thought in mind he simply thought as loud as he could at the other man.

yes. Why is everything so silent?.

How Sean should know he wasn't sure, but he wanted someone to have answers.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean returned the squeeze to his hand, and he was glad that Josh had come closer. He didn’t know how Josh had come here in the first place, but he didn’t want them to become separated in this environment. Their survival hinged upon remaining together, and also taking careful note of their surroundings at all time.

Josh’s mental voice was...off in a way that the psychiatrist couldn’t quite articulate. He’d been familiar with Josh’s mental voice for three-and-a-half decades and knew his mind intimately. “Sharper” wasn’t quite the word to describe what was off, but it was what immediately came to mind, and Sean supposed it would have to suffice.

He attributed that to the cause of the silence.

“I don’t know,” the psychiatrist replied in a whisper. The silence was so disconcerting that he wanted to break it by any means, even if there was no strategy to doing so. “But it’s familiar.”

Familiar because he had seen this before. Although, since Josh was able to interact with him, perhaps this wasn’t quite as bad as the previous afflictions. Sean hoped, because this situation was already nightmarish enough.

“We should try to find shelter,” he added, his voice still soft. He had the distinct impression that being outside in the shadows was dangerous.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh didn't believe that it was familiar at all, but he didn't say as much. Instead he kept close to his partner, scanning the shadowed streets for safety.

Shelter certainly sounded good to him; anything would be better than being out here in the silence. He felt vulnerable, especially without his voice.

my office isn't too far away he suggested, assuming that he would be able to produce a key. There was no way of knowing if any of the other buildings were locked without trying all of them, and that seemed like too much of a detour, what with shadows crowding about each awning.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The suggestion to try Josh’s office had not occurred to Sean, since it wasn’t his office, and he didn’t possess a key to his partner’s law practice. However, if the younger man had his keys with him, then that was preferable to trying one of the public buildings.

“Let’s try that,” Sean whispered in agreement. If that didn’t work, then they would be no worse off than they already were. If it did work, the psychiatrist had hope that it would be safer inside than it was outside.

The shadows continued to shift and swirl around them, casting eerie, menacing patterns upon the darkness. The chilly air blew through the street, rustling pebbles on the ground without the familiar scraping noises. There remained no sound, nothing at all to offer comfort aside from the familiar layout of the town that Sean had called home for half his life.

With that, the psychiatrist continued to walk down the street. His steps were slow, and he kept tight hold of his partner’s hand, so that they would not separate, even for a moment. It was better for them to take a slightly slower pace but remain together than for them to walk more quickly and risk losing one another in the process.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh didn't object to the death grip Sean had on his hand; he was of like mind that parting would be worse than slowness. And anyway, so many of his dreams ended with Sean dying once they had separated. He didn't want to risk that.

The silhouette of the office complex his building was in rose up dark and foreboding before them and he shuddered despite himself. It may have been their destination, but it looked far from friendly now that they had arrived.

But he shared Sean's hope that inside would be safety, and so with his free hand he searched his pocket for his key.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean stared up at his partner’s office when they arrived at the building. The wind blew around them, sending another chill of foreboding through the older man. A quick glance in other directions told him that this building looked no safer than the others, but it also looked no more dangerous than the ones around them.

It was either take advantage of this building and its possible sanctuary or continue on and try their luck with another building around them.

Sean preferred to take advantage of Josh’s office.

He offered his partner’s hand a gentle squeeze as the attorney searched his pocket for the key. When he fished it out of its pocket, the older man stepped back slightly to give Josh room to maneuver.

Around them, the shadows continued to encroach upon them, filling Sean with a sense of urgency. As soon as the key touched the lock, the door creaked open, welcoming (or challenging) them inside. The older man didn’t hesitate to cross the threshold and to pull his partner in behind him.

Sean’s first order of business was to try the light switch. It worked, albeit not to the extent that the older man had hoped. Instead, the lights flickered a couple of times before staying on a low setting, filling the office with a dim glow.

Still, it was an improvement over outside.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The inadequate lighting drew a frown of concern from the attorney. Although they had reached their goal he only felt marginally better inside than he had out of doors; he'd hoped shelter and light would provide reassurance, but the fact that the office lights offered only a dull glow shattered any illusion of safety.

He shuffled over to one of the leather seats available to waiting clients, flopping into the seat with a silent sigh. The magazines on the coffee table has been chosen for light entertainment rather than heavy reading, a distraction for anyone weary with the problems that brought them to the legal system. There was also a copy of the local legal news for anyone interested.

The lighting was too poor to read either.

I can go see if the coffee machine works, he thought, though if the light situation was related to the outlets or the power maybe there wasn't enough electricity to run it.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“That’s a good idea,” Sean whispered, which was his way of consenting to the other man’s plan. Coffee was welcome for a variety of reasons: It helped with migraines, it provided energy, alertness, and adrenaline, and, perhaps most importantly, it was familiar and could provide comfort due to that alone. Additionally, it would provide Josh with a distraction, which was more than the psychiatrist could do for his partner at the moment.

While Josh tended to that task, Sean shut and locked the doors to provide them with a barrier against the darkness outside. He still felt a sense of foreboding, but there was little he could do to quell that. Not in these circumstances when the foreboding was very much based on observable fact, as opposed to emotions.

Then, in the dim glow of the office light, he began to search the office from one end to the other. If there was anything lurking within, Sean wanted to be aware of it; turning a blind eye to problems had never created positive outcomes.

He began with Josh’s personal office, because it was closest to where the telepath stood. Everything looked to be in order, which meant that he could move on to Janice’s office, and then Damien’s after that.

[Joshua Bernstein]

To Josh's relief the coffee machine turned on; at least something was going right tonight. Although he wasn't really sure if he could classify the rest of the nigh as wrong exactly. Perhaps just uncomfortable. He rounded up two coffee mugs, plunking them down on the counter before prying the top off of the coffee grounds. He scooped enough to make it strong and bitter, pouring that into the filter before putting it all into place and pressing the on button.

While the coffee percolated he leaned against the counter with a sigh. Why couldn't he talk? Why was everything so silent? He couldn't even rely on the comforting familiarity of the coffee dripping steadily into the pot! It was creepy and inexplicable. And the dim, unnatural lighting was equally mysterious.

But there was probably some perfectly rational reason for all of this...right?

Hot liquid seeped over the edge of the pot, unnoticed by the contemplative attorney, and also unheard.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Unlike his partner, Sean had no interest in finding a perfectly rational explanation for the silence, the encroaching darkness, and the isolation. He accepted the fact that they existed with resignation and a combination of foreboding and familiarity. This was uncomfortable, it was dangerous, and the psychiatrist believed it necessary to secure themselves before seeking a reason. The achievement of knowledge had limited practical benefit if he and Josh were dead due to carelessness.

Janice’s office was also empty, although the window was open. Sean didn’t hear the wind through the crack, but he felt a chill from the ill wind, and thus he crossed further into the room to shut the window. Unsurprisingly and eerily, it did so without even a note of sound.

That felt warmer, if not actually more comfortable, and thus the psychiatrist moved on. He crept slowly through the office, passing the conference room on his way to Damien’s personal office. Something caught his eye from the corner of the conference room, and he changed course, opening the door and looking inside. The lights flickered between dim light and darkness, as the psychiatrist approached the corner.

Slumped there was a body. Nobody that Sean recognized, but they were clad in black and of average shape and size with one very noticeable difference: the person had no mouth and no ears. He shivered, as he stared down at the person.

“Josh!” He whispered harshly, trying to get his partner’s attention from the other room.