Marie only stared at Stein in confusion. "So, you're saying that the madness has been living inside you... Your whole life?"

Stein tried to chose his words carefully, he didn't want Marie to start crying again. "Yes, but I've been keeping control of it, so it doesn't consume me at all." At that, Marie did not seem as worried, but Stein continued, "However," and her worry was then all over her face once more, "For the past couple of days, I have been... Seeing things, hearing things, even typing things that I don't want to type. It's like the madness is growing..." Stein trailed off.

"What do you mean by 'seeing things'?" Marie asked curiously.

Stein thought for a moment, trying to tell her what exactly he had been seeing without her freaking out. "Seeing things like... Spiders crawling on the walls, snakes coming out from underneathe my bed. At first, they look real, but when I take a closer look at them, they are grinning at me." he said, remembering how the spiders' and sankes' grins went from right below their eyes, down all the way to the bottom of their heads and up to the other side of their face.

Marie was silent for a moment, and he could tell she was trying not to cry. Seriously, what is up with women and all of their crying? Or is it simply emotion over flooding? he thought. Maybe I am happy that I don't feel that much emotion.

"And hearing things?" she asked slowly. "What do you hear, Franken?"

He was only quiet, not saying anything. Stein reached his left arm up to his head, ignoring the strange feeling of the I.V tugging and moving slightly as it was pulled, and he began to twist the bolt in his head backward until it made a small 'click'. Marie sat silently, barely moving, waiting for Stein to tell her what he hears.

"Whispers. I hear the whispers. They are always calling my name, always trying to get me to talk to them. But I always refuse. Well, I did always refuse, anyway..." Stein said, waiting for her to say something. When he knew she wouldn't say anything, he continued. "When I was laying here asleep, they came to me in my dreams. I can't remember anything about my dream, only that it had something to do with a river, and I was falling. Then they came. I heard so many different whispers, all of them saying different things. But I knew what they all wanted. They want the other side of me. They want me to completely get rid of the man I am now, and succumb to the madness. The worst part of it all is... I know how to. I know that if I just close my eyes and open my mind, let all of the whispers in, I could do it... I could end all of this torture. I could be the beast sleeping inside of me! What is the point in denying who I am deep down inside?!" Stein's voice was now raised slightly, and he was speaking quickly. His heart was beating so rapidly, he could feel it pounding in his chest.

His eyes darted across the room, focusing on one spot then on another. "What do you see? Franken, what do you see?" Marie asked quickly, trying to find what ever he was seeing.

"Oh, Marie. They are here!" Stein exclaimed. Marie stood from the chair she was in and took a step back, trying to keep her distancefrom him. Stein gave out a small giggle before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Marie only stared at him in shock, not knowing what to do. She wanted to scream at what she had just saw, but she knew that would be stupid. Furthermore, her throat was so dry, and it felt as if it were closing up. She was stuck in place, she couldn't move. All she could do was stand there and watch as the man she... Loved... was laying in a hospital bed, coming in and out of reality. I need to stay strong for him... And finally, her legs unlocked and she bolted out the dooor and down the hall to find a nurse or a doctor, or anyone that would be able to help. One of the nurses saw her running down the hall, worried that one of the pateients had passed away. "Is there something you needed?" the nurse called after Marie.

Marie turned around, startled by the nurse's voice, and cried, "Yes," after catching her breath. "The man that I'm with, Franken Stein, he's a patient here-"

"Take me to him, okay? You can tell me everything once we get there." the nurse cut her off. Marie nodded quickly and gestured her to follow her as she began running back to Stein's room.

The nurse checked the monitors around Stein, making sure every thing was in order. "His heart beat is normal, although he does seem to be under some stress. So what exactly happened?" she asked.

Marie shook her head in confusion, her lip curled, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. "I don't know, he was just telling me... Telling me how he sees things sometimes," I shouldn't tell her everything... They might commit him to a psych ward.

The nurse's face was stricken with seriousness and pure curiosity as she asked, "What types of things?"

Marie was silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what, no, what not was much more important. "I don't know, I think he was just hallucinating because he told me this after he woke up here. I think the stroke is just messing with his mind... I hope I don't regret this later... But he said he sees spiders crawiling on the walls and snakes coming out from underneathe his bed."

"Snakes and spiders, huh," the nurse said quietly as she studied Stein's face. "Pardon me for asking, but I've heard a few comments here and there of a man with stitches all over his body and a huge iron bolt going through his head." the nurse said with a small smile at the dge of her lips.

Marie only stared back at her with confusion all over her face.

"So my question is, how has he managed to survive that bolt going through his head?" she asked curiously.

Marie thought for a moment, and didn't really have an answer. It has crossed her mind here and there, but she never really thought about it. "Huh, I don't really know. To be honest, I almost forgot it was even there."