The incessant need to quench my thirst dragged me out of the darkness. I opened my eyes slowly, my sight was blurred at first but then it adjusted to my surroundings. My eyelids felt so heavy. Every muscle in my body felt tired and heavy, as if I had been exercising for an entire day. My mouth was completely dry, my heart was beating slowly. I wasn't just weak, I was extremely weak. I felt like every bit of my energy had been drained from me. I sat up slowly, feeling dizzy. What was wrong with me? It was in that instant the memories of last night came back to me. I froze as I remembered all the blood on my bed, the walls and floor. I looked down, at the silky sheets under me.

             They were white... 

             No sign of blood anywhere on them...

             I frowned in confusion and held my forehead. My eyes roamed around my room, the walls were bright blue again.

            Had it all been a dream?

             No, no it couldn't have been. It had felt and looked so real. I swung my feet out of bed and put them on the cold floor then stood up. A strong of wave of dizziness washed over me, I stumbled backwards and sat back down on the bed. I held my face with both hands covering my eyes. I felt the urge to vomit from the dizziness but it soon past since my stomach was empty.

              My chest was sting a little. Slowly, I took my shirt off and looked at the tattoo. I furrowed my eyebrows even more. There was a thin red line surrounding the dark borders of the mark. It was hard to see it well since It was right in the middle of my chest but I could see it had changed.  I took in a deep breath, my eyes moved up and over to my window. The morning sunlight was barely coming through it. Oh no! 

What time was it?

           I had to go to work. I tried to stand again and headed inch by inch towards the bathroom. My head beginning hurt. I stopped in front of the mirror, turn to look at myself and instantly froze. I looked terrible, not the kind of terrible you look when you don't wash your hair or get wasted, I looked seriously terrible. My skin was deadly pale, I had huge bags under my eyes and the whites of my eyes were yellow. My lips were so dry, they lost their natural redness, instead they were dry, cracked  and very pale. So pale in fact they could mix easily with my skin. My hair was a crazy messy looking dull and lifeless without any sign of its usual shine or bounce.

           What happened to me? A zombie could be called pretty compared to what I looked like. I almost faked a laugh at my dark humor. I tried running my fingers through my hair but it was so knotty my fingers got stuck.

         Madness....

         I barely remembered what happened after I was looking directly into his intense red eyes. Everything was a blur after that.

         "What did he do to me this time?" I wondered out loud. I pressed my forehead on the cold mirror, closing my eyes as I needed to think with cool head. I couldn't let him get to me, it would only make things easier for him. I didn't know what he wanted from me but I was sure as hell he would hurt me in the process of getting it. I gave a deep sigh as I started taking off my clothes. 

          I took a shower then dragged myself to the kitchen. I turned the radio on to listen to while I had breakfast. 

          "Today is Saturday. Are you ready for fun? Everyone is so excited about to night," The radio announcer said sounding happy "It's Christmas, people," she continued babbling about family and dinner.

         It's Saturday...

         Ah, it was only then I remembered it was my day off. I don't need to go to work. Normal people would be happy about it but I was actually sad. What was I supposed to do the rest of the day? I didn't want to be in my apartment or anywhere else alone for that matter. 

          I definitely didn't want to see Madness again. 

         The thought of his red eyes sent a shiver through me. I swallowed the piece of pancake I was chewing then took a sip of my orange juice. A song filled my ears and I almost choked.

"...White demon love song on the hall

White demon shadow on the road

Back up your mind there is a call,

He isn't coming after all of this time

She likes the way he sings

White demon love songs in her dreams..."

           Really? Such an appropriate song for this morning! Did life enjoy teasing me? I didn't find it in the least bit funny. I stood up and tried turning the radio off but it didn't work. The song kept playing, filling the air with its sound. Was it me or did it sounded louder every passing second? 

"...White demon where's your selfish kiss?

White demon sorrow will arrange..."

           " What the hell," I whispered to myself, pressing the power button even harder. I sighed frustrated and unplugged the electric power cord. The air left my lungs when the radio kept playing as if I hadn't done anything to stop it. That's  impossible!

"...Let's not forget about the fear

Black invitation to a place that cannot change

While strangely holy, come pouring rain..."

            Fear invaded me for a moment but was soon replaced by anger. Was it him? Was he playing mind games with me? I picked up the radio and slammed it against the floor. It turned into useless pieces of metal and plastic. The kitchen then became deadly silent. The scare and anger was causing me to breath really fast. I let out a long breath, I didn't realize I had been holding and started doing the dishes.

          Was I going crazy?

          Was this really happening?

          Was it a nightmare?

          Those questions were always up most in my mind the last few days. 

          A knock at the door interrupted my chain of thoughts. I rubbed my hands on my pants to dry them and headed to my wooden door. 

          "Who is it?" I asked slightly scared. There was a long silent moment before I got a reply. 

          "It's me," I stopped breathing and quickly opened the door. Tears filled my eyes and my chest tightened in relief.

         "Raven?!" I whispered crashing into her. I embraced her tightly.

         "Whoa! Whoa!" she said stumbling back "I didn't know you would miss me this much." she said playfully. I leaned back and held her face. Tears were rolling down my face. 

          "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I asked evaluating her. She looked... great. Her hair was straight except for being curly at the ends. Her eyes had a unusual brightness. Her perfectly plucked eyebrows formed a scowl.

          "He? What are you talking about?" she said pushing me aside. She carried some bags to the kitchen and placed them on the counter. I followed her quickly.

         "Raven, where did he take you? Are you sure you're okay?" I asked as she was taking stuff out of the bags.

          "What are you talking about, Ann? Who are you talking about? Why wouldn't I be okay?" She asked not understanding why I was asking all these questions.  Now it was my turn to scowl at her.

          "You went missing for two weeks, Raven. Can't you remember? I even went to the police." I explained in a rush.

           "I was on a trip. I told you well I left you a message. I tried calling you but you didn't answer." she explained casually "I told you I'd be back for Christmas."

          "No..." I felt like a pail of cold water was thrown over me "Raven... you were... he..." I stammered

          "Ann, are you okay?" she asked coming closer "God, you look terrible" she placed a hand on my forehead "You're burning. up with a fever, Ann." she informed me with concern in her voice, "Since when do you get sick?"

          "I'm not sick," I replied sharply. 

         "Come with me, let's tuck you into bed" she said in a motherly tone. She had to forced me to lie on my bed. She smiled down at me , "I'm going to take care of you, ok? Just like the old times, you'll be feeling better soon. I promise" she stated tenderly. 

        I was so confused.

        "Raven, you came here... scared, yelling about crucifixes and holy water then you totally disappeared. Then there was a... a figure in the dark..." my head was hurting even more now, "I'm so confused right now..." I said frankly.

       "It's okay, Ann. You were probably hallucinating because of the fever."

       "No, I saw him... he was... he said he had you," I said.

       "Who?" Raven asked putting a cool, wet towel on my forehead.

       "Madness," I realized how crazy I must sound.

       "Ann, you need to get some sleep." she recommended "I'm going to call Fred so he can come and check on you" Fred was a very close friend of hers and  he was a very prestigious doctor. 

       "Raven, Madness is real. He hurt me." 

       "Shh, I'm here. You are safe," she whispered softly, caressing my hair "Do you trust me, Ann?" I nodded my head "Then sleep for now, everything will be fine." 

       "But-"

      "Please, do it for me" I closed my eyes frustrated. 

      I am crazy.

       That thought was roaming around my mind. That could be the only explanation. Had I just imagined the whole thing? Everything I've been through had felt so real. Madness is real, isn't he? A shot of pain went through my head. I didn't want to think anymore so I let myself fall into the embrace of sleep. 

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

             There was something cold hitting my forehead. I opened my eyes and touched my face, it was wet. There were  drops of water falling on my face. Where was it coming from? My room was slightly dark; I was lying on my back. I was exhausted, I moved my head aside to dodge the water's drops and my heart came to halt. There was a dark figure in my room right in front of the window, leaning casually against my closet's doors. His intensely red eyes were staring at me.

            No, he wasn't real.

            He couldn't be real.

           His sharp teeth shone brightly in the dark room as usual. 

          "Miss me?" his voice was smooth. Tears formed in my eyes.

          "You aren't real," I whispered weakly, feeling my dry throat. He tilted his head aside.

        "Is that what you think?" he said sounding amused through his signature smirk.

        "You... Raven is here, you aren't real. I..." my mind was a mess. His smirk grew bigger.

        "Confused, my  little Angeles?" he took a step towards my bed. I sat up and crawled backwards on it.

        "Stay away from me" I ordered raising a hand towards him.

         "Why?"

         "Raven!" I screamed desperately "Raven! Help me!" Madness simply smirked and just kept walking towards me. I fell backwards off my bed and kept crawling back, with my hands and feet under me, not taking my eyes off of him until my back hit the wall. I needed to get up but couldn't find the strength to do so "Raven!" I called her as loud as my tired lungs and dry throat would let me. 

         "Raven, Raven, Raven" he mocked my voice. I felt a cold hand being wrapped around my neck. I shivered instantly. He lifted me without effort pressing me against the wall. His grip around my neck wasn't quite tight enough to choke me but I was still scared as hell.

        "Please...please  leave me alone." I begged. The moonlight coming in through the window illuminated only half of his pale face but I his features were blurry  due to the tears flowing from my eyes.

         "I'm afraid I can't do that." he replied playfully. He squeezed my neck, a soft moan of pain left my lips. "How I love that sound," he whispered in my ear. his tongue licked my ear lob causing a shiver to run through me.

        "Please," I begged sobbing. 

        "Angeles, you can't escape from me. You will be my toy until the day you die. Understand that and everything will be better and easier for both of us." he released me and I fell to the floor landing on my ass.

        "Why?... Why me?" I whispered wiping my tears away. Madness knelt in front of me. His took my chin in his hand using it to lift my face. His red eyes were shining with an intense brightness.

        "This is how it's supposed to be." he smirked at me then stood up "By the way," turning his back to me, "I hope you enjoyed the song." Then he just vanished into thin air, leaving me shaking and sobbing without control.

         I don't know if he is real or not but he was sure achieving his goal...

         He was breaking me... slowly but he was doing it.