Dead Bite

chapter 8

"Daniel," I groan. The pain is stinging my skin on the left side. "Daniel it hurts so bad," I say out loud.
"Did you expect it not to hurt? I did sear it into your heart. Do you like the tattoo? I designed it myself." I look down at my left side and notice the tattoo. The tattoo is a beautiful, black rose with thorny vines trailing down my left arm.
"It's beautiful, but won't other people find it weird that I magically got a tattoo?"
"No because one, no one is going to find it weird in the zombie apocalypse and two, no one else can see it," he laughs. That's when I hear someone sigh.
"George was right, you are going insane." I see Damien sitting next to me. I reach my hand out towards him.
"Damien, what are you talking about? I am perfectly fine," I smile. His face remains emotionless. He pushes my hand away from him.
"You are talking to yourself; you attacked George and me, and you spoke in tongues while you slept."
"Damien?" I reach my hand towards him again. I run my hand down his face. He pulls away and stands up. I feel my heart tearing apart.
"D... Damien, please," I cry. "Don't leave me!"
"You need some time to yourself so you don't hurt anyone," he frowns. "I love you." He comes up to me and rubs my cheek. "This is for the best. Just an hour to think to yourself. I'll bring you up some food and a drink," then with that he leaves me to my own thoughts. He left me... alone.

"You promised you wouldn't leave me alone!" I scream after him.

"Well, I was not expecting him to leave you," Daniel chuckles.
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up Daniel! Get out of my head!" I scream and cry. I pull on the handcuff which is still holding me to the bed. I don't want to live in this life anymore! Damien left me!
"I can help you with that problem," Daniel laughs.
"I don't want your help," I growl. I notice Damien's sweatshirt laying across a seat. His sweatshirt might have a knife in it. I climb off the bed and onto the floor. I stretch my arm out as far as I can ,but it is just out of reach. I pull my hand back and stretch my leg out towards the chair. I kick the chair and it comes towards me. I use my leg strength to pull the chair to me and I pull his jacket off. I rummage through his pockets and found a small pocket knife. My handcuffed hand dangles above my head as I sit on the floor fumbling around with the knife.
"I could kill myself right now. No one would care. Damien left me anyways. My dad and mom are dead so, why does it matter if I'm dead too?" I feel tears streaming down my face.
"Do you have what it takes to take your own life? I don't think you do and neither does any of your other demons. Well, depression thinks you will do it." I sigh and grasp the knife firmly in my shaky hand.
"Damien won't mind if I leave him. I'm just a liability," I let the tears stream down my face. I close my eyes tightly and put the knife against my wrist. "I love you Damien!" I cry. I pull the knife away from my body, ready to plunge it into my wrist, and that's when the door slams against the wall. A glass shatters against the ground. I feel the knife fling out of my hands and I look up with blurry vision from crying. I see Damien above me. He kneels down beside me and embraces me. I cry and try to push him away.
"What are you thinking?" He asks me, his voice strains.
"You don't care about me! Give me back the knife!" I scream. I pushed him away from me and reach for the knife. He kicks the knife out of my reach.
"Kaylee, snap out of it! If I didn't care about you I would not keep saving you!"
"Just let me die! My parents are dead, let me die! You left me alone when you promised you wouldn't," I cry. I pull on the handcuff, causing my hand to become red and scratched up. "Let me out!"
"No! I can't let you just die! I love you," he argues. I feel a pinch on my left arm. I look up at Damien and see a needle. I shake my head.
"No," I say softly. I blink my eyes and I am back on top of the maze.
"Man, if he hadn't come then you actually would have done it," a voice hisses.
"Daniel, shut your mouth! Where is depression and anxiety?" I growl. I am wearing a sleeveless black corset with a small black skirt and no shoes.
He laughs,"out and about, reeking havoc. Why?" I storm up to him and grab his shirt collar.
"You get them now, or so help me I'm gonna be pissed!" I growl. Instead of getting mad he laughs. "
"You think you can tell me what to do?"
"Daniel, now!" I yell. Instantly his anger flares.
"Oh, you should not have done that. You do not want to see me angry," his eyes became black. Bright red, almost like blood, tentacles start forming behind him. The tentacles grab hold of my wrist and lift me off the ground. With my free hand, I hit at the tentacle.
"Daniel, let me go!" I yell at him. His eyes are the darkest black I have ever seen. He grins at me. One of the tentacles run down my cheek.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. If you hurt then it hurts me too; besides, depression will get the best of you." He sets me down and the tentacle retracts back. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes they are back to their electric blue. "That's just a bit of what I can do. Now, how about you ask nicely?" He straightens his bowtie.
"Where are depression and anxiety?" I ask calmly. He snaps his fingers and they are by his side.
"This is depression," he points to the girl to his right. She wears a long black gown. Her deep red hair is knotted and her wrists are scarred and bloody. "You can also call her Paige. Now this one is anxiety. You can also call him Andrew," he points to the male to his left. He is short with a dirty white sweatshirt. He has moppy yellow hair and keeps his hand on his face to cover it. "Now, why do you need them?" I feel my anger start to boil over. The sky starts to become dark and gloomy. I turn away from them.
"I can't let you guys control me anymore," I lean my head back and grin at them. I find that Daniel has disappeared. I flip backward so I am facing them. I run towards them. I stop inches away from Paige's face. She jumps back and almost falls off the edge of the wall.
"Daniel, you can't let her hurt us!" She yells. I laugh.
"I can do so much more. This is my mind and my dream. I make the decisions." I stretch my arms out and felt the darkness absorb me. I control what happens in my mind, not some stupid demons. I feel the darkness play around my hand. Maybe I can get it like Daniel had it. I imagine the darkness forming tentacles. They form into tentacles around me and they steam out of my back. I send my tentacles hurling towards Paige. They strike her side.
"Oh this is fun," I laugh. I strike Paige in the heart and let her drop into the maze. I turn towards Andrew and grin even bigger. He starts running away from me probably scared of what I have become. I grab his ankle with one of my tentacles and pull him back.
"I caught you," I giggle. I strike him in the stomach and then snap his neck with one squeeze. I let his lifeless body fall to the ground. I feel so much weight lift off my shoulders. I hear clapping behind me and turn around.
"Nice job. I did not think you had it in you to conjure up tentacles out of darkness." He grins. I turn towards Andrews dead body and smell the blood. I stare at Andrew. I am back in the room with Damien.
"Kaylee, I'm sorry for..."
"It's fine," I interrupt him smiling. He puts the back of his hand on my head.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asks. "You are acting really happy."
"I feel so much better. While I was asleep I... dealt with some of my demons that caused me to act the way I was. I'm so sorry for anything I did to you or anyone else," I frown. His jaw drops. Did he think I had gone insane?
"You aren't thinking of killing yourself anymore, just like that?"
"No, none of that," I laugh and smile.
"Bu.. but how?" He exclaims.
"I defeated my demons of anxiety and depression. It wasn't that hard. I just had to go a little insane in order to do it. I might still speak in tongues in my sleep, but that is probably the most that will happen."
"Daniel didn't help at all and..."
"Daniel? Who is Daniel?"
"One of my demons. I don't know which one but he is one of them. He was not the one causing me to go insane or have depression and anxiety," I smile.
"Kaylee, you know you can't talk to your demons, right? That's... that's insane."
"Of course you can. Your demons just have to want to talk to you," I shrug. "I'm starving. Can you go get me food?" I smile.
"Sure? What do you want?" He seems really jumpy.
"Um...mashed potatoes." He stands up and avoids my bed. "Damien," I call. He turns around.
"Yes?"
"Please, don't be like that towards me. I'm better, I swear." I half smile. He nods and closes the door behind him. Now that he was gone, I have time to think.
If Paige was my depression and Andrew was my anxiety then what was Daniel? If Paige and Andrew had the same powers as Daniel then they would have saved themselves, but it seemed like Daniel is the only one that can do that, besides me. I shake my head as the door opens. I turn to see George. He looks surprised to see me.
"Well, hello. I didn't think you would have woken up yet. How are you feeling?" He asks with a mischievous smile. I do not like this, he is acting strangely.
"I'm... fine. I think I'm over not having my medicine," I smile.
"Do you? Why do you say that?" I could not tell him the truth.
"After that long nap I took I feel much better," I smile the fakest smile ever.
"Don't lie to me," he growls. I glare at him and growl back.
"Don't get snippy with me!" I yell. "I am perfectly fine! I don't get why you think I have gone crazy!" I feel something freezing touch the hand that was not handcuffed. I pull my hand away to try and warm it up but it clanked. My other hand is now handcuffed! Are you kidding me?
"George, unhandcuff me!" I yell. "Damien!"
"He is downstairs getting you food," he chuckles pulling out a knife. This has to be a dream. Daniel, tell me it's a dream. I hear clapping in the back of my mind.
"Very good, Kaylee," I am back at the maze. "I'm surprised you could differentiate the difference between a dream and reality."
"But this is a dream," I spin around. "And why would you make sweet George attack me?"
"Because you seem to get yourself into trouble a lot," he smiles.
"You are so mean! I am actually hungry, at least in this dream. I want to go back to reality," I whine.
"In order to wake up... wake up... wake up..." his voice echos on saying wake up. I close my eyes tight and open them. I am back in my room with Damien telling me to wake up.
"Damien," I smile.
"Kaylee," he wraps his arms around me. I feel so stiff.
"Um Damien, I'm hungry."
"Of course you are, you have been out for three days. How are you feeling, besides hungry?"
"Three days? I mean, I feel better than ever."I look down and see a small rose tattoo on my wrist.
"Oh, do you like your tattoo? I thought you were never going to wake up so I gave you a rose tattoo. The black rose to be more specific because you are one in a million, just like the black rose," he smiles. Was that all just a dream? Is Daniel even real?
"I love it," I smile, admiring it.
"Now, what do you want to eat?"
"Mashed potatoes and beef!" I answer without hesitation. " and can you get me the black rose?"
"Sure," he kisses my head and leaves the room. I hear him hollering down the hall. What a weirdo. I laugh to myself. I hear people running down the hall and then the door swings open. Elizabeth and Cinna run into the room while George walks behind them. Elizabeth and Cinna wrap their arms around me.
"We thought you were never going to wake up," Elizabeth cries. They both start squeezing me tightly.
"Um... guys, I can't breathe," they both let go and laugh. I take a deep breath and stretch my arms out. I, surprisingly, smell good like axe.
"You stunk so we sprayed axe on you," Cinna smiles.
"That's good," I laugh.
"Yeah, and Damien wouldn't leave your side. We had to force feed him," Elizabeth explains. My smile quickly diminishes into a frown. It is all my fault.
"It isn't your fault," Elizabeth explains as if she had read my mind.
"He could have starved," I hear the door squeak open and Damien is by my side.
"Sorry I took so long. Some people left me alone to find everything and figure out how to make it," he smiles.
"Oops," Elizabeth and Cinna says in unison.
"It's fine," he laughs. "Kaylee, I couldn't find the black rose," he says sadly. Maybe Daniel really did sear it into my heart. George walks up behind Damien and moves him out of the way. I slink back, but he dows the unexpected. He wraps his arms around me in a hug. I am so confused; I thought George hated me.
"I'm glad you are okay," he whispers into my ear. "You are like a daughter to me." He pulls away and smiles. He ruffles my hair. I feel like crying. All of these people care about me even though I have caused so much trouble for them. My eyes become watery. I start crying and they all look at me weird.
"You guys care about me so much even though you haven't known me that long. Everyone else who has met me has tried killing me," I sob. They all surrounded me in a group hug which makes me cry even more. Never, since this whole thing happened, has random people cared for me so much. I love my new family.