I just shook my head. I shook my head, closed my eyes, and breathed deeply. They were right, I was in hell. I was not on Earth anymore. I was in a completely different place. I was in a place where people could fly, telepathy was normal, cigarettes lit themselves, and the devil talked to you on a regular basis. I was in hell.
“Look at it this way, man, we can dominate every time we play basketball…” Darc said, walking into my room.
“I don’t give a crap about basketball. All I want to do is get Christian and get the heck out of here,” I said, anger creeping into my voice.
“Well, that’s a whole different story. Is he really here?” Darc asked, eyebrows raised.
“What do you mean?” I said, walking closer to Darc.
“I mean, do you really know he’s here?”
“Of course I do, I saw him!”
“You saw the plaster too, right?”
He was absolutely correct. What I had seen during my little escape may not have been Christian at all. He may not even be here. Heck, how could a little boy possibly be in the same kind of awful place as me. He didn’t kill anybody. This revelation put a whole new spin on things. But, wait…
“How can I be sure?” I asked Darc.
“How can you be sure?” he replied.
“I have no idea! You’re the one with all the answers! You’re the one that has been here so many times before! Tell me the truth, damn it!” I was getting so angry that my voice was starting to rise.
“Dude, do you think if I had all the answers I’d be standing here next to you?” He had a point. He was just as stuck in here as I was and it didn’t look like he was on his way out any time soon.
“So where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Well, I think the first thing you need to ask yourself is who woke you up before that pseudo-plaster fell, because it definitely wasn’t me.” He looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head.
“What are you getting at?”
“I mean, think about the situation for a minute, bro. That plaster would’ve crushed you if you hadn’t have gotten up. Even if it would’ve only been in your ‘mind’, it still would’ve done some serious damage. As you’ve noticed, people can get hurt in here. So who got you up before the ceiling caved?”
Who did get me up before the ceiling caved? He looked like Darc, but it wasn’t him. I knew it wasn’t him. Then again, in this place what was real and what wasn’t? How well did I know anything? How do I know I’m talking to Darc right now? I peered at him and began to wonder. He looked back, and seemed to recognize my curiosity.
“Oh, Kev. You don’t want to play this game. You really don’t. You’ll find yourself up on the roof with a needle in your ass in no time. You can’t look at everyone the way you’re looking at me. That really is the fast track to the Quiet Room and the more trips you take to the Quiet Room, the longer it’ll take you to get out of here, period.”
He was right. Over-analyzing every single person in here really would be the death (or second death) of me. God knows what that would entail. I definitely wasn’t interested in finding out.
“All issues aside, its visiting time. Why don’t we continue this conversation later?” Darc said.
“Sounds good.”
“Your dad should be happy to see you.”
“What do you know about my dad?” I asked, my suspicions still not abated.
“C’mon, Kev, cool it with the paranoia for a minute. You need to hold it together if you ever expect to walk out of here. Promise me that you won’t pop tonight?”
“I guess.” I still had no idea why I was listening to him, but out of everybody, he made the most sense. My own brain wasn’t even helping me as much as Darc was.
I’m insulted.
Whatever.
“Look at it this way, man, we can dominate every time we play basketball…” Darc said, walking into my room.
“I don’t give a crap about basketball. All I want to do is get Christian and get the heck out of here,” I said, anger creeping into my voice.
“Well, that’s a whole different story. Is he really here?” Darc asked, eyebrows raised.
“What do you mean?” I said, walking closer to Darc.
“I mean, do you really know he’s here?”
“Of course I do, I saw him!”
“You saw the plaster too, right?”
He was absolutely correct. What I had seen during my little escape may not have been Christian at all. He may not even be here. Heck, how could a little boy possibly be in the same kind of awful place as me. He didn’t kill anybody. This revelation put a whole new spin on things. But, wait…
“How can I be sure?” I asked Darc.
“How can you be sure?” he replied.
“I have no idea! You’re the one with all the answers! You’re the one that has been here so many times before! Tell me the truth, damn it!” I was getting so angry that my voice was starting to rise.
“Dude, do you think if I had all the answers I’d be standing here next to you?” He had a point. He was just as stuck in here as I was and it didn’t look like he was on his way out any time soon.
“So where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Well, I think the first thing you need to ask yourself is who woke you up before that pseudo-plaster fell, because it definitely wasn’t me.” He looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head.
“What are you getting at?”
“I mean, think about the situation for a minute, bro. That plaster would’ve crushed you if you hadn’t have gotten up. Even if it would’ve only been in your ‘mind’, it still would’ve done some serious damage. As you’ve noticed, people can get hurt in here. So who got you up before the ceiling caved?”
Who did get me up before the ceiling caved? He looked like Darc, but it wasn’t him. I knew it wasn’t him. Then again, in this place what was real and what wasn’t? How well did I know anything? How do I know I’m talking to Darc right now? I peered at him and began to wonder. He looked back, and seemed to recognize my curiosity.
“Oh, Kev. You don’t want to play this game. You really don’t. You’ll find yourself up on the roof with a needle in your ass in no time. You can’t look at everyone the way you’re looking at me. That really is the fast track to the Quiet Room and the more trips you take to the Quiet Room, the longer it’ll take you to get out of here, period.”
He was right. Over-analyzing every single person in here really would be the death (or second death) of me. God knows what that would entail. I definitely wasn’t interested in finding out.
“All issues aside, its visiting time. Why don’t we continue this conversation later?” Darc said.
“Sounds good.”
“Your dad should be happy to see you.”
“What do you know about my dad?” I asked, my suspicions still not abated.
“C’mon, Kev, cool it with the paranoia for a minute. You need to hold it together if you ever expect to walk out of here. Promise me that you won’t pop tonight?”
“I guess.” I still had no idea why I was listening to him, but out of everybody, he made the most sense. My own brain wasn’t even helping me as much as Darc was.
I’m insulted.
Whatever.