"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us and, sometimes, they win." - Stephen King
Why can't anyone else hear the voices?
Donovan. A voice whispered softly, causing young Donovan Blackwood to freeze in place. It was that voice again, the same voice that had been plaguing his every waking moment. His voice. "No," the word fell from his lips in a whimper as he dropped his copy of I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. "No, not again."
Donovan, the voice repeated.
"No, get out! Get out of my head!" Donovan screamed. Yanking slightly at the ends of his hair, he placed his head between his knees and began rocking back and forth. "Make it stop," he whimpered from his spot in the dark corner of the room. "Please make it stop."
Donovan folded his arms and placed them on his knees, using them to support his heavy head. He rested there for a moment, catching his breath. Okay, just breathe, Donovan, he chanted. In and out. In and out. Sweat rolled down his face as he ran out of his bedroom and into the nearest bathroom, turning on the faucet and splashing his face with water. His labored breath eventually slowed down as he stared at his own reflection in the mirror.
He looked like hell. Or like he had just come back from it. His eyes were red, bloodshot. His hair stood up in every direction. His skin was as white as porcelain. But that wasn't what caught Donovan's eye.
As Donovan stood in front of the mirror, he noticed that his reflection's shoulders weren't heaving from labored breath like his were. It was as if the reflection had a mind of its own.
Its mouth opened slowly and that sickeningly familiar voice rang out. "You know what you have to do, right?"
The voice grew louder, forcing Donovan to cover his ears, a single tear sliding down his face. "No!" He screamed. "I won't do it! I can't!"
"You gotta do it, bro." The reflection shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
"I said 'no!'"
"Hey! Do you wanna get rid of me or not?" The reflection leaned forward, his voice dropping you a whisper. "Because I'll never leave. I will stay here and torment your pathetic ass for as long as you live."
Donovan's loud roar echoed throughout the tiny bathroom as his fist collided with the mirror, his reflection distorting around the shards of broken glass. After a moment, he released his hold on the sink, rifling through the drawers below the sink until he found exactly what he was looking for. "It has to stop." He whispered, clutching the pill bottle tightly in his hands. "It has to stop."
He hadn't expected to feel so numb, so cold. He just wanted the nightmare to end.
