Take Me Down The Rabbit Hole [SOMEWHAT EDITED]

Chapter 6: The Mark of The Mad and Some Confessions

  It hurts so bad. I bite my lip so I wouldn't show any sign of pain. So the tears in my eyes stop forming. I don't want to be vulnerable in front of everyone.

Allie pours some water on my shoulder but it doesn't help ease the pain. It made the pain worse, to be honest.

Then Mina comes up next to me and switchs her gaze from my shoulder to my eyes. This goes on for a few seconds, until she finally says,

"I know what that mark is."

I try to tell her to explain more through my facial expression but she doesn't get the message. I let out a sigh in frustration.

"Well, then can you tell us what it is because it's hurts."

She just stares at me for another couple of seconds before replying with,

"It's called the Mark of the Mad. This mark was embedded into people who showed signs of insanity hundreds of years go. The way they embedded it though, was extremly ritualistic. I'm not going to into details but, if one person has that embedded into them, then their whole future bloodline is born with the mark. They can also have it form over a fatal injury,"

She adjusts her position and continues on.

"The forming of the mark can vary on the person. It can sometimes form immediately after the wound is inflicted, it could take days, weeks, months, years. It all come down to the person."

She then points to my shoulder.

"When did you hurt your shoulder?"

I take a second to think and reply with,

"Around 4-5 years old."

She only nods, before continuing once again.

"There's specualtion that the formation of the mark depends on how fatal the wound is. It must have not been that bad if it has taken this long for it to form. Then again, no one knows why this happens,"

"Another thing to know is, if one continues to show signs of insanity then they are thrown into a deep well which was known as the ' rabbit hole '. Thankfully, mental asylums are thing now so there's nothing to worry about."

I see her gulp a bit.

"But the last recording of someone with the mark was hundreds of years ago." She finishs.

Having to learn that one of my ancestors was insane and the reason I have this terrible burning sensation on my shoulder is a lot to take in. Does the insanity also follow with the bloodline?

So many questions were running in my head, that before I know it I'm having a panic attack. I tried to quickly calm myself down but I only made it worse.

At one point, I couldn't even breathe. I'm hyperventilating and I keep blacking out for moments at a time. I haven't had a panic attack like this in years.....

I feel an arm on my shoulders and see a hazy blob of blonde that I assume to be Lukas. He pulls me closer to him and I don't fight. I can barely think. He whispers in my ear, helping through breathing exercises and telling me I'm going to be fine. Everytime I feel his breath hit my ear, it sends shivers down my spine. I see my other friends around, trying their best to comfort me. Everyone....but Mina.

She's off to the side, leaning on a tree and staring at me with a look of what seems to be pure disagust. I have never seen her like this before and it scares me. The worst part of all this, the fact that I'm being treated like a kid. It's so embarrassing. I not-so-subtly push everyone off of me and assure them that I'm okay. They aren't convinced by this blantant lie but dont push further more, which I'm thankful for.