Ethan's Struggle | Teen Ink

Ethan's Struggle

September 11, 2009
By Whitesofttail SILVER, Ayer, Massachusetts
Whitesofttail SILVER, Ayer, Massachusetts
9 articles 1 photo 0 comments

“Help me!” Ethan begged; he was locked in a cell staring into the complete darkness of the room, and the only light came from a small window in a door.



“They can’t hear you brother….. and even so they could never set you free from me” a voice answered.








“Every day you say that, and every day I have to hear you go on and on about how much we’re the same; don’t you see that nobody even cares that you’re here….. people just ignore you” Ethan responded.






“And in ignoring me they let you suffer; it’s been that way for ten years now” the voice continued.










“Get me out of here!” Ethan screamed while banging on the door.



“But you’re not an innocent child anymore Ethan; you’ve grown older and even more twisted. I’ve seen your most passionate and personal thoughts and heard the cries that came from your victims’ mouths; you and I were always linked but now we are truly alike” the voice said just before he showed himself.






He just looked like Ethan….. only with inhumanly sharp teeth and nails; this figure was a part of Ethan and one that he could not run from.




He was Ethan’s other self.








“Now tell me dearest brother…..” he began; his voice was calm and not the least bit affected by his “brother’s” yelling.







“Don’t call me your brother! It’s your fault that I’m stuck here; every day you told me that I’d never get away from you and that we were destined to destroy the world but now I know you’re just a liar!” Ethan shouted.






“Deceit is just another part of your denial; by believing that I tell only lies you can deny that you have a darker half. But you are likely to one day realize why I made your friends and family cast you out; you are special and so like it or not I’m the one thing you have left” Ethan’s other self continued.







“And believe me….. I am more than you know” another voice said from just behind the spot where Ethan was standing.







He soon turned around and saw his other self behind him now, but he was still next to him somehow.










“How many of you are there?” Ethan asked with a deep fear; he then saw two more of his other selves appear out of the darkness.





“You wanted to live in a fantasy world and you lost touch with reality; your dreaming was pathetic but with it we can become more that ever before” his other selves said simultaneously.










“Remember when you were an innocent child and you asked your other half what he was; now you know the answer” one of Ethan’s other selves said.



“We’re you when you’ve finally accepted what you are; we are what you are deep inside and eventually you to will stop caring….. you will accept that you are a monster!” another one of Ethan’s other selves said before striking him across the face.


Ethan kept having flashbacks to when he was a child; everyone was denying that he saw anything and thought this was some imaginary friend. Soon people realized that they were wrong; they heard Ethan’s screams and soon knew how sick he really was.

One time Ethan even asked his other self why he tormented him….. all he got was a laugh and these words “you were chosen”.







Ethan was on the ground now and blood was dripping from his neck where the creature’s claws had cut him slightly.








“Let your undying lust free upon the world; the essence of destruction lurks deep within your heart and soul….. forevermore worlds will collapse as our eternal reign draws nearer and hope itself will die!” Ethan’s other selves said.




They were relentless monsters; a corruption of all that was good and innocent in Ethan. These other selves were what real monsters were; they were power craving psychological creatures that lived only to cause pain.




But then something inside of Ethan awoke….. that innocent passion that he thought had died; it was now that he knew he could fight this monster.



“You’re all gonna die like my innocence and my pride did” Ethan said to his other selves; then he finally fought back.








Ethan spun around on the ground and tripped one of his other selves with his leg; he then leapt onto his feet and kicked another one of them in the face.



One of his other selves attempted to throw a punch toward Ethan, but he managed to block the punch and fight back with a spinning kick that made his other self fall weakly to the ground.










Ethan saw another one of his other selves come over to him and swing a punch toward him but Ethan ducked and pushed his other self away; it was then that his other self went flying backward with tremendous speed and collided with a wall.



Ethan looked at his hands almost as if now he was stronger.




When another one of those creatures finally punched him in the chest the blow didn’t even hurt.










“All this time you fought me and took my pride and hope away from me, but now I know your secret” Ethan began as he crept closer to his other self.




“You’re all powerless now because I know the truth….. all along your biggest secret was that you don’t exist!” Ethan shouted.






Then something unexpected happened; Ethan’s other selves all screamed in agony and caught on fire. They continued to scream while burning for a little while just before they all vanished in small fiery explosions.







“I might have lost my innocence but in the end I still won over you; you were fake all this time and that’s why you can’t hurt me anymore” Ethan said to himself.

Two men in white outfits listened to this entire struggle happen from the hallway just outside the cell.










“Do you think that it’s over; do you think that he’ll ever be completely normal?” one guy asked the other.









“In the end he’s probably not gonna turn out normal but I think that we can set him free now….. somehow things have changed. He’s not fighting this anymore; it’s like he’s been set free” the other man responded.







This last fight was the end of it for Ethan; from this day foreword he would start leading a normal life with his friends and family. But in the end the worst monsters we will face are aspects of ourselves.








What is your other self like?

The author's comments:
This is the second and final chapter in Ethan's story; I hope you enjoy this one!

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This article has 1 comment.


on Oct. 27 2009 at 8:45 am
Onceknown BRONZE, Denver, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
Courage is doing what your afraid to do
There can be no courage unless your scared
-Eddie Rickerbacker

Very Powerful Writing! Very Orginal!