James's POV

I feel like I'm slowly going insane...

Lock the doors, the lock the windows...make sure Analiese is okay, try to distract myself...

It's like I's still trapped...still in his grasp...*pants heavily and unsteadily*

Still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in the basement...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still trapped...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still haunted...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his grasp...still in his GRASP!!...

I grab a cup from the cabinet, and walk over to the sink. I turn the handle and listen the water rushing...

I listened to the maddening silence, the only thing I could hear was the water droplets from the sealing, falling down, down, down, until it hit the small puddle that had collected on the cold, hard floor. But it was the echo that drove me insane the most...*drip*...*drip*...*drip* it echoed...taunting me, reminding me...

Everything, no matter how big or small, sparked a memory. Analiese playing with her dolls...

I watched exhaustedly, as Analiese lazily played with the long dead grape vine on the plate...so cold...so lifeless...her hands blue, the color drained from her cheeks, and her skin a horrible white. Her eyes...so dull...

Closing a door...

Cain came down the stairs, slamming the door so hard behind him, that the dirt from the upstairs wooden floor boards fell into our space. He's never slammed the door before...and his footsteps...why do they sound so much heavier...?

Every little thing was a reminder...and I could no longer look at the world as if it were a fantasy book, like Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings...instead, I saw everyone's shadow as a place were they would hide their secrets. A prison...I would hear people's words in a much more different, and twisted way than they were intended...I had much more trouble trusting and interacting with people than ever before...I would see Cain...everywhere...down the street...in the kitchen...holding Analiese...with the chain around her neck...

I opened my eyes, and found myself scarily close to a man's tan face, staring into wide, haunting blue eyes. Cain's eyes. I screamed and scrambled backward. I tried to blink away the tears in my eyes, but when I did, and I opened my eyes again, I saw my Dad. "Hey, hey, hey...it's okay. It's me..." He reassured me, in a very calming voice. I started crying out of relief, and buried my head into his leather jacket. He held me close, and repeatedly whispered that I was safe, that it was all over. "Cain can't hurt you anymore..."

"What did you see this time?"

"Cain...again. H-He was intensely s-staring at me..."

"Y'know, when your mom and me realized that we'd lost you, we started seeing you everywhere too. In your dishes, your rooms, your toys, your drawings on the fridge. Anything and everything made us think of you. And it's terrifying, isn't it? That fear? But look, James...you're here in our arms. And we're never letting you go..."

Sorry it's so short. I'm working on something really cool!