FicWad

I was on the floor, cowering, petrified. I had passed through this man. This evil, terrifying man and I had heard his thoughts, felt his malevolent and base nature and now all I wanted to do was hide. I could hear Gerard coughing, choking out words, but they were incoherent to me until I heard him shout.

“It wasn’t Mikey!”

I could hear the rasping in his voice like he’d been strangled and I knew that was exactly what had happened. Lucy – I was sure the woman I was seeing was Lucy Morgan, the owner of the diary I had found – Lucy had warned me that there was nothing she could do now to protect us. To tell the truth, I hadn’t known she was protecting us. I certainly didn’t feel protected. I felt vulnerable and scared. But most of all, I felt threatened. I felt as though we were all in danger from this evil man. I had heard his thoughts, felt his evil and it had reduced me to a wreck.

“Then who was it, Gerard? If it wasn’t Mikey, who was it and why was he standing over you with his hands around your throat?”

My head snapped up at the words. I didn’t do that! Did I? It was impossible… wasn’t it? Frank seemed so sure, so certain. But…

“No!” I was screaming, pushing myself upright, using my hands against the wall behind me, but I kept slipping. My hands were wet and I fell back to the floor at least once. Finally scrambling to my feet, I looked at my hands; they were slick with sweat and blood. I think that shocked me more than anything. Looking up, open-mouthed, I saw the accusatory stares aimed right at me and finally I saw Gerard’s neck, glistening in the dim light. Sweat mixed with blood from the scratch marks on his neck was beginning to trickle down to his shirt and I saw him throw a hand up to cover the marks as he saw me look at him with what I can only assume was a look of horror firmly etched on my face. Had I just attacked my own brother? But what of the man I saw? Frederick, the pockmarked man? We’d all seen him… hadn’t we?

“He was there!” I screamed, my eyes wild and wide. “He was right there grinning at me! He was strangling Gee, I had to…”

My words tapered to nothing. They didn’t believe me. Not one of them. Not even Gerard. Yes he was defending me, but it was there in his eyes. I was going crazy. Right there in that house, right in front of them. I didn’t know what was real any more and… and, was I dangerous? I couldn’t bear to think what they were thinking.

“Mikey, no, you didn’t, you saved me. You…”

I pushed through them all and ran from the room with no idea what to do or where to go. All I knew was I couldn’t look at them, looking back at me with those eyes, so heavy with accusation. It was too much.

I was running blind, tears streaming down my face. Too much confusion, too much noise in my head. The image of that man choking Gerard, laughing at me. The thought that I had imagined it, that it might have been me. I could still hear his laughter, his mocking evil laughter and his sneer filled my memory. It was the last thing I remembered. That and the stairs so close to my face as I tumbled and rolled, wildly out of control.

*

“He’s waking up.”

The voice filtered through to my fuzzy, clouded mind. I think it was Ray. Yes, Ray. I was sure when he spoke again.

“Gee, he’s waking up.”

What light I could see was instantly dulled as a number of shapes crowded around me and I voice I didn’t recognise spoke.

“Please, step back, give him some room.”
“Is he okay?”
“Gerard?” I whispered.
“Yeah, Mikey, I’m here. You’re going to be all right, don’t worry.”
“Where am I?”

I could tell just from the sheer brightness of the room and the lack of heavy oppression closing in on me that I wasn’t at the mansion. But more than that, I had no idea. As my eyes began to focus, I saw a man in a suit standing next to me on one side and the guys on the other. Finally I realised I was in hospital.

“You’ve got a bumps and bruises, young man, but you’re lucky you didn’t break anything. I want to keep you in overnight for observation though, there’s a possibility of concussion and we want to be sure.”

I was torn. One part of me was relieved beyond all measure to be out of the mansion, but how could I stay at the hospital now that I knew Frederick was trying to kill Gerard? Maybe all of us?

“No.”

I shook my head and immediately wished I hadn’t as my temples exploded with pain and a wave of nausea swept over me. I groaned weakly as bile rose in my throat and I found myself retching uncontrollably.

“Can I ask you to wait outside for a moment?” the doctor asked.
“No!” I was crying again, I wasn’t even aware until I felt the salt water trickle onto my lips. “No, I need to speak to Gee!”

I was reaching for him, but the orderly or nurse, or whoever it was – I could barely focus - was trying to usher him out.

“Mikey, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he called half way from my bed.
“He’s very agitated,” the doctor sighed. “I think we should sedate him.”
“Gee!” I was inconsolable. Someone had tried to kill him, they might try again. Worse still, did they still think it was me?
“Let me speak to him first,” Gerard pressed.
“P…please,” I added, trying to forcibly calm myself.
“Five minutes,” the doctor conceded as he, what I now realised was a nurse and the rest of the guys left the room.
“Mikes, how are you feeling?” he asked gently.
“It wasn’t me, Gee, I didn’t… tell me it wasn’t me…”

By now even I had to admit, I wasn’t sure.

“It wasn’t you, Mikes. It was him; I saw him too. I woke up, but I couldn’t move. Not my arms, legs, nothing. I could barely make a sound. I could see him walking towards me, grinning. And his eyes, I’ll never forget those eyes burning through me. I tried to shout but everything was coming out muffled like I was gagged or something. I just couldn’t work my lungs or something. He leaned over me, laughing, telling me that I shouldn’t have disturbed the past.”
“The past lies buried and you will be buried with it.”

I could see Gerard pale and his eyes widen as I spoke the words, he even took a step back.

“I’ve heard whispering in my room,” I forced out, scared to even think about it. “Those words over and over.”
“Oh, God, Mikey!”

He threw himself over me and hugged me like his life depended on it. Perhaps it did?

“Why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t say anything.”
“I thought I could handle it, then I thought I was going crazy. Am I?” my voice tapered almost to nothing with those last two words.
“Only if we all are,” he replied quietly.
“But no one else saw him. Frank said he saw me choking you.”
Gerard shook his head. “He saw you trying to pull his hands away.”

I just stared back. I didn’t remember that. All I recalled was running at him and ultimately through him, trying to push him aside, before collapsing to the floor. Was Gerard humouring me? Protecting me?

“We’ve arranged for you to stay with someone when you get out of the hospital,” he began, stopping only as he saw me shaking my head. “You don’t really want to come back to the mansion, do you?”
“What about you?” I asked, bemused by the response. “He tried to kill you.”
“We’ll be fine, Mikes, I promise.”
“You can’t, Gee, he…”
“We’re on it, Mikes. We think we know what’s going on.”

I stared at him. A sad, hopeless gaze that spoke volumes about everything I was feeling.

“I believe you, Mikey,” he tried to reassure me, but it felt like he was humouring me.
“She speaks to me,” I choked out. “She told me you’re not safe.”

I could see the pain in his eyes and I knew exactly what he was thinking. I could feel my eyes closing and only then did I realise that a sedative had already been added to the drip in my arm. I would soon be unconscious and my dreams would be dark and filled with unknown terrors of what might happen to my brother and friends if they went back to that place.

As my eyes closed for the last time, I felt Gerard squeeze my hand and I felt an icy chill of fear.