Mental (Complete)

Junior

Air is pulled so quickly into my panicked lungs that I nearly choke on it. I trip and stumble across the room, using the walls to keep myself from dropping to the floor. I feel both energized and exhausted all at once. I must look crazy as my gaze flickers around the room repeatedly. There's no explanation for what's happened. I'm entirely alone, and yet, on the floor just feet away is proof that something else resides in this chamber with me.

"Everything alright in here?" a voice says from my side, and my bones nearly explode out of my skin.

I'm shaking all over, unable to speak or move. My neck protests at the sudden painful jolt as I twist my head towards the door. Judith stands waiting for an answer, concern etched into her pencil-drawn brows. I just swing my head side-to-side, speech not an option at this point.

"You okay?" she asks after watching me for a few seconds.

I don't look at her. I'm too busy searching the room for any signs of the demon who left that note. I'm shaken to the very core, and my spine feels like jello. All I want is to melt into my bed and sleep for the next three days, but that won't happen. Sleep is just a fantasy now.

"What happened?" Judith tries again, gently placing her hand on my bony shoulder. Her touch pulls me from my trance and I manage to offer a tight smile—one filled with doubt.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I mutter, once again allowing my gaze to return to its task of searching the room. My hands reach behind me, and I slowly retreat until I feel the softness of the wall at my back.

With a full view of the room and Judith's steady presence beside me, I'm almost safe. But my thoughts keep dancing around the three little words carved into the matting of the floor.

"Who's Johnny?" I ask suddenly, the question obviously throwing Judith off, but then she laughs. It's a soft laugh, not quite humorless, but still lacking the lighthearted amusement that should accompany it.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she says with a teasing smile, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Silence settles between us, but our gazes hold tight to each other. She's still smiling, but I seem to have forgotten how to do so. My lips are tight, puckered with annoyance as my brain strains to understand. I'm trying to put pieces together, but I know so little information.

"He's dead, isn't he?" I hear myself asking.

The nurse's lips flatten, and she's shaking her head side-to-side before she even answers. "Not yet."

No other words are spoken after that until Judith turns to leave the room. My panicked request has her stopping to face me once more.

"Can you leave the lights on tonight?"

She offers a pitying smile and dips her head briefly with a stiff nod. "I'll see what I can do."

Hope blooms to life beneath my chest, and remains there until an hour later... when the lights shut off.

My wide eyes stare into the darkness, working to make out the difference between the dead and the living. Everything seems still. There are no unwanted creatures slinking into the room and gazing at me with empty eyes. There's no blood-covered woman whispering threats into my ears.

After nearly two hours of quiet, my body begins to relax. I can still feel my heart beating its solid fist against my ribcage, but with time, it begins to lose momentum. Finally, I'm calm enough to let my eyes drift closed. Without any odd sounds echoing through the room, I eventually feel the edges of a dream clouding my mind.

But I can't let go.

My eyes flutter open, and a heat that's slowly begun to gather in my chest reminds me how irritated I've grown. I haven't slept in nearly two days. All I want is rest, but my body refuses to let me sleep.