Truth

"Come, child, and show me the truth which I am denied."

Allisa backed into the corner, staring at the bare husk of a man before her which had once been a man she greatly admired. Over night he had seemingly changed into a monster in human's skin, hunched over, his skin pulled tight over the mutated and disgusting muscles that had grown from nowhere. She wished she knew what had happened to him, what he had done to himself, and if there were anything she could do to reverse the process.

"Child!" he shouted at her, his voice deep and husky where once it had been soft and soothing. "There are things in this world that we do not understand, and we have agreed to search for them together! But in my haste, I have cursed myself with knowledge. Do you not feel pity on your old friend? Do you not wish to help me?"

Allisa trembled, unsure of what to say, or even what he meant. "I... I don't know how to help you," she whispered, barely able to gather the breath she needed to form the words.

"Do not lie to me!" he screamed. With each passing phrase his voice seemed to get louder and rougher, his anger beginning to boil over, though what it was directed at, Allisa could not say. "Give me your wisdom, child! There is something that you know, something you are hiding from me, and I am desiring of it! We agreed to work together. How can we do that if you will not share with me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she replied in a terrified scream. "I don't know what's happening to you! How am I supposed to help you when I don't even know what's going on?"

"Lies!" he barked in return. "I have long seen the shimmer in your eyes! The way that you take things in and understand them in an instant, far better and faster than I did! Tell me, child! Tell me what you are hiding from me!"

"I swear to you, I don't know what you're talking about!"

The hulking beast of a man lurched forward at her, a terrible roar erupting from his throat, and Allisa screamed and tried to shrink away from him, sinking down into the floor, tears spilling from her eyes.  She shook her head, breathlessly muttering how she didn't understand, unable to think straight as she was filled with dread and terror.

"Give it to me!" the man bellowed. "Give me your truth!"

"I don't have any truth!" she screamed back at him.

The words hit him like a rock, and he stumbled backwards, dazed. Allisa squeaked in surprise, but did not move from her spot, tears flowing down her cheeks from her wide open eyes. The man tried to keep his balance as he gripped his head, appearing to be trying to pull his skull apart.

"There must be truth," he cried out to no one in particular. "There must be. This can not be for nothing!"

He lurched forward again, ripping another scream from Allisa's throat, and as she did so he stumbled back again, unable to physically bear the noises that came from her. He fell backwards, his back hitting the ground hard, his head making a loud crack as it slammed into the floor. Again Allisa screamed, and the man's body was overtaken with violent tremors.

"Give it to me!" he cried out, his voice now weak, as though it were fading away. "I must have truth! I must... I need..."

The man's body fell limp to the floor. Allisa could do nothing but watch in terror as slowly his body ceased its movements. After a long moment, she found the strength to slowly stand and approach him. He did not move. He did not breath. He was dead.

From the doorway came another voice, tearing Allisa's attention from the body to the door. There stood another man, or rather a silhouette of a man which she could not make out.

"The truth is only for those deserving," the man said. "You have long been deserving, whether you know it or not, and thus the truth has long sat with you. Do not be afraid, child. When you are ready, so will be the truth."

Blinking the tears out of her eyes so she might better see the man, Allisa found herself once more alone. The man had simply disappeared. She looked down at the body before her for a long time, before leaving the room, locking the door behind her with no intentions of ever returning.