Chapter 4

Insanity

Whisper continued to look into the darkness, she was frozen solid, and she was hoping that what she had just witness hadn't really happened, she wanted to be dreaming, but she knew she wasn't.

She saw the batilsk that had made her drop Wes, an anger swelled up inside her, she stood up and looked at the retched thing, he hadn't felt so much anger in a very long time, she grabbed a rock from the floor and walked over to it. It then noticed her and tried to attack, she wanted this to happen, she grabbed it by its legs and brought it down to the floor, it tried to get lose from its captor, but Whisper wasn't letting go.

She lifted the rock and brought it heavily down on the monster, it screamed in pain, but hearing it once wasn't enough for her, she hit it again and again and again until it stopped moving and was nothing but mush. She got up, she couldn't help but smile, she started to laugh, that was when she knew her sanity was low, she would have to be careful, she had done crazy things when her sanity plummeted.

She shook her head, she had to get it together and think of a way to save Wes, she couldn't change, she knew that the terrorbeak had taken too much sanity, and what just happened showed that the simplest thing would set her into crazy.

Wes hit the bottom with a thump, it hurt, he looked up, he could see the entrance but there was no way he would be able to get back up without help, he then noticed that he was in complete darkness. He got up quickly, he hated it, he searched for a torch but he didn't have one, he started to panic, he had to get light soon, he hated the dark, he looked round, and he saw a mushtee.

He ran, even though it radiated only a little light, it would be better than what it was like before. Wes was starting to lose it, he couldn't cope with it for much longer, he had been through too much it such a short time. He knew he wasn't the best in the group, he was scared of the dark and couldn't fight well, he wondered why they let him stay for so long, he couldn't do anything. This thought went through his mind, they would just be better without him, he was another mouth to feed that didn't need to be there.

Even Whisper had proven to be more helpful, and she had just got there, and he had already been a pain to her too, if had just listened to her then he wouldn't have gotten into trouble, and he wouldn't have made her worry.

Wes felt even worst now.

"Kill them!" he heard he looked round, no one was there, or at least he couldn't see them, he was getting more scared, "Prove your better," it said, Wes didn't listen, he would never kill someone else.

He could see shadows moving around him, they danced, and looked like they were trying to get him, he moved even closer to the mushtee, he just hoped that their light never faded.

"Your better than them, prove it by getting rid of them!" Wes covered his ears, he wanted the voices to stop, but they didn't, he could then hear laughter everywhere, he wanted to scream, but didn't, he wrapped his arms round himself, he wanted this nightmare to end, no matter how it did.

He could then feel something on his arm, but when he looked there was nothing there, he covered his head with his hands, he would just have to wait, for either someone to help him or for the cold hand of death to take hold of him.

Whisper was pacing up and down, she couldn't think at all of a way to save him, she hadn't brought anything but the torch with her, she now wished she had been prepared, she was starting to think to changing. But she knew what would happen, she would go insane and most likely kill Wes when she got down there.

A hand then grabbed her shoulder, she screamed and went to attack whoever it was, but stopped when she saw it was Wilson, she had never been so happy to see someone in her life, she quickly hugged him.

Wilson had not expected this and his cheeks went red, he coughed and stepped back,

"What's wrong?" he asked, Whisper almost couldn't say the words, she was afraid that he would hate her for putting Wes in danger, that he would think that she was a monster after all.

She took a deep breath, then told him everything that had happened, he didn't say a word when she explained, he just listened, he couldn't believe it had really happened,

"And now if I change I'll go insane and that will not end nicely," she said, she was speaking fast, trying to finish what she wanted to say.

She looked down the hole again, wondering what was happening down there, she sensed that something bad was down there, she looked at Wilson, "Wilson, look I know this was my fault but I need your help to get Wes out of there, I don't want his death on my hands," she explained.

Wilson looked at her, she seemed really upset with what had happened, he knew it had been her selfishness that had gotten them into this situation, but she was ready to fix what had happened, he looked up at the sky, dusk was soon going to come, so they would have to be quick,

"Ok, but be quick, I don't want to be out here at night," he said, he placed his backpack on the floor, he was glad that he had found a skeleton, it was surrounded by ropes, he tied the pieces together to make sure that it would reach down to the bottom.

He walked over to a close tree and tied one end to it, he pulled it to make sure it was secure, when he knew it wouldn't snap he went to Whisper, "You know it's dangerous down there, and by the looks of it you have no supplies," he said, she nodded her head,

"I know, and if I die so what, I'm going to make sure that Wes makes it out of there, he's already been through a hard time, and I'm not letting become a complete nightmare," she said, Wilson smiled, he then tied the other end of the rope round her waist,

"Ok then, but be careful," he said he then tying the knot, "We don't want two deaths today," he said, Whisper smiled.

She pulled the rope, to make sure it wasn't going to snap; she didn't want what happened to happen again, she then went towards the hole, she breathed slowly, and then jumped down into the hole.

The fall was quick but a little terrifying, she was glad that her feet reached the bottom, she took a few steady breaths and then untied the rope, and took a few steps into the darkness.

Wilson stayed above ground, he wanted to make sure that nothing happened to the rope and to make sure that everything was ok for when the others got back, he would have like to go with them he was sure he could have found a lot of interesting things down there, especially under the caves. He had never heard of something even deeper, then the caves themselves, but from what Whisper had told him, there were a lot of monsters down there meaning he would have to go prepared. This was something he would have to think about, he smiled, there was still more things to explorer, he had thought he had seen it all but now he had something more.

He sat down by the tree that the rope was tied to, there was nothing he could do but wait really.

Whisper could here noises in the darkness, it made her feel uneasy, Wilson had been right she had nothing with her, so she would have to find Wes in complete darkness.

She took one step, there seemed to be monsters just waiting for her, she started to run, she knew that the mushtee's were close, she would have to make sure to take shelter under them, being in the dark would decrease her sanity a little, she would have to make sure to keep that in mind, the first one was in sight, she quickly took shelter and took a few breaths, she could see the eyes in the darkness watching her, they were ready to take her life and eat her.

She smiled, no monster would be able to do that, because she would rip their hearts out of their body and eat it before they even had a chance of touching her. The thought delighted her.

Her hands went to her head, her sanity wasn't doing well, she was having horrible thoughts that she should never be thinking of, she shook her head, she had to calm down, she took another few breaths and looked forward, she could see the next mushtee.

But before she moved towards it, she felt a strange presents around her, she look behind and saw nothing but the eyes, she was used to it but there was a new sense that made her feel uneasy. That was when a hand grabbed her shoulder, she spun round, again nothing, she was getting nervous now, there was something more sinister down here now, and she would have to be careful as not to lose her life.

This was when she ran, the light of the mushetee got closer and closer, but somting tripped her up, she fell and skidded across the floor, her mouth filled with dirt and she could feel cuts over her hands, she staggered up to her feet and ran again. When she reached the light she didn't feel any safer, she looked at her hands and saw the cuts, they were only little but they were bleeding, she then spat out as much dirt as she could, she looked down at her feet her trousers now had some sort of burn mark to them, she looked closer and saw that the burn had gone down to her skin, she gently touched it, and then flinched, it hurt a lot more then she thought.

She wiped her hands on her top, it got rid of some of the blood, but she knew that it would attract more monsters to her, they were drawn to the smell of blood. She sighed, some rescue trip this was turning out to be, she was soon going to be the one who needed the rescue.

She then heard some odd noises, it sounded something like someone moving around on the floor, she didn't know if it was Wes, but she had nothing to go on, and had to follow it.

As she stared to walk she could feel herself changing a little, this time she let it, the darkness was growing on her and she liked it, it made her feel safe now, her hands were no longer normal, they were claws, ready to rip anything in her path to shreds, and she couldn't wait to do exactly that. She smiled at that thought, the thought of blood was starting to make her excited. She started to chuckle to herself, she had gone insane and she knew it but there was nothing she could do to make herself better, but if this was going to be her now, then she would have to except it.

Wilson was starting to get bored, he hadn't been waiting long, but he had been doing nothing all the time, he was used to doing something, even if that was be hunting animals, building thing or even gathering rescores. He got up and tried to see down the hole, nothing but pitch blackness, he wondered what Whisper was up to, he knew she wanted to save Wes as soon as possible, so he wondered why she was taking so long, he was starting to worry, she had mentioned about going insane if she changed, but being in the darkness wouldn't help either, he just hoped that she didn't go insane down there, it would mean that she wouldn't see the light again, not unless she died.

He shook his head, he wasn't going to think of it that way, if he thought about her dying then he wouldn't get it out of his mind and then that would drive him crazy. He now knew that they wouldn't be able to get to camp before dark, so he started to gather stuff for a fire, he wanted to make sure that when his friends returned they would be safe.

He gathered the wood and grass and ensured that he had enough to last the night, there was still light so he didn't make the fire just yet, as he was placing the wood on the floor, the purple gem fell out of his pocket, he had forgotten all about it, he picked it up and threw it in the air and caught it with the other hand, he did this a few times before sitting back down and examining it, it look similar to the blue and red gems the hounds sometimes dropped, but this one had a different feeling to it, he couldn't quite explain it but it made his body feel weird, and as time passed an he held the gem for longer his arm started to feel the worst. It was a strange pain, like a constant sting, he then noticed that the gem started to glow, it was eerie and made him feel uncomfortable, as the glowing got brighter the pain began to get more intense and also unbearable, he quickly put the gem back into his pocket.

He grasped his arm, it felt bad, but he had felt this type of pain before, when he changed, but that shouldn't be happening yet. This gem was becoming more of a curse then something to help him, he just hoped that it only inflicted pain and not actually force change him, because that would cause serious problems.

Whispers thirst for blood had not yet been satisfied, and she had been walking for a little while, she then smelt the blood, and she started to run, she was starting to get hungry.

She was heading towards a red mushtee, the blood smell was very strong at this point and her mouth started to water, it was then when she saw a body on the floor, as she walked closer she could see it more clearly.

Wes was lying on the floor unconscious, for some reason that snapped something inside her and mad her go back to normal, she watched as her hands transformed back to normal, her bloodlust vanished and her worriedness returned.

She rushed towards the mushtee and check to see if Wes was still breathing, she put her fingers to his neck, there was still a pulse but it was very faint, she then put one of his arms around her neck and started to lift him off the floor.

A fist hit her in the face, she stumbled back and saw Wes standing up, she was happy that he had regained his consciousness, but there was a eerie feeling about him, he wasn't the same Wes as before,

"Wes, come on I'm here to help you, let's go back to the camp, we'll never come back here again," she said in a very calm voice, Wes seemed to be panting, he stared at her with mad eyes, he seemed to not recognize her at all, like she was a stranger, "Come on Wes, the light will help you," she said holding out her hand, he stepped back, he didn't trust her.

Wes had clearly gone, insane from the darkness, just like she had, this place had changed both of them dramatically, she could feel the insanity returning to herself, but she fought it back.

Wes looked at this strange monster, it was in the form of a human but he could see that it was a monster. Its eyes were blood red and skin horrid black, sharp teeth which he could see when it talked, sharp claws coming from its hands, and lastly, it seemed to have black tentacles coming out of its back. He was panicking, he had never seen this monster before and he could feel its evil aura, he punched it again, and it hit, it started staggering back, it wasn't attacking back which made Wes wonder what was happening, monsters usually attacked at first sight. The monster then step forward holing out its hand, it seemed peaceful but Wes wasn't falling for it.

Whisper could see his eyes; they were full of hatred towards her, she hadn't known him for a long time but from what she learnt, he wasn't a hateful person, with his insanity he had changed.

Wes kept attacking her, she just jumped out of the way, she didn't want to have to fight her friend not when he didn't know what he was doing, but the attacks got more constant and she could feel her legs hurting from the burns.

The monster wasn't attacking at all, it just kept jumping away, Wes didn't care he would continue until he had finally kill this beast, he knew he would be rescued but he had been waiting a long time now, he was starting to wonder if his friends weren't coming.

"Kill the monster!" the voice said, it was back, "It'll kill you if you don't kill it," it seemed to be louder now, more persuasive, "The flint Wes, pick up the flint!" it said, Wes looked at the floor, there was a single piece of flint on the floor, it wasn't much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing. He quickly picked it up and pointed it at the monster, it stopped dead in its tracks and just looked him, "Yes Wes, kill it! Kill it!" the voice shouted encouraging him.

Sitting in his throne Maxwell watched the show, Wes attacking his friend, it was quite fantastic, he couldn't help but smile and chuckle as he watched it. Wes was the quiet one, the useless one, but now that he had become insane Maxwell could easily get into his mind, and that meant he could easily control him.

Maxwell loved watching Wes attack his friend, there was nothing better than betrayal, the look on the others face seeing a person they cared for attack or kill them, that was one of the best things that Maxwell loved.

It took him a few seconds to see who he was making Wes attack, it was the new girl, he suddenly more interested, this girl he didn't know anything about he had met her once before, but she had ran before he could even say something, and he didn't like not knowing something. He watched as she dodged Wes's attacks, she wasn't even trying to fight back, she hadn't laid a figure on him.

Maxwell now knew a weakness of hers, she wasn't going to hurt her friends, a crooked smile appeared on his face, he may not have known anything about her, but now he knew her weakness, this made him very happy.

He would us this to his advantage, but he still wanted to know more about her, out of all the people in his world she seemed to be radiating a strange power, a power he would like for himself, it would make him even more powerful, and maybe then he would be able to get his freedom. He didn't think too much into his plan, because the shadows would know it as well, and that would ruin everything.

He just sat back in his chair and watched the show, after all being stuck in an unknown world, killing was the entertainment.

Whisper stared at Wes, he was getting serious now, he had a piece of flint in his hand and was pointing it towards her, it seemed like there was going to be no reasoning with him, he really had gone insane.

She was going to have to fight back or do something, because even though he only had a piece of flint, but he would still do damage to her, and in her own state of mind it could tip her off and she would try and kill him.

This wasn't going the way she wanted, she quickly moved out of the way of his first attack, he slightly got her on her arm, she watched as a single drop of blood trickled down her arm and landed on the floor, she looked at him, his facial expression didn't change, he had meant it.

She was starting to get tiered of jumping around and the mushtee light wasn't that bright and she as starting to see the eyes again, they seemed to be wanting her to join them, she was tempted but she was able to resist it.

She watched Wes, he was starting to get tiered, and he was panting and his movements were being slow and sloppy, he was doing to much, his sanity had gone and now if he continued this fighting he would use up all his energy and his body would most likely stop, meaning he would die.

Whisper knew she had to do something, so she did something totally random, she quickly moved towards him, she was hoping that he wouldn't notice her in time and that she could help, but Wes was smart enough to notice that she was making a move.

Wes saw the monster moving it was finally making its move, he knew it wouldn't be long until it did, but he was tired and he was soon going to collapse, he knew it but if he could get one more wound on the monster then she would be happy.

"This is your chance Wes, she will die by your hands," the voice said, Wes noticed how it said the monster was a 'her' but that didn't change what he wanted to do.

Whisper got up close to him and hugged him, she thought this would snap him out of his insanity, the knowing of not being alone anymore, she thought she had gotten away with it, but she then felt the warmth of her blood down her leg, she looked down and saw that Wes had stabbed her in the stomach, she couldn't see what.

She couldn't help but smile, she didn't let go of the hug though, she made sure her arms were wrapped round him, she breathed slowly, she felt more blood pure out of her, she was starting to feel faint.

She moved her head closer to his,

"This isn't you," she whispered to him, she then started to fall to the floor, the pain had hit her and it was terrible, she kept hold of Wes's shoulders to try and keep herself up, but it didn't work well.

Hearing her words, did something to Wes, and seeing her blood made guilt hit him hard, he was finally sane again. He looked at the floor, and saw Whisper on the floor, blood was surrounded in blood, he then noticed his hands, and they were covered in red liquid, he knew it was blood, he felt sick, he had hurt Whisper.

Wes fell to his knees, he knew why the voice had said 'her', he knew he shouldn't have listened, he knew that he had been going insane, he should have stayed still and not listened, and now Whisper was dying because of him.

Wes grabbed whispers arm and put it round his neck, he then started to help her toward the entrance, she seemed to not be able to talk but her feet still move when Wes's did, making it easier on him. For the first time he wasn't scared of the dark, he was too focused on getting Whisper out of there and too safety, he walked towards mushtee to mushtee, hoping to find the entrance, he kept his eyes to the ceiling wanting to find the hole they had come down, it took some time but he soon found it, there was now a new rope hanging from the hole, Wes was a little uneasy since the old one snapped but he didn't have a choice.

He patted whiser on the shoulder, she opened her eyes, and she saw the rope, she grabbed it with her hands and started climbing, even though it killed doing it, Wes kept an eye on her when she went up, if she fell he would have to make sure that he caught her.

Luckily she made it to the top without slipping.

Wilson was about to make a fire when he heard noise coming from the hole, he picked up his spear he had made and pointed it towards the hole, when he saw a pair of hands he dropped it and ran to it.

It was Whisper, and she was as white as a ghost, he grabbed one of her hands and helped her out, when she was completely out she went straight to the floor, it took him a moment but Wilson then noticed the blood on his hands, he was shocked and then looked at Whisper, she was covered, he went to her body and rolled her over, since she had fallen face down, he noticed the hole in her stomach.

He examined it and saw the flint, he touched it and she flinched, he wanted to pull it out but he knew that it would cause even more blood to pour out, he then heard panting, his first thoughts were hounds, but when he looked behind he saw Wes.

Wes wasn't in much of a better state, he was coved in blood too, but it was obvious that he wasn't hurt, Wes just sat next to the hole, he didn't looked at either Wilson or Whisper, just the floor in shame, he couldn't forgive himself for what he had done.

Wilson looked at Wes and then at Whisper, it didn't take him long to guess that the reason Whisper was hurt was because of Wes, he found it a little shocking considering that Wes was the more harmless one of the group. Out of respect he didn't ask Wes anything, he just stood up, wiped the blood off his hands and then looked up to the sky, it was dusk and soon to be night, but considering how close to the camp they were he thought they would be able to make it,

"Come on Wes," he said grabbing one of Whisper's arms, Wes looked at him, Wilson noticed the tears, Wes just nodded his head and slowly got up, Wilson noticed how tiered he was and just hoped he didn't also collapse, there was no way that he could carry both of them back to camp.

Wes grabbed Whisper's other arm and the two of them carried Whisper back to camp.