The War Inside

Everywhere I looked there was death and destruction. The world was on fire, and blazing heat hit my face. Buildings crumbled down as frantic people darted from exits. Hysterical screams and cries pierced my ears. Meteors were hurled down from the skies. I stood there numb, watching, as the world was being ripped apart. I felt a small hand grab mine. A delicate-looking, small girl peered up at me through her brown eyes. She looked so familiar, who was this girl? Her big, brown eyes had depth in them. I knew those eyes; I've seen them so many times before, but where?

“You could have saved us. Miss, you could have stopped this if you had listened to me, but now you must suffer with the rest. You won’t be spared, you’ll perish, we’ll all perish because of you,” she was soft-spoken, but her words were cold and harsh. She turned her head, and pointed to the distance. “It’s coming. I’m nothing but a ghost; I have been for a long time. Goodbye miss,” she whispered, frightened. I directed my gaze to where her little finger pointed. Fear swept over me like a quick breeze. I saw it, I saw the monster. It was an enormous cloud of black smoke. It was the blackest of black, the center of evil. I was paralyzed by fear as I felt my thoughts escape me. I've lost all control as I watched the smoke as it inched closer and closer. The small girl flung herself into the black mist, her lifeless body dropped to the ground as it hit her. It was so close now, only feet away from me. I felt my lungs collapsing as I gasped for air. I felt death and then-

I jolted awake, sweaty and hot. It was the same, repetitive nightmare I have had every night. It was the same familiar girl, the same burning world, and the same bone-chilling black mist. When I’m asleep I experience the same petrifying nightmare, and when I’m awake I hear the voices. Earsplitting voices continuously fought inside my head. They began as slight whispers when I was just a little girl, but now, now they’re vicious and aggressive. I tried with all my might to shut them out, but that makes them howl at me even more. They shouted wicked thoughts about me. At times they have tried to force me to do things, evil things. They wanted me to become like them. Become like them...

My mind had wandered again. A crashing sound snapped me back into reality. I bolted to my window to locate the cause of the disturbance. It was my elderly neighbor, Mrs. Jenson, who had dropped some heavy packages. I rushed outside to help the poor old woman.

"Oh, why thank you dear, you've always been so sweet to me. Why don't you come help me unpack these, and I'll make you a cup of coffee?" her voice was sweet. I have always liked Mrs. Jenson, she reminded me of my grandmother. Once I finished setting the boxes neatly in her home she started brewing the coffee.
"It's really nice to have visitors, I rarely get them," Mrs. Jenson said. She babbled about her husband who was at work. Her voice shrunk to where it was barely audible, and then the torturous voices took over. A pounding noise banged against my temples. There were so many of them this time, pressuring me to no end. They were all I heard. I was able to block them out so many times before, but now, now was different. I was losing control of myself, my thoughts slipped away. My senses faded, and my judgment became hazy.

You're a worthless monster. Worthless, worthless, worthless monster, you need to survive. Survival for the fittest, am I right? Look how fragile and old she is, you could easily take her down. You must take her down before she takes you down. Look at that knife...

My hand reached for the sharp-edged kitchen knife. It was perfect. The blade was so sharp and so shiny. I grasped the knife tightly in my hand. I had to survive, I had to. I can't die, I just can't. Rage and hate swarmed inside of me. The world won't end because of me. Evil will not prevail, I will. I inched up behind Mrs. Jenson as she made the coffee. She was still babbling about nothing. She won't survive because this, this is my destiny. It's my destiny, my voices told me so.

"Die! Die!" I shrilled as I plunged the knife into her back. I pushed it deeper as she struggled to stand. I pulled the knife out and watched her flail on the floor. Her blood seeped out from under her spreading out over the floor. Her eyes grew empty and her body was lifeless. As I watched the blood in awe, the realization of what just happened hit me hard. I killed. I killed because of the voices. Only now I know they aren't voices. They're demons, the black smoke.

I tightened my grip on the bloody knife. I won't let myself destroy others. I'm a killer. I'm a twisted person, a sick twisted person. To destroy the demons, I must destroy their host, me. I lifted the knife up and forced it into my stomach. I fell down, writhing in pain. The pain coursed through my body. Blood soaked through my shirt. I heard the demons fading, dying. Then I heard a soft voice.

"Miss? Miss you did it. You saved me," it was the girl from my nightmare. I realized who she was. The little girl was me, the good still trapped inside me. I looked at her big eyes. I tried to reach up to touch her, but she was intangible. The war inside my head was over, I was at peace. I took my last dying breath and shut my eyes.