My Red-Eyed Man
I see things, things that aren't there. Things that haven't happened yet…
My name is Mary Alice Brandon, Room 31A in Philadelphia Mental Institute. I was brought here by my parents when I told them that I was seeing events that weren't real. They told me that they thought it was best if I let the doctors take care of me, if I went to the mental asylum and left them to their lives.
The ironic thing was that I knew it was coming. I'd seen glimpses of the same conversation weeks beforehand, so what my mother told me for the first time, just felt like some horrible déjà vu scenario.
As I was shown my new room for the first time, I started to sway. My vision blurred and I saw something faintly in the distance.
A man was standing in the corner of my room. He was partially transparent, like a sheet of cellophane stretched over the door. He simply stood there, looking towards the bed. His face was taught with restraint and his eyes burned with longing. They literally burned; a vibrant crimson in colour. He was scary, but I didn't scream until I looked away from those penetrating eyes and noticed the second faint figure in the room. She was short, with black hair and pixie-like features. She lay on the bed, twitching and jerking her limbs as if in pain. There were bleeding bite marks all over her almost naked body, apparently the cause of her distress. The girl started to moan in agony, and her eyes opened to stare blankly in my direction. I felt my jaw drop in recognition as I watched myself on the bed in pain as the red-eyed man watched on in longing.
My screams mingled with the one of my future self, and my legs buckle beneath me. As the nurse runs for help, I lost consciousness. The last thing I saw was myself, looking desperately towards the man in the corner, whispering two desperately sad and tortured words.
"Kill… Me…"
I sit bolt upright, eyes wide and darting to every corner of my room, searching for the red-eyed man. When I deem the small space safe, I sigh with relief.
This routine has been going on for years now. Every night I fall asleep and dream of that vision. Every night I wake up, terrified and unable to sleep again. My lack of rest is starting to show, and now when I look in the mirror I no longer recognise my own face.
The doctors are worried. I look twice as insane as I sound, which is saying something considering when I talk, it is only of my visions.
I've stopped communicating with anyone except the therapists I see every few days. I don't talk unless they tell me to, and even then it is not much. I just repeat my latest hallucinations for them to record.
I spend most of my day staring out of the window and into the dainty garden just on the other side of the fence. I long to be able to smell the flowers once again, I dream of wearing real clothes and eating good food.
Every day is filled with longing and every night is filled with horror. Every morning I look in the mirror, only to look away again in disgust. I am watching myself slowly waste away in this hell-hole they call an asylum.
I am sitting in my room when it happens. The nurse enters and approaches me cautiously, as if I am a wild animal, not a tortured human being.
"Mary? Mary Alice? It's time for you to see the therapist, sweetie." She says.
I suppose she thinks she's speaking kindly, but to me her voice sounds cautious, afraid. I slowly stand up and follow her to the Therapy Wing.
I sit in the long patient's chair and await my usual doctor. I'm surprised then, when in place of my usual man, a new figure moves into view. I gasp when the new doctor looks down on me, and I see his blood red eyes.
I let out an almighty scream. I must be dreaming again.
I wasn't dreaming.
I finished hollering and stared at him, panting. The man attempted to console me, but I wouldn't let him near me.
That was months ago, and now my frequent therapy sessions are all that I can look forward to, all I live for. I can talk to my red-eyed therapist about anything, he is a good listener. He never tries to comment on things that I say or do, but rather adopts my style so as to further relate to me. I feel more at ease with him than with anyone else.
Eventually, he drops the bombshell.
"Alice, I don't think you're crazy." He speaks seriously, looking at me intently with those garish crimson eyes.
"You aren't insane." He repeats when I don't reply.
"I believe that, in actuality, you merely are gifted with Extra Sensory Perception. A Greater Sight, if you will." He explains his theories excitedly, and I just listen in shock.
"In short, you can see into the future."
I blink; the future? I don't think I'm insane, but this is, well, insane! How did he know that? I never mentioned my theories to any of my therapists.
"Are… Are you sure?" I ask quietly. My red-eyed man nods vigorously. He is wringing his hands together nervously, so I wait to hear what he has to say.
"I… I have a plan to get you out of this place, Mary Alice." He speaks in a hushed tone.
My jaw drops. Outside? As in, out in the real world? My eyes glisten and my sight blurs, not with visions, but with tears of joy.
"You could really get me out of here?" My voice is shaky, but understandable. My therapist nods and smiles.
"I'll be able to get you out," He promises. "But you'll have to trust me absolutely." His red eyes looked wary, even anxious now. He quickly glanced around the room, before his frightening eyes fell upon me once again, silently demanding my answer.
It was then that I made the most important decision of my short life, I chose to trust him.
"Tell me what I have to do," I say softly. My red eyed man smiles brilliantly, before gently taking my hand and leading me back to my room.
"Lay down," He tells me. I do so, and he lightly unbuttons my 'crazy-person' clothes. Suddenly I am struck with Déjà-vu. I struggle to remember why I feel so uneasy, before I almost yell in pain. A cold hand clamps over my mouth, and red eyes plead with me to remain silent.
I try in vain to struggle as my red eyed man bites into me again and again, littering my almost bare body with bloody wounds. He, once finished, quickly retreats to the corner of the room.
Then it hits me. I suddenly realise why this was all so eerily familiar. I turn to stare at the exact spot that I stood when I saw this scene first, all those years ago.
I am vaguely aware of my body twisting and straining as I find it difficult to breathe. The pain rocks through my body again and again, each time feeling worse. The fire that flows through my veins reaches a new peak and I scream, my back arching, my body throwing itself into a spasm.
I fall back to the bed, panting and crying. I feel the darkness of sleep start to take a hold of me. Before I sink gratefully into a deep state of unconsciousness, I turn to my red-eyed man and make one small, heartfelt plea.
"Kill… Me…"
I open my eyes, and find I can see.
Everything is so clear, so bright. I gaze around myself in wonder. I try to remember where I am, who I am and, most importantly, what I am.
I sit up, surprised at my strength and speed. I look around the room. It appears that I am in a windowless room, quite alone. I search my memory, but it's entirely blank. That is, blank except for two images. One is a man; red eyes, handsome, painfully familiar. It's my red-eyed man. The other is a name; Alice. I assume that the name is my own.
I look around the dark room, but find no way out. I examine the surfaces more carefully and realise that it is completely empty. I feel slightly panicked, the dark far too familiar for comfort. In a moment of pure paranoia, I punch the closest wall. The brick and mortar crumble and fall under my blow, and I escape into the cold night.
My first thought is of my red-eyed man. Where is he? Why isn't he here to make sure I'm ok? I race all around the area, screaming for him. I move at super human speeds, the entirety of my focus on finding my only companion.
I hear the sounds of a fight, and duck behind a tree. Two figures enter my line of sight, and I immediately realise that they – like me – are anything but human. One has blonde hair tied in a ponytail and seems to have the upper hand in the battle. I watch as he grabs his opponent's head and forces him to the ground.
"If I can't get your girl, I'll just have to settle for you." He snarls.
"You are not a vampire. You are a monster," The other figure spits, and I gasp. My Red-Eyed man glares at the blonde monster in defiance. He laughs, still holding my Red-Eyed man's head in his hands.
"You, my friend, are the monster. Now little Whatsername – what did you say her name was? Alice? - She has no one to help her, no one to teach her. That poor little vampire's going to go savage."
With that, the Blonde monster yanked on my Red-Eyed man's hair, ripping his head from his body. Tears streak my face as my only friend in forever leaves me to suffer in this cold, dark world alone.
Smoke fills the air and I stagger to my feet, unable to watch anymore. I run. I run far away, not quite sure where I'm headed, but where ever that is, I'm headed there fast.
A horrible thirst takes over my senses and my mind, and a feral snarl rips itself from my throat. I honestly don't care about anything but myself anymore, and I head towards the nearest village.
I spy two girls collecting water, and I sneak up to them silently. I pounce and tear at both of them at once. I am about to murder them both and savour in the hot, sweet blood, when my sight blurs.
I see myself in a tavern, waiting for someone. I instantly realise that this is one of my prophetic visions, but never before have they been so clear. I watch as a tall, handsome blonde man walks into the bar. I hop down from the stool and approach him.
"You've kept me waiting," I hear myself say. The man apologises and face comes into view. It's gorgeous, with perfect features and deep crimson eyes.
Another Red-eyed man.
My Red-Eyed man.
My vision leaves me, and I shake my head. I look down on the two terrified girls in my grasp. I realise that what I was about to do is cruel and I immediately let them go. I get up off the ground and tear into the night.
I run away. This time, however, I run with a destination in mind. I now know exactly where I want to be. I know exactly where I'm headed.
Straight for my Red-Eyed Man…
A.N. ~ HA HA HA
I have FINALLY finished this blasted story .
Took me bloody long enough.
And before any of you who may or may not have read My Elemental come and yell at me, I only started typing this cos I hit major writer's block with that Multi-chapter fic, ok?
So only flame me if it's regarding this story, ok? :3
Any flames/compliments/random comments will be muchly appreciated and can be deposited in the tip box, which you can find by pressing the pretty little review button down there. :D
Thanks for reading, ifn you want a disclaimer, I have a universal one in my Profile that you can examine to your hearts content.
Just until next time!
Ja matta!
Jerri
Oh and by the by, this is the first time I've written from the perspective of the opposite sex, did I do good? :3