I looked up at him and smiled. “It wasn’t, but it’s nothing compared to what you went through.”

Harvey sat down next to me and shrugged his large shoulders. “It wasn’t always as bad as that. Where I’m from, there is no such thing as sleep or dreams, at least not as you know them. But while I can’t truly sleep, I can…submerge myself. Live inside myself. It makes it easier to survive. To stay sane.”

I rubbed my face. “So you did that a lot? Stayed inside yourself?”

“Not at first, no. I hoped Rusty would change his mind. Or you might come back. But as time passed, I saw little hope of anything getting better. So I sunk deep inside myself for longer and longer periods.” He sighed. “It was a selfish thing for me to do.”

I frowned. “Why is that selfish? You were being fucking tortured.”

Harvey’s eyes flickered as he looked at me. “You didn’t see any memories of Rusty killing anyone did you? Of him using me to kill anyone?” I shook my head. “That’s because I was buried down during those times. I still did it, and I know I did it, but at the time…well, I can’t dream, but that’s what I imagine having a dream must be like. A nightmare.” He stood up with a soft rustling sound. “I still have my price to pay for that too.” He looked troubled for a moment before offering me a smile. “But that’s for later. For now, I’m glad I had some time with you again.”

I stood up too, a knot growing in my stomach. “It sounds like you’re about to go.”

He nodded. “It’s time. But it may be that we see each other again some day. I really hope that we do.” Before I could say anything else, he reached forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. My feet barely brushed the ground as my face was buried in a soft bed of fragrant, furry moss. I found myself crying again a little as I hugged him back, but I realized I wasn’t really sad any more. Just grateful.

Because I realized that the final price Harvey had asked me to pay hadn’t been a punishment, it had been a gift. It freed me from any guilt about Rusty’s fate, and sharing the burden of Harvey’s pain…rather than making me feel weighted down, it made me feel lighter and happier. Made me hate myself less. Because I had finally stood by my friend after all this time. I had done the right thing for once in my life. And I had helped stop a monster from ever hurting anyone, including me, again.