Wayward

Chapter 2: A Gust of Wind

"...The brink of insanity..."

"...Never wake up..."

"...Too painful..."

"...He doesn't belong here..."

~~~

The blackness was slowly receding from around me. My eyes fluttered open. Annoyingly enough, the voices came back just as quickly as my vision did. They were quiet now, but not for long.

"Esther!" My parents exclaimed in unison.

I rubbed my eyes and stared at them. 

"How are you feeling?" "Does your head hurt?" Casey asked me urgently.

"I'm fine" I said wincing as I sat up.

I was sitting in a whitewashed room, with a curtain drawn halfway around the bed I was lying on, and there were two chairs sitting side by side next to me. I could hear people quietly talking nearby. 

As if on Que, a clean shaven man in a white coat drew the curtain to the side and gave me a fake smile. I didn't blame him, this place seemed duller than a letter opener.

"I see you're awake Master Runes. Jolly good." He spoke with a thick Irish accent.

I nodded at him and stared at my arm. There was a thin translucent pipe In my arm, filled with blood. But it wasn't mine. I looked at the doctor questioningly.

"You cut your head open when you fell over, and lost a lot of blood. You may feel a little dazed and light headed for the next few hours." He said rather matter of factly.

I hastily reached my hand to the back of my skull and winced. There was what felt like a 5 centimeter stitched up cut just above the bottom of my hairline. I let my hand fall to my lap, leaving a small red stain on the starch white bed sheets. I saw the doctor grimace. 

"I'm Doctor Robertson by the way, i'll be looking after you for the next few days before we release you." He said boredly.

"Wait, 'Few days?!' I have an Algebra test to study for and-" Doctor Robertson cut me off "We just need to... Run a few tests, see how you're doing upstairs." He said whilst tapping his temple.

I rolled my eyes and stared at the wall directly ahead of me. 

"I'll leave you to rest and talk with... your parents..." He said awkwardly, drawing the curtain back again as he swept out.

I drew the itchy bed sheets up to my chin, trying to avoid eye contact with either of my parents. Jordan sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched. I could see he wanted to say something but he faltered. 

"Get well soon, Esther." Casey said, My parents knew I didn't want to talk, so they both walked out silently.

I sighed inwardly and looked around me, I noticed a lunch tray sitting on a side table next to me. On the tray was some Delicious looking beige sludge, a pot of lime jelly, and what I hoped was ham, on some grain bread. Typical hospital food, of course i'd seen it before but the joke just gets old. I buried my face in the chemical-scented pillow and closed my eyes.

That's when the screaming started.

~~~

I was lying in another whitewashed room, but this time there was nothing to look at except a cold looking bed, and a grey chair. I was lying on a concrete floor in front of a solid looking steel door. I stood up and sat on the bed. This was when I noticed the voices, but they weren't in my head anymore. I could hear screaming, crying and maniacal laughing. I covered my ears. 

Where the hell am I?

There was a pounding at the door.

My vision started to fade.

I screamed out.

~~~

When I opened my eyes someone was screaming.

That someone was me.

Suddenly a Nurse burst through my curtain, and she gasped when she saw me lying in my bed drenched in sweat. I looked down and stifled a gasp myself. The thin material of my hospital gown was shredded open, revealing my pale chest. Which was now seeping crimson out of a multitude of scratches and cuts. Then it hit me. I did this. I looked down at my hands which were gripping the sides of the hospital bed, my slim fingers and sharp nails were covered in dried blood. 

My breath was quick and heavy and I could feel my heart thumping in my ears. I leaped out of bed with surprising speed and half ran half limped to the door, shoving my way past the shocked nurse. She tried to stop me, but failed. Just as the door slammed shut behind me, I heard an alarm far below me, the nurse had called security. As I ran down the long brightly lit corridor, a thought occurred to me. What the hell was I running from? 

I'm the monster.

I can't run from myself.

I saw a sign pointing to a door, 'Storage Units and Roof.' 

"Perfect." I muttered to myself.

I hastily climbed, two steps at a time. The soft 'Pat' ... 'Pat' could be heard behind me as the blood from my chest seeped out of my multitude of wounds, and fell onto the stairway. I reached a door with a push handle on it and burst out onto the roof.

The cold hit me hard, wind getting through the ripped holes in my gown. I ignored the door slamming shut behind me. I shook off the cold and walked out to the edge of the roof. I sat on the ledge and looked behind me, Burnt up cigarettes littered the ground, and Air-Con units pumped the cold air into the hospital below me. I looked back out at the city that was spread before me.

 I could see the early morning commuters heading to work on the roads and highways. The shadows of the skyscrapers looming above me. The sun was on the rise slowly, and the first rays of day were making an appearance.

But it was far from tranquil. I shivered as a gust of wind whistled past my back. Looking down, I noticed how far up I was, my feet were turning purple with the cold.

All I would have to do is...

Fall...