The Voices

• Phoebe Kothe, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2017

It doesn't matter how much I try; I can't stop. I love the feeling it gives me, the feeling of pain and darkness; it helps me control my pain, it makes me feel normal, but that's not what they think. They think I'm insane, they think I've completely lost my mind, I'm out of control, on the brink of no return; then again I guess there right.
My name is Stacy, Stacy Fry. Being an 18-year-old girl with a normal life was nice, until I met them; and by "them" being the voices in my head. It was the summer of 2016, I was walking through the woods at night looking for a fox that had been stealing food from the town's bins, I've always had a fascination for foxes, they are sly and sweet but they are also brutal. I took out my phone and turned my flash on, when I looked up he was just sitting there, I was startled, he was just looking at me, his eyes locked on mine and stared deep into my soul. I sat down against the nearest tree, the fox close behind me. The last thing I saw was the fox still looking deep in my eyes before I fell asleep and in that moment the voices started to scream in my head.
I was committed into the Huntercombe mental institution 3 months ago when someone found me sitting against the tree screaming and bashing my head in, "Just because they tell you to do it doesn’t mean you have to" the doctors say "it's going to be fine" they say! Well it's not! If I don't do it they'll kill him! I can save him I just need more time.
Today I am meeting with my psychiatrist for the first time; it's for some sort of psychological evaluation or something. It's supposed to help with my 'mental state'.
They took me into a small room, there was a man sitting at a desk, I sat in-front of him.
"How are you Miss Fry? I have read in your report that someone is telling you to hurt yourself, is that correct?" The psychologist asked with a drained tone in his voice,
"You don't understand I had to!" I stammered, but he wasn't hearing me, I could see it in his face, "YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME! IM NOT CRAZY, I SWEAR!" The guards rushed in as soon as they heard the scream, laughter raised instantaneously through my lips while I was getting dragged to my cell.
"If you go out the woods today you're sure to get a surprise, if you go out to the woods today you better go in disguise, for every bear that there ever was will gather there for certain because, today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic" that was the last thing I sung before the voices completely consumed my soul, and left me as a damaged, lifeless vessel waiting to die.