The Fearful Institute

Halloween Insanity

October, the month where skeletons are hung on doors to scare off the kids wanting candy in their little pumpkin bowls. The month where romantic couples watch Dracula, and where little kids get a good scare from their older siblings story telling. But at the Insane Asylum in the middle of nowhere, the kids still sit in the corners of rooms, hide under the covers on beds, and wait for a meal to be served to them, for they're too lost in the mind to get up and feed them. Aleks sits out on one of the crumbling balconies and waits for someone to rescue him. He's avoiding Eddie as much as he can right now, his brain is pounding of medicine and his secret he told him last night. Purple bags rest under his eyes; they're sagging down his entire face making him look at least five years older than he really is. His lips are dry and the edges by his finger nails are red and swollen from the constant picking at the nail. He's close to having his nails bleed, he's scratched them down so low that it's like he took a nail file and shoved it between his nail and finger ripping it apart. He watches all the people below him wander around in the garden that's finally starting to grow some modest carrots and pumpkins. Speaking of pumpkins, Aleks heard downstairs that they're going to have an activity day on Halloween day, and then go outside for a big surprise on Halloween night. That's not on his agenda at the moment, or any time soon with the mood he's in right now. It's chilly to everyone else, he knows that from their body language. The four girls in the farthest right corner of the backyard are all huddling together to get warm, coughing warm breath into their glove covered hands; sharing germs.

He hears footsteps slithering around from behind him in his bedroom that's shared with two other girls; twins. They don't sound like footsteps from little tap shoes of a twelve-year-old red haired twin. It's more the type of sound, or a teenage boy or an older man. Aleks somewhat turns around and looks into his bedroom from the corner of his left eye. All he sees are his white see-through curtains blowing into the bedroom from the slight crispy breeze of fall wind. But then he feels a hand curl around his shoulder, it's wrapped inside a warm black and leather glove, a tattoo is on the middle finger right under the nail; an anchor. Aleks sets his hand on top of the unknown's hand, he has a pretty good idea who this unknown might be. Eddie shows up in his sight and sits down on the tiny stool in front of the couch chair Aleks is sitting in. The tattoo wasn't there before; it's brand new to his skin. How did he manage to sneak out of this place and get that, and for what reason?

"How did you get that?" Aleks asks and looks up at Eddie.

"I snuck out last night and went to the closest tattoo shop, it's a lot easier than it seems."

"What's the point of it? He asks.

"It means that I have an anchor, a certain person keeping me together, refusing to let me fall apart, they just don't show it, and they refuse to." He explains.

 "Who exactly is your anchor?" Aleks asks.

"Someone who will never realize how much they mean to me." He whispers in his ear.

The difference between pain and the truth is that when someone tells the truth they can be forgiven, but when they just bring you pain and misery...it's an automatic punch in the chest, ripping your heart out and never giving it back, refusing to let you find love once again. There's nothing more painful to Aleks than seeing Eddie act like such a terrifying monster in front of his eyes. He's never felt so scared of someone before, Eddie is someone he wants to care about, but then reality keeps hitting him, pulling him away. Eddie is a murderer, a monster that was spat out from hell and has been put on a task to ruin lives, burn hearts. Maybe that's just Aleks' sanity talking, maybe he needs to trust the part of him that's black, where his veins are purple, infected. The side of him that's wants to take a knife to everyone's necks, his very own monster that's purring at him to be unleashed.

"I'm scared to let go of the only sane thing I have, denial." Aleks states and Eddie looks down at him, he looks angry but he really isn't. The tips of his fingers drag down Aleks' arm and he bends his legs down, kissing his shoulder.

"Let that denial go, and take in the acceptance that you're not normal. And to me that's the best damn thing about you, fox."