I swung the door open and walked into a well-lit and nicely furnished boardroom. The hallway I walked out of was pitch black and the difference in lighting made me squint for a moment. When my eyes adjusted, I found myself standing at the end of a very long table. At the end of the table, I saw myself sitting in the executive chair in a grey suit. I only recognized it as me because of the similar proportions and facial features. What made us different was the fact that the man sitting at the end of the boardroom was significantly taller and had reptilian scales covering his skin. And claws.

“Hey Sam,” Lizard-Me said cheerfully. “Took you some time to get here.”

I swallowed the knot in my throat and attempted to speak, but nothing came out.

He smiled as he noticed me trembling, and I noticed he had very long, pointed teeth. “It’s okay, man.” He got up, revealing his towering height, and a long, thick tail behind him. “You don’t have to push yourself anymore than you already have. If it’s any consolation, we really didn’t expect you to get this far.” He paused and laughed. “Well, let’s face it, if it weren’t for that ‘doctor’ helping you, you wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.”
“Lizards!” I yell. “My fear is lizards!” I say, and then realize how ridiculous I look.

“Lizards? You think this is about lizards!” Lizard-Me laughed even harder. “This really is too easy.” He began to walk closer to me.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“You think this is the only time we’ve done this, Sam? I’ve been to every conceivable reality that you exist in. There hasn’t been a single Sam that I don’t end up eating in the end. Do you know why?” He stopped inching towards me for a moment. “Because you’re weak, Sam. You’re a weak, hopeless person who can’t take ownership of himself. And do you know what happens to people who are as weak and pathetic as you? They get eaten alive by their own fears. It’s the circle of the universe, pal, and it’s time to get acquainted.” He positioned himself for his final lunge, and his talons rose in the air as he prepared to kill me, and then I realized something.
“Wait!” I yelled.

He stepped back. “What?”

“You said that I’m a person who can’t take ownership of himself.”

“Yeah, so what?” Lizard-Me replied.

“That’s pretty specific. Any reason why that came up?”

“What are you talking about? It was just an insult.”

I smiled, laughing in the face of the nightmarish creature that stood two feet taller than me. I realized what was going on. I finally understood what Dr. Wright was trying to tell me.

“You just ousted yourself,” I said, still smiling. “You just told me what you are!”

I remembered what Dr. Wright told me before we went into my subconscious: ‘The parasites have no power of their own’.

I walked right up to Lizard-Me and looked right into his crocodile eyes. “You’re not even original.” I pushed him and he fell backwards.
“You’re supposed to be scared!” he roared back.

“At what? Myself? I know who I am. And yeah, you’re right, I’m a little weak-minded sometimes.” I pause. “Well, most of the time. But not anymore. I’m taking control!” I exclaimed.

Lizard-Me stood back up and grabbed me. He effortlessly lifted me up in the air and threw me across the boardroom. I slid across the long table and hit the wall on the other end of the room. I felt the air evacuate from my lungs at the moment of impact.

“You don’t get to shake me off that easy, Sam.” His voice was much more hoarse and distorted. I could see his features shifting more towards the lizard end of the spectrum. He ran towards me and I stood my ground. I suddenly felt something heavy in the inner pocket of my sports coat. I pulled it out.

It was a snub-nose revolver. I realized that my subconscious was helping me overcome my fears. I had to act.
Lizard-Me saw the gun in my hand and sprinted forward. I sidestepped him with unnaturally quick reflexes. I pointed the revolver at him.

“I’m done being scared of uncertainty. I’m tired of living life on autopilot. I hate math. I hate accounting and I hated the choices I made out of fear.” I pulled the hammer back on the gun.

Just before I could pull the trigger, Lizard-Me ran at full speed and threw me off of my feet. I fell backwards out of the window with him still on top of me. I felt the cold rain and whipping wind, I heard both of our screams, and I saw myself speeding towards the concrete.

Then I lurched up out of the loveseat in Dr. Wright’s office. I was back in waking reality.
“Sam!” Dr. Wright ran up to me with a glass of water. “Here, drink.”

I took it and gulped it down. I was still hyperventilating and shaking.

“It’s alright, Sam,” she said with a smile. “You did it! You conquered your worst fear.”

“I did?” I said between deep breaths.

“Yes! Don’t you remember? You went flying out of the window. It was quite a spectacular sight, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a breakthrough as dramatic as that.” Dr. Wright replied.

“So, it’s over?”

“You conquered the fear that the dimensional parasite was getting most of its energy from. You’ve expelled it from your life.”

I smile. “I can’t believe it. That was all so real! I was sure I was going to die.” I stood up in excitement. “I can finally live my life again!” I felt a sudden euphoric sensation. “Thank you, Dr. Wright.” I turned to her and said, but then I realized Dr. Wright wasn’t celebrating with me.

“Sam, there’s something I haven’t told you,” she said as she watched my smile fade.

“What is it?”

“We’ve done this before. On different planes. Sometimes you don’t make it, sometimes — like this time — you do. But the fact still remains that you’re susceptible to this again.”

I feel the familiar sense of terror come over me instantly.

“You mean, this could all happen again? I could get attacked by another parasite?”

“Well, in some versions of this particular reality, you do this only once. In others, you end up devoting your life to helping others overcome similar issues. It’s hard to say which one this will be.”

I collapsed back into the loveseat. “Then…” I trail off, feeling a wave of despair hit me.

“You shouldn’t let it stop you from living a full and enriching life, Sam. You now have the tools to beat it. You can be the Sam that overcomes all of his fears,” Dr. Wright replied with her signature tone of affectionate concern.

“What do I do if it happens again?” I asked.

Dr. Wright laughed. “Sam, that’s what therapy is for.”