Crazy on the Inside

Chapter Twenty Five

"Jerome?" I called out, "Hey, come back! Please?" I became silent for a few moments, trying to listen for any kind of noise outside of this room. I couldn't hear a thing. You've got to be kidding me. Again, I tried to get up from the oh-so-comfortable bed. And, just like before, I was met with the blinding pain coming from my leg. With a sharp inhale of breath, I sat up and propped myself upright on my elbows. For the first time, I took a look around the whole room. Right next to my bed, there was a stand with a simple lamp and the glass of water on it. More to the left, there was a huge four paned window. Continuing, there was a black marble fireplace tucked into the wall. There was a mirror above the fireplace, and a painting by Picasso or something. Other then that, the room was quite plain. The walls were a dark color, just like the bed. It was also quite dark in here, the few shadows that were cast around created some cool forms in the corners.

After a moment, a very interesting thought popped into my head. I shouldn't be here. That was finally occurring to me now. I could be, and I most likely already am, in complete danger. I couldn't stay here with Jerome! What was I thinking? With another intake of breath, I moved my body to the edge of the bed.

Harley. What is going on with you tonight? You were taught to take pain at the academy. Why is this so difficult for you? Get your ass up and get out. Force down the pain in your leg.

"Hey... you're right," I whispered, "I can do this." Counting to three, I prepared myself to stand.

"One.... T-two...... Three!" I pushed off the bed and onto my legs. Trying my hardest to ignore the fiery pain in my leg, I hobbled as best as I could towards the door. I reached it within minutes, which was kind of surprising to me. Silently, I turned the handle and opened the door. "What the hell?" I said to myself. You see, what I was looking at was not a living room, or even a bathroom. Instead, I saw a very colorful box that seemed to have neither a shape nor an end. I was about to shut the door and just head back to the bed when out of nowhere, I was being pushed into the swirling room.

Down, down, I fell. And fell. And fell some more. It seemed like I was dropping for an eternity, until I finally splashed into what I hoped was a big pool of water. Opening my eyes once I broke the surface, I looked down to see that indeed the substance was like blood. Or some type of red liquid; "Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww." I let out a groan. Do you ever get a really bad feeling about a place where you shouldn't be? Because my feelings as of right now. Was I dreaming all of this up? No, I couldn't have been. I looked up to the... ceiling... and I noticed that it was a long way up. Wanting to get out of this substance, I screamed, "FUCK YOU, JEROME! WHERE THE FUCK AM I? I HATE YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" Nothing. Letting out an exasperated groan, I mentally wished that a magical staircase would appear. Leading to anywhere but here. Closing my eyes and trying to clear my mind, I heard a strange noise. Slowing my breathing, I concentrated on the noise. The sound was like someone was building something. Opening my eyes, I looked around. "Wicked..." I mumbled. About three hundred feet away, there was a white quartz staircase leading, well, up. I swam over and pulled myself onto the first step. I started to climb it, and I looked down at myself. I wasn't wet at all, and my leg seemed to be healed. There wasn't blood, or even a scratch. What was going on? Continuing on I started to climb the stairs. I didn't care where it lead, as long as it was away from that substance.