Alone in the dark

I'm not going to tell you my name. They already know everything about me, and I don't want anymore people chasing me, asking questions. I can't handle all the attention. I'm just sitting here in the dark, knowing that eventually, They'll come for me. They always come for me, and ask me questions that They already know the answers to, because They know EVERYTHING.

I'll tell you how I got here. How I'm trapped here, in the darkness, unable to escape until They're done tormenting me. Until They grow tired of me, and probably dispose of me, bury my remains until the floorboards, until I rot the foundations of this cursed place...

I'm being too negative. I'm still alive right now, and that's all that matters. I'll begin at the beginning, the best place to start by far.

I was happy. I had two roommates, whose names I won't tell you for their safety. If I tell you their names, THEY might find out, and then my roommates will be at risk. They might end up like me, unable to move properly because of Their restraints...

Focus, focus. You need to get your message out there.

I lived with my two roommates, and they each liked music and TV. The guy - we'll call him J - loved films and TV shows, and the girl - we'll call her N - liked to listen to music.

J was a big guy, long blonde-black hair, obviously dyed, who never shaved. He'd sit there on the couch all damn day watching his goddamned shows, barely ever moving, fat slob. J was a nice enough guy, but I couldn't stand his laziness. He was so lazy lazy LAZY. But now that I look back, he was a constant factor in my life that was hard to block out. Hell, I miss his company. Almost.

N was a quiet girl, who'd lock herself away with her headphones on, always listening to the music and ignoring everyone else. She was a goth, but she had dark purple hair instead of black. White face makeup, black eyeliner and lipstick, the whole thing. She took forever, FOREVER, in the bathroom in the morning, but like J she was nice enough. Until they weren't.

I could hear them whispering through the walls, I'm sure I could. I'm sure N muttered to herself about my habits of just wandering the house when I felt like it, checking the doors and windows. Is it my fault that I didn't want burglars coming in? I wanted us safe. But I'm sure she thought I was paranoid; even when she wasn't saying anything, I could HEAR her. I'm sure she was talking about me.

And J, with his 'boys' that came to watch the new films that came out, all of them as fat and useless as him. I'll bet they talked about me too; I'm the 'weird guy', the 'freak'. How dare they?! That was my house too, I was paying for it too!

I digress. If I get too upset, They might come and 'take a look at me', make sure I was 'nice and calm.' But I don't want to be nice and calm; I know what that means. It means They'll pump me full of drugs against my will, run tests on me, make me feel like Their pet labor rat. I hate Them.

I didn't hate J and N. Not really. They were nice enough, like I said. They were decent people. They don't deserve what I'm suffering through, anyway. Which brings me back to my home...

I got home from work one day, after a particularly bad day at work, and as usual I did my check of all the doors and windows. All sealed tight, no criminals getting here. Good, good. Everything was fine and we were safe.

N was sat at the kitchen table, headphones in and a book in her hand. She looked up as I came in, and smiled a greeting. Well, I think it was a greeting; it was hard to tell with N. Sometimes I could've sworn she was sneering at me.

J was in his usual spot on the couch, taking up almost all the space again. Fat lump. I could hear N's music blaring through her headphones as I passed. Why was it always so loud? It was always so LOUD. It was irritating. I mean, how could anyone THINK around here?! But now I'd do anything to get that back, something to drown out the thoughts I have now.. The thoughts They give me.

J's show was screaming, a hideous screeching metallic sound, and I nearly put my foot through the screen then and there. There was a buzzing noise in my ears. "Can you turn it down?!" I asked at the top of my voice. J jumped at my voice, like he'd been sitting in near silence and I was shouting. But I could hear it, that hideous buzzing. Even as he turned down the TV - I SAW him turn it down from 20 to 12 - the buzzing only increased. It was awful, ringing in my ears without stopping. In the background I could hear N's music.

"Turn that racket off!" I yelled over at her, and she took her headphones off, startled.

"Hey, what's your problem?" She snapped. "There's no need to yell, I can hear you just fine! I haven't even selected a song yet!"

But I could hear it, the noise from the TV coupled with her music, and that incessant BUZZING NOISE...

I don't remember much after that. I remember shouting, screaming in fact, "Shut up! Shut UP! For the LOVE OF GOD, SHUT UP!!" And then everything went dark. I think I blacked out. When I awoke, I came face to face with an unholy sight.

J and N were gone. A whistling wind whipped at me, and I saw at once that every window had been smashed. Every window in the house. And the front door was hanging open, physically hanging off of its hinges. Burglars! Burglars had gotten in! They'd knocked me out, and taken J and N! They were gone!

I searched everywhere for them, but I found no trace. I did find a mutilated body half out of the back door, like they'd been running and had gotten caught. The face was beyond recognition, but looked very pale, almost white. Blood seeped into the carpet and pooled just outside the door on the flagstones. Limbs were twisted crookedly, like they'd each been snapped. I moved away from the corpse, wondering briefly how it got there.

Moving on, I found another body in the basement, slumped against one of the support beams, arms held up where they'd been cable tied to it higher up. The mid section was cut open, organs spilling out onto the floor. The head was caved in. It stank to high heaven.

I left the house, having concluded my search; J and N were gone. The burglars had taken them. They'd broken into the house, smashing up everything, and had left behind two bodies. I didn't know if I'd ever see J and N again. I probably won't. It was soon after that They found me; I'd been running up and down the road, apparently, screaming J and N's names, trying to find them, covered in blood. Smears of it had covered my face like war paint, and my clothes had been ruined, until They had brought me here and cleaned me up. Like I owe Them any favours. Ha. I'll show Them.

Now I sit here, alone in the dark, waiting for Them to come back for me. They'll come. They always come. I have nightmares; smashing windows, someone screaming, and that hideous buzzing sound... When I wake up I can still hear screaming, but I find it to be me.

They think I'm mad; all of Them are against me. But I know I'm not mad. They showed me a tape once - there's a camera in the room, apparently - and it showed me, lying here as I am now, except I was asleep, I think. In my sleep I was apparently screaming and laughing hysterically, "I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID, I DID, I DID!"

I'm sure They doctored that, just to put me on edge. I mean, done what? I haven't done anything except be tortured by Them. One day I'll find J and N. Maybe then I can tell them how upset they used to make me, when they played their music or TV shows too loud. That buzzing won't go away.

I'm stuck here. Trapped. Even though the room is supposedly white, it's so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, if I could move it. I can hear the buzzing starting. I know I'm going to have a nightmare tonight. They'll come soon, They'll want to give me more drugs. But I refuse.

I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm NOT crazy I'm NOT CRAZY I'M NOT CRAZY I'M NOT CRAZY I'M NOT