Insanity

Darkness can be painful, not awake and yet not quite asleep it hard
to know if your still alive. Maybe your dreaming, or maybe you think
you are?.

PROLOGUE
Split open by an insane grin her face became darker still. Foreign
blood ran down her pale chin, her tongue sprang out instinctively to
stop it.
Her once beautiful brown eyes were now cold and staring, she neither
blinked nor looked merely stared.
After a few seconds of stillness and silence, She looked down at her
blood-drenched hands and bloodied nightgown and cried out.
Then gasped as she plunged the long heavy knife into her own chest, and
then again into her stomach. She only screamed once.
One long piercing scream that scratched its way into the night.

Drenched in perspiration, David threw off the duvet and jumped out of
his bed.
Third one this week, he thought unhappily, as he wandered into the
kitchen.
'Thank God for caffeine.' He muttered as he downed his sixth mug of
coffee that evening. He had let himself nod off. He wouldn't let it
happen again.
After all you can't have nightmares whilst you're awake?or can
you?

CHAPTER ONE.
'Sit down, and calm down woman!' he squealed. But despite his own
advice he could neither sit nor calm down himself. He nibbled on his
already bitten down nails, whilst his mother paced up and down the
immaculate white corridor.
Finally the door opened, and a tired but cheerful face met his. He
leaped right up to her 'And?' he demanded, ' Your wife is fine sir and
so is your daughter.' ' Daughter?' he exclaimed hardly containing his
joy. ' I must see them.' He almost sang.
He hadn't known what to expect, he hadn't really expected anything but
what he saw, but when he entered the brightly lit room he still gasped
in total awe. Tiny and pink in her mothers arms lay his daughter. He
looked at his wife, her breath quick. A heavy dark shadow lay across
her face and her eyes were closed. He felt disturbed, and took her hand
in his she neither looked nor moved. Suddenly a thin sharp beeping
filled his ears and concerned voices started Yelling 'We're loosing
her!' He was ushered out of the room and the door was closed. Somewhere
to his left a distant baby cried, then it was dark.
Later when he opened his eyes they felt sticky and sore. Crisp white
sheets smothered him; 'SHIT' he gasped as he tried to sit upright, it
felt as though a thousand bricks were pounding on his head. His
mother's voice startled him, 'David? Are you awake son?'
' What happened? Where's Lucy?' he forced. But the tears in his
mothers eyes already answered that question.
'You fainted, at the hospital' she said after a pause.
Slowly he took the small white pills she was offering him, 'What are
these?' ''There for your head.' Gracious of the pain relief he
swallowed them quickly, his eyes became heavy and he yawned, and as his
head sunk further into the pillow he knew that Lucy was gone. For
good.

CHAPTER TWO.
David rubbed his cheek bewildered. The hand print stung.
So what if you let the baby shit all over the carpet again, no need for
her to get so crazy.
I didn't know the baby would shit everywhere.
That's what nappies are for dummy.
She knows I don't like touching that baby.
The door had flown open his mother had thundered into his room, and
slapped him cleanly across the face.
`When's this going to end, David, when? `
A question he'd had often pondered over, but never been able to
answer.
As he watched her stalk blindly out of the room, David knew she wasn't
coming back. Not that night anyway.

It was three days later when his mother returned, with fresh nappies
and wipes.
` David, you need help. ` She persisted.
Blah Blah Blah ignore her, you have her to help you.
`I'm going away, `
Shit, not what we wanted to hear, Dave
`I`m going to ring everyday to check up on you and Celeste. Ok? You
need to pull yourself together. Lucy's gone, but you still have your
daughter. She needs you. `
Needs you eh? Who gave a toss when you needed Lucy?
No one.
`Are you listening to me David? `
No he's fucking not.
` Yes mother. `
`Right, well I want you to give a doctor friend of mine a call, she
wants to help you get better, ok? `
You don't need no fucking quack, this woman's a bitch.
`Don't speak about my mother that way. `
` Pardon? `
` Nothing mother, i`l give her a call. `
She handed him Dr Melbourne's card, and patted him on the shoulder.
Looking suddenly older as she left.

Later as he lay Celeste down in the cot, he realized this wasn't so
bad. He had even bathed her.
Your being a damn fool, that thing killed your wife.
I know, but that's exactly why I've got to love it. This baby meant so
much to her.
That seemed to shut it up for a while. `It`? well he wasn't exactly
sure what `it` was. A voice, his imagination, a spirit? He laughed at
himself.
But whatever it was it didn't like his mother at all, in fact it didn't
seem to like anyone.
Unplug the phone.
Why?
Because that bitch is going to be ringing very soon, to check up on
you, and ask why you haven't been to see the damn quack!
`It` had a point.
He unplugged the phone, then lay next to his daughter watching her
until they both fell asleep upon his bed.

Thick tears and blood swept her face, she made no sound but still she
cried. Her breasts were sore and her crotch ached. Blood trickled down
her leg, and the scratches on her face and neck screamed.
She wasn't sure what had happened, but she felt the distinct need to
throw up. Limping over to the toilet she did so, then she collapsed in
a heap on the cold floor and shivered till she fell asleep many hours
later.

Awake now, he felt a little better. His hands were still trembling as
he clutched the corner of the duvet. Shadows seemed to dance around
him, taunting him. His head whipped to the left at a sudden sneer of
laughter. But all he could see was the dark silhouette of Celeste.
Wiping beads of hot perspiration from his brow, David turned on the
table lamp transforming the silhouette into a body. The bright stable
light of the lamp filled the room, washing away any last threads of
doubt. Reassured and suddenly very tired, David turned over to try and
sleep?. With the lamp on.
I`m going crazy.
Gone, David. Gone crazy.

CHAPTER THREE
The fresh morning sun swallowed up the now dull glow of the lamp.
However it didn't drown out the awful screaming.
Shut that goddamn thing up!
What were you laughing at in the middle of the night?
I wasn't.
I heard you.
shut up that fucking baby.
David reached down to pick up Celeste, but stopped abruptly when he
noticed the dark patch on the duvet just below her.
Ha! She pissed her self.
Flustered David moved Celeste onto the pillow; he gathered the duvet in
a ball and ran downstairs.
What are you doing with that?
Washing it.
Why bother, she'll just do it again tonight, and tomorrow night and the
next?
'Ok so what do I do?'
'You know what to do.'
He rolled the duvet into a black bin bag, and disowned it at the back
door. Next he fetched his woolen scarf and some cellotape, rushing
upstairs he wrapped the scarf around Celeste's bottom half. Then
ensuring its fixture he cellotaped it in place, then sat back and
admired his handy work. She still hadn't stopped screaming, but at
least now she couldn't piss everywhere.
Hunger started digging at his stomach, so for the second time that
morning David descended the stairs slamming the door behind him to
drown out the racket.
After satisfying his moaning stomach, he started doing the crossword
on a random paper. The baby's crying became louder and louder, until it
was almost deafening. Unable to take the wretched noise a moment
longer, he ran upstairs into his room where she lay totally naked. He
picked her up and shook her, ' SHUT UP! SHUT UP!' he shouted over and
over again shaking her furiously. Finally he dropped her onto the floor
a crumpled heap of naked pink flesh. Finally silence. Blissful
silence.
Waking with a start David found himself at the kitchen table with his
head on his plate of toast. Jumping to his feet he ran up stairs into
his room, where Celeste lay silent on his pillow still wrapped in his
woolen scarf.
Fooled ya.
What?
You haven't got the guts for that.
I have got guts!
Well Show me.
Suddenly the doorbell went, then there was banging followed by calls
of, 'David? Are you there?' and 'Answer the door David!'
Struggling to his feet, David flew down the stairs and unlatched the
front door. A panic stricken figure burst through the door.
'Hello mother.'
'How dare you `hello mother` me! I have been calling and calling but
your phone won't ring. I rang Dr Melbourne and she says she hasn't
heard from you, I was worried out of my mind, you?'
Boring!
'I'm sorry. I've been busy; I've been looking after Celeste.
'Well that would be a first! Where is she?'
None of your damn business.
' In my room.'
'You fool! You do not leave a baby unattended like that!'
She pushed past him, ran up the stairs, David trailed slowly behind her
reaching the top of the stairs just in time to her his mother
scream.
'What's wrong?' he choked.
'What's wrong? That's wrong! What the fuck have you been doing to her?'
She pointed at the small body that was now an uncanny shad of
blue.
'She's freezing and what the hell is that wrapped round her?'
You fucked up again Davey boy.
'She pissed on the bed, that's er well to stop her.'
'What the fuck do you think nappies are for?' She was now crying. She
picked up Celeste and took her down the stairs into the living room
where she set her down on the floor.
Silently she started to pick off the cellotape, then she cleaned
Celeste with some wipes, put her in a nappy and then dressed her
warmly.
' This house smells disgusting.' She stated coldly. ' I'm taking
Celeste with me, she doesn't deserve this David!'
You can't let her do that!
I thought you hated the baby.
You cant let her boss you around like that. Take control.
As he watched his mother stalk away from the house David didn't feel
very ' in control.' In fact he felt quite out of control. He curled up
next to the sofa and drifted into a restless sleep that lasted
hours.
Startled David looked around unsure of what had awoken him. It was
almost dark.
What the hell is that smell!?
Your mother
Shut up.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha.
What's funny?
You.
Confused and irritable, David stumbled to his feet and went in search
of the blinding stench. He was drawn towards the bin. His pale hand
wavered near the bin bag, it was bulging and he felt sick. He pulled
open the top slowly, and gasped in disgust at what he saw.
He turned suddenly when he heard a screaming upstairs, running towards
the sound he tripped knocking his head on the banister. Undeterred he
reached her room, kicked open the door to see Celeste lying in her cot
crying loudly.
But my mother took her?
No, you took her.
How the??
You took control.
I saw mother leaving with her.
Funny, how real dreams can be.
I was not asleep, im sleeping now. I must be.
He pinched himself frantically and then slapped his own face twice. His
feet punched against the stairs as he ran down them back into the
kitchen he pulled open the black bag again. No it was still there, a
blood drenched towel and shirt on top of a muddy shovel.
Rubbing his head frantically he searched his memory, 'What the hells
been going on?`
That bitch tried to take your baby you stopped her, the only way you
could. Just look in the garden.

A sharp bright light pried open his eyes. Tall Silhouettes towered
above him splitting apart the beam of light, so that he could see.
Worried faces greeted him.
' David? Oh my god he's awake! David?'
'Mother??But Your dead?'
'Your in hospital love, you hit your head pretty bad.'
' Your dead, I kil??'His voice trailed off.
'I`m fine David, and so is Celeste. The neighbors looking after her;
it's a good job I came by when I did. You were out cold. Do you
remember what happened?'
'I think so, I hit my head running up the stairs to get Celeste.'
'To get Celeste? But David, I had Celeste! You saw me take her home
with me.'
'She was crying so loudly I had to make her stop.'
'Celeste was with me.' Her shrill voice contradicted her calm
words.
'No I stopped you taking her.'
'Dav?'
` The shovel and the? It said you were dead, well when I saw
the?'
'Your not very well David, you don't know what your saying.'
'If you took Celeste, I must be dreaming again. I'm in a dream. I can
do whatever I want.'
Laughing David stood up ignoring the thundering pain in his head, he
grabbed his mothers hand.
'Lets fly mother, away from this place!' He whirled her around and
hugged her tight to him before being strapped back down to the bed and
given a small prick in his arm. The world around him spun and then
there was dark.

CHAPTER FOUR
'How's your head love?'
His mother's soft voice jolted him awake. Rubbing his head tiredly he
stared around the room.
'When did I get back from the hospital?'
'You said you didn't need to go, remember? Maybe you hit your head
harder than I thought.'