Madhouse Book Novels & Stories

She couldn’t stay here. Not even another night. Her body moved on instinct as she rushed upstairs, nearly stumbling into the bedroom. The room looked the same as it had this morning. Her half-finished laundry was still there, the bed still made, while sunlight filtered through the curtains in soft, indifferent beams. Marcie’s breath hitched. How could the world look so normal when everything inside her was collapsing? She went straight to the closet and yanked it open. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed a suitcase from the floor. The zipper sounded too loud in the quiet room.

I looked at the car plate number in the image, and its car plate number was the same as the one in my memory. I remembered. And here I was thinking why it looked so familiar. It was Hans and his family. When I finally reached home, I didn't care about anything and quickly made my way to Hans' home. I kept on feeling that if I was a little slower, something bad was going to happen and it was not a result I could accept. And that was the truth. I kept on banging on the door with as much strength as I could muster. The sounds attracted the neighbors nearby and they all came to ask me what was happening. I cried as I answered, "My mother-in-law sold Cara to Hans!"

I could see Madison through the window, getting down from her car and walking towards the library, she was on a call with—Me. Then she marched right into the store, setting the boxes and opening them, books after books were placed on the floor while still talking to me. Then something moved like a shadow-but heavier, denser and I gulped, I know I can’t reach out to Madison to alert her of the danger, it has already happened and I can’t change that. I remained still and watched carefully, the creature’s presence made the air tighten and the light flicker, even in the quiet warmth of the bookstore.

“Sorry to say, but running for my life kicked my ass. I passed out on the couch.” I frowned, pulling the book across the counter to me as Matt kept pulling stuff out of the cabinets. “A bookstore?” He hummed. I skimmed the cover. “Potion Efficacy for the Everday…” He hummed. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that it was more of a potions textbook than a recipe book, though a lot of the dishes were ones that Matt had made. The beef stew from the night before was inside. I scanned the pages, noting Matt’s handwriting in the margins and all the sticky notes that had been added. My lips twitched. Hadn't he brought home books from college like this?

And the fact that a book her mother had left her was sending her these Weird messages was even more strange. She decided not to follow the orders she had been given and went to the bathroom. As she left, the book vibrated and turned into a murky red color, the golden lining turned black and it emitted a very disturbing aura. As she took a shower, the book became more and more agitated. Like it was waiting for something.

My living had been turn upside down, and my staffs stood there powerlessly, there faces buried toward the ground. Jax was sitting on the sofa facing the entrance, holding a book I had left on the table earlier before going out. I walked forward and the damages got clearer; vases broken across the floor, and one of my favorite portraits shattered to the ground, with its frame resting by the wall. “The Unwelcome One,” he read from the book’s cover, slowly. “By Martin Crowns.” He looked up, at me, and I walked closer to him. “What’s the deal with you? Why causing all this mess in my abode?” I said slowly and my voice shaking—like I’d poured all my seriousness into that statement.

When Anise shut her suitcase, there was a drizzle outside. Liam was packing the last few of his books in the living room. When he noticed Anise gazing absently at the rain outside, he approached and ruffled her hair, “Think you’ll miss this place?” Anise shook her head faintly before sweeping a look over the modest apartment she had been living in for the past six months. Liam's succulent plants were arranged in a row on the balcony. There was also the floral apron she bought, still hanging in the kitchen. There were two books about medicine and project planning, respectively, set side by side on the table.

I wasn’t sure if it was real, or another memory the miasma was forcing me to see. My heart hammered hard as I stepped closer. Something shifted at the base of the trunk. A small, old, weathered brown book was partially buried in the ground. It was the same journal Maureen had written in during the visions shown by the miasma. This was the blood-soaked journal she kept in her final days in the Void. My fingers trembled as I reached for it and the leaves above me rustled. A low growl rattled the air. I barely lifted my head before a towering magical beast lunged from behind the tree, its maw open wide, teeth glistening with black venom and everything erupted into chaos.

The servants thought I had enchanted Dominic with some kind of potion. In truth, I had. During my time in the mental health institute, I thoroughly studied the pills I took every day. After moving into the mansion, I ground various pills into powder. I secretly mixed them with food and fed them to Dominic. I felt a rush of excitement every time I prepared the medication. I felt like an all-powerful magician. I poured the mixture into Dominic’s seafood porridge. “What are you doing?”