Bedlam
Chapter one
...And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control...
Hysteria Muse.
9th May 1900 -
"Isabella!" her Mother shrieked, hitting the burning hot iron bar out of her daughter's arms. "What in God's name do you think you were doing?"
The child looked up at her Mother, smiling a smile that showed all her pointed teeth.
The Mother took a few steps back horrified, she had seen the young girl pick up the burning hot iron expecting her to drop it from the heat and maybe start crying, deciding not to help but to teach her a lesson. But instead the girl just laughed at the burning sensation and carried on toying with the piece of metal.
"You're possessed," she accused pointing a shaky finger at what she thought was her own flesh and blood. "You monster! I've created a monster!"
You see, this wasn't the first time young Isabella had done something disturbing like this action.
While only being a young toddler Isabella had shown signs of being different straight off the bat.
It started when she killed insects, watching them squirm under her gaze before finally ending their life in one way or another.
Her Mother had watched on, sure that her daughter was going to grow out of this weird fetish she had possessed.
But it only escalated, cats and dogs were next – carcasses being found all over town.
Nobody knew who the culprit was, but Isabella's Mother had always taken her daughter to that place in town just before the deaths happened. Isabella's Mother knew what was going on, but kept quite, ashamed at her daughter but also in denial that a three year old could do something like that.
Isabella looked up at the woman towering over her in wonder, she had a feeling they were supposed to be related, but the pure horror on this persons face made her giggle.
Her mind didn't work like others, her Mother had decided earlier that day, brushing it off when she found a dead blackbird in her garden that very morning.
Isabella's Father was distracted from his own family for most of his life, hardly ever returning home except to shower, eat and rest. Barely exchanging words with his own wife and daughter. He had never noticed Isabella's actions until he walked into a house filled with his wife's screams – her horror pointed towards the young girl sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.
"What's going on?" he asked in his gruff voice.
His wife pointed at Isabella once more. "Get her out of my sight," she hissed.
The aging man frowned, looking from his wife to his daughter.
"What do you mean?"
"She is possessed…possessed with an evil spirit that child is!"
Pivoting on the spot the man turned his sole focus on the toddler again. He examined her curly brown hair which barely fell to her shoulders, her small body showing the innocence of her age and last but not least her eyes.
But what he saw made him take a step back as well, in those eyes he saw malevolence. He saw sin, or how his wife put it, a possessed body – crazed look was in the young girls eyes.
But all the same they were wide and brown, trusting even. Isabella didn't realise what the people around her were thinking, she didn't think she was doing anything wrong. She had never been told other so.
"Come here." Isabella's Father beckoned for his wife to edge round the child to his side. He positioned himself slightly in front of her, almost like he was trying to protect this Mother from her own daughter, but the Mother wasn't protesting.
"Call Doctor Roberts, he will know what to do."
His wife nodded before disappearing, Isabella's Father unhooked the gun he kept attached to the belt and clicked off the safety guard.
Ready to shoot Isabella if she so much as moved.
"He's on his way," Isabella's Mother announced as she edged back in. "What is to be done with her?"
Isabella's Father contemplated this; he could not have a crazed person living under the same roof as him, sharing his property, his food, his air.
Isabella only smiled at the two towering figures again before slowly humming, softly at first but then gradually increasing the volume as her chest vibrated.
Isabella's parents froze in horror as the chilling tune washed over them. It wasn't right, no three year old would know how to do these things – not the way Isabella was displaying them.
As the melody came to a close she giggled excitedly and clapped her small hands, glad that she performed to the two people so perfectly that they looked like they were in awe.
But that was far from the truth, they were horror struck.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Isabella's Mother gagged, placing a delicate hand over her mouth.
"Hello? Is anybody home?" a voice called out from the hallway.
The two adults span round and opened the door. "She's in here," was all Isabella's Father could say.
Doctor Robert walked into the room cautiously, expecting something to pounce on him from the looks on the Swans faces.
But what he saw was a child, sitting calmly on the floor, smiling up at him friendly.
He chortled at the two parents expressions, what had they been so afraid of? There was nothing wrong with this child.
"Hello dear Isabella, how are we today?" he spoke softly as he crouched down in front of the small girl.
"I wouldn't go so close to her if I were you –" Isabella's Mother started to explain but before she could finish Doctor Roberts gave a sharp yelp while stumbling backwards from his crouch.
He had reached out to pat Isabella's head when the child had revealed her teeth to him, and in the flick of a wrist latched her teeth onto his hand, putting pressure down on the pointed pearls – drawing blood.
"She bit me!" Doctor Roberts exclaimed angrily. "Have you raised a feral child?" he turned to the parents.
They both blanched. "What do we do Doctor? We cannot keep her now that we know…that we know…"
"Put her in an asylum, the maniac." Doctor Roberts hissed as he sucked at the small puncture wounds. "You've got an animal on your hands there," he snapped before turning and walking right out of the house without a backwards glance.
"Maybe we could get a priest to come and exorcise her?" Isabella's Mother whispered after a moments silence.
"Nothing can help this creature now," her Father replied while casting a disdainful look at the abomination. "I suggest we follow Doctor Roberts orders and throw her in an asylum."
"But the only one around has been abandoned years ago! Who would care for her!" Isabella's Mother queried, the last of her motherly affecting going out the window as she looked back at the child. "Never matter put her in the asylum. Away from the towns eyes. Yes," she nodded. "That's for the best."
Both parents looked at the happy gurgling child once more before leaving the room to start making the preparations.
The air grew cold as Isabella's parents made the last of the arrangements, and then, within one heartbeat, the awful screaming started.
Almost like Isabella knew what her parents were doing to her.
I hope this helps people to understand what happened to Isabella before hand, and plus, if you are confused as to why a three year old is acting like this - it mentions it briefly beforehand but will be explained in more detail in future chapters.
That is, if you stick around long enough to find out what happens!
Thanks you for the previous reviews, I apologise that I couldnt reply to all of them as I have had a lot of exams recently.
I also hope that the description in this chapter was enough to satisfy everyone, as it isnt going deep, but setting the scene.