Chapter five: A welcome visit.

It's been four years since Derrick's death. Four years since I saw Der Ritter. Four years since Collin was put in the... Hospital. That's what mom called it when Collin first went there, dad calls it the Insane asylum now. I miss him, I feel so alone, and it didn't help that I had the perfect baby sister, everyone adores her, despite her being the reason for mom's death three years ago. Dad couldn't handle the pain of losing Derrick, Collin and then Mom. He's so alone now, I try to console him some nights when I hear him crying at night, missing mom dearly. He curls up to me, I've been keeping us together.

Currently being eleven, and yet I convinced a family friend to get me a job, so i can take care of all of us. Despite a large portion of the money going to Dad's drinking fund. He started drinking a few months after mom's death. I was placed with the burden of caring for Lily, she was such a pain. Dad got her a puppy, despite her young age. The poor thing, a handsome little German Shepard pup. Since Lily couldn't name him I was tasked with naming him, which wasn't to difficult for me, hearing that he was a German Shepard, and remembering Der Ritter, i named the dog Knight. Which dad thought I meant Night.

Due to Lily's young age the puppy had quickly bonded to me. And at the age of three she was very possessive of Knight, and I hated it. She once pulled on Knights tail once, only because he wouldn't play with her, causing him to bite her with his sharp puppy teeth, thus causing her to bleed. Dad would have put him to sleep, had I not intervened and convinced him it cost too much. Thinking about his precious beer he agreed with me, and Knight got to stay with me.

Currently, it was the day before my birthday, and I was hoping to visit Collin in the hospital before visiting Derrick's grave. The only way I could get there was on my bike. Dad was passed out drunk in the living room, and Lily was in her playpen, so i figured it would be okay to go. I grabbed my small bag, put a snack in it, and the new gift I had bought Collin, a brand new Game boy advances, and the newest Pokemon games. He was still such a kid, but i must admit I bought my own so i can play with him the next time I visit. It cost a lot to get a good present for him but it was worth it.

Calling Knight to my side I grabbed his leash, just in case, and left the house silently with him and my dull brown leather bag. Climbing up onto my purple and black bicycle I looked down at Knight. He stared back with very intelligent eyes. his head cooked to one side with a single ear perked up.

"Ready boy?" I pet his head gently and pushed off with him running next to me. This was his normal exercise, and he loved it, especially when we went into the woods. Biking down several back roads in made my way with Knight to the hospital, the building was big, and off white in color. Bright cheery flowers surrounded the grounds, butterflies bouncing from flower to flower. I watched with mild interest as I walked over to the doors with Knight, whom was bouncing slightly as we walked. He loved going with me to places and this would be the first time he would get to meet Collin.

"Excuse me..." My voice sounded mature, despite my age and height. The woman at the desk looked up, expecting to see someone taller than me. Her round face scrunched up in confusion before dull Hazel eyes stared at my own violet ones.

"Oh," she spoke with distaste seeing a child. "What do you want?" her voice was nasally and very annoying. She looked away from me and began to file her long red nails.

"I'm here to visit my brother for his birthday. His name is Collin Rhinehart." the woman looked at me, blond curls bouncing slightly from atop of her dry, dandruff covered scalp.

"I see, your name please?"

"Nicole Rhinehart."

The woman began to type some things into the computer before grabbing a visitors pass. "Wear this at all time here. Collin's room is down hall D, door number D-107." I nodded to her and took the pass, putting the lanyard around my neck before I gave a childish, heartwarming smile in thanks before heading off to find Collin's room. I was worried about Knight being in here, what if someone was allergic to dogs, or afraid of dogs.

'Then again... The woman didn't stop me from bringing him in here.' I figured it was okay and after finding Collin's door, I knocked lightly on the door and smiled when I heard Collin's voice from inside.

"Who is it...?"

"The only one in our family that still visits!" i heard him scramble to the door after he said that and he threw it open, giving me a tight hug, causing Knight to growl defensively.

"Nicole! I'm so happy to see you! I've felt so alone recently and the doctors keep drugging me up for the depression and Schizophrenia!" he let me go after I returned his hug and led me inside. Knight looked nervous in the room, turning his head quickly, growling every now and then. I smiled happily and took off my backpack, pulling out the snacks I packed and the box with Collin's new present.

"I'm glad that you're getting better, but i would rather you be at home, I feel ignored by dad, he thinks I'm mom sometimes, and I have to take care of Lily all the time..." I sighed heavily before smiling brightly. "But Hey, happy birthday..." I handed him the box, which was wrapped in a dark blue velvet paper with a gold bow on top of it.

"Aw... Nicole, you didn't have to, you know that."

"I know, but I'm sure you'll love this." he was curious after I said that and he unwrapped the box before giving a small boyish squeal, clutching the new game boy and the games.

"I've tried asking the hospital to get me one, but they say it costs too much!" he happily hugged me, before moving to his bed, crossing his legs underneath himself as he opened the box to his games and then to his game boy. "This is so awesome Nicole! You're the best sister ever!" he leaned back against a plethora of pillows on his bed.

Calling Knight up onto the bed I leaned back as well, petting his head. That's when Collin finally noticed him. "Who's... dog is that...?"

"Big Birds." I rolled my eyes, "He's obviously mine. His name is Knight, as in a knight in shining armor." The dog perked up at his name and he licked the palm of the hand that wasn't petting him, causing a giggle to escape me. Collin just smiled and went to pet him when Knight sat up and growled loudly outside the window, fur standing up on edge. That's when Collin began to cough before he looked to the window.

"Nicole... Could you... please close the window." he swallowed hard and i nodded, curiously before going over to the window and closing it with a loud slam, this was only due to the window getting stuck slightly as i tried to close it I noticed something, or someone standing outside. Their hair was coal black and he wore a white hoodie with dirty ragged pants.

He stared at the hospital with a huge grin. His eyes were wide, and unblinking. It… Startled me, but his pale white skin reminded me of the Slenderman, and my eyes went from shock, to a sad longing before I locked the window. The person standing outside looked up at the window and his grin seemed to widen slightly seeing me, and despite his huge grin, which seemed as if it were carved into his face he mouthed the words

Go to sleep.

I frowned a bit before closing the blinds, 'What does he mean...?' i shook my head and walked back over to Collin and Knight, who still hadn't stopped growling. He then decided to crawl over to the window and lay down in front of it, still emitting soft growls. My nose wrinkled as my eyebrows furrowed, wondering what had gotten into Knight.

"He's a growling machine huh?" Collin spoke as he moved from the bed to his bathroom to take some medication, he swallowed one large pill before taking another sip of water and taking two smaller pills.

"Not really, it's rare for him to growl so much; unless it's at Lily." I said her name with such malice that i could taste the poison laced in my words.

"Oh yeah... Lily's our baby sister, I kinda forgot."

"Your sister, I refuse to say she is my sister." I crossed my arms angrily causing Collin to just shake his head and chuckle at me.

"We're twins, idiot. What's mine is yours and yours is mine, remember? So if I'm stuck with her, so are you."

I grumbled at his logic and stayed with him as he was leveling up his Pokemon. I fell asleep while leaning against him only to be woken up by a nurse telling me that visiting hours was over. I nodded and hugged my brother goodbye, he had already gotten far on his game so I knew he would be happy. We wished each other a happy birthday before I roused the sleeping Knight and led us out of the room. As I passed by a window I looked out and saw that the sky was already darkening, i wonder how long I slept for?

Exiting the hospital I walked down the white concrete path towards my bike, and I closed on it, glancing at Knight. "Ready to go back to hell. Knight?" I asked the German Shepard and he simply barked in reply tail wagging his long tail. I couldn't help but smile at that and i pushed off with one foot to set the bike into motion, Knight followed close behind me as we made our way back home. That's when my stomach rumbled, and I knew what I was hungry for. And as much as I hated it, I greatly enjoy raw meat, so far I've only had animal meat. That stops the whispering, but not for long, they come back stronger than before sometimes. Usually I can make out one word from the whispers. This time... two words.

HUMAN

FLESH

As soon as I figured out those two words in the whispering, it grew louder and i clutched my head in pain, losing control of my bike and slamming into a fence, flipping over it. After a few moments of laying there my brain rebooted. As my eyes opened my vision instantly swam and my ears rang as pain registered in my body from landing so roughly. As my hearing returned I could hear Knight's frantic barking from the other side of the fence. I went to sit up before groaning loudly and laying back down.

"Oh my god!" i heard a young male voice call out, "Are you okay!" i felt hands on my head and arms and when I opened my eyes again they focused on a round freckle-coated face, red-orange hair adorned the head of the boy helping me and I looked into his green eyes.

"I... Think so..." I mumbled as he helped me sit up, he looked about my age, give or take a year or two. The whispering was simmering in the back of my mind, and it grew slowly louder as i looked at this boy in front of me.

"You sure? You took a pretty nasty fall. Oh, I'm David by the way." he took my hand to help me up, and i numbly nodded. "Here, let's get you inside and get an ice pack for your head. My Dad isn't home, so we won't get in trouble for me helping you. I nodded again and tried not to look at him as the whispering grew louder, especially when I gazed at him for too long.

He held me close to his body as he helped me wobble up a few concrete set of stairs. Despite home being lithe in body shape, he proved to be pretty strong. My head swam as the whispers became aggressive suddenly, almost softly screaming at me. David took me to the kitchen, letting me lean against the counter by the sink as he went to go get an ice pack. I struggled to keep standing due to the whispers wracking pain through my body, each whisper caused my legs to quiver. And I clutched the counter as a word broke through the whispers.

KILL

I was confused at first, before I realized, that's what the whispering wanted me to do... maybe the whispers would go away if i... gave in to their demands. I closed my eyes at this thought, and focused on the whispering, which had calmed when I paid attention to them.

DEVOUR

DAVID

A small insane smile made its way across my face and as David walked out of the room to get a hand towel for the ice pack i looked towards the knife block, i looked towards the butcher knife before looking at some of the others. The butcher knife was a shiny stainless steel. Making my way over I slowly reached out my hand and grasped the cold steel, pulling it out of its wooden block, hiding it behind me, my black bangs shading my eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked as he walked back into the kitchen. I simply nodded, hands cold and clammy on the steel blade. He came over to me, reaching out to place the ice pack on my head before I looked up, eyes wide and filled with insanity. I swiftly grabbed his arm before moving the butcher knife forward, stabbing into his belly, easily slicing through the flesh and fat.

David's green eyes were wide in absolute terror and pain. I only giggled, the whispers giggled with me and I twisted the blade, still imbedded into his gut, in a clockwise direction. I wrenched the knife out and pushed him, causing him to slip on the tile floor, which was coated in his own urine due to the shock, and he tried to scoot away from me.

"Something wrong Mister~?" I was shocked by my own sadistic voice, and I moved closer, kneeling next to him to slowly drag the knife down his cheek, leaving a small slit where the sharp blade cut him. I didn't notice him move, but when he did, he punched me, causing my body to slam into the fridge door. The whispers screeched and i saw red, i blindly slashed out, hearing the sickening sound of a splash on the floor, I could smell the blood and urine mixed scent. It excited the voices and i slashed out more, sloppily spilling his blood upon the once white tile. He was crying in pain, looking up at me with fear.

"Wh... Why?" He choked slightly, and tried to crawl away, I noticed the damage my blind slashing did; one of his eyes was shut, leaking blood and optic fluid due to the vertical slash across it, his face had four slashes across It, his chest and arms were deeply cut, cut muscle hung out of the wound, dripping his life source onto the ground. My belly made a growl of needful hunger as i looked at the muscle tissue.

FEED

Ah, there's the whispering again. I moved closer, moving onto my knees, which started to dye them a light red. He flinched as i came closer and i cut away some of the muscle tissue that was ripped by the blade. I picked it up ignoring his cries of pain before I fully gave into the whispering, and placed it into my mouth. And explosion of warmth filled my mouth as the taste danced across my tongue causing me to close my eyes in contentment. The taste was so addicting, even more than the cats, squirrels and even rabbit I've been having.

I wanted more…

So I placed my fingers to his lips, and shushed his screams. At this he tried to bite my fingers, which resulted in a slap across his face with the knife, leaving a massive gash on his cheek which bled profusely. I loved that color, that euphoric scent, and most of all; that delicious, exotic taste. His tears mixed with the blood and pus from his sliced eye, it was a gruesome sight, but I enjoyed it. A sadistic smile made it to my face as i then began to dive into the flesh as David's life slowly left him.