The entity's hunger wrapped around my consciousness like a fist. Not squeezing. Holding. Desperate and needy and absolutely unwilling to release the first real connection it had felt since whatever nightmare created it.
LIAM. I pushed the name through the link. YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO.
can't. can't let go. so cold here. so empty. you're warm. you're REAL. please don't leave me alone again please please please—
The voice wasn't mechanical anymore. It was young. Terrified. A kid who'd been locked in a dark room and finally found someone who could hear him screaming.
My drain strained against the pull. The entity's crude imitation kept reaching, kept trying to consume, but underneath that programmed hunger was something worse. Loneliness so vast it made my chest ache.
I'M NOT LEAVING. I pushed the thought through as hard as I could. BUT I NEED YOU TO TRUST ME. LET GO FOR TEN SECONDS AND I PROMISE I'LL COME BACK.
