Excerpt: Schizoid

“Ugh.. I feel like my head got run over.” I mumbled, my eyes slowly opening moments after my mouth had. I grunted and reached up to touch my forehead, expecting to still feel the blood there from earlier. My fingers came away clean and I opened my left eye even wider. The room I was in was dark, but it wasn’t dark like my somewhat cozy room always was. I wiggled my nose, trying to clear the snot from my nostrils and sat up a bit in the bed, realizing that I was hooked up to something. I frowned and moved my hand, seeing an IV line was stuck in the back of my hand.

“What the hell?” I said in the darkness, the faint lights suddenly startling me. I didn’t know where the hell I was and I didn’t like the idea of being unaware of what was going on.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.” I heard Shadow’s voice in the darkness and suddenly he appeared on my covers and spooked me.

“Oh!” I gasped, pulling them up to my chin a hurry.

“It’s ok. You got sent to the hospital. A neighbor heard the commotion you and your father were causing and called 9-1-1. You’re pretty lucky. Your father was in the middle of having his fun when the cops came banging on the door.” Shadow said, already knowing the question I had yet to ask. I simply nodded and slipped even further under the covers.

“How bad was the drama? Or, I should rephrase. What did he tell the cops when they showed up?” I said, taking a deep breath, remembering my knee had been popped out and that I had a bleeding head wound.

“Sure,” I said, around a mouthful of the warm but kind of bland tasting food.

“How long have you heard voices?” he asked and I stopped eating.

“Why?"

“Just answer the question Maria.”

“Not till you tell me why.”

“We’re just evaluating things. Just answer my questions and things will go smoothly.”

“Fine.. I guess ever since I was six so… maybe ten years I’d say?” I thought, tapping my chin with my plastic spork I had been given with the meal. He nodded and wrote down my answer on the chart and I took another bite of food.

“Has it been one voice or more?”

“Mainly Shadow, but sometimes it’s more than one I’d suppose. But, they aren’t voices.” I said, stuffing my mouth full again. He cocked his head sideways towards me.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking to friends just like everyone else does. They aren’t ‘voices’; they’re friends that are real.” I told him, stabbing the spork into a piece of yummy food. He made another note and looked towards my eyes.

“They aren’t real Maria. They’re hallucinations.” he said firmly and I shook my head no.

“They are not. They’re real people. Hell, you just insulted Shadow and he’s standing right next to you!” I said, motioning my hand. He glanced around and shook his head.

“I see no one.” he simply said and stood up. I raised an eyebrow but before I could ask what he meant, he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him with a firm click of echoing silence.