Through the Portal

Chapter Ten: Madness

Time seemed to grow to a snail's pace. Matpat charged at King Jason, but Scott stomped in front and took the impact. They crashed into the wall, causing Scott's helmet to tumble off, revealing a scarred up dark brown haired man. Scott tried to reach for his sword, but Matpat slammed the bat against Scott's face, causing blood to spray everywhere.

As everyone backed away, with Matthew still trying to break his binds, Stephanie used this opportunity to thrash about.

"Stay still you little-"King Jason could feel his grip loosening.

With one final tug, Stephanie broke free.

"Sizzling rain!" She shouted while raising her hands above her head.

A purplish cloud began to form above King Jason. He tried to get away, but a clear liquid began to rain down on him. The man screeched as the odor of burning cloth and flesh filled the room.

Steph shielded her face from the mess. This couldn't be her other self. This had to be an imposter. She could never kill a man, no matter how cruel he was! And her Matthew, he couldn't have done what he just did. This had to be one gigantic nightmare.

Jason saw Steph shaking. He took a deep breath and took a step towards the mess. However, he decided to leave the witch alone for now. It sent shivers down his spine when he saw the witch killing his other self.

Matpat kept pounding away. Scott's face was a grotesque mess. Both of his eyes were swollen shut, several teeth were chipped, and a mixture of darkening bruises and crimson blood smeared his face. Yet the funny thing was, Matpat couldn't stop. No, he didn't want to stop. Nothing else in the world mattered to him now. Only the body and baseball bat in front of him.

Matthew could feel bile rise from the back of his throat, "He's completely lost it." He muttered under his breath.

Jason gritted his teeth, "How do I stop him?"

Matthew chuckled, "How am I to know? The madness never truly caught me."

When Matpat swung the bat backwards, Jason took a deep breath and took hold of the bat. His stomach churned when blood slid against his fingers.

"Stop this, Mat you need to stop!" Jason shouted.

Matpat turned his gaze to Jason, causing his employee's blood to turn ice cold. There was no trace of the boss he mildly tolerated. His eyes were almost obsidian.

Jason broke his gaze to check on Steph. She was placing the cat gently down on the couch cushion. Her figure was a leaf in a wind storm.

"Matt, if you're not going to do this for yourself," Jason turned back to Matpat, "do this for Steph! What do you think will happen to her if you don't snap out of this madness!?"

Matpat blinked. The sickening adrenaline slowly drifted away. Stephanie, he finally focused his attention at Steph who was pulling Stephanie away from a pile of ashes. All the color seemed to have left her. He looked down at his crimson hands and flinched. He then turned to look at his victim and his face turned completely white.

"What did I just do?" He whispered.

"It's over, just put the bat down. We're okay, everything is...okay." Jason said.

The bat clattered to the floor and Matpat stood. His legs felt like they were filled with cement.

They made their way to the two Stephanies. However, once the door was in sight, he bolted for the bathroom. He wanted, no, he needed to get every last bit of Scott off of him.

While in the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was wild and his eyes seemed a bit darker than usual. He splashed hot water into his face and looked again.

"Keep it together," Matpat said, his grip on the sink's edged tightened, "you need to keep it together. You are not a monster, you are not a monster."

Yet the image of Scott's body stood out in his mind. He didn't even need to blink to see every detail.

No, the other me is the psycho, it was self defense. It was self defense.

Tears trickled down his cheeks. Matpat gritted his teeth and slammed a fist down on the countertop.

"Get a grip! You...you aren't a monster."

A chuckle escaped his lips. Matpat's eyes widened and he instantly covered his mouth. Another image of Scott's body entered his mind, and another laugh trickles out of his mouth, then another, and another.

Matpat took a deep breath and stared intensely at his reflection in the mirror. The intense feelings from pummeling Scott's body flood his mind. Anger, glee, satisfaction, Matpat loved it. He grinned, he wanted to feel those feelings again.

"M-Matthew, we're having a meeting." Steph called.

Matpat exhaled, turned off the water, and fixed his hair. "I'm coming!"