Bitten in Red

Locked eleven years in a mad house its a nightmare for most of people.  Not for Ana, for her being out of here is what caused most of the nightmares. Alright,its not actually a mad house,center for orphan challenged children they call it, but with therapists, white sterile rooms and plenty of prescription drugs,it can easily fit the mad house description . Lets not forget the tests. They have tests twice a year so you can take your rightful place in the line of shattered mind here at the center. Ana knows now how to pass those tests,it took years of failure,but now she knows. At first she did the mistake of being honest and naively trusting. Staying locked in a padded room with no window or furniture,tasting daily many cocktails of weird medicine that turned you into mindless puppet can cure a person from honesty pretty fast. Now, with many thoughts ridding her brain, Ana pushed herself straight from the small hard bed and let her feet touch the cold white marble floors from her assigned room,she looked at her feet barely seeing them in the pale light that came from the hallway. Its curfew time, everyone should be sleeping. if she turns the light on,the nurses will hurry inside her room to see whats wrong and that is the last thing she wanted. Admitting that another nightmare woke her up its out of the question. They will probably give her some more pills,it will take days till their effect will totally wear off,that is a complication she doesn't need. Tomorrow is to important,tomorrow is the day she will leave this place and for what is waiting for her outside of the center walls,she needs a clear head. Yesterday, Jackson,her only living some sort of a relative informed the center director that he will come take Ana back at her parents house. Ana knew she will have to take care of their legal will now that she is nineteen and the center decided to let her go,but hearing about Jackson involvement surprised her.  He never kept in touch with her,the only reason she knew he was still alive is because he signed her transfer papers form the Danubian center to this center when she was seventeen years,but that was two years ago. Tomorrow will be the first she will see him after her parents funeral,still badly hurt,he barley looked at her then. Jackson was in her parents house on the night they were killed,in one of his unannounced visits that became a habit since he was always a troubled ,rebel child and Ana's mom ,Diana, was his sister and refuge every time things turned out messy. Jackson and Diana were not biological brothers,they came from different families but when they were very young.their parents meet in a vacation and fall for each other and raised their children together. As adults,Diana always insisted to call Jackson her brother and she always kept in touch with him,that until that dreadful night when Diana and Ana's dad,Tom, were brutally killed.  Animal attack ,the authorities said,but Ana knew the truth,she saw the whole thing,or she thought she did. Sometimes when everybody is telling you that you are crazy,you start to believe it and doubt your own mind. That is until you get the prove you need to know you are right. Ana still struggles to keep that prove close to her mind so she will never start doubting herself again. Ana got her confirmation, two years ago on the Danubian center, she saw the thing that killed her parents again and realize that her mind is not playing tricks on her, that she was right but she could not prove it. No matter how much she will scream and try to tell the truth, people will never believe her.  With head still bowed and her long straight pale blond hair falling around her like a white curtain she closed her eyes tight. Flashes of imagines appeared behind her eyelids. Shadows moving fast behind the forest trees, people screaming, then sound of teeth tearing thru flesh the burning sensation  on her right hip. She opens her eyes back to present feeling her heart pounds like a drum in her ears. That's another kind of nightmare, one that got her here at the center in the first place, one that will follow her on her way out .  Tomorrow Ana knew she will have to step outside of the center, there was no way around it. She must be ready for the monsters that will follow her. Indoors is safe, but till she will get there she and all those who will be with her, are in danger.  Warning them is pointless, nobody ever believed her, not even when five people were murdered. Animal attack, again. Sure. The ragged scar from her right hip always warned her when the monsters are close, a slow heat seared her old wound every time they are close. A wound she got the night her parents were killed and Jackson put in the hospital.That day at the camp fire outside of the Danubian center nobody payed attention at her screaming and warnings to run inside they just blamed it on her mental problems and stared at her until it was too late. Even the boy she liked laughed when she begged him to find shelter. Took her months to come back from the shock.  The horrors she had witnessed marked her already damaged mind, by the time she came back to reality she was already at this new center her 18 b-day long gone and so her first release possibility. But that was fine for her, she didn't wanted out anymore anyway. After that Ana learn how to lie and fake her illness so that people will leave her alone, no more friends, no more talking about what she saw and  no more walking outside for her, not even the crowded city felt safe. She is a walking danger and its her duty to keep peoples away from her. Being released from the center scared her at first, but now she had a plan.. she will lock herself with the help of the money she will get after selling her parents property in a nice safe academy and move on with her study. That's it.But first she needs to get there.  She needs to survive this trip . Soft steps on the hallway made her raise her head, her breath stuck in her throat she looked at the door.  A key from the outside turned twice before the door moved open slowly letting a ray of neon light come in. Ana shielded her eyes with her hand.  "I knew for sure I will find you awake, if not then I will had wake you up. I have a gift for you that deserves the trouble." A relived breath escape Ana chest, it was Elena and not one of the nurses like she feared. The woman janitor of the center is the only one with who she manage to keep a some kind of friendship.Dark hair and skin, the gypsy woman asked very little questions but at her advance age she felt Ana need to have a person with who she can talk without fear. "You didn't have to get me noting Elena." Ana said in a low voice. Elena waves her of " I'ts more for a good purpose item then a gift." Standing from the bed, Ana got the soft yellow wrapped package from Elena hands. With care she put the gift on her bad, too much sound will alert the nurses. One by one the yellow paper went down and reveled a red soft looking material. Ana took it and unfold it."Wow, this looks beautiful but the color is way too bold for me." " Nonsense, you will look so good with it and the traditions says that the red color will scare the bad spirits away from you and bring courage to your soul. Some believe that the one that wears the color read are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the things they believe in." A knowing look was in Elena's eyes as she said that. Thinking on that, Ana decided she needed some courage, she puts the wool trench coat out , looked at it for a minute then put it on. Knee length with a large hood the trench fits her perfectly, Elena did a beautiful job. Red hugged the trench around herself "Thank you so much Elena, its the most beautiful thing i ever had." "It will protect you, i sewed every inch of it singing gypsies songs that will help you stay safe." Elena didn't knew the problems Ana faced, but she did know how much nervous this trip made her. With a small smile Ana took the trench off "I'm so nervous about tomorrow. Jackson's arrival was not in my plans." Elena nodded " You will do just fine, he will understand why you need to move on and sell that house fast, your mother must have loved him a lot to have him in her will too. She must have trust him to be a good man." Ana doubted that, she remembers Jackson from her childhood, much older then her, he always got himself in trouble and his temper didn't helped much. She did like him at the time cause he was fun to be around,but she could not imagine him now."Selling the house is not a problem, he will get his share if that's what this is all about, but having him around will be hard." Memories will probably be a shadow between them, and so many stuff left unspoken.  "He must be a grown man now,at least he will know to do the thing that need to be done with the house better then you." Elena reassured her. "Yes he is thirty-two or something around that age by now,maybe with a family of his own. I hope he will not bring his children if he has some."Ans said like and afterthought. Putting children in danger way is the last think Ana needed. Before Elena could say more, noise for the hallway made them both quiet for a moment. Looking at the door, Elena hugged Ana. ”Take good care of yourself beautiful. Tomorrow, the director will be here to walk you out so i wont get the chance to say my proper good bye. You have my home address in case of anything and even if i hope everything will go good, I still hope you will come visit me.” Stiff as a board at first, Ana slowly relaxed in Elena's arms. Human closeness is not something she got used to, but this time she forced her arms around Elena's petite frame ”Somehow, someday I will come see you. Thank you for everything.” Elena let her go and rushed at the door, before opening she looked one more time in the blue eyes of the girl she came to care about so much ”Wear the coat.” she said one last time. Ana nodded and watch her only friend close the door behind her.