Our Perfect Insanity

ChApTeR FoUr

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
~Edgar Allan Poe

I blearily opened my eyes, peering around my living room.

I had fallen asleep in my chair in the living room, after Ariel had left. Now, it was morning, and I didn't feel like going into work today, but, I would have too.

I pulled myself up and out of my chair, examining the room only to have quite a peculiar sigh meet my eyes.

There was a white rose laying across my dining room table, though the rose looked like someone had gently coated it in dark red paint. I walked slowly over to it, and lifted it carefully off the table, raising it to eye level.

The red paint dripped down the white petals of the rose, and ran down my hand, dripping onto my dark, wooden table. At first, it reminded me of something out of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, painting white roses red, but, then I leaned forwards and smelt the flower.

I recoiled slightly, dropping the white rose onto the table and looking at it in disgust.

That wasn't paint.

I stared at the blood covered rose, my heart pounding in my chest.

What on Earth does Ariel think she’s doing? What does she mean by giving me a blood covered white rose?

I looked down at the stem of the rose, and noticed that there was a note tied to it, with a white lace ribbon.

I untied the card from the ribbon, being quite careful not to touch the blood, seeing as there was already enough of it on my hand. I glanced around the room, making sure I was alone, before I looked down at the card.

Jonathan,

I thought I would leave a token of my insanity in your possession. I don't think you want to know whose blood that it is on the rose, but, you will find out as soon as you get into work today, where I shall be waiting, in my cell, for our meeting.

~Ariel

I read the note over again, my stomach turning.

Who had Ariel killed? Whose blood was on this rose, staining my table?

I felt my heart begin to pound as a frightening thought crossed my mind.

Maybe it was Kathryn's? Ariel didn't kill Kathryn, did she?

Quickly, I walked into the kitchen, washing my hands and getting rid of the blood, before I snatched up my keys from on the counter and rushed over to the door.

I tugged on my coat before I rushed out the door and down the hall, down the stairs and out the front door of my apartment building. I got in my car, a white Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and drove off towards O'Neil Mental Asylum.

My mind was whirling as I parked my car, jumping out and rushing into the Asylum.

I ran down the halls until I turned a corner, seeing Dr. Bell standing there, a horrified look on her face. She saw me, and ran over to me, taking me by the shoulders and steering me away from where she had been standing, by the cell that the patient 'Bruce' was in.

"Oh, Jonathan, thank God you're alright…" Kathryn said, and I stared at her in a mix of fear and confusion.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

Dr. Bell shook her head, glancing behind her to the cell, a look of disgust on her face.

"The good news is that Ariel's back in custody." Kathryn told me.

I took a deep breath.

"…and the bad news?" I inquired.

Kathryn took a deep breath before taking my wrist, dragging me towards the cell that she had previously been standing in front of.

I looked inside, my eyes widened in shock, my stomach turning in disgust.

Bruce was hanging from the light in the ceiling, the rope tied around his neck at one end, and the cage that protected the light at the other. He was drenched in blood, and his shirt had been ripped off.

His bare chest had cuts in it, cuts forming words written somehow in Ariel's handwriting, the same writing as the note I had found this morning.

Succumb to the madness

The whole cell was covered with Bruce's blood, splattered across the walls and floor, even the ceiling. Though on the wall, the blood looked like it was painted onto the walls, forming words as well.

Different phrases.

Madness

Blood

Insanity

Death

Ariel had killed Bruce, trying to persuade me to 'succumb to the madness'. I felt sick, technically, it was my fault that this man was murdered.

Bruce’s glassy, lifeless eyes seemed to stare into my own, as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"She did this." I growled, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.

Kathryn looked at me, alarmed.

"Who did this?" She questioned.

I looked over at her, silently pleading that she would believe me, that she would understand that I was telling the truth.

She has to. This is getting out of hand.

"Ariel… she did this, she killed him." I said quietly.

Kathryn's eyes widened, before she shook her head. I felt my hope crumble, she needed to believe me, and I wasn't crazy. I looked around; there was no one in the hall except for Kathryn and I.

"Kathryn, you need to believe me." I said, taking her firmly by the shoulders.

She looked up at me, fear in her eyes.

"I want to, Jonathan. I really do, but… I just can't." She told me, and I sighed, deciding to tell her everything.

Well, almost everything.

"Listen to me. Ariel talked to me, she escaped, and showed up at my house last night. She's trying to drive me insane, I woke up this morning, and she left a white rose covered in blood on my table. She's after me, Kathryn, she wants something. That's what she told me."

I said the last part, turning to point to the words written on the corpse in the cell, but, what I saw wasn’t a corpse.

My eyes widened in shock. It was... empty. The cell was empty. Bruce, the words, and the blood were all gone.

I let go of Kathryn's shoulders and walked to the cell, peering in. It was spotless.

"How the Hell did that happen?" Kathryn asked from behind me, her voice barely above a whisper.

I simply stood and stared at the cell in shock.

"She did it. Ariel did this." I breathed.

Kathryn walked over to stand at my side, and took a deep breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod her head.

I stared at the cell, horrified.

What did Ariel want… and why did she want me?