The Terror #wattys2017 #TNTHorrorContest

Nine.....Fire

     I stood frozen where I found myself, cocked my head like the RCA dog and thought, "how peculiar?" Dale was stationed, arms at his sides, fingers outstretched as if electrically charged.  His mouth was much farther agape than I would have believed possible. It looked like screaming but there was no sound coming from him. The silent scream, I found myself unable to digest this thing I was witnessing. I was waiting for lightning to shoot out his fingers or his head to burst in a miasma of blood and gore, to which, I was attempting to prepare myself to respond.

        These things did not happen...

        Slowly and purposefully, I approached my friend, I didn't want to upset him any further. I was apprehensive as to his intentions once he realized I was intruding upon his space.  Still, he stood, and I believe I saw his face proceed to melt around his wide gaping mouth, his eyeballs tumbling haphazardly down his cheeks, dangling from the connective tissues.  This is where the guy watching in the background whispers, 

        "It's only the drug Merrill"

        I pause and ponder the truth of this. I rub my eyes for a moment and see the magic floaters again only this time when I take my hands away from my eyes, I continue to see them for a few moments, dancing and wriggling then fading away like a breath.  The next time I look at Dale, it's not Dale at all but just a short tree in the shadows beside the stream. I could actually make out how I could have imagined it to be Dale, a similar enough shape all right, with its branches for hands and a knot in its skinny trunk for a silently screaming face.

        "It really was only the drug," I said aloud to no one. 

        I learned that perception is not always reality. These words are easy to say, "Oh of course, everybody knows that."  But what I knew before that thing that, "everybody knows," is just how true that statement actually was.  From that moment on I never looked at reality, or anything else for that matter, the same. I gained the knowledge of fundamental truth and how close we all are to believing everything we're told. So easily controlled, so easily manipulated and brainwashed! 

        This was to be only the first of many lessons that I would come to know that night. I then saw a small flickering light under the giant oak tree that we all called "The Tree." It was Steve and Dale making a fire in the pit that we had all sat around on many a night before.  This night though was to be a little different.

        I made my way over to my companions who were on their knees around a shallow hole surrounded by river rocks.  They had gathered some sticks and leaves and Dale was attempting to light it with his Zippo, while Steve used matches and was lighting a piece of paper he found on the ground.  The fire was beyond dazzling, a mischievous glow worm crawling in and around the sticks.  The fire pit was only about two feet in diameter and as beautiful as it was, I wasn't exactly comfortable with these crazy bastards fucking around with it.  I knew if they were as fucked up as I was, they had no business playing with fire,

        "Hey a, Dale?" I presumed to ask a question

        'Yeah?" He replied like everything was noooormal.

        "Dude are you still peaking? I'm still peaking, and I was just thinking maybe fire is not really our friend in this altered state that we find ourselves in tonight. I mean we were less fucked up at Al's and we didn't think it was a good idea to go in there so maybe it's an even worse idea to get involved with fire while we're peaking, whatdaya think there, buddy?"  

        He looked sideways at me, I could see the wheels turning in his head.  I think there was a part of him that knew he should walk away from the fire, but it just couldn't overcome the fascinated part of him that NEEDED to play in the fire.  I saw the struggle in his face, like two different beings battling back and forth. I saw his face turn from dark to light, first an angel then a devil. He shook his head and there was an audible click... I heard it when his face changed from one to the other, click, click, click as if a camera shutter was opening and closing. the guy in the background was whispering in my ear, telling me,

        "It's only the drug, it's only the drug, you are not freaking out, it's only the drug"

        Presently I saw him return to the fire where Steve had already got it going somewhat. Two demons, red of complexion with horns sprouting from their heads, eyes alive with the fire, poking it with their sticks and blowing on it with the fury of a Devil. The flames grew higher and higher, as I backed away from the heat. I could feel it burning my skin and was afraid it was going to consume me.  I desperately screamed at them to stop, I dropped to my knees and begged them to please, please stop, that they we're too high and didn't know what they were doing, that they were going to set the whole damn Forest on fire.

        I looked up in the tree and saw the embers floating up and catching the dry leaves of the giant oak afire.  The embers became flaming giant snowflakes twinkling with red, yellow and blue heat. I was so overtaken with the magnificence of it, I nearly let it overtake me. We were all going to die, I just knew it! I ran away from under the tree and kept running thinking the whole time that my friends were going to kill themselves and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I was crying and crying and running away until I thought I had enough distance to be safe.  I found myself back at the Merc and I climbed in and drew my knees to my chest in the fetal position and just cried in the dark until the panic that was in me passed.  

        Hours passed or what seemed like hours before I could relax, afraid to look out the windows or even raise my head from the dark quiet place that was my arms folded around my face, shrouding my eyes.  I was freaking out! I knew it, part of me knew I was losing my fucking mind and if I didn't get ahold of myself, I could go insane.  Thoughts passed through my mind....

        "I've lost my mind, I'm never going to be normal again, I've finally done it, I've found the way I was going die."

        Then the watcher would say,

        "It's just the drug man, you're going to be fine"

        "I'm never going to come down I've broken my brain; I'm never coming down"

'        "It's just the drug. it's just the drug, you'll be fine, try to go to sleep, you're just freaking yourself out, try to relax"

        So, I tried to go to sleep, then things got weirder still....