Son of Lazarus

Chapter 8: The Slow Descent

October 3rd, 2040
3:34 p.m.

   Time seems to have eluded me, mixing like paint in water until I lost all sense of what time truly was. It had become utterly unfamiliar now; a sign I had been here too long. Even reality was slipping away from me, making me feel like I was becoming one of them; patients who had lost their sanity.
   I felt so isolated and alone, the thought of becoming insane spinning circles inside my head. I had no one here to interact with except for the doctors. Lily visited me on occasion, but it wasn't enough to keep me grounded.

   I wanted my father. But I had a feeling that they were refusing him his right to visit. Sleep was elusive as always and I feel like my mind has turned against me. These medicines I've been taking were supposed to help, but they weren't. There's a possibility that they never have and the doctors were lying to get me to take them willingly.
   Now I can hear whispers of the monsters hidden in the shadows. They were speaking to me; telling me things...

*****

   "Hi, Tristan." The familiar voice broke through Tristan's deep thoughts, bringing him back to reality. He lifted his head to lock eyes with her and watched as she flinched. It confirmed that he must have looked awful.

   With the meager meals that the doctors provided them, Tristan had grown thin. His cheekbones now protruded from his face, dark bags hung below his eyes and his hair was disheveled and unkempt.

   Lily wasn't fairing any better. Her clothes hung from her frame, her face was pale, and her sapphire blue eyes all but lost their luster. But seeing her in front of him made Tristan feel a little better.

   "Hi, Lily," he managed to say, his voice soft and scratchy from lack of use. He barely even sounded like himself anymore and it was starting to scare him. Tristan could see a look of worry cross onto her beautiful face and wished it would go away.
   "Are you okay," she asked, stepping toward his bed. When she was close, she took a seat next to him on it, her sapphire blue eyes turning to look at him. "You don't seem like yourself."

   Tristan offered a small shrug and turned his head so that he was staring at the wall. "I haven't been able to sleep. That's all."

   It was a half-truth. He didn't like lying to her, but he didn't want her to worry any more than she already was. It wasn't just that, either. Tristan thought that if he told her the truth that she would think less of him.

   His mind had become a battlefield between sanity and insanity. The whispers he had begun to hear and the shadows he had begun to see didn't help matters. They were twisting and swirling in the corner of the room, threatening to take shape in front of him.
   Tristan closed his eyes tight, his muscles tensing painfully all over his body. Then he felt the soft touch of a woman's hand against his and he opened his eyes to see Lily's hand resting lightly on top of his.

   Carefully, he folded his fingers around hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. For a little while, he felt better. Lily had given him a tether to keep him sane and he didn't want to let her slip away.

   "I'm here for you, Tristan," she said, her voice gentle. Tristan lifted his gaze to stare into her eyes as she continued, "I'm not leaving anytime soon. You're stuck with me."
   Tristan felt his heart hurt. Those were words he had heard before. He wanted to say something so desperately; to tell her that he knew those words were a lie, but no sound came from his mouth. So instead, he uttered, "Thank you, Lily." while a smile slowly crawled up his lips.