Peggy sat with the choice of ending my hell sooner but chose not to. She left me there to burn. I waited that day for what felt like an eternity. Hours had passed and I continued to sit in the exact same position, waiting for her like some profound fool.

After a while, my butt cheeks turned to stone. I had to get some form of feeling in them, so I carefully got up and began to wander around the filthy room. The deeper I went, the worse the smell grew. It was like fungus on steroids.

My hopes in Peggy of my rescue hadn't faded. I kept on thinking to myself, "She's going to come. Don't worry. She's on her way. She'll be here soon." Little did I know just how wrong I was. Hours turned into days and I soon lost count of time. All the while, my stomach growled in pain for any form of consumption. My throat burned in desperate need for a liquid to quench it. Even saliva refused to form in my mouth.

Yet somehow, my bladder and intestines continued to digest nonexistent resources inside of my body. Not knowing at the time what else to do, I cautiously made my way to the other far end of the room. Once I felt the two walls connecting, I turned against it and pulled down my shorts and underwear. I bent down to a squat position and relieved myself of urine and feces.

I knew that would only make the putrid smell engulfing the room more horrific, but what else could I do?

At times frustration took over and I'd make my way back to the door. This only occurred once my faith in Peggy started to diminish. When banging and yelling for help never received any form of response, I mustered all the strength that I possibly could and rammed myself into the door. I tried just about everything to get it to open but to no avail.

All it ever did was cause greater bruises and certain areas on my arms and hands were bleeding. Which went unnoticeable until I got tired of beating myself up and took a break by sitting behind the door.

Every few hours my eyes would begin to feel heavy and sleep would involuntarily take over. One minute I was sitting against the door or one of the four walls, the next minute I was lying on the ground fast asleep.

Sleep wasn't necessarily generous either.

I constantly dealt with nightmares. The worse part is that each and every single nightmare involved Steven. If I wasn't witnessing him kill Daniel, he was busy slaughtering my parents, Jessica, Lucas and even Nick. After killing them, it would be my turn. Each nightmare got more realistic than the previous.

I would find myself screaming in horror whenever my body allowed me to wake up. One occasion was so terrifying, I woke up feeling sick and threw up stomach acid.

Every time I walked or crawled to a different area, I kept my eyes shut and only slightly opened them once I reached the wall I was aiming for. It was so dark that my mind would play tricks on me and I would see things moving about.

Shadows of taunting figures sped pass me, others lingered about. I knew there was nothing yet I was convinced I wasn't alone. Every horror, paranormal movie started playing in my mind and I couldn't handle it. I was afraid because I knew that I couldn't fight forever. I could feel myself slipping away. All hope, faith, strength... Gone.

My heart grew cold as my soul grew dark. I slowly became one with my surroundings. I had no warmth in me. Every emotion flatlined. After what felt like an eternity, I took a moment and realized that this is it. This is how my life will end.

I'm never going to see my family or friends ever again. The life I once lived is gone forever. Nothing will ever be the same. I gave up fighting as soon as I accepted the truth. This is my reality. This is my new life. I can't change it. I have to adapt to it. The thing is, I'm not necessarily sad, I'm just really empty. It's an emptiness that has consumed me whole. An emptiness that's meant to stay. They say "destroy what destroys you" so, I destroyed myself.

Giving up was probably one of the best things I have ever done since I've arrived here. A peaceful, numbing state took over my body and I slipped into a blank universe. It was rather pleasant compared to all the nightmares I had been receiving.

After that, the rest became a blur. The only memory I have after drifting into a deep sleep is waking up on soft material and coughing senselessly.

I then heard Peggy's voice and for a split second, I felt safe. For a split second, her voice soothed me, but reality caught up to me soon enough and I remembered how she abandoned me. That caused an anger to build up inside of me and I just wanted to let it all out. But what good would that have done? So I kept it all in, then pushed it aside. Peggy wasn't worth my time.

Anyway, enough of that.

I'm finally back in my room with my comfortable bed and bathroom facility. I have to thank whoever made the butternut soup. It's exquisite. Top notch perfection. I haven't had a decent meal in quite some time and that was excellent. I put the tray with the empty dish aside on the bedside table and allow sleep to take over.

-₹៛₹៛¤៛₹៛₹-

I wake up to my door opening. Steven stands in the doorway with a huge grin spread across his face.

"Well, would you look at that. She's alive," he says as he steps into the room and I immediately sit up in bed. I know they were simply brutal nightmares, an unnecessary evil, but seeing him brings every vivid image rushing back and I don't want to be anywhere near him.

Not now. Not ever.

"We can't have that mouth of yours rambling a bunch of gibberish now can we," he states rather rhetorically. A question that seeks no answer.  I take a moment to clear my throat as I haven't uttered a word in quite some time. 

"What do you want?" 

"I want you to keep your mouth shut. I don't want you talking to anyone. Especially to Peggy." 

"Why?" I ask without thinking, a filter not set in place but I'm simply curious. Why doesn't he want me to talk to her? It makes no logical sense as she's my nurse who's presence I'm bound to face daily.

"And so it begins. First the questions, then the smart remarks that follow. I'm not having any of that take place."

"I'm really not looking for trouble. I just want an answer."

"I don't have to tell you anything. I'm only here to make sure you never speak again," he says as he pulls a knife out of his back pocket. The evil glint in his eyes telling me no good will come from this. I question his actions as panic sets in and draw my legs closer to my body. "More questions. You see it just doesn't end with you, now does it," he says as his face hardens. 

"Steven! Please! No! Don't!... STEVEN DON'T!" I shrill as he jumps on top of me and finds a way to pin me down to the bed. I squirm uncomfortably under his grasp trying to break away. I continue to yell and scream, but it has no effect on him whatsoever.

He pins my arms behind my back and puts his body weight on top of me so that I cannot get them out. He wraps his left hand around my neck and oxygen becomes challenging to reach. I try to get a few words out to beg him to stop, but not even a whimper makes it past my lips.

He brings the knife closer to my face until the cold blade makes contact with my ghostly skin. I stop moving about and shut my eyes. I'm afraid that if I continue to squirm about, I'll go straight into the blade and injure myself. He runs the blade from the top of my face, down my cheek, passes my jawline and stops by my neck after moving his left hand to the side of my head. 

"This won't kill you," he whispers in my ear, "but it will fucking hurt."

Without giving me the chance to defend myself, he holds my head back on my pillow with his left hand and applies a dangerous pressure to the knife with the other. The blade rips through my skin. He slashes me across my throat and I can feel my body going into shock. My eyes shoot open and I find myself staring straight into his repulsive orbs.

"That should do it," he whispers once again.

A thick sticky liquid oozes out of my neck as it glides to either side and forms a pool of blood on my bed. My breathing strains and I frantically begin to squirm under his grasp like a fish on dry land.

"Don't worry. I didn't damage your carotid arteries. I merely destroyed your trachea. Now you will never speak again." The conscious psychopathic creature decides to inform me.

With some or other form of miracle, one of my arms manage to break free and my immediate response is to shove my fingers into his monstrous optical organs. He yells out in pain along with a few profanities as he drops the knife and grabs at his face. With both arms now free, I press the palm of my hands against his solid chest and push him back with a great force. However, he reacts too soon for my liking and in one swift motion, he's back on top of me.

"I should rather have killed you!" His booming voice echoes throughout the room. Spit accompanies each syllable as it lands directly on my face. His hand reaches for the knife and my survival instincts kick in. I rip his arm away from the blade of death and attempt at injuring him any way possible. During our back and forth struggle, he manages to get hold of the knife and things get messy all too suddenly.

"Stop! Please! Steven stop!" I breathe out, but not a single sound can be heard. He continues to plunge the knife in my stomach over and over again, and yet through the forsaken pain, I continue to fight him. "Please stop!" I attempt at speaking yet again, but it's no good. 

"Just die already." I hear him growl as the blade gets extracted from my abdomen.

"Noooo! Please no!"

"Die!"

"Please stop!"

"Di- open your eyes..."

"Stop it!"

"Wake up!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Vivian wake up!"

"Stop it! Please stop! Just leave me!"

"Vivian! Wake up, honey!..."

Steven's voice suddenly changes and an intense baffled expression seizes my face. At that my eyes shoot open and I lunge forward ready to attack.

Except Steven is nowhere in sight.

"It's not real sweetheart. You were experiencing an evil spirit oppressing you during your sleep." I recognize Peggy's voice and find her image to my right.

So in other words... A nightmare. When will it ever end! I yell internally as my hands curl up into balls of frustration. My body broke out into a cold sweat while I was asleep. The nauseating substance clings onto my skin along with my clothing. I force myself to bring my breathing back down to regular paces.

"You're going to be fine. Relax and take it easy. If you want to talk about it you know I'm here for you." 

I snicker at her attempt at showing kindness after what she put me through. 

"Okay..." she mumbles beneath her breath, most likely catching me snicker. Her facial expression changes to utter bleakness. Not that I should care. She doesn't care about me. I turn and stare at the blank wall before me.

A moment of silence fills the room before being replaced by the vocals of a pesistent being, "I brought you some breakfast". 

Oh, food. 

She looks over to the dresser where it's placed before looking back at me and continuing. "I know I said we'll continue your 'Triple E' program today, but I spoke with Marcus and after a decade of trying to convince him he agreed to allow you to begin tomorrow," she informs me. Even though I can hear everything that she's telling me, I pretend I don't.

"You're not alone, Vivian. You're not the only one going through a tough time, but know that I'm willing to look out for you," she continues to blabber pointless and empty promises. I may not be alone physically but mentally there is no one in sight.

I push the covers off of me before heading to the bathroom, not bothered that Peggy's feelings are most likely hurt by my lack of interest in her presence. Once I reach the bathroom regardless of dizzy spells and faltering steps, I begin to peel off my clothing then climb into the shower and turn on the taps. Should have used the toilet first... I think as my bladder begins to explode. Without wasting another second, I pee right here in the shower. It feels good.

After washing my hair and body, I climb out of the shower and wrap a towel around me. I finally get a chance to brush my plaque infested teeth and spend a good four minutes doing so. Once I'm done, I head to my closet.

Peggy is still here. Great.

I decide to ignore her and open the closet doors to grab a set of clothes. A spaghetti top and sweatpants should do. Not caring that she or the camera is in the room, I drop the towel and get dressed.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asks, but I continue to ignore her. 

"You have to speak to me at some or other point in time."

I muster an eye roll and continue getting dressed.

"I guess that time, however, is not today." I hear her mumble before she gets off of my bed and exits the room. "I'll see you tomorrow," she says before closing the door. I pick up the towel and wrap my hair in it, then grab the newly replaced tray and sit down on my bed, ready to enjoy yet another mouth-watering meal.

"It's not her fault you know." A voice announces in the room.

I thought I was alone...

Who else is here?