NGRI

  Surrounded by darkness and floating above a pool of red light, Cody witnessed that memory, but
he knew what came next was even less pleasant. Following his argument with Cherie, she left and he
went back to being on his own devices. His grades fell tremendously, but his football skills were mostly
intact. He went from the most liked guy in school to just an average Joe. His football career would have
taken off for sure, yet Cody was always the one to screw it up. "Get it over with." he whispered into the
empty void.

  His mind reverted to what should have been a normal day. In the locker room, with teammates,
getting ready for one of the biggest matches the school has seen in decades. It was mostly due to him
that they've been put on the map. When Cherie took control of him, he could backflip the ball right into
the gate with no issue. Now, with her gone, the pressure was eating away at his soul. He was having
second thoughts about the argument they had weeks before. So after everyone else left, he spread his
arms wide and screamed Cherie's name. Nothing happened. He screamed it again, same result. Tears
formed in his eyes as he let out a loud screech. He started to kick and punch the lockers and tear off
someone's shoes. "Useless!" Cody then fell and smacked his head against a bench.

  Void Cody stared at his passed out self. He was quite the looker back in the day. The body of young
Cody suddenly started to move on its own. It twisted and snapped in various places. It reached into his
backpack and got the lighter and cigarettes out. It then wandered outside the room. A montage of
Cody on the field, running around in circles with the ball played right before the 90 minute mark, when
Cody kicked the ball straight at his own team's net. Cody fell over head first into the ground. Everyone
was disappointed and started to boo him. The screen glitched to the locker room, all of his teammates
were there. Void Cody turned his gaze to the door as it creaked open and Past Cody poked his hand in
with the lighter on and threw it at a pile of clothes. Void Cody heard the screaming and the cries for
help. But it wasn't anything new to him. He heard them every day of his life. Outside, he came face to
face with his past self. Cherie's control over him had the effect of sagging his skin and making him look
like deboned chicken. His mouth was on the verge of splitting apart and his eyes stared at the ceiling.
He twitched from time to time and jerked in various directions, exactly like a puppet on strings.

  By this point, the fire took its toll. His team was a pile of charred remains. Cody heard the footsteps.
His past self sprinted into the bathroom and locked the door. Void Cody reached a point where he failed
to be shocked by the event. It played out so many times that he could even tell where the flies were
flying. Cody turned around and walked past the distressed parents and colleagues. Cherie sat on her
knees, looking him in the eyes and grinning. The darkness covered him again and a montage of the
aftermath played.

  Cody managed to avoid repercussions, though he was still viewed negatively due to being the only
survivor of the incident. He moved out of town and left his family behind, who was also dealing with the
death of his father. His mom went insane following that event and needed someone to take care of her.
Adam was the one to stay, though he resented his brother for leaving, but Cody didn't care at the time.
He got to a point where he hated the people around him. He also thought leaving the town would cause
Cherie to disappear for good. The town he settled in was a lot nicer and no one knew him, so a fresh start
was guaranteed. Cody met a woman named Kasey while he went on therapy and got married a few
months later. She was perfect for him. They both shared a tragic backstory, Cody with the fire and her
with being kicked out by her parents.

  While Cherie didn't come back, the visions got worse and worse. Cody realized that for all intents
and purposes, Cherie was indeed useful for keeping them at bay. He had his first episode since he left the
town and continued to have them after. Kasey was very caring for him and would help him out when he
was down or suffering. The sins he committed still crawled on his back every day. Void Cody stared at
his past self, who was sitting on a sofa with his wife. Their faces were so content. He felt her presence
again. He didn't acknowledge her. He didn't want to witness her visage ever again.

  "Did you find them yet?" Jeffrey asked with a megaphone in hand. He was standing on the edge of
Adam's exploded wall overlooking the employees who were surrounding the door. They all pointed at
it in unison. "First one to catch them gets a ticket out of here!" The employees swarmed the door like
flies and nearly knocked it over. "Wouldn't they get out anyway through that door?" Faceless asked. "No
one ever made it past that door. And even if they do pass their personal hell…they'll be met with an even
worse hell."

  Kasey was in the living room, eating an apple. Cody barged in wielding a shotgun. "Get out!" he
yelled. Kasey dropped the apple and put her hands up. "Cody, what has gotten into you?!" she asked
with tears in her eyes. Her husband pumped the gun. "I said get the fuck out! Leave me alone!" Cody
screamed again before pulling the trigger. The scene turned dark grey as Kasey's body exploded into a
shower of blood. The scene cut off and Void Cody was still unmoved. He felt Cherie's hand touch his
shoulder. The 2 stood in the empty abyss. Suddenly, a light breached the darkness. A horde of his
colleagues came rushing towards him. Cody made a run for it and passed by everything else bad in his
life, from his incarceration to his employment at the factory. He only looked forward, though the loud
yells gave the presence of the others away. Cody saw a hand reach him from the dark and pull him
into the dark.

  Jeffrey ordered the guards of the factory to close the door. Before they could, the mass of employees,
corrupted by darkness and driven insane, burst out. They got their weapons ready and ganged up on the
guards, tearing them to shreds. The factory began to collapse on itself and the desert cracked violently.
Faceless and Jeffrey were outside. A door appeared behind them. "If you want something done, you do it
yourself." Jeffrey said as they walked through.