Fran Bow

Prologue Pt 2

 "Fran... please, follow my voice. On the count of three, you will wake up. One... Two... Three..." My eyes slowly opened to find a bright white light gleaming in my eyes, making them sting from the impact. Doctor Deern was in front of me with a paper and clipboard, scribbling down words that were most likely foreign to my eyes.

"Fran, how do you feel?" How do I feel..? I just witnessed my parents after they got brutally slaughtered and I'm being asked how I feel?

"I feel like dying", I croaked out, my voice high and shaky. Doctor Deern looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. No. I didn't want pity from him. "I don't understand why you make me do this." I tried to raise my voice and sound more confident, and by the change in the man's facial expression, I think it worked.

"Try to calm down... This is part of your recovery."

"Recovery? Don't you get it? My parents are dead!" Tears slowly started to form in the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. The doctor saw this and looked at me again with thoughtful eyes, "Oh poor thing... Everything will get better." He placed his hand on his heart. "I promise". Just looking at him made me want to throw up.

I shook my head. "Better? Then let me go!" I looked at him straight in the eyes through his small, round spectacles. "That would be better."

His facial expression instantly faltered. I think I was finally starting to get on his nerves. "You should not tell me how to do my job." He glared at me for a second, before clearing his throat and turning away quickly. "But now, I have something for you, Fran".

"Oh really", I retorted as I rolled my eyes. He pretended not to notice and continued.

"See the desk? There's a little package for you." A package? "It's from your Aunt." My eyes instantly lit up.

"Aunt Grace?"

"Yes, take it."

I shuffled over to said desk and noticed a small, brown wallet-like purse a bit larger than my hand. It had a brass, closeable top and gold accents. I noticed it immediately as my mother's. Sometimes, I would take money out of it and use it to buy candy whenever I didn't have any. She would always notice, though, and I would always get in trouble. Or, the days when I would walk around the house, reaching inside and pulling out card after card, finally feeling like an adult. I only wish things could have stayed that way...

I placed one finger inside the opening absentmindedly, when I noticed a small slip of paper in blue ink. I carefully unfolded it, making sure it didn't rip, and read the scribbly cursive writing:

Dearest Fran,

Here is the purse you like so much. I thought you would like to have it. When I was thinking about you, I remembered your love for crafting and examining objects. I was thinking this would be a good place to keep all of your new treasures.

So I hope you'll always keep this purse and give it and all the other things you find to good use. Never forget that creativity is absolutely the greatest gift you have.

Love,

Aunt Grace

I missed Aunt Grace so much. Her soft voice rang in my ears quietly as I remembered the fun times we had together. "Another reason to let me go..." I muttered under my breath. The old man sighed.

"Well, don't worry about her. She is fine." I didn't ask if she was okay, I just wanted to see her. For her to sit me on her lap and stroke my hair gently, like she always used to do. I'd only been at Oswald for about three days, but it seemed like it'd been years since I'd last seen her...

At this point, I was starting to get tired. "Can I go to my room now?" I asked impatiently. The doctor looked reluctant for a second, but eventually gave way. "Yes, you can leave. But first, it is time for your new medicine." New medicine? I'd already swallowed about fourteen pills since I last got there, and so far none of them had done anything. I was tired of those drugs.

"I don't want to try more medicine," I said firmly as I crossed my arms and forced my mouth into a stiff line.

"It's called Duotine, and will make you feel very relaxed. Nurse, we're ready!" An old woman came in almost immediately, holding a tray of some sort of red pills. She didn't look too old, maybe late forties, but she had dark circles and tight wrinkles around her eyes, almost like she had seen too much.

"Anything new today, Doctor Deern?" she asked in a high-pitched, yet strained voice. "Nothing, actually. Same visions as before." Ugh, not this again. "Oh, I see..."

The nurse sounded almost.. disappointed? I guess I understand, this job must get pretty boring, especially considering how long she was probably working there. By the look on her face, I would say at least ten years. "Here Fran, take your medicine."

She leaned over slightly, to allow better access to the small jar sitting there. I got up out of the bed I was sitting on and walked over to where she was. I stared at the pills for a second, questioning whether or not this was a good idea. I must have dozed off for a while, before I heard a low voice yell, "We don't have all day, Fran. Take the pills... now!"

My heart nearly jumped, and I quickly grabbed one of the small pills in my hands and swallowed it dry. Instantly, a strange feeling built up in my stomach. "I don't feel good..." I managed to croak, before my stomach lurched. I suddenly felt beads of sweat build up on my forehead, and realized the world was spinning around me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to regain my balance. When I finally opened them, everyone in the room was gone. The entire closure of space was covered in sticky red splatters, and smelled oddly metallic.

I heard something soft fall to the ground next to me. I turned my head and widened my eyes. Sitting there, in a pool of blood, was my mother's head. It looked exactly like her, except her hair was covered in crimson stickiness and her eyes completely white and lifeless. From the other side of the room, something else fell, and I noticed it was also a human skull. This time, though, it was my father's. More and more started to fall all around the room, and I could feel tears running down my cheeks. I wiped my eyes and noticed my hands were sticky with the same color of red dripping throughout the room. I was crying tears of blood.

My mouth instinctively filled with bile, and I almost vomited all over the floor. I didn't have time, though, as I grew dizzier and dizzier after every passing moment. My legs shook and threw me to the ground, making me realize how tired I actually was. In that second, my vision cleared, and the hallucination started to fade away. Doctor Deern was holding me in his arms and yelling something at the nurse, but I left consciousness before his words became audible. I think I heard him say something about the pills though...

As I fell into a deep slumber, I dreamt again about the strange creature. I can still hear his rough voice calling out to me to "beware". That if I left his "house of madness", he would hunt me, and kill me, and "bring me back into insanity"...

I also remember being greeted by a dark kitten with glowing yellow eyes, Mr. Midnight! "Fran, wake up!" He cried. "The medicine will help you escape. I'll be waiting for you in the forest! I love you."

I love you too, my sweet kitten...