Chapter 2

Don caught up to me between third and fourth period, his usual easy grin faltering when he saw my face. “Kyle, you look like death. Did you even sleep last night?”

“Define sleep,” I muttered, leaning against my locker. The cold metal against my back was grounding, a reminder that I was still in the real world.

Don’s brow furrowed. He was the only one who knew about the pills, the only one I’d told—partially, at least. I hadn’t mentioned the Jester, or the tests, or the way the dreams felt more real than waking life. I’d just said the medication gave me weird dreams. He’d nodded, said something about side effects, and left it alone. But now, he seemed to sense there was more.

“You’ve been weird for days,” he said, lowering his voice as a crowd of students pushed past us. “Like, more than usual. You’re jumpy, you’re barely talking, and you look like you haven’t eaten in a week.”

I opened my mouth to deflect, but the words caught in my throat. Instead, I heard myself say, “It’s the dreams, Don. They’re not just weird. They’re… tests. Every night, there’s this clown—this Jester—and they keep putting me through these games. Riddles. Mazes. Traps. And every time I lose, they get closer.”

Don stared at me for a long moment. I expected him to laugh, to tell me I was being dramatic. But he just said, “Tests? Like, what kind of tests?”

I shook my head, suddenly feeling foolish. “It sounds crazy. Forget it.”

“No, no,” Don insisted, grabbing my shoulder. “Tell me. I’m your best friend. If something’s wrong, I want to know.”

So I told him. The first night in the endless corridor, the Jester’s riddles, the maze of mirrors, the way the dreams felt more real than anything I’d ever experienced. I told him about the taunting voice, the way the Jester knew my failures, my fears, the doubts I kept hidden. And I told him how, every night, I felt like I was losing a piece of myself.

By the time I finished, Don’s expression had shifted from concern to something like disbelief. “Kyle, that sounds like a nightmare. Literally. But it’s just a dream. You know that, right? The pills are probably making your dreams more vivid. It’s a known side effect.”

“It’s not just a dream,” I said, my voice rising. “I can smell things. Feel things. The Jester touches me, and I feel it when I wake up.”

Don held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I’m not saying I don’t believe you. But you need to talk to Dr. Sharma again. Maybe there’s a different medication you can try.”

I nodded, but the suggestion felt hollow. I had already tried talking to Dr. Sharma, and she’d just said to keep watching. She didn’t understand. No one did.

“Just… promise me you won’t take the pills,” I said, suddenly desperate. “Promise me you won’t try them.”

Don gave me a puzzled look. “Why would I take them? I don’t have insomnia.”

“Just promise.”

“Fine. I promise.” He said it lightly, but I saw the flicker of curiosity in his eyes. It made my stomach twist.

• •* *

The day dragged on. I failed a math quiz I’d barely studied for, and the teacher’s disappointed sigh felt like a physical weight. At lunch, I picked at a sandwich while Don talked about some video game I couldn’t focus on. The laughter of students around me seemed distant, muffled, as if I were listening from underwater.

By the time I got home, the sun was already dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. I went straight to my room, avoiding my mother’s worried questions, and stared at the pill bottle on my nightstand.

I didn’t want to take it. Every instinct screamed at me to flush the pills down the toilet, to find another way to sleep. But I was so tired. The exhaustion was bone-deep, a weight that pressed down on my eyelids and made my thoughts sluggish. Without the pill, I’d lie awake for hours, dreading the darkness. With it, at least I’d sleep—even if that sleep meant facing the Jester.

I shook one pill into my palm, swallowed it with a gulp of water, and lay down.

• •* *

The world dissolved, and I found myself standing in a vast, empty room. The walls were made of polished black stone, reflecting my own pale face back at me. The air was cold and still, carrying the faint scent of dust and something metallic.

From the shadows, the Jester emerged, their patchwork costume gleaming under a single spotlight that appeared from nowhere. Their painted grin stretched impossibly wide.

“Welcome back, little star. Ready for tonight’s performance?”

I clenched my fists, trying to steady my breathing. “What do you want from me?”

The Jester tilted their head, bells chiming softly. “Want? I want to play, of course. Every night, a new test. Every night, a chance to prove yourself. But you already know that.”

They snapped their fingers, and the room transformed. The black stone walls melted into a labyrinth of glass tubes, each one filled with a liquid that glowed faintly in the dim light. The floor became a grid of tiles, some of which seemed to shift and move beneath my feet.

“Tonight’s game is simple,” the Jester said, their voice turning sing-song. “Cross the room without stepping on the wrong tiles. Touch a red one, and… well, you’ll see.”

I looked down at the grid. The tiles were all identical, a uniform gray. There was no way to tell which were safe.

“How am I supposed to know which ones to step on?” I asked, my voice cracking.

The Jester’s grin widened. “You don’t. That’s the fun.”

I took a tentative step onto a tile. It held. I let out a shaky breath and took another. The tile beneath my left foot shuddered, and a sharp hiss filled the air. I jumped back, heart pounding, as a needle-thin spike shot up from the tile I’d just stepped on.

“Close one!” the Jester cackled. “Keep going, little star. The night is young.”

I forced myself to move, stepping carefully, testing each tile before committing my weight. The Jester’s laughter echoed around me, bouncing off the glass tubes, making it impossible to think. Sweat trickled down my temples. My legs trembled.

Halfway across, I made a mistake. I stepped on a tile that gave way beneath me, and I fell, my hands slapping against the cold stone. The tile I’d touched turned red, and a door slammed shut behind me. I scrambled to my feet, but I was trapped in a small enclosure, the glass tubes closing in.

The Jester appeared in front of me, their face inches from mine. “Time’s up, little star. You lose.”

I tried to scream, but no sound came out. The Jester reached out and touched my forehead, and the world went dark.

• •* *

I woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in bed. My room was dark, save for the faint glow of my alarm clock. 3:47 AM. My heart hammered against my ribs, and my hands were shaking.

I heard a sound from the window. A soft tap, tap, tap.

I froze, every muscle locked. The tapping came again, and I forced myself to look.

There was nothing there. Just the dark silhouette of a tree branch against the moonlit sky.

I let out a shaky breath and lay back down, but sleep wouldn’t come. I stared at the ceiling, replaying the Jester’s words, the feel of their cold finger on my skin.

• •* *

The next day at school, Don found me before first period. He looked different—pale, with dark circles under his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Kyle,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “I need to tell you something.”

“What?” I asked, already dreading the answer.

“I took one of your pills last night.”

My blood ran cold. “What? Don, you promised—”

“I know, I know. But I wanted to see if it really did something. I thought maybe you were overreacting.” He swallowed hard. “I took it, and I fell asleep. And I saw him, Kyle. The clown. The Jester.”

My stomach dropped. “No. No, no, no.”

“He said you were his favorite,” Don whispered, his eyes wide with fear. “He said he’s been waiting for a new player. And then he laughed, and I woke up.”

I grabbed Don’s shoulders, my fingers digging in. “Don, you can’t take them again. You can’t. The Jester is real, and they’re dangerous. I don’t know what they want, but it’s not good.”

Don nodded, but I could see the fear in his eyes—a mirror of my own.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice cracking. “I never should have told you about the pills.”

“It’s not your fault,” Don said, but we both knew it was. I had dragged him into this, and now the Jester had another target.

As the bell rang for first period, I walked to class with a new weight on my shoulders. The Jester had said every night was a test. But now, the stakes were higher than ever.

And tonight, I knew the Jester would be waiting for both of us.

To be continued…