Chapter Three: Going Mad

My body jolting from panic wakes me from my sleep suddenly, my eyes snapping open, my body dripping with sweat and my breathing fast, I look around my surroundings frantically and soon realise, I was laying in the spare bedroom of my parents house, a room which used to be mine when I lived here.

Placing my shaking hand to my forehead, I begin to try and remember how on earth I got here, I didn’t remember seeing my parents at all, let alone falling to sleep in their spare bedroom! Through my attempts to remember anything that happened, the distant sounds of voices seeming to come from downstairs filled my ears.

The closer I listened the more I began to recognise some, two were the worried voices of my parents, my mother seeming to panic the most as she frantically, asked questioned to whoever was also in the room. Throwing my legs over the side of the bed realising trying to force my brain to remember what happened wasn’t working, I draw closer to the slightly opened bedroom door and soon recognise another voice within the group, Jake, he didn’t seem to offer much to the conversation but gave the odd comment when asked.

There was a fourth voice though but one my confused and tired mind didn’t recognise, I reach the bedroom door and continued to walk slowly onto the upper landing of the house to not interrupt their conversation until I knew what was happening. Spotting the white staircase which led into their open plan living room, I see each person down below.

As I heard, my parents and Jake were together, my mother holding onto my father tightly looking as though she’d been crying, Jake sat on one of the sofas with his head down seeming to be a mixture of confused and worried while who I didn’t recognise at first, a police officer, stood in the centre of the group of them seeming to ask the questions.

“W-what’s going to happen now, what if those individuals who did this and killed all of those people try to come for our daughter because she saw them?!” Was my mother’s next question as she looked to the officer so afraid, at first, I was left utterly confused on what she meant… before the memories hit me like a ton of bricks.

The most horrific images of all that I’d seen as I walked through that door began to flash so fast in my mind, I backed up and somewhat fell to the floor in a heap. The fear I had felt when I raced out of that building igniting in my stomach again and forcing that panic-stricken attack to grip so fast and tight onto my chest, the overwhelming feeling that I was about to pass out for the second time floating to my brain.

But through that same panic, the moment those mesmerising ocean blue eyes filled my vision, it was as though it acted as a sort of remedy to the panic, even though I was no longer standing in this mysterious but dangerous man’s presence, the image of his eyes and the way the colours swirled in the most vivid way, it slowed my heart rate and breathing slightly, who was this man?

“Ivory?” Jake’s voice from downstairs seemed to ask before the sounds of his loud footsteps walking up my parent’s oak staircase sounded before long, he stood right in front of me as my back rested against the wall.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now.” He reassured me getting to the ground and wrapping his arms around me for a hug, even though I was still utterly terrified with all I’d remembered, the image of those eyes in my mind prevented my body from falling into a deeper panic.

“W-what happened?” Was all I could seem to ask not fully understanding how I got from falling unconscious outside of that shop to being in my parents' house.

“I found you panicking in the middle of the market after I had gone to get our coffees, I ran over to you hoping to know what happened as a… disfigured body of a man flew through the window right beside us. You passed out instantly so I knew I would need to take you to safety, so I brought you to your parents' house.” Jake began to explain everything which had happened after I passed out and how I ended up here, while the presence of that police officer downstairs worried my already panicked brain.

“They don’t think I did that do they… I didn’t!” I began to panic further knowing how all of this looked, I for some reason walk into a building and find a bunch of people dead in there.

“No, of course they don’t Ivory, the police are here to just get an understanding of what you saw, in case you can be of any help to finding these people.” Jake once again reassured me while his hand ran so gently over my cheek, after taking a moment to calm down as much as I could, I allow Jake to help me to walk down the staircase where this intimidating policeman stood watching me.

“Hello Miss Howard, my name is PC Edward Cunning, I understand this entire day has been beyond confusing and frightening to you, but you may hold the answers to some of the questions we have surrounding this incident. Ensuring not only your safety but each person in this town and bringing those who inflicted this heinous act upon these men are brought to justice.” The policeman began to explain giving a somewhat disclaimer as I reached the bottom and took a seat on one of my parent's sofa’s, Jake soon right beside me.

“Can you first explain to me what led you into that building, your friend Jake here was explaining how the pair of you planned to meet for coffee and as he went to collect them, you were gone?” The man asked pulling out a notebook and pen looking over to me, but with this question, it came with a lot of uncertainty for me.

I knew very well what drew me to walk into that building but such a thing I didn’t understand, and I know for certain; this man and my family are going to either believe I’m lying or completely losing my mind!

“I-I don’t know, I was waiting for Jake when I saw the door open to that building and I-I think curiosity got the better of me and I walked in.” My shaky voice began to explain in part of had led me over to that door, I couldn’t outright say I was following the most intoxicating smell I had ever encountered before!

“Okay, once you entered the building who and what did you see?” Was the next question this officer asked seeming to not fully like my first answer but didn’t push it, where instantly, that man and his beautiful eyes filled my vision once again but of course, I couldn’t tell anyone that side either.

“There were a couple of men inside the building that I’d never seen before and… blood...” I began to explain seeing an image of the man with those blue eyes so clearly in my mind before the real horror that I’d seen played out and my entire body began to shake so uncontrollable again.

“That is enough! I understand and appreciate you are simply doing your job officer but as you stated, today has been the scariest day for my daughter and as her father, I need to ensure she is not put through even more stress. When she feels better and at a place where she can speak about her experience, I will take her to the station myself but right now, I am asking you to leave.” My father who looked beyond angry to watch me visibly shake in front of him out of fear, even though this officer wanted to protest my fathers request, I believe even he could see speaking to me in this moment wouldn’t offer him anymore leads.

“Very well, my office will be in touch but if you Ivory, remember anything else, give me a call.” The annoyed officer spoke reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card, my hands much too shaky to grasp it so Jake did it for me.

Watching as my mother and father led the officer to the door, my throat felt beyond dry and begged for me to get a glass of water, leaving Jake on the sofa reading the card, I make my way into the kitchen in hopes of sourcing this water.

The sounds which echoed from that room the moment I walked into building which my mind at the time ignored, now begin to swirl around my head so incredibly fast, I was forced to abandon my mission to grab a glass of water and placed my hands down on the sink in front of the large window of my parents house which looked deeper into the woods.

Our town wasn’t only tiny, it was in the middle of completely nowhere, most even forget our town exists as it sat in the middle of a large forest. Such a forest I had wanted to enter so many times but due to the warnings of many elders in this town, not a single towns person enters too far in, perhaps to the first clearing.

Closing my eyes facing the sink in hopes of combating those same odd but terrifying noises which pounded my head, the intense feelings of eyes seeming to burn holes in my head break through. At first, I completely ignored it, my body was much too focused on replaying the terrifying events of the day as though it was the next big block buster to care. But the moment my stomach seemed to flip slightly, as though it knew what was staring at us and was getting giddy in some way, I lift my head up and stare out into the huge line of trees at the end of my parent's garden gate.

Not much stood out to me, due to the time of year, the world is plunged in darkness much earlier so aside from the trees at the front, I couldn’t see anything. Allowing my eyes to wander around each area as though it would instinctively, know where to look, I felt that feeling in the pit of my stomach begin to grow and grow.

Just as I felt my eyes would soon land on the very thing it had been searching for, a noise of another walking into the kitchen allows me to jump back and whip my head to the doorway. Finding Jake, holding his hands out in a sad manner feeling somewhat guilty for making me jump, I place my hand to my heart in hopes of calming myself down.

“I didn’t mean to make you jump; I wanted to come in and check everything was okay after...” Jake said as though he had to explain himself, where I sent him a forced smile taking a deep breath in.

“I think I’m okay… nothing that has happened today has made any sense; I’m worried I’m going mad.” I said feeling that same fear at the pit of my stomach ignite before tears pricked my eyes as I looked up at my friend.

“Of course you aren’t Ivory, today has been so much for everyone in town to handle, what happened in that building was…but don’t worry, you just need to take some time to process and soon, you’ll be okay again, I promise.” Jake reassured me walking closer pulling me into another hug, leaning into him with my eyes closed, I hoped he was right.

But for the man who’d already made his claim of me in that building and was now watching furiously, as this man touched what he believed was his… by sunset tomorrow, I would no longer be in the safety of my parents house but sucked into a world I didn’t even know existed.