A Little Insane: The Dark Prince

Chapter One - The Beginning Of The End

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   Hart was drowning in red water. Every time he reached the surface to breathe, a large wave would dip him back in. His lungs were starting to get painfully desperate. His stomach felt tight, his lungs felt like they were being squeezed by strong hands.

He swam up once more and popped his head out of the water, breathing in quickly as another tormenting wave crashed over him. Under the water, everything looked so peaceful. He almost wanted to stay under and not come up for air, where a strange storm was brewing.

A dark figure in the water suddenly appeared under him and made his lungs kick, forcing him to swallow the red water. The water tasted metallic; it was blood.

Something grabbed him and pulled him down. He felt many pairs of hands touching him, then hundreds of dead people began to float up from the abyss. He screamed as an arm went around his neck and saw that it was Riley, all rotten and dead.

Hart struggled to free himself, but it was almost impossible. More blood was entering his lungs and he was starting to give in. As his body went numb and the blood ocean became still, Riley came up in front of him. His eyes were white and empty. He couldn't see what color his skin was in the red water, but he could see that it had decayed with bones showing through his cheeks.

“Help . . . me!” said Riley's corpse.

Hart screamed and woke up from the nightmare, breathing heavily as he tried to focus on reality. He kept telling himself he wasn't drowning and that Riley wasn't with him. It was all just a dream. His heart was pounding hard and he was sweating, but he was calming down very quickly.

He heard footsteps downstairs, followed by a crashing noise.

“WHAT THE HELL!” Seraphina screamed.

Hart closed his eyes and entered his sister's head, connecting their minds. He saw Nicholas bent over, picking up what looked like glass. Seraphina was standing over him with anger in her eyes, but Nicholas was trying to hold his laughter. In the other side of the room, Annetta was also trying not to laugh. She had her arms crossed, looking at Nicholas like she knew that would happen.

He opened his eyes again and laid back down on his damp bed, staring at the empty space beside him. He kept seeing flashes of the red water and all of the dead bodies of the people he had killed. His mind still felt like it was in the dream and he couldn't help feeling weak. He forced himself to get up again and toss the blankets in the hamper. He removed his sweaty clothes as he walked towards the bathroom, walking straight into the shower. He stood under the warm water for what seemed forever before someone knocked on his bathroom door. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself.

When he opened the door, Nicholas rushed inside and closed the door, locking it.

“Help me!” he whispered.

The two words sent him back to the dream and he was watching Riley again. The fact that he just came out of the shower didn't help make the dream feel less real, it made it seem like it was actually happening.

But then his sister unlocked the bathroom door with her power and she slowly opened it, staring straight at Nicholas.

“Really? Do you think Hart is going to protect you from me or something? Do you not realize who you're hiding from?” she said, tapping her foot on the ground. “Clean the fucking kitchen, Nicholas.”