In a location far from the city, outside of known civilization, a giant building that looked similar to a mental asylum, was an institution that housed both the mentally ill, or people rehabilitating their broken minds. Alongside another part of the building that seems connected to the institution, poor Jack was in his room, alone and feeling absolutely confined in his own abandoned sorrow.

He sat on the edge of his bed, his head hung and seeming depressed. Gritting his teeth and crushing his eyes, he felt the urge to burst out of his lonely anger.

Four months! It’s been four excruciating months since that horrid day! I can’t stand it! The guilt building up inside me, my mind hurting all the time, and most of all, I keep hearing things! Am I going insane? Nah, wait! Maybe I am? Perhaps I am some sick bastard of a kid.

Jack tightened his hold on the bed sheets and his arms started to quiver.

Wait! Wait! Even better, I’m perfectly sane! YES, I AM! But, everyday’s the same; eat, sleep, eat, sleep. Oh, I forgot to mention I’m also going through therapy too! Who would’ve ever known someone as sane as me would end up in a cuckoo’s nest? I would’ve never imagined!

He suddenly opened his eyes wide, and erratically looked around.

“Oh! There it is again! That voice, that damned voice that taunted me and said we’d be together someday. As if I knew who they were!”

He deeply sighed and crossed his arms.

Today is my 11th birthday. Date, January 14th, 2010. I sometimes think if I even have a future anymore? It’s driving me insane! The one thing that drives my mind more crazy is those words! Those words the cop had said over his radio, they still haunt me! “Suspect at the moment, may be the child.” No matter how many times I told the investigators, they still didn’t believe me! They thought it was me?! ME!

“I don’t belong here, I don’t! I don’t, I don’t, I don’t, I DON’T!

Jack kept biting his nails in frustration. It was so uncomfortable being around people who were either mentally ill or insane. The fact that these fools labeled him as crazy was preposterous. Some nurses were even afraid to take care of him. They thought he was some unstable or insane, murderous lunatic. The only reason they thought that way is because they believed Jack had murdered his parents in cold blood.

Jack sighed again. “I want to get out of here. The more I stay here, the more I think I’ll actually become insane. I just wished someone would listen to me… for once.”

Ever since that day, Jack had the same nightmares over and over again. The dreams of him stabbing his beloved parents to death, being blamed for their demise even though he knew that wasn’t true. What he found odd though was the fact that the institution was one gigantic building split in two. One half was where Jack was being kept and the other is a school for delinquents.

He didn’t understand why these buildings were next to each other, let alone the fact he’d never heard of such a place, but he still kept going, knowing he might possibly have nothing left in life. No future, no social life. Just being trapped inside a big room full of forced lies set upon his weightless shoulders.

What made it even worse was how the doctors told Jack that he might never be cleared to be adopted or be put in a foster home. They thought he would never be mentally stable.

Just thinking about it made him angry again. “That’s messed up, judging someone’s future without knowing it? How could they know my future?” Poor Jack clutched his head and shook it angrily.

Damn you all, damn it, damn this place! Da-Damn everything!

As he sat on the edge of his bed, he deeply sighed one last time and just sat there, basking in his sorrow. He didn’t care at this point because there was nothing to it now. He had nothing to strive for, nothing to motivate him to keep going. At this point, Jack only hoped to die sooner.

If I die, then I can be with my parents. Now I understand what Dad meant by Grandma becoming an angel.

The building bell went off, so it was lunch time. Jack smacked his lips and got off of the bed and got dressed. Afterwards, he waited for his nurse to escort him to the lunch room. Her name was Carolyn, and she was the only nurse that wasn’t afraid of Jack and was willing to take care of him. She was so nice to him and actually treated him as a human being. He was very appreciative of the attention she gave him though. Her presence alone was enough to take his mind off all those repeated nightmares.

She arrived and opened the door. “Good afternoon Jack. How was your sleep? Still having those nightmares?” She smiled gently and walked over to him.

Jack simply nodded and expressed an empty smile. She hugged him to make him feel better, lifting him off the ground and sharing her loving warmth. It slightly worked for him, but it was too bad how the hug was momentarily. She grabbed his hand and started humming, trying her best to keep his mood neutral. Jack pulled her hand softly to indicate he was ready to leave. They did so and she closed the door behind them.

They headed towards the lunch room, where Jack always felt uncomfortable. The main reason why he had such a feeling was due to the fact that everyone around him was actually insane and screwed up in the head. During the months he’d been here he hadn’t been able to make any new friends, and to his knowledge why would he? Everyone was a freaking nut job.

However, Jack really missed his old friends. There wasn’t a day that he didn’t think about them, and he hoped that they were fine. He wondered if they knew what happened to him, or perhaps it was best that they never found out what he’d done. If they did happen to know, they’d probably be afraid of him, and in Jack’s young mind he thought they would probably call him a monster.

NO! I don’t want to think about that.

Carolyn and Jack were almost to the lunch room. Jack noticed that Carolyn had long black hair that reached past her butt, but normally she had it tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were a beautiful blue, like the drowned ice in the depths of Antarctica. Her skin is pale like paper, but she wasn’t caucasian if he remembered the term correctly. One time he tried asking her what race she was because he assumed she was caucasian, but she always teased him about it, which left Jack hanging.

They arrived, and Carolyn told him to be careful and especially to not interact with anyone. She was right anyways, but he didn’t really talk to anyone so it was fine either way. Jack grabbed his lunch and headed to the table where he usually sat. It was close to the entrance, right next to the outside view of the building. He liked to stare out the window and daydream about what his life would be like if that day hadn’t occurred.

He leaned his head against his hand and messed around with his gunk of food, then let out a big, deep sigh. As Jack ate, a lot of doctors came in and surprised him. Normally there would be at least three doctors, but today there were ten.

Three of the doctors split from the group, looked around and spotted Jack. They walked towards him and were eager to ask him a couple of questions, but Jack wasn’t having any of it, so he simply ignored them and shrugged them off.

One doctor had glasses and seemed genuinely friendly. “Say young man, don’t be so mean to us. We’re just trying to help.” He finished by reaching out to Jack, but he continued ignoring them and left the doctor hanging.

A woman tapped his shoulder, then bent down so she could try and speak to Jack. “Sweetheart, please don’t be so cruel to us. We’re all professionals here and want to help you deeply. So come here, I’m sure all you want is a hug, right?” She got on a knee and brought her arms out to him.

Jack replied by smacking his lip. She didn’t like that response and retaliated by smacking hers as well. “Quite the smart one aye? Whatever.” She lowered her arms and stood back up.

One more, a tall, slim doctor, grabbed Jack and sneaked beside him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder with his long slender arm. “Come on boy, tell us how you’re feeling. That’s all we want to know.” Jack got angry and smacked the doctor’s hand off his shoulder. He laughed and patted Jack’s back.

They continued to restlessly ask Jack more empty questions. He still didn’t respond. Instead, he only muttered words, saying. “Annoying tryhards.”

They grew a little impatient, especially the lady who was grunting quite a bit because of how persistent Jack was being. They all gave up on their efforts to brighten his cloudy mood and insisted that he get up and follow them to one of the offices.

Why would I care, I’d rather eat alone and bask in my sorrow.

The doctors started arguing on why their efforts weren’t working as Jack talked beneath his breath.

“These clowns sure aren’t helping. I want to just scream and tell them to all drown, but… I’m just too down.”

They finished their meaningless arguing and ordered Jack to get up. It was time to go to the office and talk to him. Jack wondered why they wanted him. It was as if this was something far too important for him to simply ignore.

What do they want?

Jack sighed and got up. “Whatever, you win… I’ll follow you,” he said quietly.

They didn’t hear a single word he said because the minute he got up, they all started arguing about who was going to take credit about him reacting. They began walking and Jack followed them to the office they were taking him to.

As they were walking, one of the doctors decided to speak to Jack. “If you ever find yourself in trouble, don’t hesitate and ask for help.” He gave Jack a thumbs up.

Another patted his head, which annoyed him slightly. “Don’t worry kiddo, it’s gonna be alright!”

Jack stopped walking, bringing everyone to a stop. “I need to use the bathroom.”

The really tall one came up to Jack with a fake smile because his right cheek twitched slightly. “Don’t take too long, okay. We’ll be waiting for you.”

The woman who he angered earlier placed a hand on her hip and swayed from side to side. “Tsk tsk, hurry up, we don’t have all day, little boy.”

The one with glasses, who genuinely did seem friendly, got both their attention. “Quit stalling him. The more you drag this on, the longer this wait will take. Go on now, don’t worry about these two. I’ve got your back.”

Jack nodded at him without saying a word.

While walking towards the nearest bathroom, Jack came across a big examination room. “Huh, a big metal door with some sort of plexiglass. It’s as thick as the bricks used to build this place. What a strange way to build an examination room. Now that I think about it, I’m in a different location of the building, one where I’ve never been to.”

Jack’s curiosity grew and he walked up towards the examination room’s door to open it for a quick peek.

As he gently pushed the behemoth of a door open enough to take a peek, he took a small glimpse inside, enough not to be noticed by anyone who might be inside. Jack glanced around at first, spotting giant tubes filled with water.

“How strange. Why would they—”

Upon further observation he saw crosses too, big stone ones, all over the walls. Not only that, but the room was incredibly bright too, enough for him to cover his eyes.

The moment Jack’s eyes became accustomed to the brightness, he looked ahead and saw a group of people in long black robes. Doctors were also present too, and they formed a circle to surround something. Jack couldn’t tell what they were examining, but from the looks of it, one of the black outfitted people grabbed a syringe and started pointing it towards whatever they were surrounding. His arm went deeper into that spot, then a loud scream ruptured out from within. He pulled it out and Jack could hear someone crying. The black outfitted person’s syringe appeared to have something in it.

It kinda looked like blood, Jack thought.

One of the doctors from the group noticed Jack peeking inside. He grabbed his shoulder and tugged him back out with some force. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t tell me you’re lost. That isn’t the bathroom.”

It was the tall, slim one again. This time he seemed a little suspicious, notably with how he tugged Jack with a bit of aggression.

Jack looked at him and his face had a smidge of suspicion. “You didn’t have to pull me like that you know, jerk.” Jack rubbed his shoulder to make it seem as if he was hurting.

“My bad. Look, just because you’re lost doesn’t mean you can go snooping around.” He pointed out that the bathrooms were down the hallway next to a couple of rooms. “Now go, I don’t have all day.”

Jack took one last look at the door and said beneath his breath, “I knew that smile of yours was fake.”

The doctor began pushing him gently away at first, trying to play it nice. His impatience came out again and forced Jack to walk, escorting him to the bathroom. Jack noticed the reek of suspicion.

He had to find out what they were hiding.

It was without a doubt in Jack’s mind that they were hiding something. He thought that maybe next time when he was with Carolyn he could find out some other time.

Jack was beginning to get a little annoyed from the doctor’s forceful pushing, but it was no use fighting back against someone four times his size.

“Just what were they doing there? Gosh darn it! Now I’m super curious! Maybe they were testing new medicines for the mentally ill? Or perhaps some new experiments?” Jack said quietly.

After a small toilet break, both Jack and the doctor finally regrouped with the other two doctors and headed towards the destination.

One of the doctors, the nice one, asked Jack, “So kid? Why don’t you talk much? We don’t bite. We’re just here to help you, my young child.”

Mr. Slim fake pants butted in afterwards. “Yeah, trust us! I mean I did help you find the bathroom, right?”

“I don’t care at this point. Let’s hurry up already. You’re both wasting your time,” the mean lady doctor said with a tired tone.

Hmph, you couldn’t fool me! I saw who you really were when you’re not around your buddies. At least she doesn’t hide who she is.

Jack glanced at the slim doctor.

When you were looking for me you were rude and suspicious. I can see right through that expressed fake smile of yours. It was so noticeable that it started maddening me.

Jack didn’t look at the nice doctor directly, but he responded with a soft angered tone, “Because I don’t like talking to strangers.”

The two doctors chuckled and the lady just groaned.

Why would I casually start talking to strangers? All of you can’t fool me with those forced smiles, especially those lies about wanting to help me. Give me a break! Except the one with glasses, he seems cool, or maybe he’s just a great actor. If he is, then he’s doing a great job playing me.

They finally arrived at what appeared to be the main doctor’s office. It was big and was covered with many glass panels. The door… it was just like the one from the examination room but only smaller.

How strange.

Jack grabbed his chin and quietly said, “Wait a second. Now that I think about it, why am I here? The main doctor! His office?! I wonder what he wants with me?”

The mean doctor lady knocked on the door and all three of them patiently waited. The door opened and the main doctor had the biggest, weirdest smile on his face when he spotted Jack.

“Ahh Jack! There you are!” He rushed towards him and shook his hand. “Nice to finally meet you! My name is Dr. Cato. I’ve heard everything about your situation. I’m really sorry about what happened, but you don’t have to worry. Our job is to fix you right up, no matter how long it takes!”

This guy already gives me the creeps. He’s too friendly, but it seems like the police told him about everything. Unforgivable, ungrateful. Grr!

Jack didn’t reply with anything. He wasn’t feeling comfortable being around all these fools. He then glanced at every doctor in front of him.

The two of you, tall and mean tired lady, go to hell. Glasses, you’re alright, and lastly this Cato guy… Yeah no way, you already creep me out on how bold you are sir!

He fully opened the door to welcome Jack into his office. Still smiling, he even offered a snack to make Jack more welcomed. So Jack decided to listen and walked in, dismissing the other doctors. They left, so now it was just the two of them.

Jack stood there, observing his big strange office.

It’s like a tiny library. There’s bookshelves everywhere, nice carpeting, even the chair I’m about to sit on looks quite comfy.

Dr. Cato tapped Jack’s shoulder as he walked past him to go behind his desk. “Jack, take a seat my boy. Make yourself comfortable.” He took a seat on his big comfy leather chair and waited for Jack to do the same.

But the one thing that catches my eye the most is that big single stone cross behind him. It looked similar to the ones in that room I peeked into earlier until the doctor spotted me snooping. But it looked like it was made out of the finest marble instead. This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

“This office feels strange. Just being in here is giving me the heebie-jeebies,” Jack muttered.

As he was about to sit down, Dr. Cato asked, “So Jack? What’s the matter?! You don’t seem to be enjoying it here from what I’ve been told.”

Jack sat down and didn’t answer his question. Instead he only sat down and looked away.

“No answer huh? Perhaps we can do something to fix that. Just ask me anything. I’m sure I’ll have an answer for you.”

Jack kept ignoring him. Even though he was nervous earlier, he now felt more annoyed because in his mind he thought the doctor was only being nice to him to get an answer out of him like the others did earlier.

Dr. Cato started growing impatient himself. He reached for something in one of his cabinets, but it seemed like he was not sure what he was looking for.

Jack still didn’t have the darndest idea why he was still here though. He wanted to see Carolyn, he wanted to go back to his room and continue to rot. Knowing that he’ll never get out of here, probably because he thought he won’t ever get a second chance at life. In his mind… why would he when he’s lost everything.

At this point, Jack had already come to the conclusion that he was going to die at the institution, and undoubtedly suffer alone. He knew Carolyn was not going to be there forever, so he was already concluding that too.

Dr. Cato pulled some papers out of the drawer, slid one out of the bunch, then held it so Jack could see it. “Take a look at this.”

Jack looked closer. To him, it was just a drawing. So what? Jack thought.

“It’s a cute drawing, isn’t it?” Dr. Cato said. He had a gentle smile. His smile wasn’t fake like the other doctors.

Wow, a doctor who’s actually smiling! What a surprise.

Why ask me such a weird question? Not only that, he randomly showed me some pencil drawing and asked my opinion.

Dr. Cato repeated himself again, asking for Jack’s opinion.

If he drew that then good for him! Stop asking me already weirdo. But why does my opinion matter though? It’s just a stupid drawing.

Jack finally bit the bullet and looked at it closer. “It’s cute I suppose?”

Upon looking at it closely, Jack examined the drawing more. It appeared to be a room with a small girl who seemed upset. There was a shadowy figure towering over her. The whole image looked ominous and gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Dr. Cato pulled out another drawing and handed it to Jack. This time it was the same drawing, but there was a boy who was comforting her. She looked really happy, calm, and at peace.

For once Jack smiled and looked at the doctor. “Heh, they’re cute I suppose.”

Dr. Cato had an open mouthed smile and showed Jack one more drawing. “What about this one? You like this one too?”

The final drawing showed the boy and girl breaking out of the room, looking extremely happy, almost as if they were relieved to be free from whatever was holding them in its grasp. They held hands and had huge smiles on their faces. Jack’s smile faded because he wished he was that boy.

Dr. Cato stood up and walked beside Jack and placed his hand on his shoulder. “It appears you’re kinda enjoying yourself now, Jack? Does looking at these drawings make you wonder if you’ll ever feel this happy again?”

Jack sighed and clenched the paper as he set it down. “Yeah, it does. But at this point, it’s only a fantasy now.”

The doctor patted his back to make him feel better. “You know who drew these?”

“Who?” Jack answered.

“An extremely talented and special girl. I would tell you her name, but I think it’s best you found that out on your own. It’ll make things more, how would I put it, exhilarating!”

That’s an odd way of introducing someone, isn’t it? I want to answer him, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Plus, why would I care about some little girl’s drawings?

Jack glanced back at the drawing.

I mean, sure they’re really good, but why though? thought Jack.

“Would you like to hear more about this girl?” Dr. Cato asked.

Jack relaxes his shoulders, lays back on the chair, and nods his head, obliging.

Dr. Cato sat back down on his chair and clasped his hands while looking at Jack. Slowly, he became a little more upset. “Yeah, she’s an amazing girl. We take good care of her. Poor gal. She’s so antisocial. It pains me to see someone like her being an outcast here, but more importantly…” He looked at a picture frame he had on his desk. “How much she’s suffered… and she still is.”

I don’t understand. If she sounded so amazing, then why is she here in a horrible place like this? I’m curious to know more, but I’m a little hesitant to ask. He seems really upset.

Jack took a deep breath and finally spoke. “Dr. Cato, not to sound rude or anything, but if she’s so amazing, then why is she in a place like this?”

Dr. Cato clasped his hands tighter, stared up at his ceiling, and became lost in thought. After a moment of silence, he finally looked back at Jack, then he picked the picture up and stared at it, smiling. “Her father used to work in this facility… He was my right hand man, but most of all, he was my best friend.”

“Is that so?” Jack replied.

Dr. Cato set the picture down. “He loved his daughter to death, but no one loved her more than her mother. Poor girl, she was so happy back then.”

Jack also looked at the picture. “What happened to her parents?”

Dr. Cato chuckled. “My dear boy, you’re so curious. I bet it’s got your interest since her story sounds close to yours, huh?”

Jack never thought of that until now. To Jack, it sounded as though she’d been through the same pain he’d been through, so yes Jack was curious.

“Yes, Dr. Cato. Could you please tell me what happened to her parents? If you don’t mind sharing.”

The doctor took a deep breath and his smile faded. “Her beloved parents were killed in a car accident two years ago…”

Silence fell between them again. His eyes became watery, then a single tear flowed down his cheek. He wiped it away and continued.

“She was only four and a half years old. Her mother died instantly by the impact from what I was told, but her father managed to survive… only for a short time.”

After hearing that, Jack felt upset too. “What… happened to her dad after he survived?” he asked with a shaky voice.

Dr. Cato grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. “Her father died of his injuries later. I managed to talk to him before he let out his final breath…” He stopped for a second to catch his breath. “You know what he told me?”

“What?”

“Take care of my daughter… Please give her a future she deserves, but more importantly, do it for her mother and especially… for her.” He began to whimper quietly.

Hearing those words broke Jack, which made him shed a tear.

Poor girl… she didn’t even get the chance to properly know her parents. At least she’ll remember them for as long as she lived. Their memories would always live with her.

Dr. Cato got up again and comforted Jack by rubbing and patting his shoulder. “She’s fine now. I’m fulfilling a promise to an old friend.”

Now that Jack thought about it, he should have fulfilled his promise and apologized to Veronica, but it was too late at this point. Hopefully one day, if he ever got out of here, he promised to apologize to Veronica.

“If you have any other troubles, Jack, don’t be afraid to ask me, okay?”

Jack nodded. “Okay Dr. Cato, I will and thanks for sharing her story with me. It helped regain some of my confidence.” For the first time since being here Jack stuck his hand out to Dr. Cato.

Dr. Cato shook his hand. “See you soon Jack.”

As Jack walked out of his office, he was surprised to see Carolyn waiting for him. She grabbed his hand and escorted him back to his room.

“What’s the time, Carolyn? Also where are we going?” They began walking in the direction of the patient’s rooms.

“It’s around four in the afternoon, Jack. We’re going back to your room.”

Jack was surprised to hear the time. He didn’t realize they were in the office for that long. “Man, was I really in there almost all day? Well, I thought I would hate it, but to be honest, I got to hear a very interesting story. It’s a sign knowing that I’m not the only one who had it tough.”

Carolyn smiled. “That’s wonderful to hear Jack. I’m glad things went smoothly for you.”

“Wait a tic...? Damn!”

“What is it Jack?”

“I forgot to ask the doctor her name. I also wanted to ask why would he have her live here instead of his own home? I mean, he did say they were close friends.”

Jack then grabbed his chin. Perhaps his home is crowded? Whatever, the next time I see him I’ll ask.

“So Jack, besides everything going well, what was your first visit like with Dr. Cato? I would like to know more. Anything interesting?”

“Eh, it was kinda awkward at first, but like I said he told me a very interesting story about a little girl.”

Carolyn stopped walking. She became quiet and clenched Jack’s hand tighter.

“Carolyn?” She didn’t respond at first, and stared straight ahead.

I think I struck something in her, Jack thought.

“I know who you’re talking about,” she said quietly, as she calmed down and let go of his hand. “Sh-she’s an amazing person and very talented.”

What’s with the slight hesitation there? Did my statement really affect her that much?

When Jack looked at Carolyn’s face, she seemed rather upset. “Oh, you know as well? Well, what’s her name? Come on, tell me!”

Carolyn slightly giggled. “I think it’s best you find out for yourself mister!”

That’s the same response Dr. Cato gave me. Why’s she being so secretive? Is she some sub-human or a being so intelligent that she must be kept a secret? So strange! But whatever I guess, I’ll find out myself whenever the time comes.

After walking past the mentally ill who were loud and laughing in their own confined sorrow, and through some long hallways, they finally got back to Jack’s room and walked inside. Carolyn reminded Jack to brush his teeth tonight, and to also take a shower, then asked if he had eaten. Jack responds with a grunt and a couple of loud sighs.

Carolyn wasn’t having it, so she crosses her arms and sticks her hip out. “Don’t give me an attitude mister, you better do as you’re told or else you’ll stink up the whole place tonight.”

“Aren’t you thinking you’re exaggerating just a bit Carolyn?”

“No.” She responded in a sassy tone.

Jack replied with a sarcastic tone and smiles. “Okay… Mommy!”

Carolyn was so caring to Jack. She reminded him of his mother at times. He really appreciated all the things she had done for him. Jack hoped someday he could repay her with his gratitude. Once he did promise those said things she told him to do tonight by going into his bathroom showing her his toothpaste and brush along with his towels, she was finally convinced enough to entrust him.

Jack hopped onto his bed and yawned. “Man, I’m feeling tired already.”

Carolyn placed a kiss upon his cheek. “Goodnight Jack.” She softly told him with her motherly voice, even though it was still day time.

“Where are you going Carolyn?” Jack asked with a slightly worried tone.

“I have something important to do. I’m sorry but I won’t be able to visit you tonight. That’s why I’m saying goodnight this early.”

“That’s fine. I’ll try my best to get some sleep,” Jack said, snuggling into the covers.

She left and now he was left alone again within his own solitude of insanity. However, in his mind, Jack was still full of questions about today. All the talk about that girl had intrigued him. He wondered if she was close to his building. Jack even considered that they could become friends.

Although Jack had told himself not to make any friends in the crazy den, perhaps she was one that he could get along with. They already shared one thing in common, they’d both lost the most important things in their young, youthful lives, which was their parents. The only difference between them was that she hadn’t killed anyone… like how Jack had.

********

It was finally night and Jack wasted the entire day thinking about this girl, fantasizing scenarios in his mind about how they’d meet. He was having a little trouble falling asleep and blamed himself for it.

Maybe staring out the window while the moonlight emitted into my room would brush away some of the deceptions of darkness? thought Jack.

Not long after doing this, it did the trick. Jack began to fall asleep again. He yawned and finally, he was able to close his eyes and slowly fell fast asleep.

As Jack slept soundly for a while, thinking that his prayers were heard and answered, it was sadly cut short because he heard singing in the depths of darkness. It sounded innocently horrific and creepy, yet gentle to the hairs of his eardrums. There was also a sound of flickering, like lights struggling to stay alive and fight the darkness that strived to return.

He frantically breathed heavily in his sleep, tossing and turning as the sound of static grew and outweighed the singing of delighted innocence that was there before. Then, when all these semi chaotic events occurred at once, Jack heard someone with a feminine voice call out his name. Hearing his name be called was enough for him to awaken from his poor slumber.

He arose from his sleep, with his eyes expanded, still breathing heavily. He found himself on the cold surface of a concrete ground that was supposed to be his bed.

He looked around erratically sitting there, shaking. “Where’s my bed? What’s going on?!”

Observing the room further, he spotted horrific nail markings that were stabbed into the wall and dragged all around the room. It was enough to make him raise an arm out of fear, and then the singing returned, causing the hairs on his arms to rise from the depths of their sweaty, scared roots.

“No-No… Not again… Don’t do this to me, please,” Jack said quietly. He stood up from where he was apparently sleeping, and went towards his door.

He leaned an ear against it. Beneath the wooden door, it sounded like the singing came from the hallway. To answer his assumption, Jack slowly opened the door, He took a step out into the hallway, wondering where the direction of that singing came from.

Jack looked both ways and everything was pitch black. But out of coincidence, a small flicker of light spilled at the end of some hallways. It sparked more the longer he stood there, almost as if it were trying to lure him in that direction.

Jack was just too afraid to move for some reason, even though he knew he was in the facility. But the place seemed to look… almost abandoned. He started wondering if he was even in the same building.

The singing got even closer, like if it were its own entity. The sound of rusty, squeaking wheels approached him too. It was so loud he thought that his ear drums would burst. But from what he could see under some of that erratic light, there was an old woman, sitting on an old roaring 20s wheelchair, with black liquid falling out of her empty eye sockets.

She rolled around on a wheelchair, singing some creepy old song. Jack wasn’t familiar with the song at all. The scene troubled his eyes and stomach, which was enough to make him gag out of disgust and almost throw up.

As Jack coughed, he shook himself frantically out of all the bizarreness, and he heard his name being called out again. He clenched his shirt and decided to head towards that weird flickering light.

He walked forward into the flickering darkness. He couldn’t help but look at every room he passed as his footsteps echoed down the hallway. A lot of rooms were empty, but some had people inside them. Jack couldn’t see too well, even if he took a good glance. It was just too dark inside.

When Jack was close to the woman in the wheelchair, he stopped and hesitated for a second because of her creepiness. He was terrified in trying to walk past, especially due to the horrid substance flowing out of her eye sockets and from her wretched singing.

“Screw it!” Jack said as he shook his head and power walked past the wheelchair, making sure he didn’t glimpse her, not even once. He made it past his first obstacle and continued walking towards his new destination.

As he continued forward, Jack kept looking at every room he walked past. He stopped momentarily and decided to further investigate one of the rooms out of curiosity.

This room had a woman rocking back and forth on her bed. There was black liquid dripping out of her mouth and it splashed all over the ground beneath her feet. The sight almost made Jack cover his mouth and gag, but he continued onward.

The next room was another woman who had hung herself with some thick rope. Her body swayed from side to side. Jack noticed her eyes were hollowed out just like the old woman in the wheelchair.

That did it. Vomit broke the dam in his mouth and he puked all over the floor, but as he coughed, he looked at his stained hands covered by his bowels. He too had black stuff coming out from within him.

“Wha-What… the? How-How!”

As Jack’s eyes trembled, and with his hands quivering, he heard his voice being called out once again, but much louder than before.

“Jack!” a little girl’s voice said in an innocent tone.

Jack wiped his hands all over his gray shirt, staining it with the ink that came out of his mouth. He did realize something from all this so far… and that was how all those women he walked past, including the old woman, had the same hair and seemed to look the same, but from different eras. The old woman had clothing that was worn in the Great Depression and the woman hanging wore clothes that were of the Dark Ages.

Analyzing such a thing wasn’t going to answer the name calling, so Jack shook his head and went back on course. He ran through the flickered darkness again and heard splashing sounds come from behind him. As he turned a shoulder to get a glimpse of whatever produced the sound, the women he walked past moments ago were suddenly behind him.

He was petrified. They were chasing him like stringless puppets, their arms flailing like kites and heads wobbling around without a supportive neck as they chased after him. Jack looked forward again, then picked his pace up as he panicked and ran for his life. He was so determined to run away from them that he almost tripped over something. Feeling the embodiment of fear and determination to live, he ran faster, faster than he ever had done in his eleven years of living.

Jack managed to give himself some distance from the vile creatures by taking a turn into another hallway, but then he came to a stop. An old wooden door was in front of him. With his breath shortening from all the running, Jack used the opportunity to catch his breath, coughing out more tar from out of his mouth. Wiping away the disgusting substance, he decided to look back. The women were gone.

Sighing out of relief and wanting to cry, Jack instead spat, yet his own spit was a black substance that started forming into something so disturbing.

“What the?!” Jack shouted out in fright.

His spit raised up off the ground, growing like a mountain of black goo. Since it was a show he didn’t want to see, Jack stormed inside the room behind him and shut the door.

“This is a dream… right?”

He gripped his chest, feeling it grow tighter from the sheer fear he was experiencing. Adequately, he could finally catch his breath and regain some stamina. After doing so, he looked around and noticed how abnormal the room looked. It was oddly strange and very out of place.

“What is this room?” he asked himself.

It had walls made out of decayed wood. It was cold, damp, and a coffin was at the back. The atmosphere around here was intense and… yet somehow sad. He could unexplainably feel a sad aura around him.

Jack looked over to the wall and spotted some creepy markings on it. “What language is this written in? I’ve never seen it before?”

The text looked old and was written in a different language, one that was very ancient-looking. The shapes and symbols were titled versions of what modern english letters looked like if they were more oddly shaped and had extra crap slapped onto the letters.

“This is so bizarre! Just what the hell’s going on?”

As he examined these strange markings and touched them, he suddenly heard something move inside the coffin.

“Jesus christ!” Jack said. Goosebumps slowly rose through his body. He felt as if someone was watching him from inside that thing.

“Jack!” said the strange, soft girly voice. “Help… me!”

Hearing her voice was so relaxing to his ears. “Who’s in there! What’s going on!” Jack said, his voice cracking as he trembled, afraid of who he was speaking to.

“It’s cold, dark and lonely in here! Please… Free me!” the girl exclaimed, then began to whimper. “I beg of you! Only you can free me!”

Hearing her voice alone was so soothing. It was gentle and innocent. It could’ve been a crime to possess such a voice.

Jack stood there obviously scared and all, not knowing how to respond to her request. A sudden banging on the door sounded behind him.

It must be those creeps again.

Jack panickened and paced back and forth, feeling conflictions inside his scared mind as he clutched his head and gripped his hair intensely. “What do I do! What the hell do I do!” He frantically paced faster and coughed out more black. “Damn it! If I free you will you help get rid of those freaks?”

She stayed quiet for a moment, then her voice sounded sadistic as she said, “Anything… for you.” She quietly giggled. “If you free me, then I can ensure your safety… so long as you give yourself to me!”

Jack had no time for questions, because he was running out of time. The door was starting to break! Those wretched white arms shot through the door like bullets, shooting pieces of wood outward at Jack’s direction.

“Ahh! Screw it! Fine! Whatever! Just end this madness!” Jack walked over to the coffin and placed his hands on it. Before opening it, he took a deep breath and wondered if what he was doing was such a good idea.

However, his thought came up short from the deranged, lifeless bodies piercing their arms through the door further with a frightening force like that of an axe. Their boneless arms reached in waving around like loose hoses. They started ripping apart the door, exposing more of their horrendous bodies.

Without further analyzing the possible consequences of freeing whatever was inside the coffin, Jack closed his eyes and pushed the lid open, which happened to be surprisingly light. Holding his breath, Jack prepared himself to be revolted.

Black smoke blew out from the inside of the coffin and tickled his lungs. Jack opened his eyes while coughing, brushing the air to wipe away the smoke to see what he had revealed. When the smoke finally cleared, Jack became too curious to find out what was calling him from inside. But, disappointingly, it was empty.

Was this some trick? Did I get played? Jack thought.

“Is this some damn game?!” Jack shouted out in anger. Even if it was a dream he didn’t care, he was just too angry to question anything further.

Smacking his hand repeatedly against his head in frustration, not realizing that the girl whom he thought just played him, was taking deep breaths.

“At last… I’m free,” she said softly.

Jack hadn’t noticed, but she stood behind him with her back facing his. He stopped his senseless smacking and felt the coldness pulsing off of her from behind.

Everything became silent and the room started to fade away. He turned slightly to look at her. She was short and extremely pale, her hair was as black as tar, but with a hint of very faint midnight purple towards the ends of her hair. The outfit she wore was strange too. It was a white romantic, gothic style dress.

Jack stood still like a statue. He didn’t know how to react. “Are you the one I just freed?” he asked quietly.

She felt his gaze and turned around. Jack stood still in silence, not knowing what to do or how to react to this situation. He couldn’t understand why she sounded so happy because her face was covered with her carpet of tar hair.

His heart raced, while his face sweated profusely, and his body temperature changed from hot to cold. He couldn’t stop his legs from trembling so much. She fully turned round and reached out for a hug, grabbing Jack’s scared hand in the process.

Her hands were cold as ice and surprisingly soft. She giggled and caressed his wet cheek that was coated with the essence of darkness he’d spewed out earlier.

Why does she have so much hair covering her face? Just who is she?

Somehow, he too grabbed her hand, almost like his hand had a mind of its own. He let his hand do its own thing, watching it gently set her hand down and off his face.

“Who are you? How come I can’t see your face?” he finally asked.

She stepped back, letting go of his warm touch and laughed softly. “Who am… I? My… face?” She put her hands beneath her hair and slowly lifted its dark thick threads. “Do… you mean…!”

Jack swallowed in fear from the anticipation she created and took a step back. A black mist started to appear from out of her. The whole room became engulfed by the mist creeping out from beneath the dress she wore. And yet, Jack ignored it and was too eager on wanting to see her face out of his own dumb curiosity. He wanted to know who she was and why she called him, but he somehow felt like he had already seen her before.

She lifted her hair and she exclaimed, “You mean… this face!”

Jack gasped. She… She was faceless.

He turned pale from the familiar sight and freaked out, shouting out in desperation as he fell back. He knew he’d seen her before! Her voice, the teasing, especially his name calling, he just knew it!

He couldn’t move, couldn’t breath… Hold on! My chest, am I having a heart attack from being so shocked? No!

The black mist grabbed onto him, wrapping its wretchedness all around him. It twirled up and forcefully opened his mouth and dived right inside him. The substance felt hollow, lifeless, and most of all it felt as if he were swallowing death itself. The last remnants crawled inside him and closed his charred mouth. Jack coughed violently and breathed every last bit of air he had left inside him. Jack collapsed and laid on the ground.

The girl got on top of his motionless body and caressed his face. She placed one hand on his chin and the other on his forehead.

“I finally met you… at last… Now give yourself to me…!” She laughed as his consciousness began to fade into complete nothingness.

Her giggles echoed continuously while everything went dark. It was silent, foggy, and yet, his body felt light. Jack wondered if he was dead.

Th-That’d be great, if I just died. That way, I could see my parents…

His laughter reverberated inside the shadowy darkness, slowly growing innocently maniacial with every breath he took. “If this is how dying feels like, then it’s not so bad. Mom, Dad, I’m sorry for making you wait…!”

But then he heard someone else’s laughter.

“Wait… Wh-Who’s laughing! Wait… is-is it me? Who’s laughing! Why am I laughing? Stop! Stop… Stop it!”

Jack’s laughter grew inside the chambered darkness, as howling winds erupted into the void of black. Jack’s uncontrollable laughter continued, though his consciousness wanted himself to stop. He felt his eyes open in the darkness, but all he could see was faint swirls of purple swing and zig zag around, leaving him to wonder if it was truly the beginning of his transition to death.

“I guess I’ve really gone insane, haven’t I?!” Jack said, finally realizing that he wasn’t floating in darkness. His eyes were wide open and he didn’t know that he was crying black. “Am-Am I laughing at myself dying?”

Heh… I really am hopeless.

The girl still sat on top of his engulfed body, but she didn’t like the sight she saw, especially the broken look in Jack’s eyes. She covered his eyes and lifted his head off the ground as he continued laughing away his emotions.

“You aren’t ready… I can wait, but in the meantime… I’ll have some fun with the people who you deeply love and care for.”

As soon as Jack heard her say that, he immediately stopped his senseless laughing. “What do you…?”

She giggled and patted his head, leaning in closer. “Don’t worry… I won’t kill anyone…!” she whispered into his ear. “At least not yet!”

She twisted Jack’s neck and he immediately awakened from his actual slumber. Even though he was suffocating in darkness, he somehow managed to scream at the top of his lungs. He was back in his room, everything was back to normal, with not a single thing touched nor destroyed, just normality. After properly catching his breath, he looked about.

“I’m… I’m in my room! On my bed!” Jack nervously patted all over his face. “Holy crap!” He gasped repeatedly. “Wha-What a dream, but it felt so damn real! Just like the other…!”

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. For some reason, he felt ill.

Perhaps the doctors were right, maybe I do need help? Should I tell them, or Dr. Cato, about my most recent dream?

After giving it some thought, Jack decided not to. “Nah, they’d probably think I’ve finally fallen into the hands of insanity…” He sighed deeply and still felt that surge of darkness coursing through his body. “Maybe I’ll tell Carolyn instead.”

Momentarily, she walked in and noticed Jack had awakened. “How come you’ve stayed in bed for so long?” she asked.

He checked the time. It’s already twelve o’clock in the afternoon?!

The clock continued ticking, and an announcement came through the intercom saying it was lunch time. Jack grasped his neck with one hand and clenched his bed sheet with the other. Swallowing very calmly yet nervously, he turned to Carolyn.

“Hey Carolyn?” he asked with a shaky voice.

With a straight, calm face, she noticed how strangely frightened he was and immediately sat next to him, rubbing his head to ease his nervousness. “What is it Jack?”

“I had a strange dream last night…”

She noticed how he grasped his neck. She continued to stay calm and didn’t change her tone. “Oh? Did you dream of something more peaceful or weird? Perhaps something frightening?”

Jack turned to her and noticed a slight glint of anger in her eyes.

“Or is it worse than the horrid ones you’ve been having the past few months?” she said with a more serious tone.

In that moment, when Jack heard Carolyn’s tone change, he felt a bit scared of her. “No…” he said as he shook his head. “This one felt real… Too real, to be honest.”

Carolyn noticed how tense and stiff he was, but she remained the same. Instead, she gasped quietly. “Jack… how real… was it?” she asked, sounding nervous and worried too.

Jack slightly chuckled with a scared smile. “Almost as if it happened last night? Right in front of me… happening just in my field of vision like reality, and it expressed the realest emotions I could possibly express… Strange, isn’t it?”

She became serious again, then shook and looked paranoid, and suddenly grabbed Jack’s shoulders tightly. “Jack! What happened in your dream?!”

The look in her eyes… I don’t like it. I don’t like the way she’s been looking at me this entire time.

“Carolyn, you’re gripping too hard!” Jack said frightfully.

She realized and let go. “Sorry for overreacting. It’s just, I like hearing these kinds of things. It makes me feel excited. I can’t explain it!”

What a strange thing to say?

“It’s okay. About the dream, um, I remember most of it, but I forgot some things?”

“What exactly did you remember?”

Jack stared out the window and gazed out into the distance. He grinned and looked at Carolyn and said, “A coffin… with a girl inside it.