Jackson had cleaned up the mess from him falling through the ceiling, while it was impossible to fix the glaring hole staring down whenever you looked up it was easy for him to clear the rubble caused by it and move it to a corner out of convenience.
The benefits of having awakened, namely the enhanced regenerative abilities, were coming in handy already as the remaining pain from his back which had taken the brunt of the fall had already faded to a numb aching. After that he'd spent some time clearing the dust off of one of the sofas as best he could so he could use it as a makeshift bed.
The bed upstairs would've been the better option but, just like the chair, if he broke the delicate balance between the furniture and what the floorboards could handle he'd come straight through the roof again. It wasn't guaranteed he'd be as lucky as the first time and simply hit the ground, if he somehow got a more severe injury that he couldn't heal from he was as good as screwed.
He'd made sure to close the door to the stockroom in case some creature managed to track him inside, the sound from them bursting through the door would give him enough time to prepare himself for the worst. Just to be sure he also made use of some of the clothes racks to block the door and then used the rest to create a small wall around the sofa.
The sofa was the very definition of uncomfortable despite being better than the floor as it took Jackson more than an hour before he finally managed to drift off to sleep although that was partly because he was worried for his own safety if he fell asleep here.
...
Jackson opened his eyes to pure darkness.
Thump.
There was something familiar. Something hiding in the darkness, stalking him, that caused his heart to beat faster when he heard it - his blood curled as almost as if in instinct he began to feel a sense of dread wash over him.
Thump.
Again. That same beating sound, a sound that Jackson didn't think he would ever be able to forget, that moment of pure helplessness as his life was completely out of his own hands returned to him. "It's just a dream... Just a dream." he began to mutter to himself but that didn't stop his body from beginning to tremble.
A long, drawn out, silence suddenly fell in the darkness as Jackson looked around frantically but fruitlessly for the source of the sound. He was waiting for it, that final beat, the final beat that would confirm what he already knew. His breathing grew rugged as it was the only sound that filled the silence, but no matter how long he waited it was just him.
"1... 2... 3..." He began to count the seconds as he waited, he knew it was coming it was just a matter of when. "129... 130... 131..." But no matter how high the numbers went nothing happened but he kept counting.
"1042... 1043..." It was only when almost 18 minutes went by in almost total silence did he believe that he was finally alone and he heaved a sigh of relief.
For the first time he began to really look around the space he was in, 'Is this really a dream?' It was naturally the first thought that came to mind, he was completely lucid so how could be be sleeping? Was this a lucid dream? Maybe... but it felt like it was more than that to him, this place didn't feel like his own mind, it gave him the feeling that it was foreign... distant even.
Whatever he was feeling it was far from natural.
He tried to reach out with his hand for the darkness only to realise he could touch it, it felt slimy and heavy as it ran over his hand causing his hand to disappear into that same void. From an outside perspective it would've simply looked like he didn't have a hand to begin with, that was how perfectly it obscured all vision.
He tried to push his hand further inside only to to reach the end of his arm with almost having his shoulder shoved into it. "What is this stuff?" He questioned aloud as he went to pull his arm back out only to realise it was stuck, something had wrapped itself around his wrist and was beginning to pull...
He began to panic as he used his other arm to try and free himself only for the tugging to get progressively stronger as he fought a losing battle against whatever it was.
Slowly he began to feel it curl even further up his arm as he began to be pulled into the darkness, he couldn't even resist as his body was slowly submerged inside whatever the sludge was. "Let-" He began to shout only to get a mouth full of whatever the sludge was as his body was fully pulled inside of it.
It instantly began to fill every pore of his body that it could get itself to, he felt it slide inside of his ears, his nose and even his eyeballs as it used even the slightest crack to its advantage.
No matter how hard he struggled it was useless.
He suddenly felt whatever it was that had coiled around him slowly loosen its grip before disappearing but by then there was nothing he could do. He wasn't even able to move under the heaviness of the sludge let alone remember the direction he'd been pulled in.
"ROAAAAAAARRRR"
A sudden cry assaulted his mind making his body course with pain in response as the sludge began to vibrate from around and within him as if in response to whatever beast it belonged to.
Until finally as his consciousness faded, he woke up.
Ok I'm even more confused...