Art Entwined In Blood

10 - Forgotten

     Frank didn't know what to do. He had promised to leave, but he just couldn't. He tripped over a fold in the staircase carpeting and plundered to the floor boards, creating an echo in the empty Grand Room. He grumbled into the dust, cursing to the wood; his limbs were numb and he didn't feel the urgency to move. Everything was swimming in his mind that he thought he had started to see things. He thought the faint glow down the hallway was all in his head. The warm sensation of someone who belonged in the home overtook him and lifted him up to his fragile feet. The ornate rug seemed to pull him down the corridor, aiming towards the glow that grew brighter the closer he got. Running his hands along the cracks, Frank followed the glow, reminding him of when he found his neighbor bleeding mercilessly on the floor. The memory sent a chill up his spine. Soft whispers were emerging from the room, but nothing that sounded dangerous. In fact, it sounded a bit like...

     "Frank? Oh, no, he is but a man."

     "Are you positive? He seems a bit...close."

     "No, I am completely positive. He just enjoys company."

     "Your company?"

     "Company."

     Frank heard a quiet sigh, followed by a chair squeaking. He couldn't see anyone in the room, yet the door opened and someone brushed past him. A darker figure also left the room, but this one stopped and grabbed Frank's shoulder. He gasped of fright, but quickly inhaled sharply again, seeing the figure.

     "Gerard..."

     "Frank. What are you doing?"

     Gerard's face looked strained, like he was yelling, yet his words were as smooth as satin to Frank's ears.

     "Frank, I need to get you out of here, now. This is not safe, and you will die. Please, leave the circle. Now."

     Frank shook his head in confusion, looking for a circle. However, as his eyes wandered, the rug turned into grass and around him erupted in flames. In panic, he turned to Gerard, his face alight with the embers of their surroundings, tears streaming down his face.

     "Frank, can you even hear me?! Get out of here! Go! Don't worry about the flames, it'll only be slight burns; just go!" Gerard screamed over the incessant chanting from outside of the circle.

     He wanted to listen to Gerard, he really did. His legs, on the other hand, seemed to be concrete. His eyes glazed over, and Gerard's voice seemed to fade out. As the chanting grew louder, Frank's consciousness slipped further and further away. Gerard's mouth screamed one last thing before everything went black.

----------

     "...well, I don't really think..."

     "...it's the only way..."

     "...but what if we..."

     "...the doctor, um... Frank?"

     "Oh, God, Frank? Are you waking up? Is he waking up? Please say something if you can hear me!"

     "Jamia, calm down. He has been through a great deal. Let him take his time."

     Frank cracked his eyes open, but to only see shadows. He could tell he was in a hospital though; the beeping from the machines was louder than he would want it. His vision cleared as he saw his wife and... someone else standing next to her. They were both wet from rain.

     "Who are you?"

     Jamia followed his gaze and stared at the other man. She bit her lip slightly, nodding to him.