Chapter Three

You will regret this! I'll steal everything that matters to you! You will be dead inside and out! You'll never touch another human being! You'll never feel emotion! You'll be alone forever! Forever Ivan! You won't even get the chance to die! You'll never be loved like I had! Roma! Do it now!

Ivan jumped awake with the angry voice still echoing in his head. He rubbed his temples then moved his fingers through his short hair, he hadn't had a nightmare like that in a while. He sat back in his chair away from the desk and kept the palms of his hands to his face to cover his eyes. He took a deep breath and sighed, the familiar voice still echoed around the silent study. He remembered that scene like it was yesterday, in his room even. He remembered sitting here writing in his journal like he did each day since his parents died years and years before. He remembered it being as silent as it was now, not even hearing the snow fall outside as it turned to rain, then it was broken by her running in with her eyes full of tears after their argument the night before. He could remember a young man behind her with the strangest blonde hair and the weirdest colored eyes, all hidden under a black cloak; he thought he even saw a fang in the boy's mouth but he seemed stupid to think so. He remembered all of it though. When it was so long ago, he still remembered it clear as day. He would never forget the day that his life forever changed…

Matthew sneaked up the stairs then looked to the first door closet to the stairs. I'm going to die, he thought, so what's the point of being afraid and not even knowing anything about this… monster? Matthew took a deep breath and went through the door. He turned the knob as quickly and quietly as he could and entered the room, closing the door slowly to be quiet. Ivan was down stairs, he had thought Matthew went to bed, so he had a little time for this. He snuck around the room a bit and tried to find any source of light. He actually ran into an heavy object, stubbing his foot on it. He tried not to make a move or a sound after that one, he only hoped Ivan didn't hear it. He stood quietly and still for a moment to make sure Ivan wasn't coming up then walked over a bit to the wall. He almost ran into another object but stopped himself with his hands. He felt up the object, which happened to be a small side table, then up more to find a lamp. He smiled a bit as he turned the lamp on and gave light to the room.

The table was old, the white paint cracking but still dust-clear. The room was lightly pained, the walls looked like it was a light blue but the color had faded, the floor was wooden like the hallway but a light colored rug covered most of it. He looked around a little bit, seeing the bed next to him and the side table, several pillows laying there on top of a blanket that was clearly handmade, stitched with designs of sunflowers. He turned around and looked, seeing a window that curtains covered, a dresser sitting against the wall, a wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room, and a closet. Surely this wasn't Ivan's room right? It seemed so feminine. Matthew walked over to the dresser and pulled the draw out to take a look; overalls? He raised an eyebrow as he looked at it, several pairs of them laid in there with button shirts. He looked down to the next draw filled with headbands and clips. He opened the next one but quickly closed it when he saw double-D bras and underwear. Matthew gulped and his face turned a bit red, definitely not Ivan's room. But then… who's was it? He walked back over to the side table to turn the light off but instead opened the draw of the table, hearing it creak made him nervous though. "Ivan…" he whispered to himself as he took an object out of the draw, a framed photograph.

The picture showed that spooky house in the background, but the lawn was covered in grass not stone. The house was brand new and clean, it was years and years ago. He saw Ivan at the center of the picture, between two girls, one bigger and one smaller. He was so small, young. His face was blank and expressionless as it was now. He was so small though, maybe up to Matthew's waist right now. The little girl was on her tippy toes, holding onto Ivan's arm tightly. He was maybe up to his shoulder, though she was on her toes. She had long white-blonde hair with a blue ribbon on top of her head. She wore a tiny blue and white dress that reached down to her knees where her black socks met up at.

The older girl was maybe in her teens, or going to be, he wasn't very sure. Ivan only reached up to her elbow. She had short hair, pulled back by a headband like the ones that were in the draw. She was the only one out of the three that was smiling. He could see two boys in the back sitting on the steps of the house, one blonde with glasses while the other one had brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. There had to be someone taking the picture, so another person was there as well with these children.

But who were they… and where were they now?…

He took the photo out of the frame and turned it over for any info. The date… December 30th, 1980, almost thirty years ago! ? Matthew put the photo back into the frame once he realized the date was the only information on there. He placed the frame back into the draw and left the room carefully closing the door behind him. He froze when he heard steps coming up the stairs. Matthew quickly walked as fast as he could to his room, running would make noise. He jumped onto the bed and got under the blankets, closing his eyes to make it look like he was sleeping. He realized his glasses were still on so he quickly took them off and plopped them on the bed with him. He closed his eyes again to fake sleeping as Ivan creaked the door open. "Are you awake?…" Ivan whispered. Matthew decided to stay still and quiet as Ivan came in and reached over the sleeping boy, taking a hold on his glasses, folding them and putting them on the side table. Matthew gulped a bit and decided to open his eyes and looked at Ivan.

Ivan seemed to pause and look back, though because of his blurry vision Matthew couldn't really see Ivan. "I thought you were asleep." Ivan said. "I'm sorry." Matthew shrugged and sat up, continuing to look at him. "Can you sleep?" Matthew shrugged again. Ivan looked away in hesitation then walked over to the closet, reaching up into it for some object. Matthew squinted his eyes to see what Ivan was carrying. He put the soft object on Matthew's lap as Matthew looked down at it. He picked it up, not really seeing it, but feeling it, it felt so fluffy and soft.

"A teddy bear?" Matthew questioned.

"D-Da." Ivan pulled his scarf up. "I don't know if that will help you sleep or not, but there." Matthew hugged onto the bear a bit.

"It reminds me of Kumajirou." He said.

"What?"

"K-Kumajirou. He's a stuffed bear my father gave me when I was little. He looked like this, all fluffy and white." Matthew smiled a bit with the thoughts. "I sleep with him every night. Thank you." Ivan looked away but he did grin under his scarf, a very slight grin but a grin. The boy liked the bear like his little sister had.

"Good night." Ivan left out the door for the boy to sleep. Matthew sat on the bed, blind as a bat still, then laid down and covered himself with the blankets. He still had that nervous feeling in his core, but by now he managed to calm down most of his nerves. He held onto the bear and managed to close his eyes and not be afraid, falling asleep quickly.

OOO

Matthew gulped down the oddly colored drink once again, the medicine that seemed to help him. Ivan watched to make sure he finished the whole thing. Once he did, he took the cup away and washed it out as Matthew got the taste out of his mouth. "I-Ivan."

"Da?"

"W-why do I have to drink this medicine?"

"I told you. It's because your body is sick." Ivan turned away from Matthew.

"Y-yeah, but why? I'm not sick…"

"Da you are."

"But why?" Matthew questioned. Ivan took a deep breath and turned toward the boy.

"You fell onto those stones and was unconscious for several minutes. Those stones you fell on, they release a poison that you breath in once human skin touch them." Ivan explained. "You breathed in the gas they released. It entered your body, your lungs are infected as well as your blood stream."

"W-What?" Matthew's eyes widen.

"Exactly that. The poison will come out as long as you continue to drink the medicine. You'll return to normal and you will be fine and healthy again."

"But until then?…"

"Until then, you stay here."

"W-Why not just let me go? I can go to a hospital and they can help me eh?"

"Nyet. They cannot help you. They don't know the medicine you need." Ivan said. "You'll die." The phrase sent shivers down Matthew's spine. His stomach suddenly felt like it was twisting and he even felt like he was going to pass out, but he managed to stay standing and still. Ivan continued to look at him though, sensing the boy's uneasiness. "Matthew?" Matthew looked back up at Ivan with frightened eyes. "I'll… die?…." Matthew gulped, the fear and nervousness he had kept down for a while was coming back; he was terrified again.

"I won't let you die." Ivan said. "You won't die. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"How can you be so sure?… you can't control whether someone lives or dies." Matthew looked down. "You can't do anything."

"I can give you the medicine and make sure you're alright." Ivan tried to ease the situation but Matthew began shivering. Ivan looked away for a moment then back. "Matthew. You will not die." He couldn't find the words to help Matthew, not a single word. "Matthew… are you afraid to die?…" Matthew looked back at him. He never once thought of the question, he never had a reason too. But the feelings he felt, he was sure he was afraid. He nodded. "Why?"

"W-What?"

"Why are you afraid to die?" Ivan said, Matthew looked at him confused. "Why? You've never experienced it before so why?"

"I-I…"

"What reason do you have to be afraid?" I could remember death…I have a reason… what's yours?… "Are you afraid that you'll never see your family or friends again? You'll never see any future? Or is it religious? Do you think that there's heaven or hell that you'll go to? Or that this will be it?" Ivan began to smile a bit, he began to like this talk on death. "Or do you just think it would be painful?"

"Shut up…" Matthew's voice was shaky. He had looked down as tears began to fill his eyes, he was terrified but he couldn't be sure why. "Please shut up…" Ivan lost his smile and turned around. He walked toward the door and looked back at Matthew.

"Come with me." Ivan stated blankly and went out the door. Matthew stood there for a moment, his legs were too shaky for him to move at first but he moved one foot at a time and followed Ivan up the stairs, though he fell behind slowly. He followed Ivan through the upstairs hallway and looked as he opened one of the doors with a key he took out from inside his coat. Matthew gulped a bit, was he going to kill him now?… was that what that conversation was about?….

He followed into a darker room that he really couldn't see. Candle light seemed to lit it, he assumed it was because the light bulb had been smashed; he could see the pieces reflecting off in the corner of the room by the light with the missing bulb. The room was older, the walls covered by wallpaper and the floor wooden like the hallway. He could see a bed in the middle of the wall, facing toward the door where he came in. He noticed something in front of the bed though; a chest. Ivan seemed to step in front of it, pausing right there and not moving. "Do you want to know about something? Death?" Ivan asked, Matthew shivered a little more. "My death?"

Ivan turned around and looked at Matthew. "This place is full of a lot of secrets for many years. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, da?" Matthew nodded a bit. "I'm not sure what's been said but one of them is most likely true. Several people used to live here, myself including. And I…" His voice trailed off and he looked away. He didn't finish his sentence when he began remembering what had really happened, the angry voice and that flash of light; what he had done to deserve this. "W-What happened?… What happened to you?…" Matthew waited until Ivan began to speak again, but he didn't. Ivan walked over to him.

"Give me your hand." Ivan reached out for him. Matthew blinked in confusion and looked at him suspicions. He slowly lifted his hand up for Ivan, he grabbed onto it gently and reached it up. Matthew looked confused as Ivan held Matthew's hand up to his chest, holding it there. "What do you feel?"

"W-What?…"

"What do you feel?" "Y-You?" he couldn't understand this, he didn't feel anything, just the jacket covering Ivan, though it was thin. "I-I don't understand-what am I-" Matthew's voice trailed off as Ivan shook his head a bit and lifted his hand away from him. He moved it onto Matthew's own chest and held it there. Matthew only looked down at their hands.

"Now what do you feel?" Ivan asked. Matthew still didn't understand, I feel myself? My chest? "You feel yourself breathing don't you? Your chest rising and falling?…" Matthew suddenly understood. His stomach began to twist again. He could feel himself breathing, just like he had felt Ivan. He could feel his heart beating in his chest… something he didn't feel with Ivan. He moved his hand out of Ivan's grip and backed up until he hit the wall. Ivan looked at him, waiting for any response other than panic.

"Y-You're dead! ?" Matthew almost screamed. "That's impossible!" He slid down against the wall a bit. "I-I don't understand… that's impossible… you… you…" He hit the floor, his body still shaking from the realization. Ivan stood there with a blank expression, simply staring at Matthew. Matthew just didn't know what to do…

"I told you I was going to tell you about my death." Ivan pulled his scarf up a bit. "But this is where you come in…."