CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

Isn't it a rather curious thing that some animals can sense when bad things are about to happen? There are stories of animals, mostly domestic, that can tell when someone is near death. Some cats and dogs are known to lay with their owners to comfort them in their last moments, never leaving their side until their dying breath. Perhaps there is something in the animalistic body that can perceive death before it happens, like an instinct of sorts.

Jane would never really understand what caused her to awake in the middle of the night, for all had been silent, and she had been comfortably warm in her bed. And she would never understand what caused her to leave her room, for she had not been hungry or thirsty, and she had not needed to relieve herself. The only thing there was to chalk her actions up to was the animalistic instincts that every person has inside of them, instincts that everyone acts upon whether they realise it or not.

When Jane awoke, it was either very late or very early, she didn't know which. She switched on the light of the bedside lamp and sat in her bed for a second. She didn't know why, but something felt different, something that made every hair on her body stand on end. It was something that caused goose flesh to form all over her body even though she was not cold, and it was something that had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach and refused to leave until she got up.

Jane stood, and she was surprised to find that her legs felt like jelly, as though she hadn't used them in days. And the feeling of unease swept over her again, chilling her to her very core. And she was compelled by some force within her to go find her mother.

So, with careful steps, Jane crept down the hallway and slowly opened the door to her parents' room. It was dark, so she felt her way over to a lamp and switched it on. There were boxes of clothes and other various things that she had helped her mother pack up hours before. However, the bed was neatly made up, and her mother was not there. Instead there was a folded piece of paper which read:

To my loving husband and dearest Janie

Jane almost fell to the ground as the knot in her stomach twisted away, and she found that she could not move her arms to reach for the note, nor did she really want to. She felt as though she might vomit, and she backed out of the room.

When in the hallway, Jane opened her mouth to call out to her mother, but no sound would come to her. She finally took notice of the sliver of light that shone from under the door of the bathroom. Had that been on before? How had she not noticed it?

Jane tried to make herself feel better.

She's just in the loo, she thought. She's fine; she only needed to use the loo.

Despite her line of thinking, Jane found herself making long strides to the bathroom door. She tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She tried again with the same result. Her heart began to race once she realised it was locked.

Jane beat upon the door with her hand.

"Mum?" Jane called.

No response.

"Mum, unlock the door!"

Nothing.

"Mum! Mum, please, let me in!" Jane said, becoming more worried.

And silence followed.

Jane began to bang on the door harder and in a more frantic manner.

"Mum! Mum! Mum, let me in! MUM!"

Jane began to ram the door with her shoulder, trying desperately to break it in. She was screaming now, crying for her mother. Still she received no answer.

Jane's heart was pounding painfully in her chest, and her shoulder had gone numb. She took deep gulps of breath, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack coming as she continued to throw herself relentlessly at the door.

With her voice turning into indecipherable shrieks, adrenaline started to pump through her veins. And with an exceptionally loud scream, all of the pictures in the hallway shattered, the lights flickered on and off, and the doorknob seemed to explode into pieces despite it being made of metal. Had she not been a witch, this might have scared her.

The door flung itself open, and Jane fell into the bathroom as it no longer supported her weight. She managed to gain her balance before falling to the floor. However, she fell to her knees anyway, screaming.

There, lying upon the tiled floor was her mother.

Blood. There was blood everywhere. Where was it coming from?

Jane did her best to scoop her mother into her arms, holding her in her lap and screaming for her to wake up. However, her mother's eyes remain closed. Jane put her ear to her mother's chest, listening desperately for a heartbeat.

And there it was, small and faint.

Jane choked on her own sobs. She clutched desperately at her mother's wrists which were bleeding profusely.

"Mum! Wake up! Please! Wake up!" she choked through sobs.

And with a tiny sound, her mother's eyelids fluttered open. She seemed to try to say something, however, no sound came out. And so it was that she drew a final breath and slipped away into a darkness that Jane wished she could follow her into.

And silence followed.

Jane wailed. Rocking back and forth, holding the body of her mother very close to her. The knot in the pit of her stomach twisted up so much that it seemed to pop. And Jane let out a shriek that would make person go deaf. And with that shriek, all the windows of the Hensworth house exploded and all the lights flickered on and off. Furniture could be heard smashing itself against the walls.

And one by one, the neighbours began to awake, flipping on their lights, running outside to see the spectacle that was the Hensworth household. And finally, when it ceased, a few brave souls walked into the house, and upon searching the premises, found fifteen-year-old Jane Hensworth crumpled on the bathroom floor, clutching her dead mother to her.

They had to pry Jane's mother from Jane's hands, and she screamed all the while. And upon being forced to stand up, darkness engulfed Jane, and she collapsed onto the floor.

And silence followed.

A/N: I would like to take this time to tell anyone that is reading that suicide is never the answer. I understand that it may feel like there is no way out; I have felt that feeling many times before, and I developed suicidal thoughts. I was too scared to tell anyone, and I ended up doing something drastic. Luckily, I am still here today, and I am in much better shape. I urge anybody that is having suicidal thoughts to get help immediately. Please, don't wait until it's too late.