When the sun sets, serenity falls over the world. Beams of scarlet and orange reflect off the clouds and water, a picturesque view to all those who behold it. The golden light inspires love and creativity. Soon the air fades to pink and the lights dim. Everything becomes harder to see and the shadows play tricks on one's eyes. Before the notion can even be conceived, it is completely dark. The atmosphere turning deep blue and violet as the night casts its blanket of stars across the sky. Sleep creeps softly across the land and slips into the eyes of the weary, bringing with it visions of the subconscious.
For some though, sleep does not come, and as the moon crosses the night sky, they stare out into its inky black depths, waiting for either sleep or the morning light to come.
Sometimes though, neither ever does.
Draco gazed out across the sea, deep in contemplation. He stood high above the water and the beach on the balcony of his family's summer home on a private island off the coast of Florida. The view was astonishing. Palm trees swayed slightly in the warm, gentle breeze. Waves crashed rhythmically onto the milky white sand -free from any of the debris seen on most public beaches- creating a soothing background of sound. The ocean glittered with the reflection of the moon, which illuminated everything in pale light. Yet as breathtaking as the sight was, Draco could not appreciate it. When such luxurious views are commonplace, they lose their beauty and magic.
No! Please stop!
Something tugged at the back of his mind. Draco frowned and stared at the horizon, gripping the balcony railing so tightly his knuckle turned white, yet try as he might, he could not remember what it was. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling the salty scent of the ocean.
Please! Don't do this!
It was there, he knew it, dancing along the edge of his consciousness. He looked to the moon, hoping it would give him the answer he needed. Yet she just looked back at him, void of anything but contentment and light.
Draco sighed and put his head in his hands, trying to just forget about the little nagging sensation he had. His philosophy was, if a problem could not be solved, ignore it and let someone else worry about it. Though this was rather hard to do when the problem resides in one's own head.
Someone help us!
There it was again. It wasn't going away. In fact, it was getting louder. It was a voice. Multiple voices, each full of terror and pleading desperately. They sounded familiar, but Draco could not place them. And there was something else, another voice, a different voice, a sinister voice full of malicious intent.
Kill!
Draco please! Help!
His family! That was who the voices belonged to! They needed help! That strange dark voice was going to hurt them!
Draco whirled around and through the sliding glass door he saw a scene straight out of his worst nightmare. Inside his family was being brutally murdered. His father lay on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. His body was mutilated with knife wounds almost to unrecognition. His little, baby sister sat off in a corner clutching her stomach which was heavily bleeding and gasping and coughing from a large gash across her throat, tiny drops of red splattered out her mouth. His mother was on her knees in the center of the room, her eyes gouged out of their sockets. The dark figure of a man held her up by her wrist and plunged his knife deep into her fore are, then dragged it down to her elbow. The most heart wrenching screaming cry escaped from between his mother's lips and the man laughed. The laughter was the most ominous sound Draco had ever heard and sent chills down his spine.
Kill them! Kill them all!
Panic rose up in Draco's throat as he dashed across the balcony and tried to open the door, only to find it was locked. A strangled sob emitted from him and banged on the glass. He had to get in there! He had to save them!
At the sound of Draco pounding on the glass, the dark figure turned to look at him and laughed again. Draco could not see the man's face as it was encased in shadows, but his eyes glowed with silver light. He took his knife and stabbed Draco's mother in the chest while still watching him with his eerie silver gaze. The light left his mother's eyes and she slumped out of the man's grip.
There were no words to describe the pain Draco felt from watching his mother die right before his very eyes. It was like a large chunk was ripped out of his heart. Accompanied by the feeling of helplessness at not being able to do anything to save her, it seemed like Draco couldn't even breathe. He glanced across the room to where his sister sat only to find she had died as well, choked on her own blood. They were gone, his whole family. He was too sad even for tears.
He looked back to the evil man shroud in darkness. The man who had taken his family away from him. Draco glared at him. That man would pay! Though he couldn't see the man's face, he had the feeling that he was smiling, and that only fueled the anger simmering in his gut.
Don't look so upset. I did you a favor.
The voice was silky smooth echoing through his head. Draco clenched his teeth and kicked the glass. "What are you talking about?" he shouted, his voice cracking. "You killed my family! How is that a favor?"
Oh I did not kill them.
The voice chuckled softly. Draco could only stare in disbelief. "Yes you did! I just watched you!"
No, I did not kill them. You did.
The voice began to laugh loudly, the noise reverberating off of Draco's skull. He closed his eyes tightly and clutched his head as pain erupted from his temples and blossomed out across his forehead. What was this voice going on about? He didn't kill his family. He just watched the dark man do it. He couldn't have done it.
Suddenly there was a thud against the door and Draco jerked his head up, startled. His father's dead body had been slammed into the door and held there, smearing his blood on the glass. But the worse sight was behind the mutilated body. Draco could finally see the man's face. It was his face.
"No," Draco breathed out. This couldn't be. The voice laughed again inside his head and the Draco inside opened his mouth along with it, mirthful insanity in his eyes. "No," Draco backed up away from himself. The he was falling, tumbling through the air, head over heels. He must backed off the edge of the balcony, though he'd never felt the railing press into his back.
Draco plunged into the icy water, a cloud of bubbles surrounding him. He struggled to find the surface, but direction was lost on him. He couldn't think properly. Fear and panic clouded his judgment.
Yet above it all, was the loss of his family. The pain in his chest was overwhelming. How could he have killed them? He loved them. Without them, life had no meaning. This had to be a dream!
Oh, but it's not a dream. You killed them.
There was that voice again, whispering straight to his sole, turning it black with hatred.
You wanted this. I looked deep inside you and found your secret longing.
No!
You hungered for their demise. You wanted them gone, and you wanted to be the one to make them disappear.
The voice was lying, Draco never felt that way. But there was a strong nagging sensation in his gut. It made him feel as though the voice was right.
Water swirled around him, numbing his senses. His lungs burned, he needed air, but he still couldn't find the surface.
Why did you do this Draco? Why did you betray us?
The faces of his loved ones appeared before him, faces twisted with despair. Their Whispered moans pierced Draco's ears, their cries filled with misery.
You enjoyed it.
The voice taunted as his family circled him, dragging him deeper.
Their crimson blood on your hands, their fearful expressions, their pain filled screams. It was music to your ears. To commit their murders was intoxicating. You relished in the power you had over them.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he chanted like a mantra in his head trying desperately to drown it all out.
Then his mother was in front of him, a look of hurt and disappointment on her face.
My baby, how could you do this? You broke my heart.
He opened his mouth to scream and his lung filled with water. His family melted away to skeletons, gabbing his arms and tearing at his cloths, dragging him deeper. Their screams filled his ears and the voice laughed inside his head. He couldn't escape.
Then the water turned to blood and he woke up.
Draco sat up straight, panted heavily. It was just a dream, it wasn't real. It was just a dream.
Oh but it wasn't just a dream. You really did kill your family.
"No! I didn't kill them!" Draco squeezed his eyes shut tightly and shook his head, a futile attempt to dislodge the voice. "They're still alive! I didn't kill them!"
Look around. Why would you be here if you didn't kill them?
Draco opened his eyes and took a look at his surroundings. He was in a padded cell and there was a strait jacket holding his arms around his body.
"No," he whispered. This couldn't be. "No, this can't be real."
The voice just laughed in his head as he began to shout. "No! This can't be real! This isn't real!"
But deep in his heart, he knew it was.
Did you ever wonder what would happen if you didn't exist?
He ignored the voice and threw himself against a wall.
If you never existed, your family would still be alive.
"Stop! Let me go! Leave me alone!" Draco shouted at the top of his lung. Tears pricked his eyes.
The voice just laughed.
"Stop it!" Draco ordered, the tears flowing freely down his cheeks. "Stop!"
He ran across the cell and into the wall. He banged his head against the spongy material.
"Stop! Leave me alone! Get out and leave me be!"
The laughter only grew to a deafening volume. Draco threw himself onto the padded floor. "I can't do this anymore! I don't want to! I don't want to live!"
But there was nothing he could do. He curled up on the cold floor of the mental hospital from which there was no escape. "I don't want to live," he whimpered softly once more to himself. He cried softly as the laughter continued, drowning out everything else, pushing him farther over the edge.
Outside his padded cell, a security guard was asleep at his post. Even he was disinterested in the life of the spoiled rich brat who had killed his family and gone insane.
When the sun sets, all light and joy disappear below the horizons and we are left in the dark world of our own demons. And sometimes, it is a world from which we can not escape.