{But you're not sure how you can reach back into those parts of you. I... what can I do to help from here?}
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?-Out cold-
-Maybe try shaking him-
-There's a guy in the chair, too-
{I thought it would be easier, since this is where I go when I try to reach too deep...}
-Gets off the cot and kneels by one of the cracks, reaching out his hands to them. The light on his back glows brighter, as do his eyes-
-Black specks, possibly insects, begin to rise out of them, twisting and winding their way around his arms, sliding up into the skin and under his flesh-
{It's like being awake — all of me, awake at once, instead of just two parts.}
{Ah-er... Cloud, this doesn't seem safe.}
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?{I've done it before. I'm not —}
-snop-
-His eyes jerk open. The pupils are slitted, like a cat's, or a reptile's-
-The world wavers around them, but the things from under the ground continue to pour into him-
-Then Jack finds himself awake on the floor-
-Cloud shudders and hunches over as a tremor runs through him, then-
-oh
◊-
...
-this wasn't supposed to happen-
-not this soon, not this much-
C... Cloud...?
-Rubs at his eye, sitting up on his elbow-
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?-Looks to Ken-
-The wobbles back onto his feet, eventually recovering enough to run after Cloud-
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?Cloud, it's okay. I'm not scared of you.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?I know. You didn't mean to show it to me, and that's fine. That's your call. But I want you to know that it doesn't change how I'm going to treat you. Okay? I still care about you.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?

-Ken kneels by him-
Hello? Are you alright?