Insanes

Chapter 3

I spent the next two days trying to decide what clothes to bring. I won't need much because half the time, you have to wear these uniforms so you don't "stand out." Basically, they're white polo shirts and black plaid skirts (regular black pants for boys, though skirts would be funny) with white knee high socks and black dress shoes. I always wear my black converse instead because I cannot stand those shoes.

I open my closet and look at the mountain of clothes I never organized. I groan and start rummaging through everything, tossing shirts and pants into three piles: Yes, no, and maybe. When I get through all my clothes, I look behind me and see that there's only two piles now. The yes pile had only a few shirts and pairs of skinny jeans and the maybe pile has the rest of my closet in it. I pick up everything from the maybe pile and throw it back in my closet and examine the few clothes from the yes pile.

I picked my black and white Fall Out Boy shirt, a few plain shirts, some black, purple, blue, and white skinny jeans and my favorite dress of all time. It was a strapless black lace dress that went down to my knees with a sweetheart neckline and had white ribbons lacing up the back and tied into a loose bow. It was layered with black fabric at the bottom and had white ribbons around my waist and laced up the front. I picked it up and held it against myself. I looked in the mirror and smiled. It's been too long since I've worn this.

I threw off my pajamas and climbed into the dress and let my hair fall down past my shoulders in loose curls. My hair was black with white streaks here and there and matched the dress perfectly. I then went to my jewelry box and picked up the necklace Thorn gave me. It was a key with a black gemstone in the shape of a heart and had my name engraved on the back. I pulled it over my head and let it fall onto my chest. I took another look at myself in the mirror when I heard my door open.

"Ana?" Ella's face poked around the side of my door and she smiled. "Wow, you look amazing!"

I laughed a little and smiled back. "Thanks Ella. Once I grow out of it, you can have it."

Her face lit up. "Really? Thanks Ana!" She ran up and hugged me. I would do anything to keep her happy, even if it means giving up my favorite dress.

She looked up at me, her face serious now. "When I'm older, will I have to go to the Clinic?" I've been expecting this question for a while. I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Hopefully you won't have to, but if you start experiencing the Whispers-" At that moment, my mind started filling up with the unintelligible words, spoken as if they're distant yet so close at the same time. I cover my ears as if that would help, but it only made it worse. I started to panic and look for my meds. Ella was looking at me as if she's never seen this happen before.

"It's okay, Ella. I'll be fine... Just go to your room for a bit." She ran out of my room. The whispers kept getting louder and louder as I kept rummaging for my meds. I found the bottle, but it was empty. I cursed under my breath and ran downstairs.

"Mom? Mom!" I found her in her study and when she saw my face, she immediately stopped what she was doing.

"Meds.. Bottle's empty.." She went quickly to the kitchen and started looking through cabinets and drawers. I leaned against the wall and sank down into a ball, my hands still covering my ears. I started feeling dizzy and felt like I was going to hurl. My vision started distorting when my mom shoved the pills in my mouth and made me swallow them with water. She sat there with me, squeezing my hand tightly and wiping tears from my eyes. As the whispers started fading, I started feeling better and I sighed.

"Thanks mom. That's the worst they've ever been..." She gave me a worried look and kissed my forehead. I sniffled a bit and stood up, almost losing my balance because I was still a bit dizzy. She helped me to the counter and I sat in a chair. She handed me some water and I took a sip.

"Anastasia, I really think it's for the best that you go back to the Clinic. They can help you get rid of the Whispers."

"I know, Mom. I just hate that place. The things they do to people if they don't get cured... I've seen things no one else wants to see. Heard things no one wants to hear." I looked down and twiddled my thumbs. I heard my mom sigh.

"You'll be fine. When you feel better, go back upstairs and keep packing." With that, she went back to her study. I drank the rest of my water and headed back upstairs to see Ella sitting on my bed, holding my phone.

"Hey Ella, what're you doing?" She looked up and showed me the screen. There was an anonymous message that said:

"Hello Anastasia. You're probably wondering who I am, but that is not important. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be seeing you very soon and that Thorn is not going to be yours for much longer. Better watch your back, Ana. I'll be watching."

I looked up at Ella, her eyes clouded with worry and confusion. Well, add that to one more thing I have to worry about.

Well, here's chapter 3. It may be all over the place but it's all gonna make more sense soon. So peace till then