Chapter Twenty Two: Voices

Jonah tried to block the voices out but the voices became louder, more demanding, and more malicious as time passed. His every thought and fear were known by them, and they targeted his weaknesses with a cruel accuracy. Their voices echoed to him like they knew exactly what they were doing, they knew the right words to say to get him to go crazy

It was almost as if he was considering really killing Maxwell and as the seconds passed by, the urge to do it remained stronger. At some point, he felt like he could kot fight it off.

"Jonah," the voice whispered, sneaking into his mind like a serpent. "You are well aware of the actions you need to take." The voices seeped into every possible consciousness of his.

He vigorously shook his head, attempting to remove the words from his thoughts. "No," he mumbled quietly to himself, his voice trembling. "I will not do it." He said to himself as he tried to convince himself that he wouldn't do it.

"You must do it," the voice continued, oozing with malice. Maxwell is the cause of your suffering. He should suffer too." The voice said convincingly to him but he still tried to ward it off.

Jonah tightened his fists, his nails piercing into his palms. "No,” he stated firmly." "I will not kill him."

The sound of laughter, chilling and devoid of joy, caused shivers to run down his spine. "You cannot hold off for long. Jonah, you know that. This is something you must do. This is the only way to end the suffering.” The voice said relentlessly.

Suddenly, he rose and in his hurry, he accidentally toppled a chair. "Get away from me!" he yelled, his voice bouncing through the walls. "I no longer want to listen to you!"

But, the voice persisted without giving up. "Jonah, you are not strong. You are worthless without us. You need us, you know that."

Jonah took a vase from the coffee table and threw it across the room, observing as it broke against the wall. "Be quiet!" he yelled, his voice filled with intense urgency. "Please,” he begged, “Just be quiet!"

He was breathing heavily, his heart thumping in his chest. The walls seemed to be getting closer, as the voices weighed heavily on his thoughts. He fell back and accidentally pushed a lamp, causing the bulb to break loudly on the floor. He didn't care, all that he could think about was how the voices and the urge to kill Maxwell would stop.

While he was in a state of frenzy, he did not notice the front door being opened. He didn't care anymore, he just wanted everything that felt like torture to stop.

Amelia entered the room, her eyes growing wide in surprise at what she saw. She observed Jonah, with wide eyes and in a panic, encircled by the wreckage of his sudden outburst. She had never seen him in that state before which got her terrified. She took a deep breath before calling his name.

"Jonah!" she exclaimed, her tone steady yet soft. "Jonah, focus on me!"

Turning quickly, his gaze was crazed and blurry. At first, it looked like he did not recognize her, but then his facial expression became calmer.

"Amelia?" he murmured, his voice shaky. "Amelia, please help me." He begged.

Quickly, she made her way around the room, being cautious of the broken glass and scattered items as she stepped. She extended her arms and held his hands, sensing the vibrations coursing through his body.

"Jonah, it's alright," she whispered gently. I am here with you now."

He fell into her embrace, his body trembling with quiet tears. He managed to choke out, "I can't bear it any longer. The voices are making me lose my mind.”

Amelia clung to him closely, feeling her heart shatter in sympathy. "We will make it through this," she murmured in his ear. "I assure you, Jonah. We will overcome this challenge together."

Sitting beside him on the couch, she gently led him while wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Please tell me everything that has been happening," she softly asked. "Share all the details with me."

Jonah inhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves. "It all began a couple of months back," he started, “speaking in barely audible tones. I began to hear these voices. In the beginning, I believed it was simply due to stress, or perhaps I was feeling fatigued. But the number of voices continued to increase. I am constantly being told to do horrible things. It started little by little but now, it's so loud that I can't get them out of my head.” He complained.

Amelia paid close attention, gently running her hand through his hair. She softly inquired, "What are you going to do?" She asked him.

“They keep telling me to kill Maxwell," Jonah said, his voice cracking. "They believe that if I kill him, everything will end and if I don't, he will keep doing what he did to me. I have to ensure that he suffers a painful death..”

Amelia's brow furrowed in concern. She knew Maxwell well, he was Jonah's greatest fear was Maxwell but the idea that Jonah would want to harm him was unthinkable. But she also knew that Jonah was not in his right mind, that these voices were a manifestation of his inner conflict.

"Jonah, listen to me," she said, her voice firm. "Those voices are not real. They are a product of your mind, your stress, your fears. You would never kill Maxwell. You know that, deep down."

He nodded, tears streaming down his face. "I know," he whispered. "But sometimes, they feel so real. And I'm scared, Amelia. I'm so scared." He lamented. “I feel like the more they are in my head, I might actually kill him one day.” Jonah admitted to Amelia and she felt very sorry for him.

Amelia looked at him with so much worry in her eyes as she thought about what she had to say.