A Friend Within

Sean, still shaking and panting, remained seated on the abdomen of  the motionless body. He slowly removed his blood stained left hand from the man's neck checking the pulse as he did so. With his equally stained right hand, he pulled his hunting knife out from the man's torso, releasing a fresh stream of blood onto the marble floor. This was the twentieth stab he had made into the man's torso and it had finally done the trick. The dead man had put up quite a fight though. He had almost knocked him out with his big fists and if it hadn't been for Sean's quick skills with the knife, it would have been him lying motionless on the floor. 

The man's eyes were now wide open but devoid of life. Sean slowly stood up soaking up the moment. He looked at the heavily blood stained walls that stood before him. These white walls had served as a canvas for his gruesome masterpiece. Towering over his victim, he smirked knowing that although the man had won some of battles against him, he had ultimately won the war. This man had taken everything from him. He had taken his job, his girlfriend and his sanity. He knew that his nemesis would never take anything from him again. He had finally removed this thorn from his flesh. He had silenced his only friend. 

Sean Hashel grew up in Brisbane. He was still a toddler when he lost his older brother.  According to his parents, his brother had drowned while they were on holiday in Spain. His parents had tried to have more children after him but a horrible series of miscarriages made them settle for him, their sole prince. He was a shy boy who preferred to play alone. The other children his age had left him with no choice but to entertain himself as they always avoided him. Although it was sad, it didn't seem to down the little boy's spirits. One day when he was about seven, he had gone out with his parents to a circus. He got lost while trying to hide from the clowns that roamed the circus. He had ran off into a nearby forest and gotten lost as he tried to find his way back. As darkness slowly engulfed the forest, he became scared. 

While lying down in a fetal position, his tear-filled eyes spotted a boy, about his age, approaching him. This boy seemed to be enjoying his time in the woods. He was playing with a toy windmill and didn't seem spooked by the darkness. The brave boy approached Sean, held out his hand and  introduced himself as Alex Foster. The boy told him that he knew the way back to the circus and promised to take him back to his parents. When his parents found him an hour later, he was at the candy store next to the main exit. They were relieved to find him unharmed and were very keen to meet the little boy who had helped their child. Unfortunately Alex had already left with his parents. 

"Was this when you became friends?" the brunette woman interrupted. She was beautiful, soft spoken and wore an inviting smile. Sean sat facing her. Both his hands  were cuffed to the table and both his feet were in shackles. "No. Have you spoken to his parents yet?" he nervously asked. "That's not your concern for now. Please continue your story." she said calmly. He hesitated for a moment as a ghastly image of Alex's bloodied body appeared in his mind. Alex's parents had told them to protect each other at all times. This was the opposite of what they meant. The guilt felt like a sharp pain on his abdomen. He could tell that his abdominal scar was complaining too. The scar he and Alex had in common. 

After the circus incident, Sean went back to his lonely life. Alex soon became a distant memory. High school didn't prove any different for him. He was quite a loner and would spend most of his time alone behind the school's gymnasium. When he was fourteen, his habit of staying alone behind the gymnasium almost cost his life. Earlier that morning he had complained of a sharp abdominal pain and nausea. His mother wanted to take him to the doctor but the stubborn teenager had insisted on going to school. He was going to fight the pain. As he sat at his spot behind the gymnasium, the pain became so unbearable that he couldn't walk. Hadn't it being for the caretaker who found him rolling on the ground in pain, the outcome would have been grim. He was taken to the hospital and had his inflamed appendix removed. As he sat in his room in the surgical ward a day after his surgery, one of the nurses popped in and told him that she wanted to introduce him to another kid who had had a similar surgery done. She thought the boys would be perfect for each other since they had something in common. She then brought in Alex Foster. 

Puberty had served him well. He had become muscular and taller. His face hadn't changed much though. Sean could never forget the face that led him out of that forest. The boys quickly caught up. Alex had moved to Sydney. He had briefly

returned to Brisbane for a soccer tournament. His participation had been cut short because of his misbehaving appendix. This was his fourth day after surgery and was going back to Sydney that day. The boys exchanged phone numbers and promised to stay in touch. Sean's parents were more than excited to hear about Alex popping back into their son's life. Unfortunately, the boys failed to get in touch again after this for six more years. Alex's phone number, according to the network provider, didn't exist. 

Suddenly a man burst into the room. He was wearing a white coat. In his hand, he held a huge syringe. He walked towards the chained Sean. The brunette detective put her papers down and quickly stood up shielding Sean from the man like an umbrella on a rainy day. They exchanged some vicious looks and after a short staring contest, they both left the room to discuss. Sean was horrified. He knew that he was guilty but didn't deserve to be killed off like a stray dog. At least he deserved a day in court before they could give him that lethal injection. The detective returned to her seat and genuinely apologised for what had happened. She then asked him to resume his story.

Sean was twenty when he moved to Sydney for university. He was studying architecture. This had been an easy career choice to make as both his parents were architects. Not much had changed in his social skills and he still preferred to be alone. That's why it came as a surprise to his classmates when he showed up at the freshman party. It had taken some strong convincing from his mother for him to attend the party. "Perhaps you could meet your future wife there," she had teased him as he finally agreed to go. However, he later regretted this decision. Some of his classmates had decided to jeer him every time he went for the snacks. After a few rounds of jeering, he decided to go home. As he left the house, someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around and to his surprise, he saw Alex. Alex looked hadn't changed much. He was now a sophomore at another school in Sydney. He was also studying architecture. The boys caught up as they made their way to Sean's apartment. "Third time's the charm," chimed in the detective. 

Sean's days at university became bearable and more enjoyable thanks to Alex's constant presence. Alex knew a lot about Sydney and often showed Sean around. Alex loved surfing on the Sydney beaches so he taught his friend how to surf. While visiting bars, Alex would teach his friend how to pick up girls and how to play darts. Sean's parents felt better knowing that their son was in safe hands. The hands of a man who always knew when to appear to save their son. Alex graduated first as he was a year ahead. Although he was now employed, he still made an effort to visit his friend and take him out. A year later, Sean graduated and decided to stay in Sydney and work there. The future was looking bright for him. He had a girlfriend, a reliable friend and potentially a well paying job. What could go wrong? 

Sean was coming from a late afternoon stroll when he decided to get coffee from his favourite coffee shop which was close to his apartment. He never got the coffee. Right before him, sat his girlfriend, Suzy, and Alex enjoying something else other than coffee. They were kissing. Sean just backed away and went home. There had to be a very good explanation for this. He demanded answers. Suzy denied knowing any Alex when he asked her. She had been in the coffee shop but was alone. Sean asked her to leave and not talk to him again. He then called Alex. "She needs a real man and you are not that man Sean," Alex responded. It took him a couple of weeks to recover from this. Alex then called him. "Guess what I did at work today?" he casually asked as if nothing had happened between them. "My boss saw your job application and wanted to call you to come in for work," he said. "Really? That's great. What time should I come in?" Sean excitedly asked. At least his friend had tried to make amends by telling him this. "Hold your horses. I said he wanted to call you but I told him not to. You see, he values my opinion so I told him that you were not fit for this job. Like I said before, these things need real man and you are not one." Sean could hear him laugh as he ended the call. What had he done to deserve such betrayal from Alex? He had gone too far. First his girl, now this. He had to pay. 

Sean spent the next weeks looking for ways to get back at his former friend. He had taken away things he treasured. He had to suffer more than he did. He had crossed a line that was sacred. He had broken the bro code. He had insulted his masculinity. He had to feel the full force of the masculinity he had mocked. As these dark thoughts were filling his mind, he was simultaneously unsheathing his hunter's knife. He could scare the life out of Alex. Threaten him a little. After that he would never mock his manhood again. He made a plan centred on this. He was going to sneak into Alex's apartment and wait for him to return from work and then threaten the unarmed man and show him that he meant business. 

Alex's apartment was at the city's outskirts. The place was a replica of his. Sean used the spare key he had to get in. As soon as he entered, Alex switched on the lights. "Come to prove your manhood, old friend?" he asked. Sean's plan had been thwarted at its infancy. "You stole my girl, took my dream job away and you still think you are the better man? " Sean answered him. "I was better off without you." "Better off without me?" Alex retorted. "You would have died in that forest. You would have never had a girlfriend in the first place if it hadn't been for me." "My guardian angel. Is that what you want me to say? I don't owe you anything." shouted Sean as he went for his knife. Alex was quick with his fists as he knocked Sean to the ground kicking him while he was still down. Sean got up and tackled Alex to the floor. " It's cute to see you try to fight back. Never thought you had strength to fight back." mocked Alex as he spat out blood. Sean had stabbed him in his chest during the tackle. Fueled with rage, he continued stabbing until Alex's smirk disappeared. 

Hannah wrote down her final comment on Sean's psychiatry evaluation form. She had been called by the Sydney Police to evaluate him after they had found him in his apartment alone with cuts all. His neighbours had called the police after they had heard a scuffle in his room. When they found him, his eyes were fixed on an empty space in front of him. They initially thought he had tried to commit suicide based on cuts on his chest which were bleeding. As they took him out of the apartment, he kept on shouting at them, while pointing at that same empty space, to carry his friend's body. The police, stunned by this, searched his entire apartment and concluded that Sean had been the only one in that place for a while. Sean was taken to hospital and had his injuries treated. Based on details provided by Sean, they did an investigation on the whereabouts of Alex Foster. They contacted his workplace and were shocked to hear that there wasn't an employer with that name. They then contacted his university which echoed the same response. After these findings, they had a rough idea of what they were dealing with. They transferred Sean to a nearby psychiatry centre and asked the famous Hannah to assess him. 

Hannah hadn't  bothered to correct Sean when he assumed that she was the lead detective in a murder case. She had asked him to tell her about his life focusing more on his encounters with Alex over the years. As he shared his life story, she discovered that Alex seemed to appear whenever Sean felt lost, trapped or lonely. An imaginary friend to keep him company. To the annoyance of the centre's doctors, she had asked them not to sedate him that day. She wanted him unhinged so as to assess the full extent of his condition. She could tell that the man's condition had worsened over the years. The hallucinations had become permanent. Alex had become a constant part of Sean's life. He had become a mentor, brother and eventually an enemy. She had confirmed that Sean's girlfriend was real. The girlfriend told her that the relationship had ended when Sean had accused her of cheating with Alex, someone she had never seen but had heard of from Sean. Hannah had asked Sean's parents to come to Sydney as she wanted to get a full family history from them. She wanted to get to the root of his condition. This had to be the worst kind of schizophrenia she had ever encountered. She looked at her patient who now looked to be at peace after giving his confession to the murder he was convinced he had committed. Suddenly, he started backing away in his chair pointing at the wall behind her. His face had turned pale, his mouth struggling to form words. "No. No. No. You are dead. I saw you die. I killed you!" he shouted. Hannah was used to this. Sean was hallucinating again. She sat still in her chair as Sean talked to the ghost of his friend. 

Sean was petrified. He couldn't understand how his friend had survived the attack. Alex was leaning against the white wall at the back of the room. He was still wearing his heavily bloodstained shirt. Sean could see blood trickling down from the stab wounds.  Alex slowly walked towards the table and stood just behind the lead detective. He then took out his knife and stared at Sean. "Leave her out of this. It's between us. Kill me instead!" Sean screamed at  Alex. "She is a bad woman Sean. She is playing good cop for now. After this, they will kill you with that lethal injection. Do you want your parents to lose another son?" Alex calmly asked him. He then started stabbing her. 

Hannah  screamed as blood gushed out in all directions from her neck. She desperately tried to plug the stab wounds with  her hands. She managed to stand up and scan the room. There was no new face in the room. Sean was still chained to the table and looked equally horrified. Her attacker had simply vanished. As she shuffled slowly towards the door, she dropped to the floor and lay in a pool of her own blood, life slipping away. The door burst open as doctors rushed in to help her. One of them rushed in with an injection and sedated Sean. As he slowly drifted to sleep, Alex crouched next to him and whispered, "I will deal with them."