• He had to keep running. Faster than he had ever ran before, away from it. However hard he tried it would just keep coming back stronger, quicker……sneaking in his mind, and destroying every little calm, peaceful thought. No, this was the stuff of nightmares, some thing that did not exist.
    Stop running now, I’m here, inside, you can’t get any further away…..
    “Stop it!” He screamed. His head was sore. Spinning round and round, this demon would not win. Surely he was going mad, craving for something, but he couldn’t quite tell what. His body was running from hot to cold extremely quickly, and he could feel a fire burning through his veins. Sweat dripped down his forehead furiously. The darkness around him increased.
    You’re going insane, voices inside your head? First sign of madness I heard. When will you stop fighting? You’ll die in the end anyway……
    His hand started to shake, and it spread through his body. Help……… he needed help, now, not a second to waste. He needed to just stop running… no; that would be a mistake. He was in hell, he was sure of it. Hadn’t he been minutes ago lying in the middle of the road hit by a car.
    Do what you like, stuck with me you are…
    “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” The boy screamed still running. Panting hard, he stopped, and didn’t realise. The moon shone in the dark, dark sky.
    You stopped running, see I told you. I would always over power you, destroy you. You can never scream for help. I am inexistent, nothing, and if you told anyone…………well, they’d think you were lying, wouldn’t they? Now, to start with you……
    The fire got hotter. His body shook, and collapsed. His scream echoed out onto the street but every body was too busy to care what was going on outside. Their curtains were drawn, Christmas music playing, nobody was interested to know what was happening to local boy Tom Slater. They didn’t even notice when the scream died out to a loud piercing cry… a cry for help.




    I woke up, my black spiky hair sticking to my face, and bright lights shining intensely into my eyes. Must have been a dream, I thought to myself, starting slowly to get up.
    You know only too well it wasn’t a dream Tom Slater…
    That wasn’t funny. “Who said that?” I questioned, getting out of bed, and walking threatingly around the room. I paused. This was not my bedroom. My bedroom was a small hidey hole, with Tokio Hotel posters and Iron Maiden posters around it. It was such a dump; my Mum had once threatened to chuck me out……my Mum……
    No Tom don’t think about her, she only causes misery and pain… we don’t want that now do we?
    Strangely enough I decided to agree with the voice in my head, she was a bad person, she was a waste of breath, a waste of life. Shaking my head, I got back into the bed. This place was like no-other place I’d been before, high white walls, clean white tiles, and a series of machines in one corner.
    A hospital, surely enough, this was a hospital. I leaned back and gave a cry… my back; my back was killing me, so sore, so……… it hurt even thinking about it. I lay down and waited for some one to come. Who, my Dad? A Doctor? I wasn’t sure myself. Wait, I thought to myself. There must be a buzzer, room service, something like that. I fumbled about around my bed. Nothing, I could find nothing.
    Well while you’re waiting, you can talk to me, at me, maybe tell me something, a secret, anything, anything at all on your mind.
    Ignore it Tom. That was the first thing I thought to myself. Ignore it. Closing my eyes made it worse. What had happened last night?
    My Dad walked in. “TOM!”He said, rushing towards me. I’ve been so worried” He hugged me tightly.
    He didn’t even bother wasting a second thinking about you tom. You could have died for all he cared.
    I pushed him away. After all, when have I ever mattered to him? He sat there betting on horse races losing thousands of pounds every day, and he says he cares?
    “What happened?” I asked wearily.
    “We found you down Westbrook, you were badly injured, been out for a month!” Dad said giving me back my snake bite rings and letting me put them in.
    ‘He found you’ come on, I saw it. He was betting on his next horse, while you were lying unconscious in the mud while it rained; could not have cared a tuppence. To be truthful, if I were you, I would stop talking altogether…
    Again, strangely enough I agreed with this thing in my head. I pressed my lips together; clinking my tongue piercing against my teeth.
    “Tom?” My Dad said.”Are you sure you feel alright?” He asked again.
    I looked at him blankly. Who did he think he was? Some super Dad coming to find me because I had been out all night, mixing in with the wrong crowd? Yes of course he was, some wonder Dad who went out looking for me... umm yeah right, he could not have cared if I started smoking or taking drugs (which I wouldn’t), he didn’t take any notice, he didn’t realise I had my piercings until 3 months after I had them done!
    My Dad was the type of man you avoided. Not because he was bad news or anything like that, but because you didn’t want to get dragged down. He was balding at the back of his head, had a beer belly, shirts and jeans always had holes in them, and since I was twelve I had been getting my own meals. Not that that was the worst thing, my dad had a gambolling problem; a year ago we had been living off the street, begging for money, and even now he was still thousands of pounds in debt.
    That’s right. Your Dad’s scum; ignore him Tom; ignore the doctor that’s just coming in. Put up a fight, don’t let them take you away; don’t let them take you there. You’re not mad, are you? No tom, you’ve got backbone, you’re going to stay here whatever you do…
    “Right Tom,” The Woman said. She was a rich snob really, you could tell straight away; posh, expensive, blonde highlights covering the grey hairs, and a face that looked as if she’d had botox many a time. “Now, Tom, we are just going to move you to another ward.” She said calmly, looking at me as if I was some one with a mental problem.
    “Where are you taking me?” I said, backing away into the wall.
    “The Starling Ward, don’t worry Tom, it’s just so this old woman can come in and have some privacy.”
    “I’m not crazy. You can’t make me go there. Please. No. Don’t, you can’t…I…I can’t go there. I want to go home. Dad take me home!” I howled; getting more frightened the second. I wasn’t crazy. I knew I was acting like a five year old, but I didn’t care. They weren’t going to take me to the mental illnesses ward. Never, would I let them.
    “Tom, it’s just so this woman-“
    “I’M NOT GOING!” I screamed, hot tears rolled down my cheeks, they were lying, I knew it.
    “Tom, please try and be reasonable…”
    “TELL ME THE TRUTH!”

    They’re lying Tom, all against you. Look at this woman’s face, look she’s lying. They’ll against you and you know it.
    “TELL ME PLEASE!” I said shaking. Hot and cold; fire burning through my veins; destroying me; making me shout and scream. I would not; could not go there, never.
    “Tom, it’s just that you’ve been screaming and shaking and crying in your coma tom; not very welcoming on Christmas day.” She said, frowning and getting my stuff together.
    “I’m not going.” I said again, but this time quieter and scared.
    “Tom, you have to.” My Dad said reluctantly, and looking down at the floor avoiding my stare. He couldn’t do this. Never. No not ever could my own dad betray me.
    See, I was right all along, they’re against you, I’m your only friend in the world, and no one loves you or cares. You see, even your own families left you. They’re all against you Tom, why won’t you listen to me? You’re the only the only normal one here, don’t let them boss you about Tom, listen to me, I’m a friend.
    “That’s what they all say.” I muttered.”But they’re wrong, they always betray me in the end!” I grit my teeth, what was wrong with me?
    No Tom, I’m right. They don’t love you, and the woman doesn’t care, she’s only helping you because she knows you’ll pay towards her next jaguar, with 2 TVs in the front seats……
    “WILL YOU SHUT UP?” I said, breathing heavily. And then they grabbed me, pulling me up by my arms… big mistake. I talked to it. They thought I was crazy; they thought I was off my rocker. “Please get off me, please let me stay. Where’s my dad? Dad? Where are you?” I called out, but I could here him running out the hospital, his factory shop trainers hitting the floor quickly.
    The two Doctors dumped me on a bed in a small room with no windows. I could hear screams all around me. People were backing up into walls crying… just as I had.
    I couldn’t believe where I was, the Starling Ward; the most famous ward in the city where I lived for mental illnesses.
    I could hear them locking the metal door as they left the room, and sat in the dark on the hard bed. My phone lay on the side of the bed, with at least 10 unread texts.
    Now you see, don’t you? See what they’ve reduced you to? Look around Tom. They hate you. You can see it in their eyes. They will never look you in the eye.
    Ignore it Tom. I told myself. It’s not worth it; they’re probably doing this for the better you know. I checked my phone…11 at night. Great, I had nothing to do and it was 11 o’clock, so I couldn’t do anything. I sat on my bed for while, listening to the screams echoing throughout the hall way, and the constant buzz of far away televisions. The room was small and cramped, but as I had none of my stuff what so-ever, it felt fairly big.
    I lay on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, why was I here? I just wanted to go home, that’s all I wanted to do, go home, and carry on with my life. Dad, where was my Dad when I needed him? I couldn’t trust any one any more. My mum had made sure of that. Right when she betrayed me.
    Remember Tom, don’t think about her, thinking about her will make you want to see her, and when you see her she’ll just betray you again. It’s ok, you’ll get out of here and you’ll get your revenge… trust me; I know what I’m doing. We’ll use all our power to make sure this happens.
    And then it happened. The darkness surrounded me, and I could feel nothing but the darkness, pulling me in and swallowing me whole.
    I found myself on the floor, just lying there. My usual black guy skinny jeans and top were folded on the bed, and my Doc Martins stood at the side of them. Every thing had been placed in the room: my Tokio Hotel and Iron Maiden posters, my clothes…everything. It was obvious I wasn’t expected to leave soon. A pot of Tony and Guy hair gel stood on the bedside table…my Dad’s way of saying sorry I expected, usually I had to buY cheap stuff that made my hair go greasy and sticky. 7 o’clock, great, what was I supposed to do for the next hours of the day, hang around looking at my stuff? Yeah right even a spider couldn’t do that.
    You’ll be out soon. But when you are, hide. They’ll come looking for you, oh yes they will come looking for you.