Authors Note: Hey guys. This is a little oneshot inspired by CreepyPastaJr's video, 'Anna'. I was just so moved, I really wanted to turn it into a chalant story. Well, I hope you guys feel the emotions I did. The original story idea wasn't mine, but it was a creepypasta if you guys ever heard of that.
Guys, I extremely suggest that you listen to 'Winds wreck' by myuuji on YouTube to set the mood. Believe me, it would be worth it.
Thanks for reading!
Richard sighed, hands casually thrown in his pockets as he strolled down the white washed walls of the building. As he passed by the various nurses and doctors, he greeted them with a friendly smile and a charming wink for the females. The people who recognized him, which was almost everyone, greeted him enthusiastically. The female nurses were especially excited at having the handsome young man smile at them, though they were never brave enough to strike up a conversation.
He wasn't a doctor, far from it. He loved to volunteer at the psych ward at the local hospital though. He didn't know why or how it helped so much. He just needed an outlet to relieve stress. In the past, he had done partying and getting drunk and even done the occasional one night stand. And yet, it had never done him any satisfaction. Instead, it only seemed to worsen him. He had taken the wild side to ease the pressure, but that had only taken him to places he never wished to revisit.
He didn't know how it would help him so much, he just knew it did. He sometimes didn't particularly like the people he had to work with, but he had the satisfaction of knowing he helped them in some way. Though to his regret, some of them were already beyond help.
The sight scared him sometimes. People screaming at the things himself couldn't see, the hallucinations that seemed to drive these patients to their own personal hell. And the eyes. The eyes of many that were void and glassy, though the everlasting fear and tragedy was present. Though considering what he learned they had went through, he could understand where their madness came from.
He supposed though, that he had a special reason for his recurring visits to the ward.
And that reason was a girl.
A girl named Zatanna in fact.
Zatanna was probably the youngest in the ward, no older than him actually. She was a teenager, just like him. She shouldn't really have been in the section kept for adults, though he had learned she had nowhere else to be put in. The hospital was apparently too busy and just too occupied, to have a minor taken care of. The thought angered him actually. Wasn't their jobs dedicated to helping people? If so, then why did they practically ignore her?
He felt sorry for her, she was obviously more than a little frightened at the company she kept. Richard didn't blame her for being scared. He himself had been frightened at the sight of some of the patients, but imagine having to live here.
Zatanna was probably the least screwed up person in the hospital. She had depression anxiety anytime she would leave the room. She once had a panic attack when one of the nurses forced her to go outside and into the gardens.
Richard was furious when he heard. Lets just say the nurse didn't come back to work the following Monday.
They say if she'd ever leave, she would probably die from the shock of it. And so they let her stay here for the time being.
He felt the strange, odd, desire to protect her from harm. He had grown protective. Maybe because she was young and a teenager like him? Maybe because he felt guilty she didn't have the life he had? The life of the party, the laughs, the pulsing neon light accompanied by the ear blasting music.
No, that wasn't it. She didn't look like she would enjoy something like that.
Well, he had a bond with her now. A special bond.
They would talk for hours and hours, never seeming to tire of each other. Apparently, talking helped with her anxiety, so he made sure to talk with her everyday. He felt the need to know her far beyond their supposed professional relationship, he couldn't help himself. She was so beautiful. Long raven hair with the purest of blue eyes, a smile that sent his heart racing. And the first time she laughed...it was forever etched into his memory. Zatanna always seemed so eager and happy to see him, he couldn't bear to leave her for long. In time, he had quit his volunteering and opted for visiting the ward as a guest and spending all his time with her at her bedside. Their bond grew with every passing moment.
Though one fall day, he found her curled up into a ball on her bed. Her knees brought up, arms wrapped around herself as if to shield from an oncoming blow. She was crying, sobbing softly to herself as the tears streamed down her face. The sight got him so worried and scared, he shocked himself.
When he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, she flinched. He pretended that didn't hurt.
When he asked her what was wrong, she finally told him why she was in the hospital. A topic they had clearly ignored to discuss. She told him her parents and her were in a car accident a few months ago. Her mother died instantly, and her father died before he could reach the hospital. She was the lucky one to survive, in the end she had been hospitalized. She hadn't talked much after that, the doctors concluded she was traumatized by the event and lost her will to speak. Though miraculously, she only began to talk around the time he had started at the ward.
Touched at the thought he had helped Zatanna with her anxiety, he felt brave enough to ask if the police had caught the driver. She shook her head vigorously to answer his question. They hadn't caught him yet, that's why she was so scared. Thinking he would come after her if she ever left the hospital. He tried to reassure her a drunk driver wouldn't even remember her face, but he couldn't do anything to make her stop crying.
In a moment of desperation, Richard told her if he ever got near the driver that did this to her, he would kill him.
That got Zatanna's attention, and even though she was shocked by the brutality of his promise, she had stopped crying. She kissed his cheek softly, uttering a small 'thank you' under her breath. They spent the rest of the day together. Zatanna had somehow ended up in his arms, she fell asleep. He fell asleep holding her.
He hadn't talked to the head doctor before, but a lot of people in the ward knew him, so he felt the right to introduce himself. When he asked about Zatanna, the doctor seemed keen as to hearing what he had to say. Apparently they found her bloody and on the side of the road when someone had called 911.
Richard told them Zatanna's story and the time they had spent together. At the end, the doctor leaned back in his chair, and sighed.
"Richard, what your telling me is very serious. There is no one named Zatanna in this ward."
Richards eyes widened as the doctor continued.
"You had a nervous breakdown recently, and have been coming to the hospital for psychiatric sessions. But you've gotten worse, not better. You haven't left the hospital in a month. Tell me, Richard, do you remember the last time you had been at work?"
It was a stupid question, easy to answer. He had been at work...no, he had taken some time off to spend with Zatanna. How had he forgotten that? But the doctor shook his head. "You were forced to take psychiatric leave. We believe you had some sort of traumatic event, resulting in your nervous breakdown and frequent hallucinations. From what you just told me, I'm inclined to believe you were responsible for the accident while drunk driving."
He sat there, frozen in shock.
No...no. That was impossible. He'd quit drinking, he'd been with Zatanna this whole time. Impossible.
But it all came rushing back. The erratic headlights as he swerved, the screech of the rubber tires, the one, frozen moment, when he saw a raven haired girl screaming in the back seat.
When he looked back up, the doctor was no longer there. Zatanna was sitting in his place, saying nothing, staring at him. One solitary tear went down her pretty face.
He stared back for a moment, but had to look down. He couldn't look at her. He didn't deserve to.
He murdered her.
"I'm sorry" he said to her, still not looking up. "I'm so sorry"
He felt so guilty. So, so guilty.
And he had made a promise.
.
.
.
Richard picked up the scissors from the desk.
.
.
.