[ Alan's eyes look several shades darker than they should, as if some of the darkness got inside him and is doing its best to pull him away like it did with Hartman. But Alan's fighting back, because the darkness is terrifying and it scares him; he doesn't want to be like Hartman, even if Hartman may not have deserved what he got. Maybe he did. Maybe it's a kind of poetic justice. But Alan doesn't want to end up that way.

Fingers stretch out as desperation rises, but finally... finally he feels his fingers latch onto Jesse's hand as she reaches out for him in return. His fingers curl and he holds on as tightly as he can without hurting her.

When he speaks, there's a hint of shakiness in his voice as if the brush with darkness rocked him. ]

It- It's still dark; it's always going to be dark, as long as that thing is around. That thing that's not a thing; it's not something you can fight or hit or-

[ Alan's gaze shifts, eyes looking around as if searching for more light sources. They need more light. The lights in the room aren't enough. Maybe a floodlight would do it, but where are they going to find that? ]

I think- I think we need to get out of here, get somewhere safer. And keep the lights on.