Jack started growing wary of everything because his mind was playing tricks on him. He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how he’d manage to make his great escape. “Damn my ribs, damn my head, tch… damn my goddamn freaking eyes.” He lay there, basking in his failures.

Sighing, Jack closed his eyes, then opened them to the morning light. He wondered how it became morning so fast. Also, why did he feel so damn hopeless? He couldn’t think of anything. Jack felt as though time were almost flying by like some dang plane of existence that Jack had never come across before.

He got out of bed and washed his hands, then stared at them with intensity. Before he knew it, days had passed by like a meteor shower.

Jesus christ! What’s going on? I still haven’t come up with a plan to escape yet. It’s already been a week and a half now!

Jack looked at himself in the mirror.

“What’s happening to me! My eyes… they’re freaking baggy? I’m exhausted. Why’s time messing with me?! Just what the hell am I supposed to do? Countless nights, I keep trying to come up with a plan, but I can’t! I’m just a kid! How the hell am I going to pull this off?!” Jack slammed his head on the counter and gritted his teeth, then slammed a fist on it.

He was somehow now in the cafeteria, staring off into nothing. “Every day and every night is the same: eat, sleep, Angela, Angela, thinking, thinking, thinking!” He slammed his head on his food with wide eyes, surprising others around him.

Argh! Can I really do this… am I capable? No, I’m not. You know why? Because I’m just a kid HaHaHa!

Jack was now in the yard with both Candy and Angela.

Look at me as I walked around this yard with my head up my ass!

I’m going insane. I can’t do this. Why is everyone so suspicious around me now? Why does Mr. Mathew give me a dirty look? Why does Dr. Cato keep checking on my suspicious injuries?

Candy and Angela kept giving Jack pitiful looks. He didn’t know why they kept looking at him like that. But he was tired, confused and beat. He felt like giving up. However, he made a promise to Carolyn.

“Damn it!” shouted Jack mistakenly. “Why can’t I remember much whenever I sleep. Is it those pills? Or maybe… just maybe I’ve finally lost it! Yeah! That’s it. Oh yeah!” Jack then raised his arms in the air and spun in circles with an open mouthed smile.

Jack hadn’t realized he’d spoken all of what he’d just thought, which brought much worry to both Angela and Candy.

Jack started laughing at himself. He knew how pathetic he was right now. Him, a hero. He knew it was a load of crap. He wasn’t his dad, he wasn’t a hero and most of all, he wasn’t Angela’s real bro—

Wh-What’s going on… Everything’s dark… Did I black out again? I can’t hear anything? Everything’s quiet, so hollow and foggy. Goddamn it! Why is everything screwing with me? God! Why do you tease me! If you wanna kill me, then just take me away already!

Jack began whimpering in his void of endless darkness. “How many times has this happened to me? Why did these things have to happen? I can’t do this anymore… I just can’t…”

“Jack! Wake up you stupid fool!” Candy shouted. He kept shaking Jack, but his body lay motionless on the ground while foam kept coming out of his mouth.

“Please so-someone He-help!” Angela shouted out in desperation.

Nobody responded to her cry for help. Instead, they gave her the most distraught look.

“Ple-please!”

Angela began crying, but no one wanted to help. Instead, they all started shouting at her.

Randy surprisingly showed up and confronted the two, pointing at Angela. “It’s all your fault that Jack’s on the ground,” he said in an angry tone.

“It wasn’t her doing. Just leave her alone and help us!” Candy yelled back.

However, the crowd didn’t believe him. “Get away from her Candy, or you’ll be the next one to die,” another random teen said.

Dr. Cato rushed out to the yard with Mr. Matthew. They went to Jack’s side to try and revive him. However, it was no use. Dr. Cato dug through his pockets and found the sleeping pills again. This time though it had been refilled. He angrily threw them away to the side and took out a syringe, then injected Jack. Both men waited to see if Jack would wake up.

Mr. Matthew turned around to look at everyone crowding around. “Everyone, go back into school and wait for further instructions.” They all headed off back to their building. Mr. Mathew smacked his lips as he looked at Jack’s unconscious body.

Candy looked down at Angela. “There’s nothing to worry about, lil momma. It’s going to be okay.”

She hugged him with red puffy eyes. “Thank you.”

Jack started coming back to his senses, or so it seemed. He slowly opened his eyes and… he suddenly wondered where the hell he was. He looked around and saw that he was in some old, cold, brick-like room.

He tried to get up, but his legs felt broken for some reason. Looking around to analyze the room once more, there was a bed, some candles and a picture. When he looked closer, Jack saw that picture was him. It looked like Jack, but… it wasn’t him. He looked a little bit older and his hair was darker brown, not to mention his clothes looked like it was from medieval times.

Jack heard footsteps coming from somewhere, so he glanced around again and spotted a wooden door. He presumed it was coming towards that very door. “Hello? Anyone… I can-can’t move!”

Jack tried to get up again, but the moment he placed weight on his legs, the pain was too much to bear. He fell back on a rickety old chair.

The gentle footsteps continued for a minute until they finally stopped. The door opened. It creaked loudly and someone walked in. The girl in the gothic, romantic white dress appeared, holding a dead rose while humming a song, a very gentle yet creepy song that involved using his… name.

With that aside, Jack never really took the time to examine her, even though her dress was astoundingly beautiful. She was really short and for some reason… Jack was getting nervous just by seeing her. Not because he was afraid, but due to something else. It was a strange feeling.

She slowly walked up to him and sat on his lap. He couldn’t see her face because of all her hair that covered it. She rested a hand on his cheek, then spoke with that soft voice of hers. “Did you enjoy my help? That was just a small glimpse of what I’m capable of.”

She giggled, but Jack found her talking like that so soothing. She slowly rubbed her hand on his cheek and ruffled his hair with her snow-white hands.

“You may not remember, but normally that’s the only side effect when I do that.”

Jack couldn’t take it. His face was burning red, but he didn’t know why.

“Oh?! Your face is turning red?” She gently gasped. “D-Don’t te-tell me that you’re nervous to see me?” She wrapped her arms around his neck out of excitement. “You’re finally starting to like me more, huh?”

Feeling quite embarrassed about this odd situation, Jack looked away. He couldn’t bring himself to look closely at her, even if her face wasn’t showing.

“I-I-I have no clue what you’re talking about. What’s with all this weird stuff?” Jack tried to get up again but he forgot how his legs were acting funny, so he accidently tripped and they both fell. She laid out on the ground and Jack was on top of her. “Oops, I-I-I didn’t mean to do that.”

She appeared to be nervous herself. “Ho-how romantic of you!” She caressed his cheek again with a shaky hand.

Gosh! That cute soft voice of hers. It’s getting to me!

Besides that, Jack found her caress actually felt nice, so in response to her action, he grabbed her hand and gently rubbed hers. Without even thinking, she quickly grabbed his hand, and their hands became merged.

She started giggling again. “Thank you, Jack. It’s been so long… I’ve waited for you for so long… so very long.”

The strange girl lay her arms again on the ground and the sound of her steady, slow breathing made Jack feel so uncomfortable and more nervous. But he couldn’t move. His legs still hurt.

He chuckled nervously, then looked to the side. “Wh-What are you talking about?”

She looked away and stared at the photo of the person who looked like Jack. “If only… if only I had what you desired… but that day will come. Until then… allow me to haunt you, so long as we desire each other.”

What’s she talking about?

She slowly placed her hands beneath her hair. “One day, you’ll be able to look into my eyes again, my smile, and…” She slowly lifted her hair, and shouted “Face!” while revealing her facelessness.

Jack quickly stepped backwards and fell.

She slowly lifted herself up in a creepy manner, laughing maniacally and threw the dead rose she had in her hand. She waved at him and faded away. Jack was left all alone in the room.

Wait… hold up a second. This painful feeling in my face. My vision is going static! My-My eyes! They’re starting to… n-no!

Jack’s eyes were dissolving away and now everything was black.

Why… Why does she do this to me? Why’s she in my head? Why do I keep dreaming of her… Why!

Jack screamed, then dropped to the ground as he yelled out his suffrage, clutching his face intensely as the last of what was once his eyes were now liquified ink. Dripping off his face and onto the ground, his eyes now hollowed, he continuously screamed and began violently coughing. With each raspy breath of air he let out, it spewed more black from within.

All this suffering and torment seemed to last forever, but Jack was beginning to see a light. He wondered how he could see such a thing when his eyes were non-existent. The light was growing more bizarre. In fact, he spotted someone shining in that light.

Who is it?

As the light got closer and closer, the shining figure or outline, whatever it was, became clearer. It looked like a woman.

Jack could feel himself smiling as darkness welcomed itself into his sight. “Is-Is that my angel taking me away from this place?” he asked with a corrupted, broken tone. He extended his arm, reaching out for the light. He could see the woman doing the same thing.

“If this is faith, then do it! Take me… Take me away!” he shouted in desperation, wanting to be freed from the tortuous pain. He began laughing, like the broken boy that he had now become. “Heh, Heh… HaHaHaHaHaHaHa!”

The woman stopped reaching for him the moment his treacherous laughing reached her ears.

“HaHaHaHaa, hehehehehe…. Why are you stopping?! Take me! HeHeHeHaHaHa!”

The light started flickering away as Jack transitioned those awful laughs into whimpered screams of agony. The woman faded into nothingness, leaving him all alone in his own basking misery.

Jack’s broken laughter continued as he lay in his bed. Tears leaked through his eyes like closed dams. With his face drenched in sweat, he sat up and opened his eyes, revealing their insanity. He screamed, “Take me!” and opened his arms out to accept the fate that awaited him.

He looked around and saw that he was back in his room. To see if he wasn’t dreaming anymore he decided to test himself. So he pinched his arm and twisted his skin, enough for him to slightly hiss in pain. After ensuing as much inflicted pain and long enough to withstand it, he found closure then let go.

After relaxing and realizing it was just another lucid dream, Jack wiped his eyes, let out a huge sigh, then got out of bed. But when he did and turned around, he spotted Angela on the other side.

“How long was I out?” he asked, rubbing his head.

The hell? What happened…

All Jack could remember was ranting to himself, feeling so hopeless that he just let time fly by so blatantly. And suddenly, darkness. He didn’t remember much, other than an awful pain in his eyes and some random light. Not to mention that girl again. It had been a week and a half, and he still hadn’t come up with a plan to get out of here. He was in such a mess.

Jack’s memories were foggy again, and the frustration gave him a huge headache. However, after calming down a bit, he could barely remember what the girl had told him. “That was a glimpse of what I can do. Even if you can’t remember.”

What did she mean by that?

Jack walked over to the window and looked at the rising sun welcoming the new day. Staring at his palm, he saw it slightly shake, and wondered what was happening to him.

How did I end up back in my room?

The last thing he remembered before the darkness was being in the yard with Candy and Angela, but as soon as he sat down, he immediately blacked out.

Maybe I should ask Dr. Cato what happened? No doubt he was the one who brought me here.

Jack walked over to Angela and sat next to her. She was still sound asleep. Poor girl, she’d suffered so much in the institution that he couldn’t be as strong as her at that age. He had to make sure to keep his smile going, though. He didn’t want to see it fade again.

As he stared at the sun again, he watched its glorious glow of orange penetrate his window and scan his face as it slowly went up. His room engulfed by its peeking shine, he glanced back at her, patting her head. “I’ve been by her side for months and not once have I seen anything related to the devil. I guess every kid was just making excuses to bully her I suppose.”

He glanced back at the window, but when he did, Angela was beginning to wake up. The moment she opened an eye, he said in a jokingly cute manner, “Goodnight.”

Angela immediately burst out of the bed and clinched onto him, bursting into tears of joy. “You’re okay!”

“Everything’s fine now. What happened?” Jack asked, holding her tight.

She didn’t have a clear answer but she overheard a conversation of Dr. Cato’s, and it seemed he was furious at Jack. Jack wondered what he did to anger him.

“Jack… uh do you wa-wanna see wh-what I drew?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Sure Angela, why not?”

She grabbed her drawing pad and showed him the drawing. He smiled. It was cute. There was a group of girls and… Jack’s face was turned pale as he continued to look. An unsettling feeling drove through his nerves, which made him lost for words.

“Are you okay?” Angela asked. She saw his hands shaking and his eyes open wide in horror.

Jack let out a scared gasp beneath his breath, lifted a twitching finger, and said, “Ang-Angela, who are those…” He pointed at the girls one by one as his finger rattled, then finished his sentence with a scared, quiet tone. “Those people?”

Angela wasn’t so sure how to respond to his weird acting. She was too happy to wipe away her cute smile while Jack was there all freaked out.

“Oh, um… I ju-just reme-remembered them in a dre-dream I once had… some-something wrong?” Angela looked confused. She grabbed his trembling hand and felt its intensity.

Jack didn’t respond. He was too busy staring at the drawing and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Angela didn’t like that look on his face, so she leaned in closer, poked his cheek, then asked, “Why are you acting funny, brother?”

Jack shook his head, rapidly blinking, then forced a smile upon his face. “Oh! Uh, nothing… I’m fine. It’s just, it’s such a beautiful drawing that I was lost for words,” he said, forcing himself to sound convincing with a happy tone.

Luckily for him she bought it, giggled, then hugged him. “Really? Thanks!” She set the pad down. “I need to go for a second. I need to use the bathroom.”

Jack watched as she walked into his bathroom, then his eyes went back to her drawing pad. His breathing was slow and heavy. The feeling of uneasiness returned once more. “The drawing… it-it was… Let me check again!”

Jack grabbed the pad and noticed the first person was Angela, but the other two looked exactly like Veronica and Anna. He wondered how this could be possible. It couldn’t just be from dreaming. The drawings were exactly like them… but this last girl, Jack couldn’t figure out who it could be.

Maybe it was really just a coincidence? Perhaps I’m just overreacting, but that begs the question... If she dreamt of it once, then how the hell do they look exactly like my friends?

Then he recalled about how she mumbled their names in her sleep during that night of uncertainty.

Angela came back and surprised him. Jack reacted a little, but she was fine with him snooping through her drawings. She showed him more by flipping the page to another drawing. This time, it was a cute, normal drawing of her and a field of flowers.

Sighing out of relief, Jack regained his breath and eased his mind. At least she could draw things that weren’t completely coincidental.

The door creaked open and Dr. Cato appeared, looking annoyed and upset. He walked over to them and glared at Jack with his eyes seeping of disappointment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pills Jack had been taking.

“Where did you get them from?” Dr. Cato asked.

“The nurse had given them to me,” Jack said.

Upon hearing Jack’s answer, Dr. Cato’s face changed into a maniacal smile that expressed the loss of hope towards Jack. He began laughing and patted Jack’s shoulder. “Oh Jack, you’re quite the jokester, huh? Now please tell me… where did you get these from?” He clenched the bottle in anger.

Jack hated it when he did that, blaming him for things he hadn’t done. He looked away from the doctor, feeling annoyed by his comment. “I already told you, it was my nurse… honestly.”

Dr. Cato grabbed Jack’s shoulders and got in his face. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t cha you little snoop!”

Jack continued looking away, smacking his lips, provoking Dr. Cato more.

“Don’t lie to me!” he shouted, suddenly startling Angela. “This isn’t the first time I’ve found those damn pills in your possession! Now, be a good boy and tell me the truth!”

Feeling cornered and antagonized, Jack got mad and pushed Dr. Cato away from him. “I’m not lying, Dr. Cato! My nurse gave them to me months ago and she always refills my bottle. I think it’s you that’s screwing with me!”

Dr. Cato grabbed his hair and made sarcastic gestures with his arms. “Oh! Okay, we’ll play your little game then. Do you know how you ended up back in your room?”

Reminding him of this unanswered mystery, Jack shut his mouth, crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, becoming serious. "Ho-How?" Jack asked nervously.

Dr. Cato clenched his fists. “You overdosed on these experimental drugs…. That’s how! You damn druggy!”

Dr. Cato was infuriated by Jack’s oblivious nature, so he decided to grab Angela and threw the empty bottle at Jack. Angela didn’t like the force he applied, and started squirming out of his grasp.

“This is the last time you’ll ever see her! I won’t allow her to be influenced by a child who chose to break these facilities rules and steal drugs just to meet his selfish needs!” Dr. Cato turned away and mumbled to himself. “I don’t care if you’re the lead to her goal… damned druggy.”

Angela, who continued to try and break free from his grip, pleaded with him to not do this. But he had already made up his mind. He had no intention of letting go.

“Please doctor! Don’t take me away from my bro-brother!” Angela begged.

Dr. Cato wasn’t having any of it. Not even those innocent cries were convincing enough for him. He picked up Angela and said, “If you cannot comply, you will be punished.”

When he brought up that word, Angela screamed “No!” and continued squirming with more force.

“Angela! Don’t fight please. I know I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me then fine, so be it!” Dr. Cato roared.

Angela grabbed the doctor’s collar, then expressed watery puppy dog eyes. “He’s telling the truth, doctor! I know the nu-nurse as well!”

Dr. Cato stood there in disbelief. He gently dropped Angela to her feet and gave Jack an awful gaze, then approached him, grabbing Jack’s shirt. He lifted Jack off his feet and got in his face again.

“Look!” he said, pointing at Angela with the other hand. “You’ve already influenced her by manipulating her innocent mind with your lies!”

The doctor tilted his head down. His body vibrated from so much anger.

“How dare you… How dare you!” Dr. Cato threw Jack onto the bed, then grabbed Angela off her feet again. “I bid thee farewell, Jack!”

Dr. Cato left, slamming the door shut, making Jack’s body jump from its intense slam.

With his eyes still narrowed, Jack looked away from the door, hung his head and said, “Screw you, you piece of crap” beneath his breath.

Jack could hear her desperate cries of help. Feeling angry himself, Jack smacked his lips and picked up the bottle the doctor had thrown at him. “What a hostile, freaking jerk! I was telling the truth the whole time!” Jack sighed and lay on his bed. “Whatever… I’m tired.”

Staring up at his ceiling with conflicted thoughts, Jack delved into his thoughts.

“Maybe I should let go of Angela? Perhaps Dr. Cato was right, I am a bad influence around her…” Now he felt guilty and relaxed his eyes. “If I did overdose on those pills… then she should just stay away from me.”

After such a tiring and emotional morning with Dr. Cato’s altercation adding fuel to the fire, he was tired again. Jack slowly closed his eyes and decided to take a nap to wipe away some of his emotions.

When Jack awoke from his nap, he noticed it was night, so he looked at the time and it was almost midnight. He didn’t mean to sleep through the entire day. He got up and headed to the door to see if it was unlocked, and to his surprise it was. It was a perfect opportunity to get some fresh air. Jack stepped into the hallway and checked both sides. The coast was clear.

As Jack walked through the long hallway with the moon’s fullness as his light, he decided to go to the yard to relax for an hour. When he was approaching the yard’s entrance, Jack looked out the window to his left. Carolyn stood outside and was staring at the moon again. Jack wondered why she was there because he knew she should be at home. He quickly got to the front doors and slowly opened them, wondering what she was doing.

Jack slowly crept out and walked carefully towards her, even though the sounds of his crunching footsteps didn’t jump her or make her look back. She just stood there.

Jack got behind her and poked her back. “Uhh, Car-Carolyn?” She didn’t answer him, but continued to stare at the moon’s beauty. Jack looked up at it as well. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

Still nothing. He tried grabbing her arm, but as soon as he was about to grab her, she put her hand out. “Please don’t touch me.”

“Are you okay?” Jack asked nervously.

Carolyn slowly turned her head and looked at him. She appeared pale and lifeless. Her eyes weren’t shiny like what they usually did… they were so empty… like someone who was dead.

“Jack…” she said with a soft tone. “It’s time I tell you something.” She walked to the fountain and Jack followed.

She sat on the fountain base and played with the water that was being drowned by moonlight. Jack stood beside her and watched her fingers swirl around the water in a creepy manner.

“What are you talking about Carolyn? You’re starting to creep me out.” His face appeared worried, and his teeth ground against themselves.

Carolyn lifted her hand out of the water and watched the glistening trickles drip from her hand. “You don’t have much time left here… Jack.” She glared back at the blackened water, staring at her own reflection.

Why’s she being so strange? There’s not much time left!

“Carolyn, what do you mean by not much time left?”

She clasped her hands together and gently scooped a handful of water. She slowly looked up at Jack while water trickled through her fingers. “I know more about you than you think…”

Carolyn raised her hands towards her face and softly splashed it on her face. She slowly drifted her hands away and looked at him again.

“I just couldn’t believe it at first. But when I saw you for the first time, I knew she wasn’t lying.” A creepy yet gentle smile grew on her face. “Jack, you may not know it, but someone is watching you, protecting you, trying their best to make sure you’ll live a healthy life.”

Jack had a weary look. He was lost. “What do you mean? Why are you acting so strange?”

Carolyn slowly stood up with her fingers glistening and her face cleansed. She walked up to him and grabbed his hands, getting them wet too. “There’s more to Angela, more to the world than you’ve ever imagined. That’s why she’s so special. Hearing you say you wanted to get her out of here makes my cold heart beat with life again.” She let go of his hands and moved her hands to his shoulders.“Please Jack… protect her with everything. Your life depends on it. And maybe… you’ll finally be able to learn from your mistake. Give her the life she deserves, make her pursue her dreams, but most of all Jack…”

A powerful wind blew through them, as leaves and dead flower petals twirled about. Moonlight reflected off of Carolyn’s hair as it flowed with the wind and into the light.

“Free her… Free her from her prison!” The wind grew fierce. She let go of Jack and slowly walked backwards with a gentle smile, then closed her eyes and started praying.

Jack looked down with a frown on his face, then he clenched his fists. He raised his head again and looked back at her with an empty smile. “To hell with that,” Jack said in a monotone voice. Without hesitation, he started walking away without looking back.

The wind calmed, yet Carolyn could be heard mumbling to herself until she finally yelled at Jack to stop. However, he still kept walking towards the doors until they began to slowly shut. He got confused and tried to run to the doors, but they immediately shut. Getting nervous and scared, he looked over his shoulder.

Carolyn looked angry yet calm. She lifted her head and looked at Jack dead in the eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you walk away! You’re already scre…” Carolyn quickly paused, leaving Jack hanging on with fright.

Carolyn covered her mouth, then dropped to her knees and seemed regretful. “I’m so sorry Jack.”

She was so upset, yet why do I feel like the jerk here? What has become of me?

Jack walked over to Carolyn, stood in front of her and kneeled down. “Carolyn, I don’t know what’s going on, nor do I think I’ll ever understand what you mean sometimes, but… I think I’m done.”

She looked up at him. “What do you mean Jack?”

He let out a deep sigh. “I overdosed on those pills you gave me without noticing. I was overdosing in front of Angela.” He shook his head in shame, then patted her shoulder and proceeded to walk away again. “It’s just like what Dr. Cato said, I’m a bad influence around her.”

Carolyn had an angry look in her face, however, she extended her hand out to Jack. “Jack no… Please stop!”

Jack paused without looking back. “I’m sorry Carolyn, but I’ve made up my mind. I can no longer be around Angela. I’ll just lead her down a horrible path. I’m nothing more than just a druggy.”

The air started to feel heavy, and that fierce wind grew stronger, fluttering their clothes along with the dirt beneath their feet.

“Goodbye Carolyn… See you tomorrow morning, I guess.”

Just when Jack was about to take another step, all his movements were stopped by something unknown. He couldn’t move.

What’s going on?!

The heaviness in the air was so intense it was hard for him to breathe properly. Yet, out of all these weird sensations, Jack felt Carolyn’s presence and anger breathing down his neck.

She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to look into those frozen lakes that were her eyes. She looked so annoyed and even giggled softly, mocking his existence.

“You’re nothing but a failure. A deranged, mentally ill child that will never grow up. You’re a murderer upon a murderer.”

Why… Why is she acting like this? Why does she want me to save Angela so badly! Calling me deranged, you’re the one who looks deranged!

Jack tried moving, but something forced him to stay in place. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“It seems that you might need some assistance my sweet,” said the familiar gentle voice which brought Jack some form of relief. “Don’t worry… I’ll help you out, but it’ll be short. There isn’t much I can do with her around.”

Not much she could do to Carolyn? What did she mean by that?

With a single tear of relief flowing down his cheek, Jack closed his eyes and said, “I don’t care. Anything… just do anything to make her stop.”

She giggled softly. “Anything for you… Jack.”

Black mist completely engulfed Jack. Carolyn gripped Jack’s shoulders tighter when she saw the mist overtake him. Jack grabbed Carolyn’s arms and forced them off his shoulders. She was surprised, shocked, and even angrier than before. Carolyn stepped back and became serious. She slowly closed her eyes as the environment around them changed for the worse.

The fountain water turned blood red, roses began to grow from the ground, and the windows started shaking. A huge gust of wind blew across the yard. It was extremely loud, causing the patients inside to go crazy and erupt into panic.

Carolyn opened her eyes and started walking towards Jack. Roses nearby had fully grown in seconds, from the stems they were hanging from. Their petals blossomed as strong winds ripped those fully blossomed petals off their stems, falling on the ground while the wind blew past her. As she was about to lift her arm, the black mist quickly faded away.

Jack regained consciousness and lifted his head. He looked devastated. He slowly lifted his arm and angrily pointed at Carolyn with bloodshot eyes full of guilted sorrow. “How am I supposed to do anything?!” He dropped his arm, then sliced the air with anger. “I’m just a kid!”

Jack’s eyes poured salty tears of failure. He dropped to his knees and clenched his hair. His head hung as he cried profusely.

“How?! How am I supposed to do the impossible? I’m just a stupid, pathetic, hopeless kid…” Jack punched the ground, venting out his emotions. “Why Carolyn… why do you hate me?”

Carolyn felt horrible. She had no idea she was putting so much pressure on him, completely forgetting that he was just a scared child who’d lost his parents. A single tear flowed down her face and splashed on the ground, purifying the grass. Her face was emotionless though, no expression, nothing. She slowly crept towards him and softly patted his back. She picked his pathetic self up and hugged him, then apologized for everything.

Jack held her. “Why are you doing this?”

She didn’t answer him, but just kept rubbing his head.

Jack eventually passed out from all the crying he did. When she knew he wouldn’t awaken, Carolyn picked him up and carried him back inside, taking him to his room. She opened Jack’s door and gently placed him back into his bed, then tucked him in. She kissed his cheek and wiped off the remaining tears that were on his face, however, she noticed something was off. Some of his tears were black.

She expressed nothing and wiped the black trails off his face, while looking upset as she did so. She patted his head and wished him goodnight. Before she left, she took one last look at Jack and smiled, then closed his door and disappeared.

Jack was fast asleep now, not knowing the girl in the white dress was watching him like a corrupted dark shadow. She stood beside him, ruffling his hair with her cold pale hands. She lay beside him and pinched his cheeks. She too wished Jack a goodnight’s sleep and faded away, devouring the room in shadowy darkness.