Spilt
Chapter 1: Childhood Memories
On a playground, a young girl with short brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a pink with white dotted dress laid on the grass smelling a flower. Near her was a black hair boy that seemed to be the same age as her, wearing a button up striped shirt, jeans, and green shoes.
“Okay, if you had to choose between eating a worm or a rock, which would you choose?” the boy asked. The girl gave it some thought before speaking.
“I’d choose the worm, because it’s squishy like you.” she then proceeds to pinch him, causing the boy to yelp.
“Ow! That hurt Penny..” he whimpered. Suddenly without knowing, one of the older kids from the playground grabbed a bucket then scooped up water from the lake and tiptoed to them slowly. Without any warning they both got covered with water as Penny’s wet hair surrounded her face. The older kid laughed hysterically as the other kids joined in. Yet the boy didn’t pay any attention, only focusing on Penny with his face gulping down; having an expression of worry and fear. “Um Penny, let’s go play at a different playground.” He tried to grab her hand to go somewhere else, but Penny didn’t move at all. The boy gulped more with more fear tangling at his throat. “It’s just a simple prank, no need for her to be involved, right.” The older kids just looked on in confusion, wondering why this boy was so scared. Immediately Penny got up, her wet hair still covering her face as she turned to them. Seeing this development they continue to laugh and mock her, yet when Penny locked her eyes to them a shiver ran down their spines. Penny’s once normal face turned cold hearted with an unsteady quietness. Her eyes showed the prime instinct of a killer ready to attack on sight.
“I’m giving you till the count of three to leave us alone and if you don’t I won’t account for my actions.” she simply said, though it carried a tone of pure intimidation. The kids only laughed at the debacle which made Penny grit her teeth a little bit. She then holds up three fingers, slowly putting them down. When the third one went down, she instantly grabbed the bucket and hit one of the kids heads. This shocked everyone but her friend, who at this point covered his eyes. When the kid went down to the ground with a groan, Penny threw the bucket on his face then kicked it repeatedly, earning a few yelps of pain. Lifting the bucket up, she stared at his bruised face showing nothing more than a demonic glare. “Now are you going to leave?” she whispered. Without as much of a second thought, everyone left the playground. The boy peered through his eyes, giving a sigh seeing that it was over.
“Um Psycho Penny, can I play with regular Penny now?” he uttered. Penny only shrugged, slicking her wet hair back as her expressions changed back to normal. She then blinked some before staring at a dented bucket.
“Oh, man Psycho Penny came out again, didn’t she Max?” Penny noticed, her shoulders slumping. Max patted her on the back, giving her a reassuring smile.
Seven Years Later
Penny, who grew up a lot in both age and height, sat near a porch staring at a long open field of grass. She sketched leaves in a notebook, carefully and elegantly. “Man, I can’t believe it’s been almost eight years without Max around.” She thought. “I wonder if he made it into that paintball team he told me about,” she flipped the next page. “He did say he was coming back home to spend the rest of the school years here. I just hope my other self won’t be much of a problem. Lately, she has been a lot more psycho, ironic I know, but still it scares me. I just hope she won’t hurt Max or do anything I can’t fix.”
Chapter 2: Paint And Brush
A few hours passed by as Penny waited around the road from her house. Shortly after, a small woodpecker breached beside a tree. At first, it only did tiny pecks but soon went into a full rhythm. Penny watched in amusement yet the more she looked, the more her body felt this strange annoyance. She tried to shake it off by whistling; however it barely did anything as her hair started to poke out and fall at her forehead. After a few more stranges covered her eyes, her posture and expressions changed to a twisted smile. Grabbing a few rocks from the gravel, she proceeded to throw them at the woodpecker. The rocks made contact with him, hitting his wings as he tried to fly but crashed on the ground. Penny grabbed a bigger rock and was about to hit him, though sounds from a nearby bus stopped her making her scowl.
“Looks like today’s your lucky day, rodent.” she said, nonchalantly. Swiftly kicking the bird behind the tree, she straightened her hair neatly as her expression changed to a kinder self as Penny blinked a few times. As the bus pulled over to her the door opened revealing Max stepping out, holding a few bags with sticky notes from his parents. Squealing excitedly, Penny rushed over and hugged him tight, earning a few groans.
“I’m… gasp glad to… see you too Penny, but um can you get off me? I think my ribcage is about to burst open.” he spoke out. Quickly letting go, Penny blushed a little with her hands nervously behind her back. As Max got up he smacked some dirt on his shirt walking Penny to her house. “So how’s things been since I left? Bored or major bored?”
“Actually, I enrolled in the school’s art class. My teacher said a famous artist is coming in tomorrow to judge our art and the best part is, whoever he chooses as a winner will be displayed in one of his galleries!”
“That’s awesome Penny and insanely convenient because my team’s match is going to be held tomorrow!” Max said, lovingly.
“Really?! Max, I’m so proud of you!” She spoke out, softly placing her arms around his arm. Max chuckled lightly but then another thought lingered into his head.
“So…” he started slowly. “How’s Psycho Penny?” Penny hesitated for a moment before taking in a short breath.
“She’s fine, honestly hasn’t stirred up any trouble at all these past years.” She smiled yet for some weird reason its posture was half innocence and half crazy. Max didn’t really take note of it, just nodding in acknowledgement.
At nighttime, Max was sleeping in the guest room where a light turned on in the bathroom. Penny brushed her teeth ready for bed, until she noticed something. In the cabinet there was a small closed cup with a golden brown color sticking out. She opened it and found strange furry stuffing resembling a cat.
“Huh, Mom must’ve bought this,” she then grabbed a tiny pinch and examined it. “Sure looks like our neighbor’s cat Strikes, then again their cat was nowhere to be seen two weeks ago.” Putting it back she went off to bed, still showing that very strange smile.
Morning came through Penny’s window as she got up with a yawn though something didn’t feel right. Her throat was parched; almost like she was laughing all night. Getting a drink of water from the bathroom helped, yet now she saw something liquidy on her face. It was red and splattered across her left cheek. Shock quickly took over as she wanted to scream but tried her best to refrain. Taking a washcloth, she put it in soap and running water, desperately trying to wash the crimson liquid off. It was gone, however, Penny’s nerves didn’t ease up. “Com’on Penny, remember what the doctor said, breathe in and out, don’t let other Penny be in control.” she talked to herself, taking in shaky breaths. Despite her best efforts, Penny couldn’t calm down with her breathing being more erratic. Hair began sticking out with some parts covering her eyes again. Shortly after, there was no hypered breath, no panic at all; only an unsettling stillness to her. Penny’s eyes were dated with killer intent, forming a smile that extended to her cheek.
“Well I have to say Penny,” she slowly started. “You’ve made this much easier for me. Too bad you panicked right away, I wanted to play some more. Oh well beggars can’t be choosers, now to blend in.” Within moments Penny straightens her hair up, giving a haunting smile in the mirror. Later during the day, specifically at a school near open fields, Max and Penny walked through the hallway. Max watched Penny skip along, not having a care in the world yet he couldn’t shake this feeling of uneasiness.
“Um Penny, are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. Penny gave him a nod, whistling a bit before slowing her walking down until she got near his backpack. She carefully unzipped it and put a hand in. She rummaged a little before finding a bag of paintballs. Taking them out, she zipped the backpack backup without Max noticing.
“Forgive me for cutting our reunion so short Max but I have to hurry on to class, after all that competition isn’t going to win itself.” Penny told him with pure calmness.
“Oh ah okay, I just hope you’ll be watching me during my match.”
“Oh, Max,” she leaned in. “I wouldn’t miss this for nothing in the world.” Thirty minutes passed by as Penny was in art class, looking dreadfully bored at a blank canvas. She then irritatedly glanced over to the other students who were currently painting. “Will one of you take the bait already? I’m already bored enough as is.” whispering under her breath. Just then one of the students noticed that their paint ink pen was missing. They headed over to a supply room where Penny made a move. When the student searched for their pen, they didn’t notice a shadow lingering over them. In one fell swoop Penny whistled to them, gaining their attention. Snapping her fingers a screwed in box dropped, encasing their head. The student yelled out in terror though it was muffled, trying to pull the box away. Penny at this point grabbed the pen they were looking for and made her way to them, having a sadistic grin on her face. Meanwhile, outside Max was setting his gear up for the match. He had his paintball guns which were one that resembled a rifle and two dual wielding ones that look like revolvers. However, no matter how many times he searched in his backpack, he couldn’t find his paintballs.
“Huh, that’s weird, I know I put them here somewhere.” He continued to search deeper yet was interrupted when one of his teammates came to him.
“Max there you are! We have a problem!” they uttered.
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“You’re telling me. I can’t find my paintballs anywhere.”
“No, not that! We’re down a player!” Hearing this forced Max to turn to them.
“How?!”
“Apparently one of the players decided to eat fungus during the summer. Trust me, gross I know, but if we don’t find another person then the whole match will be canceled.” Max contemplated on what to do. He didn’t know anyone from this school except…
“That’s it, I got the perfect candidate!” he said confidently, rushing to the school building. Back at the art class, the artist was judging the students’ painting coming up to Penny who was doing a bit of last minute touches to hers. She was doing it with a red covered ink pen, still when she finished the artist was taken aback. In the canvas, Penny’s art displayed a person trapped in a screw box from their head, showing a desperate plea for help as they have deep wounds all over their body. The artist cleared its throat handing Penny a ribbon. One of the students then came up to her and asked, “How’d you do that?”
“Oh this,” she chuckled, lightly pointing at the painting. “I just had some sudden inspiration.”
“Well I must say inspiration or not, this is one of the most jaw dropping pieces of art known to man.” the artist said, still shocked.
“Hey, whatever happened to that one person with the pen?” A student asked.
“Don’t know but wherever they are,” Penny stared at the supply room briefly before laying eye contact with the student. “I’m sure they’re safe and sound.”
Chapter 4: Paintball Massacre
Max hurried upstairs making his way to Penny’s art class. Looking through the window, he didn’t see Penny anywhere until spotting her walking near the science hall.
“Hey Penny, hold on!” Max yelled out, getting her attention. Penny did a low scoff, barely visible as she smiled at Max.
“Max what’s wrong? I thought the match would be after school? Don’t tell me I missed it.” she cried out, swinging her arms gently yet somewhat mockingly. Max was about to say something until he saw Penny’s lip quiver slightly.
“Are you sure you’re okay? It looks like your body just got done in by a cold shower.” He questioned. Suddenly Penny notices what he’s talking about, screaming internally at this development.
“That’s just from being in my classroom for almost an hour, it gets quite cold,” she then started heading towards the girls bathroom. “Max if you will be so kind as to give me some lady time.” She pointed to the bathroom symbol with Max nodding in understanding. Without wasting time Penny entered in, going towards the sink as she gripped her hands tightly. Groans and rapid breaths stewed out. “Now you want to be a fighter?! Groans… Fine you can keep your little victory but this isn’t over yet!” In seconds Penny’s eyes changed to subtle calmness with her posture being more relaxed. Her breathing slowed down although that didn’t stop tears coming down her cheeks. Outside Max knocked on the door yet didn’t get a response.
“Um Penny, you can hear me in there, I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to participate with my team. We’re down a player so I was wondering if you wanted to fill in. You don’t gotta do too much, just be there okay.” Penny heard his footsteps depart as she rubbed away the tears. Later on Penny was back at her house, pacing back and forth. She vowed to herself to not let Psycho Penny ruin something precious again, already knowing what she did during art class.
“Oh what can I do? Everytime I go into a grave panic, she’ll take control.” Penny spoke in thought. Suddenly she got an idea, a very dangerous idea but hopefully it will work. Going to her father’s bedroom, she grabbed one of his wooden bats, tangling up towards her head. Taking a deep breath and doing a small prayer, she whispered, “Please god let this work.” In one swift action she dropped the bat right on her head, causing her to collapse on the ground, vision depleting. After what felt like an eternity she woke up, rubbing the back of her head. Immediately some drops of red liquid came across her head, though when Penny panicked this time she oddly didn’t have a shift in behavior. “It… It worked! God It actually worked!” Without wasting much time, Penny went to the bathroom and washed all the blood, however she slightly felt a headache; ignoring it she made her way to Max’s team. At the school’s football field, which had transformed itself to look like a laser tag arena, Max waited on Penny. Hurried footsteps appeared before him with Penny exhaled heavily but was still able to speak. “I’m.. I’m here,” Penny breathed.
“Thanks again for doing this Penny, the gear is in the locker room.” Max said softly. Penny made her way to the locker room yet again felt a small headache. When she got inside, she changed to a full body suit that had some body armor; grabbing three paintball guns, one that was shaped like a rifle with the other two being shaped like revolvers. Unfortunately, there were barely any paintballs to use except a canister filled with green ones. Loading her guns with them she locked everything into place, still Penny never noticed the disturbing smile she put on. It wasn’t demonic like Psycho Penny or innocent as her, it had this strange mix between them like an angel and devil on her shoulders. Approaching Max’s team once more, everyone scattered into covered areas as their opponent team did the same. A blared horn sounded out as every player shot barrels of paintballs at each other. Max ducked a few shots before sliding down to cover where Penny layed. “So, what do you think of paintball so far?” he asked jokingly.
Penny chuckled at him as she replied, “Well at least it’s not venomous.” Max blinked before shifting himself a bit closer toward Penny. Penny felt a blush come across her face smirking at him.
After a while, some of Max’s team got eliminated by getting hit by too many paintballs. Max’s face laced with worry, still Penny seemed to almost thrive in his agony. Spinning her revolvers in a cowboyent style, she slided her body through the ground; firing shots at the unexpected team. It hit just about all of them, however something disturbing began to happen. Just when the team was about to retaliate, they threw up violently, almost to the point where blood was shown. The match was withdrawn as paramedics came over to take the sick away. Max himself almost wanted to puke on sight yet he saw Penny who was slightly laughing at the spectacle.
He came over to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulder asking calmly, “Penny, be honest with me, are you still in there?” Penny only laughed at him like it was a ridiculous question. She was about to wave it off until she actually took a moment to look at the other team. They could barely stand up, let alone get on the stretchers properly. Penny wanted to break down upon this yet couldn’t, in fact she wanted to keep laughing, keep enjoying the torment.
Quickly holding tight to Max, she desperately pleaded out,”Max help me!”
Chapter 5: Best Friends
Morning came through Penny’s house as she sat down, in her normal attire, while a doctor was checking on her. After her behavior from last night, Max called in her doctor to help. Penny sat there calmly with the doctor checking her vitals. Everything was all safe and sound as he now had to check her psyche. He gave her pen and paper to draw on as he instructed her to do a flower. She did and gave the paper back to the doctor as he looked over it. The flower itself was normal and pretty but the outside it was filled with human figures screaming in agony, having dark scratches across their face. “Hmm… Penny, what did you do yesterday?” he questioned.
Taking a deep breath, she answered, ”After Psycho Penny got out, I went home to get some rest, try to clear my mind; anything really to not make her come out.” She then took another breath. ”But just before I left, I slipped on some water from our dog’s holder and my head collided against the table.” Max’s eyes widen in shock, leaving the doctor to sign.
“Penny,” he started. “I shouldn’t have to tell you this but with someone like you it’s a lot more deadly.” The doctor held up one finger from both hands. “When under stress, your mind switches between personalities,” he joined the fingers together. “However, when you accidently hit your head, the two separate personas combined; leaving your mind to feel both.”
“Is there a way to fix it?” she mumbled.
The doctor shook his head. “No, I’m afraid. The mind is too shattered to recover even if we try to treat it.” Getting up he packed all his supplies and headed out of the house. “But if it’s any consolation, try keeping up with your breathing exercises; might help with your better judgement.” Penny only nodded in understanding with Max coming closer to her, putting a hand on her knee. Once the doctor officially left, Penny covered her face with her hands silently crying, although Max could also hear a botched sadistic laughter.
“I’m sorry Max, I’m so so sorry,” She whimpered. “I really thought I could have one day, just one day to not make anyone else suffer; not even hurting myself worked.” Max started to give her a hug but Penny flinched, curling up her body. “Please don’t,” she spoke quietly. “I don’t know what I might do.” Max gave a sign but it weighed in reassurance.
“Penny, you are my best friend, no matter what happens to your mind; I’ll always be here with you.” Without even flinching Max gave Penny a hug.
“Can you stay in my room for tonight? I don’t want to be alone right now.” she asked. Later on at night, Penny was in the bathroom washing her hair. Rinsing off any remaining soap, she was about to leave until glancing at a pair of scissors. A trembling smirk came across her face as an insidious laugh sparked in. Meanwhile Max looked on through Penny’s window, slowly glancing at a photo of him and Penny back when they were young from his hand. He didn’t notice a creeping door being silently open and suddenly closed. A shadow loomed over him more and more until he felt a sharp pain in his back, blood gushing out. Instantly the sharp object pulled out with Max stumbling to the ground, breathing shallowly. His lifeless eyes watched to his assaulter, who was Penny having gushed tears in her eyes yet still carried a foreboding smile.
“See you on the other side Max.” she uttered out, her smile stretching across both her cheeks. Outside an unsetting slash was heard with something that felt like a body made a heavy thud.
The End
