We're All Insane (5SOS AU)

12

My breath escaped from me sharply as I hit the stone stairs over and over again. God, how long was this staircase?

To answer my silent question, I slammed into the floor and rolled one more time. Groaning, I touched my right elbow and hissed in pain. Nothing broken, but banged up enough to hurt a lot. My head pounded with every pulse of my heart and I closed my eyes to try to control it. I felt something heavy fall next to me, a noise emitting from it as it collided with the hard floor. I assumed it had to be Michael or Mia, but I didn't open my eyes yet.

"Reina?" My suspicions were confirmed when Michaels husky voice groaned beside me. I wanted to open my eyes now, but the ache in my head was getting worst and worst with every passing second. "Mia? Oh god, Mia!"

Panic surged through me and I forced my eyelids to open. We were on ground floor, the stairs looming darkly above us. I was sprawled near the edge of the last step, my hair tangled around me in a great wave. Trembling, I sat up with difficulty and looked around. Michael was kneeling next to a limp figure, a figure I knew was my beat up best friend. He was whispering to her over and over, asking her to open her eyes. Dread replaced panic and I dragged myself towards the two.

"... Please, wake up, Mia," Michael whimpered, a single tear rolling down his dirt covered cheeks. I scooted beside him and looked down at the unconscious girl on the floor. Her hair was wild around her, and a cut had reopened on her head, blood seeping from it at a rather alarming speed. Her leg was positioned at an angle that wasn't healthy, and her breathing was ragged and only came every once in awhile. Tears pricked my eyes and I sniffed.

"She's going to be fine, Michael," I tried reassuring him, but my voice gave away that even I didn't believe those words. He shook his head, his wild red hair dropping in front of his face. Wiping away the water from his face, he stood up and offered me his hand. I gingerly got to my feet, wincing when I moved my right arm. But I masked my pain with a blank look and gazed at my unconscious best friend.

"What are we going to do?" Michael murmured after five minutes of antagonizing silence. I shrugged and rubbed my face. I felt like crying, again, my chest tightening sharply and my eyes burning from the salty tears. But I couldn't. I had to try to stay strong, for Michael and for Mia. We needed to get out of here.

"Let's get Mia," I suggested, my hands dropping to my sides. My fingers found a hole in the upper thigh of my jeans, and started playing with the frays. "And then we'll try the exit again."

Michael nodded and immediately scooped Mia up, bridal style. I glanced at the nasty cut on her forehead again, and my hands found themselves ripping the bottom of my tank top. The thin fabric would barely do anything, but we had no other means of bandage. I folded it up into a neat rectangle and pressed gently against the bloody cut. Red immediately seeped through the dirty white cloth and I was concerned that it wouldn't last long.

"Come on, let's go," I urged. Michael followed me, carefully walking behind me. I was slowly walking, eyes darting in every direction in fear of being attacked again. "Okay, we're almost there. Be careful."

And, as usual, I jinx the entire situation. Just as we got steps away from freedom, shit hit the fan. The desk that sat in the opposite corner of the room shot out, dragging loudly over the concrete floor. I gasped and pushed Michael out of the way, the corner of the desk grazing his hip. Michael stumbled, but regained his footing a moment later. The desk, mocking us, settled right in front of the doors. I let out a sigh of frustration and looked around us.

"What do you want from us!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was livid. Anger coursed through me, and I only saw red. People say that anger is the worst emotion you could feel, and now I understood why. It felt like my insides were begging me to rip someones head off, like I wanted to smash everything in my way. My pyschology teachers words on anger played through my mind. Anger was produced by an obstacle, or hindrance that gets in our way, our goal, our purpose, belief. And right now, my sole purpose was saving my friends. "Why won't you let us go!"

"Reina," michael whispered beside me. I whipped my head towards him and saw a fearful expression clouding his face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired of being pushed around," I growled. Blood pounded in my head, coursing through my veins angrily. Memories of all the times at school I've cried into Luke's or Michael's shoulder played like a movie, a story that I didn't want to see. I didn't want to re-live the tragic story of my pitiful years of high school. I didn't want to see the way my parents bascially bullied me into studying subjects of their choice. That one blissful night appeared, the night I nearly escaped from all of this hell around me. And that intesnified my need to get out of here. "I'm tired of being the one who isn't strong enough. The one people whisper about in the hallways. Do you know how many times I caught people talking about me after I came back from the hospital? Do you know what I did? I was a coward and hid in the bathroom until lunch, then ditched school because I couldn't handle the fucked up rumors going around.

"This place has ruined our minds, Michael," I continued. The red head boy in front of stood stock still, eyes widened so they were the size of Jupiter. He looked frightened, and I had a feeling it wasn't because of the situation around us. "I'm not going to be bullied by dead things, Michael. I already have enough dead things haunting me outside of this damn place. And I'm done."

I don't know where the sudden anger and confidence came from. I had always been one to stay quiet and not speak my mind outside of my friends. But I guess all the pent up emotions from the past four years had finally gotten loose. All I needed was the push and I was gone.

I surged forward, daring the voice in my mind to try and stop me. I felt it go quiet, and the tension was almost unbearable. Then, seeing the way that I was going, it chuckled.

"You're never getting out of here deary," she whispered, her bodiless voice filled with venom. I ignored it and started pulling at the desk with all my might. It stayed in place, but that didn't stop.

"You'll never be good enough."

"You're will die because of your mistakes."

"You're weak."

My heels dug into the concrete, new found strength surging through my body as the awful words were being whispered into me. They were fueling the fire that had erupted inside me, my confidence growing with every tug I gave. The desk shifted slightly, but I didn't dare rejoice.

"You should be dead."

That was the last straw. With a small growl that was directed towards the bitch in my head. I pulled with every ounce of my body, sweat starting to drop down my body. I felt a presence next to me, and tried to ignore the warmth brushing against my right arm. I didn't feel any pain, no emotion except determination and fury.

One second I was struggling to move it a millimeter. But the next, I was flown back, taking the desk with me. I landed on my butt, wincing at the impact. Michael grunted next to me, leaning against the desk with heavy pants. Sweat dropped down his already grimy face, leaving trails through the dirt. Our breaths were in synch with each other, heavy and fast.

"Come on, hurry," I ordered, scrambling to stand up. He looked exhausted, but hoisted Mia back into his arms and ran with me to the exit. Three feet... Two feet... One foot...

The doors flew open from the force of my pull, and I stopped momentarily winded from what was in front of me.

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A/N: hello my baby snowflakes!

So, this is a very emotional chapter for me to write. It does have some personal experiences, experiences that I always tried to block out. I wrote Reina's feelings based on my own, so I apologize for that.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love every single one of you. You're all very special and unique, and that's the main reason I call you snowflakes. Thank you for being you, even if I don't know you.

Enough with the heavy, on to other announcements! There are only a few more chapters left in this book, which saddens me deeply. I loved writing this story, and I for regret posting it. Thank you for reading it and commenting it, it means the entire world to me.

Question of the day: have you ever been in love?

Lots of love, babies :) I'll see y'all Thursday!