Crazy

Bart Simpson stared aimlessly at the padded walls of his cell.

"You're safe, he can't hurt you. You're safe, he can't hurt you" the thirteen year old repeated over and over again.

Sideshow Bob

The enemy that Bart had feared for three years had now somehow gotten in his head.

"Well I must say this is a nice turn of events, I'm free as a bird, and you're the one in a straightjacket" the wild haired man teased.

"Shut up! You're not really here!" Bart yelled.

"Seeing things again Mr. Simpson?" the young nurse asked as she walked into his cell.
"It's him again" the boy whispered.

"Bart, Sideshow Bob can't hurt you, he died remember, his whole family was at the funeral" the nurse said. She stuck a needle into his neck, probably a sedative. "And how many times do I have to tell you that he was alive and threw me in the coffin to try and kill me!" Bart said.

The nurse knelt beside him "Bart, you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, you're so traumatized that it has created false memories in your mind, because you're so scared of Sideshow Bob, you're convinced he's alive and now you're seeing him everywhere" she said patting his head.

It's true he was seeing Bob everywhere but he knew what he saw three years ago, he remembered being thrown in that coffin and the fire.

Oh god the fire.

Bart had been horribly burned, but the doctors would rather believe that he did this to himself, than admit that Bob was still out there.

"Sideshow Bob is a pile of ash, and as soon as you realize that, we can help you get over your trauma, but we can't help you if you keep insisting that he's back and out to get you, we have no choice but to keep you locked up in here" she said.

Bart nodded, the drug was starting to take its affect and the boy was soon drifted off to sleep, secretly praying for a dreamless sleep.

++++++++++++++
Fire had engulfed the entire room as Bart had screamed some more. Out of a straightjacket, Bart's burnt arms flailed while trying to dodge the flames.

"You honestly think you can escape, Bart" the man's voice said happily.

"I know you're still alive, I'm going to prove it!" Bart yelled.

"How you can't ever see me" Bob teased.

Bart turned his head violently in every direction to try and find maniac, but all he could see was fire.

Through the smoke and flames, a silhouette could be spotted.

"Bob!" Bart yelled in anger run towards it.

Smoke

Flames

Confined space

Bart was back in the coffin about to be burned alive.

Screaming

Coughing

The flames licked his skin as he scratched his way out.

Bart tumbled back in his padded cell, his nurse and doctor came rushing in.

"Bart, are you okay?" the nurse asked shaking him violently.

"Nurse Simon, may I talk to you for a minute" the doctor said.

They walked over to the other end of the cell.

Bart was still coming off the sedative and waking up but he could still hear them.

"Doctor, I'm worried about him, I know he won't let us help him, but we need to try harder, He's disturbed"

"He's trying to get attention" The doctor said firmly.

That voice, it sounded familiar

"I pulled the boys file, it wouldn't be the first time he has pulled a stunt like this, I want to sedate him again and get him to compromise, I don't care if he is delusional" the doctor said.

The nurse looked at him in disgust, but she didn't say anything.

Bart managed to raise his head and looked at the pair, the nurse left.

The doctor held the needle as walked towards Bart.

"Hello Bart" the man said slyly in that familiar voice.

"You!" Bart screamed. "This isn't real!"

Than man didn't look Sideshow Bob, but that voice, those eyes, Bart would never forget.

"Maybe it is maybe it isn't, but now you're the one who's crazy" Bob smiled.

The needle stuck in Bart's neck.

Hearing Bob's laugh as he went under, Bart blacked out staring into the eyes of the man who would haunt him forever.        

"Bart, are you finally ready to talk about this?" A grief therapist asked.

Bart looked at the burns on his arms; he knew that they would be permanent but everyone tried to convince him they would heal over time. He didn't believe that for a second.

"Why, every time I try to tell you the truth you think I'm making it up and would rather sedate me than even try to look into my story" Bart said, not looking the therapist in the eye. He saw through her instantly, she was pretty, just out of college and was eager to impress the real professionals by taking the time to deal with "troubled youth."

"Because there is nothing to look into, you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that can be a natural thing in what you've been through, many people with it can live normal lives, it's your paranoia the fact that it causes you to hallucinate and harm yourself is why you are here" the therapist said in that matter of fact tone all adults seem to have when they are frustrated with children.

The tension between them broke when another hospital worker came in "Excuse me I'm sorry to interrupt, but Lisa Simpson is here and she says she'd like to talk to her brother in private"

"Well I don't see what the harm is, we can continue this session later" the therapist said, and Bart had a feeling that she would "accidently" forget about it. Though Bart was surprised Lisa was here, he had been locked up in this asylum for three years and normally the only person to ever visit him was his mother.

Lisa looked a little different from the last time Bart saw her, she was eleven now, her hair was more styled and she had her ears pierced, but she still wore a childish dress, and had a backpack full of books, so she was most likely still the annoying little sister Bart left behind.

"What are you here for?" Bart asked coldly.

Lisa sighed; she had expected this kind of behavior from her brother after she had practically abandoned him.  "Bart, I want to say I'm sorry, when you were taken away I was happy to have you out of my life, and I thought that you were just paranoid but I've looked into it and I think Sideshow Bob is alive. Bart, I believe you"

Bart instantly got up his chair and grabbed his sister's arm.

She was real.

This isn't a hallucination.

Desperation sinking in Bart grabbed his sister's shoulders. "Do you have proof?! Do you know where he is?!" Bart yelled.

"No" Lisa yelled pulling her brother off her.

"But I do have some leads, I spied on his brother Cecil and I found this" Lisa said pulling a file out of her backpack, it was on Bart and everything that had happen to him since he'd been in the asylum. "Bart, you know more about Sideshow Bob more than anyone, you know his style, how he thinks, I can't do this without you"

"What can I do locked away in here?" Bart said.

"I know it's hard but you need to tell them what they want to hear, and keep up good behavior, I'm sure they'll give you a day pass and we can figure all this out" Lisa said.  

Bart didn't like the idea, but he was too desperate to refuse. "Alright, but can you promise me something?" he asked.

"What?"

"Please come visit me more often" Bart said, being without someone who just tried to understand him was torture on top of the nightmares and hallucinations. For the first time in a long time, he finally felt hope.



Bart took Lisa's advice and told the therapist what they wanted to hear, that he was paranoid, and that was too afraid to believe that Sideshow Bob was dead.

Bart still had terrible nightmares, but he tried to control his screaming and thrashing around. "Well Bart I must admit I'm impressed by how well you've been recently, I think your sister's visits are turning you around" the therapist said "Well the doctor wants to talk to you, and we'll see if your suited for a day pass"

"I'd like that very much, thank you" Bart said playing up his manners.

The doctor came in, the same one who sedated Bart a while back, "Hello Bart" he said, in that voice that made a chill run down the young teen's back. This man sounded and had the same eyes as the man he feared, he tried to convince himself it was all a coincidence, but with that pass and Lisa's help, he would finally know the truth, for now, he kept his guard up.  

"So I understand you're applying for a day pass, I can understand you want see the world after all this time wouldn't you?" The doctor said.

Bart nodded, more than once he had tackled a man to the ground because of a hallucinogen that he was sideshow Bob in disguise, but this doctor was more like the man he feared and than anyone else, and still Bart kept his cool.

The doctor walked over to him and without warning snuck a needle in Bart's neck. "I can't have that, you're insane Bart, and I intend to keep you that way" the doctor's voice was the last thing he heard before blacking out completely.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bart woke up back in the confines of his padded cell and found himself in a straightjacket. "But that's awful doctor, I thought he was making such progress" the nurse said.

"I tried to warn you, boys like him are just trying to get attention, when I confronted him, he went off on me and I had no choice but to sedate him" the doctor said outside his cell.

"This is terrible, I guess will have to start over with him" the nurse said.

Bart heard their footsteps down leave down the hall.

Desperation, anger, grief, frustration, hatred, they all boiled inside the boy, Bart was going to find out the truth one way or another, and if he was right and sideshow bob was alive, if he was that man pretending to be a doctor.

Bart was going to kill him.

When Lisa came back to the mental hospital she wasn't so shocked to see that Bart's attempt not only didn't work, but had gotten him locked up in solitary confinement.

"I'm sorry, but in his current metal state we cannot allow Bart to receive visitors" the receptionist said. "Then can I at least talk to the doctor who ordered it, maybe say a few words to him on Bart's behalf" Lisa said.

"I'm sorry but if you wish to talk to Dr. Warren about a patent then you must come back with your parents" the receptionist said rudely.

Lisa scoffed and walked off, she still had a visitors pass from the last time she was here, and as long as nobody looked close enough to check the date, she should blend in fine. Also she got what she came for, Dr. Warren; she had the name now all she had to do was find his office. Unfortunately Springfield Mental Hospital was huge, but Maggie eventually found Dr. Warren's office.

Lying on top of his desk was a file with Bart's name on it, looking through the file there were no reports, files, or notes. The only thing in that file were pictures of Bart, Lisa imagined maybe one or two pictures in a patient but there had to be at least a dozen here, and in every single one of them, Bart looked like he was in pain, screaming from a nightmare, being medicated and other pictures of his unhappiness that were clearly taken from a security camera.

"Oh Bart" Lisa's eyes started to water as she saw Bart's misery, she had left him to rot while she enjoyed her freedom from him. If only she had taken an interest in his story earlier.

"Just what are you doing snooping around my files?" A voice asked. Lisa turned around and saw the doctor, she barely remembered Sideshow Bob, but this man was exactly his build and their voices were similar, at least Lisa thought, she tried to think back. "I was just looking for the bathroom, and this is my brother's file and I got curious" Lisa said, blushing deeply as she was still shy around being in trouble with adults.

"I can understand about your brother, but understand this what you did was illegal, I'm sure you know what illegal means, and I'll let you off the hook this time but I'm going to ask you to leave, and not come back without your parents" the man said coldly.

"I will, thank you" Lisa said running out of there, when Lisa walked by something clicked in her memories, not only his voice but his eyes, they were the exact same as Sideshow Bob, and now she knew this was him, now all she had to do was prove it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bart stared miserably at his padded walks; he was still in a straightjacket and had curled into a ball and tried to hide his tears even though there was no one there.

When the door swung open Bart didn't even move, but said "I know it's you"

"Well of course, I'm the only one who should see you in this condition" the doctor said as Bart sat up and looked at him.

"I mean I know it's you, Bob, you don't have to hide anymore, I know" Bart said, glaring at him with his bloodshot eyes.

The doctor, who was Bob, closed the door and turned to the boy, "So you've figured me out, and I'll give you the pleasure of knowing you were right, but I have the pleasure of knowing nobody will ever believe you" Bob said.

"What do you want, I've been here for three years, why didn't you just kill me, you've wanted to for years, why keep me alive?" Bart asked.

Bob walked over to the boy, grabbing him by a chunk of his blond hair, forcing his head up. "Because this has been too much fun, knowing that I have you in my grasp and that no matter how much you squirm and no matter how much wit you have, it cannot help you" Bob said.

Bob ran his finger across Bart's eye, knowing that boy had cried had brought him great pleasure.

"Have you not taken everything from me?!" Bart yelled, as Bob taunted him. It was true what Bob had taken from him, Bart had lost his home, friends, freedom, dignity, childhood, and most of his sanity. "I've taken almost everything" Bob said taking the boys head in his hands "accept your life, and Bart, I plan on taking that very soon"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lisa had dug up everything she could on Sideshow Bob; she had started to fallow Dr. Warren around, he was wearing some sort of a disguise, Lisa had a video camera and all she had to do was get a shot of him taking it off. It took a few days and Lisa realized that if she wanted evidence she would have sneak into his house.

Lisa had planned it perfectly, while Bob was at work (or pretend work, he was hardly a psychiatrist) Lisa felt an intruder but this is what needed to be done if she were to get Bart out of there.

Planting small cameras all over his house she was about to place the last one when she realized that if she were to come public with this she would be arrested for breaking and entering, and she couldn't help Bart from inside juvenile hall.

She had only one choice, go into that hospital and just rip off his disguise in front of everybody, it was dangerous and stupid, going against Lisa's think-everything-out attitude, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

After erasing any evidence that she was ever here, Lisa hopped on her bike and rose the hospital. "Miss I thought I told you not to come back without your parents" the receptionist yelled. Lisa ignored her (along with all her instincts to apologize and be good) and basically ran to Bob's office while the receptionist called security.

Security was on Lisa's tail as she made her way through halls of hospital, she managed to find the 'doctor' and tackled him to the ground before the guards got to her.

"What's she doing, is she a patient" someone asked.

"Pull her off him" one security guard told the other, but it was too late, it only took a minute for Lisa to rip is disguise off and Sideshow Bob's face was revealed.

"You little ill-bred" Bob yelled but then the guards grabbed him. "Wait then this means Bart really was telling the truth"

"Where is his room" Lisa yelled.

"Second door on your right" the guard said securing Bob's hands behind his back.

Lisa ran to the door and swung it wide open.

But Bart was gone.

"Where is he?!" She yelled at Bob.

"Let me put it this way" Bob smirked

"Because of you, everybody now knows I'm alive but if you don't find him within the next hour, Bart Simpson won't be"

“Where is he?!” Lisa demanded, but Bob only continued to smile and not say anything, watching the clock slowly, knowing that with each passing second, Bart Simpson was dying, and though this screwed up his plans so he would no longer be there to watch the boy die, still he was videotaping it and the fact that he was tormenting Lisa with the death of her brother was also pleasant enough.

The cops had been driving around in hopes of finding Bart, but they returned to tell Lisa that they had found no trace of her brother. Lisa slammed her fist on the table.
“Honestly Lisa, I remember you having a good head on your shoulders, I’m sure you could have figured it out by now” Bob teased the girl.

“Where is he?!” Lisa yelled again, the fact that she couldn’t figure it out was nearly driving her insane as well. Bob looked at the clock; she would never make it in time. “Alright, as of right now Bart is in a very confined space which is about to get very hot” he smiled.

Lisa let out a loud gasp.

“He’s at the funeral home!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bart was in complete darkness when he woke up, his wrist tied tightly together in front of him, and there was a piece of duck tape around his mouth. Using his feet and his arms, it didn’t take long for the boy to realize where he was, the same place he feared being for three years: back inside a coffin, at first Bart panicked, but when the coffin started to move, no doubt into the fire, the young blond knew he had to focus.

The fire would burn away the coffin first, Bart kicked at the sides, hoping they would break loose, the fire was closing in around him but Bart managed to kick the entrance with his feet. But he was fully surrounded by flames. The hot licks burned him, but he brought his hands to the hottest part to when the rope snapped.

When Bart opened his mouth in a small cry of pain and success smoke engulfed his lungs and he started coughing.

Bart managed to crawl out of the flames and topple onto the cold floor, his clothes burned off, and his skin deep red, Bart was half blind, but managed to get a good look at what as around him:

Nothing,

Nobody had come for him,

Weakness and a horrible fit of coughing came over him, and he passed out . . . completely alone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Bart awoke he heard the beeping of a hospital machine, and saw a blurry vision of his family standing over him.

“Mom…Dad…?” he managed to choke out.

“Bart you’re okay, here drink this, we found you at the funeral home” Lisa explained handing him a large glass of water.

Bart let the cool liquid go down his extremely dry throat.

“Bart I’m so glad you’re okay, oh my special little guy” Marge cried as she gently held his burnt hand.

“Yeah we’re sorry we didn’t believe you boy” Homer said.

“But Sideshow Bob is in jail now, and you can come home with us” Lisa smiled.

“Thank you” Bart said weakly, before he fell back into the darkness again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Bart had been back home for a week now, trying to adjust,  but how can his family (with the exception of Lisa) just go back the way things were and act like they never left him on his own in a mental asylum for three years?

“I’ll never leave you Bart” the hallucination of Sideshow Bob said, Bart never told anyone he was still seeing Bob everywhere for fear they would send him back.

Bob stood in the corner of Bart’s room, twirling Bart’s old yo-yo between his fingers, he wasn’t really there of course and Bart had lost that toy years ago, but to Bart he was just as real as ever.

“I know” the boy muttered.

Bob smiled wickedly.

“Bart, beddy by time” Marge called as she tucked him in just like she used to.

Bob nearly giggled as Bart was tucked in like a child.

“Now you don’t need to have anymore nightmares, Sideshow Bob is gone” Marge smiled.

“Yeah Mom” Bart said softly.

Physically Sideshow Bob would probably never hurt Bart again, but the boy couldn’t escape the fears of his own mind.

Sideshow Bob would never leave him.

Never.