What’s Happening to Anastasia?
Chapter 9
I’m here again, fellas! It’s me, Jack.
Well, it seems Emma was right for the first time, I’m afraid Annie did get worse. After she woke up, she was more violent then before. It was a good job we tied her down. She did nothing but try to struggle free, though it was obviously useless. She also screamed for hours on end. She even tried to smash her head on the bars of the bed, so we had to wrap bed quilts round them.
Though I must tell this story, oh, it depressed me. I remember what Annie was like before all this happened. I only wished that she could be who she was before.
But I would have to dream on. Little did I know at the time, but things were going to get far worse before they’d ever get better.
Annie clamed that there was someone inside her, but not even the Doctor knew how true that was. However, he did have a medical explanation as to why Annie might believe this.
“Schizophrenia.” The Doctor began.
“Schizo-what?!” Emma exclaimed, unfamiliar with the term.
“My only reasonable assumption. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder. A dilution in which a person believes that their actions are not their own, and that someone is in control of them, forcing them to act against their own will.”
“But Doctor, I just don’t understand how he entire character could change. I mean, she’s completely out of her mind!”
“With any psychotic illness, Emma, is isn’t rare for the patient carry out all kinds of disturbing actions along with a unusual and bizarre behaviour.”
Emma was still worried. She never thought than what happened to Nadallia would ever happen to anyone else, especially Annie since she was so graceful and polite, (or, at least she was).
“So how do we cure her. What’s next?” Emma asked.
“First I need to test her blood and make sure her body is recovering from her previous illnesses first. Once I’m sure that her white blood cells are regrouping then I can begin psychiatric sessions with Annie. It’s the only way to cure a psychotic illness.”
“So, you don’t have any medicines that can cure this?”
“Well, there are some drugs that can have mild relief from symptoms. But actually cure psychosis takes along time, in some extreme cases it may take years.”
“Years!!!” Emma yelled in shock.
“Only in extreme cases.”
“Doc, Annie’s behaviour couldn’t get more extreme than this!”
“That doesn’t mean that it will take years to cure this. We'll just have to take this on step at a time. And right now, the next step is to make sure Annie is cured of her physical illnesses first. That’s something we can cure quickly.”
Despite the Doctor best efforts to keep Emma calm and stop her worrying, Emma remained stressed the whole day.
Sally even tried to calm her down by taking her for a walk through the town for some fresh air. But Emma kept questioning herself about things like, ‘What if it takes years to cure her?’, and ‘What if we can’t cure her at all?’ and ‘What if she hurts herself again?’ and questions like, ‘What if she’s not psychotic? What if she was telling the truth when she said that someone was inside her?’
Emma continued to stress out and remained just a anxious all day.
Later that day, I myself went to see the Doctor. I just caught him before he was about to take Annie’s blood sample. (He was in the lab with the syringe ready).
“Perfect timing, Jack.” He said as I entered the room. “I was beginning to feel a little lonely.” The Doctor had took out a microscope and was cleaning a syringe.
“How’s Annie?” I asked.
“She’s sedated. I couldn’t have her blood pressure high from struggling when I take her blood. I need her pulse and blood pressure as normal as possible.”
“So she hasn’t gone back to her normal self at all today?”
“I’m afraid not.” The Doctor finished cleaning the syringe. “Right,” He said, wheeling over towards the door to the room keeping Anastasia. “Here we go.”
The Doctor opened the door and entered the room.
I followed after him, I wanted to see Annie.
I saw her asleep and heard her breathing in the silent room.
It was a little upsetting to see her like that, but I kept it in.
The Doctor wheeled over to her left and held the needle up to the light.
He then held the point of the needle up to the skin of Annie’s arm, but then…
Annie’s eye’s snapped open, she was awake!
“Aaaaagh!!!”
With one heavy blow, Annie swiped with her left arm as she pulled it free from the restrains.
She knocked the Doctor flying off his chair.
"My God!" I cried.
Annie began pulling at her other restrains on her right arm.
“No!” I ran to the other side of the table and held Annie’s left arm down. “No, I won’t let you hurt anyone!”
But Annie was too strong! She thrashed with her arm and fiercely swiped me. The blow was so hard that it knocked my skull the other way.
While the Doctor was helpless on the floor and I was momentarily stunned, Annie freed her other arm and started on the rest of her restrains.
I was trying to turn my skull the right way round.
The Doctor was still immobilized on the floor.
Then there was a screech from Anastasia Rose.
I looked up, and saw the possessed Annie Rose free from all restrains.
The Doctor up reached for the door handle to try and lock it before Annie had the chance to escape.
But Annie saw his attempt.
She leaped towards the door and kicked the Doctor out of the way.
Annie opened the door and ran out into the lab.
“Jack!” The Doctor cried out.
I got to my feet, quickly helped the Doctor to his wheel chair, and ran after Annie Rose.
“Keep away!!!” Annie yelled in both her voice and another strange mature voice. “She belongs to me!!!” Annie backed away from me and the Doctor. “KEEP AWAY!!!”
Annie the had a change of mind and charged towards me.
I fought back as he grabbed hold of both her arms and tried to stop her from attacking me.
Annie was far stronger than the nine year old little girl she was.
She pulled away I ended up having to wrestle her to the ground to try and restrain her.
Annie continued to scream and cry out.
The Doctor had wheeled over to the shelf where he got the serum that sedated her.
He filled a needle up with fluid from another bottle.
“Jack, I need you to keep her down! I’m going to sedate her!” The Doctor urgently informed.
“NOOOOO!!!” Annie screamed.
Annie struggled even harder. I was struggling to keep her down! “You keep that away from me!” She cried.
“You leave me no choice, Annie.” The Doctor stated as he squirted the needed checking it was working.
The psychotic Annie Rose screamed as she broke free from my grip and violently pushed me back.
She then stormed for the Doctor.
I quickly got up and ran after her.
I leaped and dragged her to the ground.
I had to hold her back.
“NOOO!” Annie took another breath. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!”
The Doctor wheeled closer to the chaos.
When the moment was right, he attempted to stab the syringe into Annie’s arm.
Annie screamed and pulled her arm out of the way before the Doctor could administer the serum.
Annie then swiped her arm back and once again knocked the Doctor of his wheel chair.
Annie struggled free from my grip.
Annie got to her feet screamed again.
She ran over to the glass jars on the shelf. One swipe after another, she knocked the jars off the shelf. They smashed on the floor and the chemical fluids spilt all over the floor.
“Annie, stop!” I rushed over to her and tried to stop the chaos.
I grabbed hold of Annie’s arms and pulled her away.
She didn’t struggle with her arms, but she kicked the last jar on the shelf and sent it flying. #SMASH#.
I then practically dragged Annie over to the Doctor. I guess the last time the needle was in her skin it must injected some sedative. Because Annie was getting weaker.
I dragged her over to the Doctor.
The Doctor then saw his chance.
He strenuously crawled over to where I had Annie almost lain on the floor and jabbed the needle into her ankle.
Annie yelled and kicked the Doctor back.
She pulled away from my grip and pushed me back.
Annie fell to the ground and pulled the needle back out of her foot.
She gripped it hard and smashed it down on the floor.
Annie was gasping.
She got back to her feet and stumbled towards the side counters.
Annie leaned against the sides.
I helped the Doctor back into his chair.
The Doctor looked at the smashed syringe on the tiles.
There was still half of the serum that had leaked on the floor.
“Jack! She’s weak but she’s not under.”
I rushed over to Annie and tried to restrain her again.
This time was much easier.
The Doctor quickly refilled another needle.
“NO! NOOO!!!” Annie was still screamed.
Annie kicked the glass jar full of sedative and smashed it on the floor.
But the sedative needed was still inside the needle.
With Annie easily restrained, the Doctor could administer the rest of the serum.
Annie tried to struggle while the anaesthetic took effect.
Her struggling was quickly reduced as she became paralyzed.
I let go as she flopped onto the floor.
But she then started laughing.
This sinister in Annie’s two voiced continued until she closed her eyes. Her body then soon retreated into a deep sleep.
I leaned up against the wall, gasping for breath.
The Doctor was also drained.
The both of us tired to catch our breath.
Doctor Finklestein then took out another clean syringe.
“Now for what I needed in the first place.” The Doctor jabbed the needle into Annie’s arm and took out a sample of her blood.
He then wheeled over to the microscope and slide the he prepared before.
He dripped a drop of blood on the plastic bottom and closed the lid on the slide.
I got to my feet and watched as the Doctor studied the blood sample.
“Is she recovering from he flu?” I asked.
“Yes, there seems to be an increase in white blood and antibodies cells and a decrease in bacteria…oh…” He suddenly gasped.
“What?” I asked urgently. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t have a clue.” The Doctor backed away from the microscope.
I leaned over and had a look myself.
I saw the red cells that made up her blood. I also saw the white blood cells that apparently make up her immune system. And the little creepy crawlies know as bacteria and…
I then saw a thick black liquid leaking into view. It covered the blood cells as it passed over.
“What is that black stuff?” I asked the Doctor as I looked up from the microscope.
“I really don’t know. I whish I knew.” The Doctor replied.
“I assume you’re going to find out.”
“Well, it has no cells, so it’s not alive. I hope she doesn’t have septicaemia. But if so, it might be the cause of her psychosis.”
“What can we do next?”
“I’ll need a more powerful microscope to have a closer look at the strange black substance and find out what it is. But I’ll set up the electronically microscope in the morning.”
I came over to where Annie still lain unconscious on the floor.
“In the meantime I’ll take her to the room and get her tied back down.”
I lifted the unconscious Annie Rose up of the floor and took her to the examination table.
I tied her down as carefully as I could.
I then left her and closed the door behind me
The Doctor turned round when he heard the door close.
I locked the door securely.
The Doctor saw my facial expressions. Worried and concerned.
“We’ll find a cure, Jack.” He said. “Psychosis doesn’t last forever and septicaemia can be cured more practically.”
“I just, can’t believe it. I can’t believe Annie would ever do what she’s done.”
The Doctor listened to me as he understood.
“What’s happened to her? What’s happened to the little girl who helped make this year’s Halloween worthwhile? What happened to the child with that amazing skill, who could bring life into her art? What happened to the Annie Rose we always knew?”
“We’re going to find out aren’t we? I won’t give up trying to find a cure. I doubt that Emma and Sally will give up and I doubt you’ll give up either.”
“But she’s acting like she’s not Annie. I mean, she’s got superhuman strength now. I couldn‘t even restrain her.”
But then, the Doctor though of something.
“Hmm, Annie does seem to be getting far stronger than a typical nine-year-old girl.”
“I know. She was impossible to restrain. And when she woke up, she broke through her restraints!” I added.
“I don’t like the thought of her waking up in the middle of the night and breaking free from her restraints again. I’m going to higher her sedative dose.” The Doctor decided that was the best thing to do.
The Doctor drove over to the shelf.
“No.” He groaned. “Every single bottle is broke! Every medical fluid wasted! There is no more sedative!”
I remembered that Annie smashed the jars.
“The how are we going to make sure Annie’s not going to wake in the night?”
The Doctor pondered for a few moments.
“There’s only one thing we can do.” The Doctor drove over to one of the cupboards.
He brought out more restrains.
“We’ll have to tie her down harder and just hope she doesn’t wake up.”
So, with no other choice, I helped the Doctor tie extra restrains on the table where Annie lay.
All that could be done then was to hope Annie was going to sleep though the night and that the sedative she was given was enough.
