MORTAL & MALIGNANT

VIGILANCE

I saw a pair of steps leading to the sizeable front deck, and I knew Harvey might continue to drag me up them.
I closed my eyes and knew I was beside myself.
I felt a rush of adrenaline rising inside of me, all after considering the pain the back of my feet may endure when he dragged me up the steps.

I shook around violently in his arms, and my outburst seemed to stun him as I was dropped to the ground.
I pulled myself through the dirt, all while having my eyes set on the edge of the path up ahead of me.
My heart was telling me there was no use, but my brain seemed to be stuck in fight or flight mode, causing erratic and fanatical behaviour I never seemed to experience in the past.
I was losing touch with myself, but was too lost to notice it yet.

"FUCKING STAY AWAY FROM ME!" My legs felt weak, but my hands were still strong enough to pull me a few centimetres through the dirt, away from him.
I knew that I wouldn't make it far, but desperation was playing out within my mind.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" My scream became deep, guttural and prolonged. I was screaming louder every second, never knowing if he was following behind.

To me, it felt like I was pushing out the mental illness dwelling within my mind.
I could feel myself losing reality more every moment.
I kept replaying the image of that man's lifeless body collapsing on me, but my mind showed a heinous impression, like there was an evil embedded in this all.
I layed on the ground in horror as my screams were then accompanied with bouts of violent crying and shrieking.

I felt my lungs begging for air as my body gave in to the wear and tear I had caused.
I felt light headed and dizzy as the rapsy sound of my broken voice carried on in my last attempt to push past the pain.

Before I knew it, Harvey had finally grabbed me by the legs as if he were planning to drag my head through the dirt, but seemed to have a burst of sympathy as he dropped my legs back down with a grimace, and went to grab me by the arms instead.

He grasped both my arms and flipped my body over before gripping me tightly as he dragged me towards the house.
I almost felt like he was humane in a way for not dragging me face down through the rubble and dirt, but there was still nothing about him that was compassionate.

I took my focus away from Harvey and instead turned my head to the left where I could see the far side of the house.
It was all wooden and designed like a cabin, but  it seemed like it had been stylised differently.
The closer we got, the more I could see.
It looked less like a vacation cabin, and more like an alternative home for the wealthy.

Once we got to the steps, he placed me on the ground and looked down upon me.
"Can you walk?" He asked, before glaring into my eyes.
I layed there, sucking dirt into my lungs before lifting my head up to cough it all back up.
As I vigorously coughed towards the ground, more dirt built up in the air.
I rubbed my chest for a moment, before attempting to lift myself up off the ground.
I took a breathe of fresh air and turned to Harvey.

"Yes" I said, with a raspy and coarse voice.
I slowly but surely lifted my arms up off the ground and put my hands in the rubble, before attempting to place all my body weight on them.
I felt the gravel dig into my hands as I pulled the rest of my body off the ground, before staggering on the spot.

As I took a few blind steps, I steadily regained my posture.
I turned to look at the ground as I watched my step, and before long I felt a jittery feeling in my arms and legs as I regained full consciousness.

I looked up at the house, but I couldn't spot many other fascinating things besides the eeriness of the woods, which almost completely surrounded us.
I sped up my pace as I scurried up the steps but quickly began to realise that my body was still in the process of rejuvenating.

I lost my step and slammed the right side of my body into the door in front of me.
There was a loud crack, almost as if I broke the lock on the door.

"Move away!" Harvey yelled in agitation as he bolted up towards the door to inspect the damage.
I dragged my body to the side and watched as he searched for a dent or a crack, but instead found no external damage.
He scowled at me as he rummaged in his pockets and pulled out the key to unlock the door.

As he opened the door to some degree, I tilted my head towards the doorway in a hope to get a glimpse.
Inside I saw a beautiful home with a sleek grey aesthetic that seemed to be the opposite of my expectations.

"Hurry up, I need to lock the door behind you," he said imperatively.
I took a deep breathe and felt a strange bubbling sensation in my lungs.
I had pushed my body too far in one day, but I knew I must continue to protect myself.

I cautiously shuffled past him and through the door, and began to wander into the loungeroom in front of me.
Most things, including the walls, were a light but rough grey.
The couches connected and shaped around the side of a darker, furry rug that was in the middle of the room.

I felt like I could almost appreciate how nice the home was, but my mind was set on what happens next.
I knew there must be weapons somewhere, I just had to find out.