Edge of Sanity (s.m. + c.c.)

prologue

Camila woke up suddenly, finding that she was unusually sweaty. An unusual feeling crept up her body, causing her to shiver. Camila sat up. Something was wrong, but she couldn't quite place what it was. It was....unsettling. She sat there for a few seconds, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of the pitch-black room. A sliver of moonlight peeked through the curtains of the windows. Camila checked her clock - it read 2:34 A.M. Camila decided to head towards her parents' bedroom. Maybe they knew what was wrong - or could at least comfort her. Just try to be quiet, she told herself, just in case there was some creepy person in her house. She stepped out of bed, then quietly tip-toed down the hall, trying to keep her footsteps as light as a feather. She had heard a noise - she was sure of it. She kept walking down to her parents' room, her heart almost thumping out of her chest. Her foot accidentally fell on a creaky floorboard, and Camila's whole body shuddered. Shh.. she thought, as if the floor could hear her. If anything - or anyone - was in her parents' room, she Camila didn't want them knowing she was there. She made her way down the hall, until she was at her parents' door.

She quietly opened it, cursing under her breath when the hinges squeaked. Camila walked into the room, the low hum and murmur of the television in the background. No one was in the room, except for the crumpled bodies of her parents, lying on their bed. A wave of fear rippled through her body, piercing her heart. Were her parents awake? What happened? She should have been thinking, it's ok, your parents are fine, they're just watching TV, it's all okay, but something felt...wrong. Something in her gut told her, They're not sleeping. But Camila took a soft step closer to their lifeless forms, trying to shove all of her uneasy thoughts to the back of her mind. "Mami? Papi?" No answer.

Horror seized her heart as Camila carefully walked beside the bed, choking down a sob when she saw the state her beloved parents were in. It was just like a horror scene: Their bodies laid limp on the white blanket, a thick stream of dark blood had caked down her father's neck, creating a dark red stain on the sheets. Her mother's face was white as a ghost, her hair rumpled and matted with blood. Both of their eyes were glossy and glazed over, unblinking. Their hands were firmly clasped together, as if they had been trying to comfort each other while experiencing severe pain. Their mouths hung open, faces frozen in terror and pain. There was no questioning it - her parents were dead.

"No," Camila whispered. "No," she said again, louder this time, until she was screaming. "No!" she yelled, before breaking down in tears, hoping that her parents would miraculously wake up, or wake her up and tell her it was a just a bad dream. She pinched herself for good measure, but it was no use. They were dead. She felt as if her entire world was spinning, her life was coming crashing down. Breathing heavily, Camila checked her parents for any final signs of life. She found.. none. They were gone. For good.

Camila sat in a puddle of tears, a waterfall flowing down her face. She felt broken. Cracked. As if she were the one dead, instead of her parents. I'm.. I'm too young to live by myself. Who will take care of me? No one will love me like they did. No one. And suddenly, drowning in tears, self-pity, and grief, she felt a burning white flash of anger run through her. Who could have done such a thing? Her parents were good, honest people - who would have wanted to kill them? Her brain was spinning in all directions as her eyes flooded with tears. I'm only fourteen! Who would want to do this to my family? As anger and sadness washed over her, the events of the night pounding in her brain, she settled into her parent's bed, exhausted. In a desperate attempt to numb her grief, Camila fumbled for the TV remote laying on her parents' nightstand. Channel 9 News was on, and - as if by some sort of terrible witchcraft - news of her parents' death was flashing across the screen. They had been killed by some guy with the last name Mendes, and Camila felt with flare of anger that she wanted to kill this guy, this disgusting man who had killed her parents. How could he? She continued to stare at the TV screen in disbelief of what she had just heard. Camila didn't know what to do, or what to think.. all she could feel was pain, overwhelming pain. What? Why? How?

And with those thoughts, Camila cried herself to sleep, tears staining the pillow she was lying on. She was so tired, so worn, so broken, that she didn't think of one important question:

How did the news hear of her parents' death before she did?