The small girl stood behind Gerard in the mirror was smiling gleefully, her childish face grinning with delight. Gerard smiled back at his sister.

"Are you going to kill him Gerard?" Harriet asked, smoothing out her bloodstained yellow dress.

"Of course I am! He can't just walk in here and take Frank like that! He's mine!" Gerard exclaimed, his blood boiling at the thought of the bloodied unconscious man in the basement.

"What are you going to do Gee?"

"I don't know. I don't think he deserves all my time and effort to make it drag out slowly... but I want Frank to know how angry I am at him."

Harriet scowled. "You know I don't like Frank. You should just kill him too."

Gerard was up in a flash, lunging for the imaginary girl who screamed and disappeared into thin air. "NO! I AM NEVER GOING TO KILL FRANK!"

There was a small whimper behind Gerard and he span in time to see the flash of dark hair and pale skin darting away from him around the door. Gerard snarled, kicking over the chair in front of the vanity table.

"Little bitch," Gerard muttered under his breath.

He sighed, running his hands through his greasy hair, trying to calm his spinning head. The meds had well worn off and were still waiting in the bathroom for him, patiently sat in the cupboard above the sink.

Gerard took a deep breath and left the bedroom, heading downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, looking out at the forest around them and listening to the eery clock ticking loudly.

He lost himself then, slipping away into the back of his mind, submerged by his thoughts and memories. The clock stopped ticking, there were no muffled screams coming from the basement, there was no irritating giggling coming from Harriet.

Just Gerard.

"Hold still Gerard, I promise it won't hurt," the doctor said gently as the nurses pinned down the terrified boy.

"No! No, please! I hate needles, it's going to kill me, it's going to kill - NO! NO, DON'T, PLEASE, I'M SORRY, PLEASE!"

"Gerard, it's going to make you better, we're trying to help you," the doctor told him, aligning the needle against the boy's pale elbow, the veins standing out vividly.

"IT'S GOING TO FUCKING KILL ME YOU BASTARD, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"

Gerard screamed his lungs out as the needle pierced through his skin, the venom injected into his veins, poisoning his blood and his mind. The nurses had secured the restraints and left the boy to thrash and kick out violently, screaming his throat hoarse.

The doctor sighed, just standing and observing his patient. "Don't worry Gerard. You're going to get better, I promise you."

Gerard stilled and turned to look at the doctor with alarming speed, the man flinching. The boy looked possessed, his eyes burning with demonic fury.

"Fuck you," Gerard snarled and then spat at the doctor.

He watched as the doctor left with the nurses, the injection making his head fuzzy and his eyes heavy. He just lay there in his empty white room, groaning and crying as he slowly descended further into his dark insanity.

"I just want to get better," Gerard sobbed. "I just want to be me again."

Gerard hadn't even realised his feet had lead him to the basement and down the stairs, but he snapped out of his flashback as his hand switched the light on and the room was filled with light.

Frank and Neo were backed up in the corner ooof the room, terrified and shaking. Gard just stared at them blankly.

"What do you want Frank?" Gerard asked, not even looking at the teenager, as his dead eyes bored into the wall.

"W...w-what?" Frank replied, his voice scratchy and hoarse, a mere whisper.

"What do you want to happen to him?"

"I... I want him to get out of here alive," Frank whispered.

"Well. That's fine."

Gerard then walked over to Neo, hauling him up and trapping him against the wall, his face inches from Neo's, his hot breath hitting his skin. "It's just as well I love Frankie so much."

Neo wanted to cry with relief. He could get out of here. He could really leave alive.

At least that's what he thought until Gerard had him restrained against the floor, knees pressing him down and his hands prying his jaw open. His sprained legs hurt too much to kick out against Gerard and his hands were bound behind his back.

"Gerard! What are you doing?!" Frank screamed as he pulled the knife from his pocket.

"I'm making sure he doesn't tell anybody about you," Gerard breathed, carefully placing the knife against Neo's tongue.

He screamed and tried to throw Gerard off, but only caused the older man to sneer at him and drag the blade straight through his fleshy, pink tongue. The blood spurted everywhere and disgusting gurgling noises gushed from Neo's mouth.

Gerard then moved up to his eyes, ashamed of himself being so respetitive. He'd done almost exactly the same to Jamia, blinding her, but if Neo had no sight, the better it was for Gerard.

And so the knife went straight through Neo's eyes, the boy passing out with pain. He went still and started making choking noises on the blood coming from his mouth. Gerard flipped him over, not wanting him to die whilst he was in the house. Frank had specified Neo left alive, after all.

Gerard then worked on carving the knife through Neo's ears, just for the fun of it. Gerard had always had an obsession with removing body parts since he was small and the obsession had grown worse during his time at the hospital.

Gerard sat back and admired his work, surveying the blood covered body in front of him.

Frank had thrown up and was simply shaking in a pool of his own vomit, hyperventilating and barely conscious. His wrists and ankles were bound tingly together and his body was numb now.

He just wanted to die. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't take another day of it.

******************************

"Frankie! I'm home!"

Gerard smallmed the door shut, peeling off the rubber gloves and throwing them onto the fireplace. He gathered up the wood and coal and paper to start a fire and burn the gloves, waiting to hear a noise from Frank.

He didn't, and just simply shrugged it off. He set about making the fire, smiling happily as the flames began to dance around. He headed upstairs for the bathroom to get his meds, humming happily to himself.

The whole house was dark, but Gerard thought nothing of it. Frank had probably gone to bed.

But the bathroom light was on. The door was slightly ajar, light throwing itself across the floor through the slanted angle. Gerard moved forward and slowly pushed the door open.

Frank was slumped on the floor, Gerard's pills spilt all over the floor in front of him. Gerard's didn't eve have to think. He grabbed Frank straight away, checking the boy's pulse and breathing.

He was still alive, just. His pulse was far too slow and his breaths were slow and laboured. Gerard flipped Frank over, leaning him over the toilet and shoving his fingers down the boy's throat as far as he could.

Frank gagged immediately, jerking violently. Gerard strained his hand further until he felt Frank's felt muscles clench and he threw up all over Gerard's hand then into the toilet.

He kept throwing up, small little capsules splattering everywhere. Gerard just held him, stroking his hair and rocking them back and forth.

Frank retched and coughed, spluttering until he fell back against Gerard, sobbing.

Gerard didn't let go. "I'm so sorry Frankie. I'm so, so sorry."

Frank was crying again, clutching Gerard's vomit stained clothes and sobbing until he felt sick again.

Gerard waited until he'd stopped throwing up before stripping the boy off and helping him into the shower, climbing in with him, still fully clothed. He washed the blood and sick off of Frank, holding his small, weak body up.

He then dried him off, dressed him in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and lowered him under the sheets of their bed. He retrieved a bucket from downstairs and placed it next to the bed along with a glass of water.

Gerard then went back into the bathroom and cleaned up, scrubbing and wiping and sanitising until he was satisfied. He then showered himself off, threw his soaked clothes in the washing machine and took his meds.

He went downstairs and killed off the fire, locked up the house and made himself coffee. He returned to the bedroom and switched on the small lamp on the bedside table and sat down in the chair by the window, sipping his coffee and watching Frank all night.

When Frank was better, Gerard decided, things were going to change.

They had to. Neither of them were going to survive if they didn't.