Open my eyes... Wake again... Body heavier than last night. Chest squeezed tight... Trying to breathe... And then I hear it... That fucking tone. The sound that's meant to wake me peacefully... Reaches into the darkness... Drags me back. Morning comes... But peace never does. Anger holds me down, Pushes me back. Every step forward... Feels like losing ground. Energy gone. Hope nowhere around. And somewhere inside my head... A door starts bleeding black. Rage starts taking over... Pushing logic back. I can feel it underneath... Waiting. So I leave... Freezing darkness. Cold air cuts through my lungs. But out here... I can finally breathe. Three shadows in the cold... Six footprints in the sand. Me... Storm... And something I don't understand. The mask is tight... But something underneath is breaking free. All the hurt... All the rage... All the madness inside of me. Low river paths... Deep inside the gorge. Places people don't go. Wind moving through the trees... Something watching from the dark. No words. Just darkness... And instinct. Three shadows Six footprints... Man and K9... Walking the same direction. Deep breaths Force the strength back in. Calm. Focus. Control. Because outside... Nobody can see what's underneath. THE MASK TIED TIGHT. KEEP IT CONTAINED. HURT. PAIN. RAGE. REGRET. PUSH IT DOWN. LOCK IT AWAY. DON'T LET IT OUT. But something's moving Underneath the surface. Waiting Waiting... WAITING TO BREACH. TWO MINDS. ONE MAN. ONE STORM. ONE SIDE SAYS... "KEEP GOING." THE OTHER SAYS... "LET ME OUT." Three shadows in the cold... Six footprints disappear. Storm beside me... Sykotix underneath. The mask starts cracking... I can feel the other me. Every memory... Every scar... Every fucking thing I keep... Becomes the madness... IN MY MIND. Open my eyes... Wake again... Same body. Same war. Same darkness. But tonight... I walked through it. Three shadows... Six footprints... And the madness... Still follows me.
