Creep

*Rose*

Why do people do the things that they do? It is kind of hard to explain. Even the most insane person can’t answer that question. The sanest person can’t even begin to understand either. I think I have a little clue, but I doubt that I’m right. I was seventeen when I saw it. I can’t get the events out of my head if I tried.

His name was Trey Langley. We met in Rex Forest Mental Hospital. The details of how I ended up there are still hazy to me. I think I tried to commit suicide then. That doesn’t seem important to me compared to that night. I was placed in a room by myself at first. I remember being in a fog at the time. Everything seemed to float around me. The nurse did talk to me, but their voices seemed so distant. I don’t remember anyone coming to visit me. My dad may have once or twice, but that was about it. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his pain-filled blue eyes. He always seemed to ask me why. I didn’t know how to answer his questions. We would just sit there in silence. My surroundings were no different when he left. Over time, I had built up an invisible brick wall around me. Nobody could reach me.

But one day, some noises behind my back drew me out of my daze. I looked up and noticed some boxes were sitting on the bed on the other side of the room. Curious, I watched on in silence. The door came in with a skinny, pale boy. He looked like the personification of death itself. He had on all black and scars up and down his arms. The boy kept his empty eyes to the floor. I had my eyes trained on him the whole time. It wasn’t love that I felt for him. My head was too clouded up for that. No, I was more curious about him. The doctor blocked my view of him. I heard him talking to the boy in a low voice, but I didn’t know what he was saying. The boy didn’t respond much either. The conversation was short and the doctor left the room. I was left alone with this kid.

Suddenly, he looked up and noticed me. I froze up in place. I didn’t know what he was going to do next. He made a face at me.

“What?” he asked. I shook my head as I shrugged.

“N-Nothing,” I said. He only looked at me.

“Uh…” I said. “Why are you here?”

“Why do you think?!?” he snapped.

“Oh,” I said as I saw the scars on his arms. Suddenly, I felt stupid for even asking.

“Why are you here?” I heard him ask. I quickly lifted my head.

“Hm?” I asked.

“Why are you here?” this boy asked me slower. It still took me a moment to understand.

“Oh, I can’t remember anymore,” I said quietly. He just looked at me funny.

“Okay,” he said at last with a shrug. There was a slight moment of silence. I sat down on my bed, not taking my eyes off of him.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Trey,” he said without thinking.

“Nice to meet you, Trey. My name’s Rose,” I said, trying to sound polite.

“Whatever,” my new roommate mumbled. Then, he left the room. I stared at his back, still confused. What an odd guy they put in my room.

Trey and I didn’t speak much for the next six weeks. We spent most of our time on the opposite ends of our room. I didn’t give up trying to figure him out, though. I wanted to know more about him. I began to hear stories about him. Self-harm was the predominant theme of all of them. Some said that Trey tried to hang himself. Others said that he tried to drown his little sister in the family bathtub one night. A few said that he tried to stab his father during a fight. The details are always so confusing. It just made me want to find out the truth even more. The only way to do that was to ask Trey himself. But every time I tried to do that, something else would get in the way or he would straight out rebuff me. It just made it all the more interesting. But alas, a good chase must come to an end. I remember exactly when mine did.

We were in for a really bad storm that night. The sky was so black that I couldn’t tell if it was the clouds or the sky itself. I could hear the thunder rumbling from outside. The lightening kept flashing across my thin face. I held on tight to my pillow and sheets. I had always been scared of thunderstorms since I was a little girl. The fact that the power was out all over the county didn’t help my nerves either. I tried to block out everything like I normally did.

In the darkness behind me, a soft clicking noise caught my ear. I glanced behind me to see Trey playing with some sort of a lighter. Or at least I thought it was a lighter. I squinted to get a better look. That boy had a small, silver lighter in his hands and he was playing with it. My eyes shot wide open.

“What are you doing?!?” I whispered aloud. He didn’t look up at me.

“This world is a lie,” Trey said. I sat up in my bed.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. He still didn’t look up.

“Everyone will burn away in death soon,” he went on. “Death is inevitable. We can’t help who or what we are. We die and that’s it.” He flipped on the lighter once again.

“Human beings are doomed from the start, you know?” he asked. I shook my head at him.

“Not really…” I mumbled.

“Figures,” he said. “You have been blinded by the world. That’s okay. By eleven tonight, you and the rest of the world will open their eyes again and see the truth.” I really became confused now.

“What do you mean? What did you do?” I asked. I heard him chuckle in the darkness. Another flash of lighting outside made me jump as I saw the twisted smirk on his face.

“Oh, I just took a shitload of pills a couple of moments ago,” he replied as if he was telling me all about his day. “I’ll be dead by morning.” It took me moments to actually respond.

“WHAT?!?” I screamed at last. Trey tried to shush me.

“Not so loud,” he whispered. I blinked at him, bewildered.

“B-B-But why?!?” I stammered out.

“Because,” Trey said ever so calmly.

“Because…”

“I want to be free. If I leave my body now, my soul will be free forever.”

“This is insane!”

“Is it?”

I shook my head with a snow white face as lighting flashed again in the background. “I’m getting help!” I leapt off of my bed and raced out of our room.

“You do that! It won’t do you any good! You’ll just keep sparing the filth in this world!” I heard Trey yell after me as I ran to get the doctors. *Shutter* Those words will forever haunt me in my dreams.

They took Trey away to Cricket Jump Hospital. I don’t know what happened to him after that. I left Rex Forest two days later. The stories about Trey’s fate still swirl around my head to this day. None of them seem to make any sense. My guess is that he finally killed himself and is free as he so desired. I will never really know. But, his voice and twisted grin in the lighting flash will never leave my dreams.

Freedom is Death