The Brink of Eternity

Chapter Two: Anomalous Normalities

Jude p.o.v: *six years later*

I tasted his skin in my teeth and felt his warm blood trickling down my cheeks.

I hated it, so I smiled even brighter.

It was not what I would usually consider a normal afternoon activity any normal adult with a normal life would do. But then again, neither was biting your nurse's arm for no reason.

And so, even normal was ought to be masked at times of need. Such as the need to survive, even if it were the last place you'd want to be in.

I was probably exaggerating, it couldn't have been all bad. In fact if you followed the crystal clear rules they've set for you, then it was not bad at all. But then again, if you were able to follow all of them you wouldn't be here in the first place.

Rules such as allowing someone to bathe you, doing chores, and taking assigned medication willingly were too simple, so it might've raised the question of why wouldn't I be able to? And to which I'd gladly answer with a line stating that one must adapt if they were to survive, and in my attempt to adapt I've found that the real people here, the patients, can't handle those rules and thus to fit in, I must not as well.

I lifted my head to look straight at the nurse in front of me whilst mentally preparing for the last act of my show. The grand finale as I liked to call it.

The ending began with my voice getting louder as the raw screams filled the room. I acted as if I were on camera as I tugged at my hair and cried out to the sky to accept my offering.

I heard the clatter behind me and knew they were readying the needle, but my show wasn't over yet and perhaps it wouldn't hurt to admit, I was enjoying myself. So with a quick snap, the bones on my wrist protruded from my skin and my blood ran out, as if it too wanted to escape me.

It tasted sour when I licked it away.

I took the approaching nurse's hand into my own and pretended I was glad she was joining me, smiled up at the sky in thanks, and then all I felt was the sting of the needle that was stabbed into my neck.

The serum always took a minute or two to work but the pride that the nurse felt immediately showed on her features, as if she could see a storm of insanity clearing away from my mind and the rain was flowing through my eyes.

Little did she know that the storm was a mirage, and the clouds were pieces of me fading away.

As my body fell to the floor I began to wonder if it was normal to pretend to be sick? To force yourself to handle the pain of breaking over and over again? But just as the colours began to swirl and the voices were fading I realised that everyone must break pieces of themselves to fill in the crevices that life made.

My head pounded the floor just as I realised I might've been normal after all.

Hope you guys liked this one. Many more to come. Please vote, share and tell me your thoughts in the comments.

~Hayden