Chapter 7: The Rabithole Of Madness
A story by Yellow Smoke
Alle right's belong to their rightfull owners.
Important! In this chapter there is an overdose of pills, which no one should try to do in real life! (in general don't take as many aspirin as Willow does) This is fiction, and i am not a doctor!
Year 1956
Willow was drowning, she was sure of it. She felt as though she was swimming in the ice cold sea, while forces that were beyond her understanding slowly dragged her down, as the cold water left her body in shock. She could almost feel how her lungs had been filled with water, as she could no longer breath, but somehow she was still alive, although nothing seemed to be clear anymore.
The truth was Willow wasn't drowning, but she felt like she was drowning, and she felt as though something was completely wrong.
"Come on!" Willow growled with tears in her eyes, while she clawed her small metal box open, and grabbed four pills without considering it twice. She had already taken far too many pills today, and knew this was an overdose, but she didn't care. She would rather die or pass out, than continue like this, because Willow was at this point going mad.
It was tuesdays now, and Willow had slowly gone down the rabithole of madness since yesterday. She couldn't tell what had changed, but to her surprise, her pills didn't seem to have any effect on her any longer. She had heard of it before, of people who had taken too many aspirin, and their effect lessened over time. And so she had taken her pills yesterday morning, as usual, only to realize they didn't have the same effect. At first the ghosts still remained quiet, but she didn't feel the small rush of numbness she usually felt, but from there it evolved. She had managed yesterday at school just fine, although it had felt strange, but the pills had still kept them quiet, until at dinner last night.
Patricia and Frank had thankfully not noticed anything, but their ghosts had started to mumble through dinner. Nothing Willow could understand, as she never really understood what they were saying, and without worries she had taken another pill before she went to bed, only to realize their mumbling continued.
And Willow hadn't slept that night, as she lay in her bed, shaking in fear while she heard their mumbles, which had left her sleep deprived on top of everything else. She couldn't understand it, although she began to suspect her body and mind had gotten too used to the pills, as she had taken larger amounts over the last two weeks, and it scared her like nothing else. Because if the pills didn't work, she couldn't keep their voices away, and so she knew it was a question of time before everything was going to explode.
And it did. Overnight her aunt's friend with the bleeding wound began to say things in a horse low voice, while Willow could hear blood dripping from his wound onto the floor. At the same time her Uncle's father, her own grandfather began to speak to her as well, as Willow had covered her ears the whole night while she softly had cried in fear.
And in school it had developed into chaos. Because during her first class of the day in algebra, her teacher Mr. Lee's ghost had started to talk. His dead old mother, and Willow had heard how she kept telling her son he had to take care of his own father, and find himself a wife. Mr. Lee's mother hadn't realized Willow could hear her, and she had kept her head down, but it was slowly killing her from the inside.
She could no longer help herself, as her hands had started to shake, and Willow was on the edge of a mental breakdown. The ghosts had begun to talk, clear and loud, and Willow could no longer hear the difference between the living and dead. In the end they had clearly won over her, and Willow couldn't think of anything that would get her back in control.
And there she found herself, sitting in the girls bathroom beside the sink, close to the school office, while everyone else was walking toward their next class. Waiting, as she hoped the four pills would take effect, while she held her head in her hands, and tried to calm herself down. She knew she didn't have much time, as she was about to have another english lesson with Mr. Chapman, and she knew he would be furious if she were late.
Yet she couldn't make her legs move, while her face began to get pale, as though she was sick. Without thinking she buried her hands in her hair, almost pulling her own hair out in frustration, as she tried to at the very least control her breathing. She could hear people talking in the hallway, whispering… but was it ghosts or living human beings? Willow couldn't decide anymore, as her lips began to quiver in frustration, as though she was about to cry.
"Have you seen my mom?" a voice suddenly asked her, and Willow couldn't help the small scream that passed her lips, as a small boy suddenly walked through the wall, and looked straight at her. Willow could only hope no one had heard her, but it seemed as though everyone had gone to class.
But Willow recognized the little boy. He couldn't be more than six years old, with freckles, red straight hair and green eyes that reminded Willow of the forest on a summer day. He almost looked normal, if it weren't for the fact he was paler than a sheet, and he was dripping with water, which Willow could hear as it landed on the floor, drop by drop. But she had seen this little boy before, as he had to belong to Mrs. Anderson the school secretary.
"Go away!" Willow cried, and tried to move further away from him, although there was no point in it, as the little boy couldn't touch her. "You don't exist," she gasped, while her heart began to beat like crazy. Never before had she even tried to talk to these ghosts, which proved she was on the brink of insanity, if she hadn't crossed the line already.
"I want my mommy!" the child cried, while he himself started to shake, probably from the water dripping of his body. "Help me!" he repeated, while Willow just stared at him in shock, unsure what to do. This child was in every way innocent, but just the thought of actually trying to help him was insane, as Willow didn't want to hear this child, and she wasn't even sure if he was reel.
"I can't… i can't! Just stop talking!" Willow cried in desperation, while the boy kept trying to grasp for her. He had tried to get contact with people in years, and for the first time someone actually replied, which meant he wasn't about to give up.
"Tell mommy she doesn't have to cry anymore!" he then begged her, as though he actually knew he was dead, yet a moment ago he said he couldn't find her. Not that Willow had the brain capacity to think so far, and just in the same moment the door to the bathroom was opened.
This time Willow wasn't shocked anymore, she was just goddamn tired, as she sat on the floor, pale as a sheet, while her whole body was shaking.
"Oh god, there you are!" a beautiful light voice said, which reminded Willow of bells, and slowly she lifted her head, to stare up at Alice Cullen, who for once seemed taller than Willow. "What happened to you?" she asked worried, as she quickly skipped over to Willow, and rather elegantly got her up from the floor. Willow however shivered as she felt her cold arm wrap around her, as she incredibly enough got Willow out of the bathroom, and out into the empty hallway.
"I have a headache…" Willow somehow managed to mutter, as she let go of Alice, and stumbled toward the nearest wall, as she closed her eyes, leaning against it.
"You don't look too good," Alice agreed, which was rather obvious to everyone, as she delicately placed her small hand on her forehead, and Willow tried to move her head, as she didn't like the cold feeling. "I think you might have a fever…" Alice then commented, although she sounded rather unsure, as though she hadn't tried to have a fever herself.
"It's fine…" Willow muttered, as she tried to take a deep breath and relax, but just as she was about to calm down, a hoard of voices seemed to move towards her, as she opened her eyes in shock.
"What is happening?" a deep velvet voice asked, as Willow opened her eyes, only to stare into Edward Cullen's golden eyes, although they had gotten darker. Willow hadn't even seen him coming, but suddenly he was right in front of her, and had pushed Alice out of the way, as he grabbed her by the shoulders, clearly trying to keep her steady. He and Alice almost seemed to have some kind of silent conversation, as Alice looked acusingly at Edward, but Willow couldn't care less, as she had other problems.
Because with Edward came an awful lot of ghosts, who seemed to be yelling on top of each other. The lady, the one Willow assumed was his mother, clearly tried to make the men shut up, but they all seemed to be screaming at Willow, trying to tell her the same thing.
"Run away you stupid girl!" one of them yelled, as blood was leaking from his neck, drop by drop landing on the floor, as it gathered as a small pool, clean enough one might use it as a mirror. "RUN!" he then repeated, as Willow looked frantic at them, unsure who to look at.
"He killed me! I swear to god he killed me, he bit me with his teeth, and sucked me dry!" Another man cried, and his eyes seemed to have such an intense intensity Willow couldn't remove her eyes from him, while her heartbeat seemed to pick up in speed, enough for Willow to think everyone else could hear it too.
However before Willow could try to say anything, another man stepped in between her and Edward, and his eyes were filled with fear, while blood sprayed out everywhere, and he rattled as though he couldn't breath.
"Monster!" he managed to say, while he gasped for air, and Willow began to find it hard to breath herself, although she was frozen on the spot.
"Willow don't listen to them, my son can help you…" the lady with coppery curls tried to tell her, but she was far too gentle and far too kind, as she was quickly pushed aside by the first ghost, who now stood in front her of, blood following him in a trail.
"You have to run! He is a vampire, and he is going to kill you as well! RUN!" he yelled once more, and Willow couldn't help but gasp, as she now stared at Edward Cullen in shock.
She couldn't even process what she was told, but fear ran through her veins like a drug, and Willow could only stand there, like a deer caught in the headlights, as she locked eyes with Edward, while she realized she had to get away from here, she had to get away from the Cullen's. And the faster the better.
She had been right from the beginning, as she tried to run off the very first time she met them, and she should have done so. Instead she had been caught in this mess, and for a moment she felt as though she was going to pass out, but fought against it. She couldn't just shut down now, she had to get out.
She didn't even notice Edward seemed worried for her, as he let go of her shoulders as she tried to twist away.
"Willow, I am gonna take you to my father now, he is going to find out what's wrong," Edward said to her slowly and calmly, as fear radiated off her, although he couldn't understand why.
But Willow just stared at him for a moment, looking at him with fear written in her eyes, yet she still managed to pass the next three words past her lips, which only sealed her fate.
"You're a vampire," she whispered, which when she thought about it later, had been the worst thing to say. But at this point her adrenaline was so high she no longer could think rationally, and instead she began to move backwards, while Edward and Alice stared at her, unsure what to do.
"Willow, I am going to take you to my father, and he will help you," Edward tried to repeat, while Willow violently shook her head, as all of the ghost screamed she had to run, and for once she was about to listen to them.
"Stay away from me!" she whispered, before she turned around on her heel, and began to run as fast as she could.
Fear was mixed with adrenaline, and so she could have continued to run for hours if she had too. It almost felt like she was weightless, as her heart beated in her chest, and she ran down the hallway. Past the office and all of the lockers, and with a strength she didn't know she possessed, she threw the doors open, and ran out into the parking lot, not stopping once to see if she was being followed.
The truth was that if she were followed, she would have been caught already, nevertheless she pushed herself harder, as her feet hit the ground over and over, while she tried to reach Birch Street 16. This time she didn't get hit by any cars, as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, trying to get to some kind of safety, although Leavenworth had offered her no safety so far.
She almost thought it was funny. Two weeks and two days, that was how long she lasted in this shithole, before she went crazy. If only she had known how many horrors that would have befallen her, she would have gotten off that bus before it even started, and she would have found some way to make it in New York.
But there she was, running down the street, while her heart beated far too fast, and she felt like she was going to throw up. Nevertheless she continued, until she eyed the small red brick house that was supposed to be her house, and pushed herself even faster, as she within seconds reached the small porch, and threw the door open, only to shut it close a second later.
Willow was breathing so hard she barely heard anything, as she rushed upstairs, she however noted that steam was coming out of the bathroom, which suggested Patricia was in the shower, as Frank wouldn't be home yet. But Willow didn't care as she ran into her own room, the girly frilly pink room which she had grown to hate, and she collapsed against the door, breathing heavily, while her whole body seemed to be shaking.
She couldn't even comprehend what had happened, or even worse what she had said, as she buried her head in her hands once more, while she tried to control her own breathing.
Despite the fact so much had happened during the day, one question stood out to Willow… was Edward Cullen truly a vampire?
Because in a strange way, it made sense to her. She had even briefly wondered it herself, but had then considered it ridiculous, but was it that crazy to think it?
The question was if Willow could trust what the ghosts were telling her? Or if she actually saw real ghosts, and it was something her own brain had made up, to trick her. Nevertheless the thoughts of vampires sent chills through her whole body, and made her shake even worse, as Willow realized it couldn't just be Edward who was a vampire, it had to be the whole family.
But it answered a lot of her questions she had gathered over the last two weeks. It made sense why they had so many dead bodies around them, although at the same time it didn't make sense as to why some of them like Alice, Carlisle and Esme had so few. But it did explain why some were bleeding from the necks, and she recalled how the one named Jasper had red eyed ghosts following him. Where they vampires too?
But why were their own eyes not red, if vampires' eyes were red? And was their body so cold because blood no longer pumped through it?
Although Willow had been given one answer, it only seemed to gather another hundred things she couldn't understand, and she felt tears fall from her eyes, and rolled down her chin, as she cried in frustration.
But it explained why Edward probably had been able to stop that car, although he claimed otherwise… but was it because he was strong? Or was it because it simply wasn't possible for vampires to die, if they already had died once. Were they dead, or did they still have a heartbeat?
Another problem that didn't seem to add up was that they were outside during the day, which to WIllow didn't fit with being a vampire, although she at that point hadn't thought it through. Because she had never seen any of them in the actual sunlight.
But none of her speculations mattered, as Willow realized another thing, which made her body freeze in fear. If Edward and his whole family were vampires, and Willow just loud and clearly had told them she knew, she was in big trouble. Her face began to pale even more, as she realized just what she had done, knowing there existed no good outcome to this situation.
She wasn't sure the ghosts spoke the truth, but she had nevertheless repeated their words, as the idiot she was. Her mother had told her never to repeat their words, and nevertheless she did! She was a first class fool, and she was about to pay for it.
Because if she was incorrect, and they were normal human beings, whom she had stalked for weeks, then they would sure as hell tell everybody she was a freak, and with their father being a doctor, she would end up somewhere close to hell on earth. She was sure of that. If they were vampires, they might as well still do it, and deny what she said was true.
But even worse, if they were vampires, they might hunt her, find her, and kill her.
She could almost feel their sharp teeth, as they buried them in her neck, and sucked her dry, while her life slowly left this world. Maybe she would turn into a ghost as well, following them for all eternity, just like their other victims.
Willow had never really considered her own death. She hadn't even thought of if she wanted to live, but she knew this wasn't the way she wanted to die.
And there was only one thing to do, and so in a fast pace Willow got up from the floor, and grabbed the suitcase under her bed. She hadn't really made a plan, as she slammed the suitcase down on her bed, and began to throw everything into it, as she emptied her whole room. Thankfully Willow had arrived with very little, and so she would leave with only her essentials.
She knew she would head toward New York, probably hitchhiking as she had no money to get across the country, but perhaps it would throw them off her whereabouts. Deep down she knew there was no reason to return to New York, as she had no friends there, and her mother would deny she knew her if she knocked on her rich husband's door. It pained Willow, but at this point she had no better idea, and New York was the closest thing she had to a home, somewhere she could feel safe.
"You are one big idot Cross," Willow cursed herself, while her teeth clattered, as fear slowly consumed her. There was in no way any logic behind her decisions any longer, and she was like an animal who tried to survive on its instincts.
It wasn't before she had packed her suitcase that she eyed the red notebook, and began to wonder whenever to take it or not. But as she opened it she realized it only proved something was wrong with her, and to some it would prove she knew too much, and so she ripped the pages out, before she stuffed them inside her pocket, as she promised herself she would burn them as soon as she could. The whole observation had been her most awful idea yet, and so she could only curse her own curiosity, because as it turned out, curiosity actually killed the cat.
"Willow is that you dear?" she heard her aunt ask from the other side of the door, just as Willow shut her suitcase close, as was ready to leave. But before she could open the door, her aunt opened it, and looked inside, surprised to see her niece home from school so early. "What is happening?" she asked confused, as her dead eyes seemed to live up from once, both in curiosity and fear.
"I am leaving," was all Willow said, as she picked up her suitcase, and got her red coat on once more. There was no reason for her to stay in Leavenworth for another second, and she had already lost enough time as it was.
"Leaving?" Patricia repeatedly confused, and slightly saddened, as she stepped closer to Willow, dressed in a blue robe and a towel wrapped around her head. Makeup hadn't even been applied to her face yet, which made her seem ten years older, and far more tired. "Willow darling, you are completely pale and shaking… are you getting ill?" she asked, concerned, as she tried to place a hand on her forehead, but Willow violently backed away.
"I need to leave now!" Willow repeated, and just to make everything worse, Patricia's dead friend appeared beside her, and she couldn't help but stare at him, terrified.
"Willow can you hear me?" he asked desperately, while Willow watched as blood was seeping from his right temple, past his eye, and onto the floor, as it dripped down. "Please Willow, say something if you can hear me, i really need you to help me!" he begged. The man who had died young and beautiful, but had suffered a horrible faith.
"Sweetheart lie down, and I will go get you some tea and medicine," Patricia tried to sooth her, as she grabbed her suitcase and placed it back down on the floor, as Willow was momentarily frozen, unsure just where to look, and who to listen too.
"Please my name is George Wright, I knew your aunt very well before I died, and I really need you to tell her something from me!" he begged, while a tear seemed to escape his brown eye, as blood dropped down on his white shirt, just as it had dried in his brown curls. "Can you hear me?" he repeated, unsure, as Willow was still as a statue.
"I really need to go…" Willow repeated, although she wasn't able to move her feet.
"Maybe we should call the doctor, you seem sick… lie down dear," Patrica tried to urge her, although Willow wanted to protest at the thought of calling Dr. Cullen.
"Willow please listen, I used to date your aunt once, and I really need you to relay a message to her!" George begged, as he stared longingly at Patricia, and although Willow couldn't understand anyone could fall in love with Patricia, it was clearly possible.
"Please stop!" Willow cried, as she began to shake violently, while she grabbed her suitcase once more. She could no longer see what the difference was between the living and the dead, and having a conversation with both George and Patricia was more than she could take.
Patricia stared rather confused at her as well, but just as she was about to say something, the door downstairs was slammed open with force, while Frank's uncaring cold voice could be heard through the whole house.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Frank yelled loudly, while silence followed as his heavy footsteps could be heard through the house, as he sounded furious. Willow knew he had a temper, although she hadn't seen it herself yet, but she knew she was about too.
"We are up here Frank!" Patricia called softly, knowing he wasn't in a good mood, but he would find them soon anyway.
And Willow almost felt how the whole room began to shake, as though a giant had entered the house, while Frank walked upstairs in a fast pace, taking two steps at the time, while everything seemed to shake. Even Willow began to feel slightly scared, as her heart began to beat even faster, while she felt close to passing out, as she had been overwhelmed for far too long.
Truth to be told she couldn't take much more, she had been through too much for one day, and so she almost felt half asleep, as Frank finally appeared in her room. His face was beat red, showing his anger, while his baby blue eyes could barely be seen for his angry scowl.
"HOW DARE YOU RUN FROM SCHOOL ONCE MORE!" he yelled, and for some reason Willow couldn't help but notice he was wearing his police uniform, which meant he had a gun on him.
"Frank, i think Willow might be sick…" Patricia tried to interfere, although it was a weak attempt, as Frank didn't listen to her for a second. He couldn't care less if Willow was pale as a sheet, shaking, while her whole body was about to collapse on the spot.
"THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE NURSE!" he only yelled, while his anger seemed to grow tenfold. "DO YOU KNOW HOW EMBARRASSED I AM?" he then continued. "HUH, DO YOU? DO YOU KNOW JUST HOW MUCH PEOPLE TALK ABOUT US AS IT IS?" he asked her, while Willow began to feel unsteady on her feet, as her brain slowly collapsed, unable to take much more of all of this.
And at the same time George tried to get her attention as well, as he himself had starred at Frank with fear, before he suddenly stepped in before him, standing close to Willow, as he began to whisper something in her ear, only she could hear.
At the moment George seemed so kind and compassionate compared to the real world, and Willow only nodded as he told her what had happened, how he had died, and although it should have made her nervous, she was so tired she couldn't feel it anymore. Her heart was slowing down as it couldn't take anymore of her fear and anxiety, while her brain had shut down completely.
And Willow had already said too much today, but due to the fact she had no will left, she simply looked at her uncle, who for a moment had gone quiet, clearly waiting for her to answer a question she never had heard.
And the words came out of her mouth calmly, as though she didn't care, and the truth was she didn't. She couldn't even understand what she was saying at this point, or what it actually meant.
"You killed George Wright," she said, her voice loud and clear, while she stared at him with an expressionless face.
And then she closed her eyes, as her world went blank, giving her a few moments of peace.
Only to wake up in a chaotic world.
So this was not my longest chapter, but i stopped it here to leave you guys a nice cliffhanger! Anyway, what do you guys think is going to happen next? Leave your thoughts, and thank you for reading!
