How far would you go? (Currently Editing)

Louise

Louise was having difficulty sleeping. She had rushed home, shut the door, and quickly tucked herself away. Adrenaline mixed with fear had overtaken her and she could not stop shaking. Her conversation with Luke's alter ego had left her startled. How had she not seen it? All those Christmases spent together, all those summer holidays; Louise saw no signs of a personality disorder. She prided herself on reading people, as it was essential for her work as a Psychologist. Jessica would have mentioned Luke's problem if something had been wrong. She appeared happy, and Luke was the perfect husband. Always loving and kind. What had changed?

The night had been long, and exhaustion overtook Louise. Her mind refused to sleep, processing and churning out thoughts like a machine on a production line. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop thinking about Sam. Their conversion repeated over and over while she rested her head against the soft pillow.

'Someone is coming.' She heard Sam's voice. It was a warning, dark and ominous.
'Me. I'm going to kill you.' The first words he had said to her, lingered in her thoughts.
'I don't like to think of myself as bad, more of an influence to do good. Does that make sense?'

He was dangerous. That sentence summed up his intentions. Sam believed he was helping Luke. He was an influence to do good, and that made Sam dangerous. She had seen it before. Only once, when she had treated a patient who believed he had been sent to kill women. During their conversions he would be aggressive, threatening her, and then, unexpectantly, he would be sweet and timid. When she asked him what had happened, he had no knowledge of his behaviour. It was impossible to cure, and he spent the rest of his life in a mental institute.
It would be impossible to cure Luke. Sam had established himself within Luke's personality and the two were inseparable. Her worry was that Sam would become the dominate force and shut Luke out forever. He had already killed two people and had attempted to kill Russell. Now, Sam was now coming for her. She shuddered at the thought and switched on the lights.

Her room was instantly filled with bright soft lighting that cast shadows across the floor. Like the rest the apartment, her room was large, and decorated with expensive furniture, and tasteful decorations. On her bedside unit was a framed picture of Jessica. It had been taken on their last trip together. A weekend in Rome. Jessica was smiling, her arms wrapped around Louise, and behind them stood the imposing structure of the Colosseum. She reached out and pulled the picture into her chest.

The wind howled outside, and the trees rattled, shaking any remaining leaves to the ground. The noise frightened Louise and she looked at the windows, alarmed by the noise. Another gust pounded against the window frame. It was just the wind. Calm down. No matter how much she tried to reassure herself, it was not working. Louise was scared.

Sam's words continued to fill her head: 'I'm going to kill you.'
For the first time since she was little, Louise was frightened. Dealing with people's problems, helping the mentally ill, had hardened Louise. She was strong and confident and was able to tackle most problems in a clear and logical manner. Not this problem. The thought of someone coming to kill her was terrifying, and it was worse because she knew her attacker. Why was Sam doing this? She tried to remember their conversation. Why was Sam killing people? She looked at the picture of Jessica, and she heard his words.
'Jessica. Her lies and betrayals.'

Sam was killing because of what Jessica did. Louise recalled his words. It was because of Jessica's affair with Alan. No! No! Sudden panic came over Louise. She had lied as well. Louise had kept the truth from Luke, and now Sam was coming after her. He would kill her, just like he did to Debbie and Alan. Her eyes started to fill with tears, and she struggled to contain her fear. Sam was coming because she had lied.

Another crack from the wind, and the trees outside her window whipped into life. She got out of bed and listened. The wind was growing in intensity. It was going to be a stormy night. Louise pulled the covers up around her, hoping it would protect her from the growing gale. Amongst the growl and howl of the wind, Louise thought she heard another noise. She strained to listen. It was difficult to hear, but she was sure it was the sound of a door shutting. Then it was gone, and the wind settled down briefly before its next blast at the windows.