Michael

His breath struggled to keep pace with his racing heart. His feet were rapidly hitting the pebbles with every step he took. “Michael, come back here.” Eerie whispers and screams flooded Michael’s head. Michael had no time for delay. His ears now ringing as his heartbeat was increasing louder and louder in his chest. His sweat was hitting the ground like raindrops. He stopped. Peering around the corner he looked. He looked hard and long. Danger was calling his name, screaming it now. “Michael, Michael!” He tried to catch his breath as he steadily waited behind the bush outside his window. His mind now racing with a million thoughts. His head was spinning, and he felt nauseated. The decision was placed out in front of him, and he hated the thought of having to choose between the two. Should he run or should he stay? Both options showed a serious gamble. Finally, Michael chose. His legs carried him as he dashed as fast as he could to the other end of the road. His tears felt hot and sticky as they rolled down his fear-stricken face. The rapid procession of feet was roaring in his ears now. “Find him, find him.” The shouting went on for another minute and then, silence. Absolute utter silence rung in Michael’s perfectly sound ears. He knew he could never make it and that it was a foolish endeavor. Yet, he still felt the need to get out of the horror he was trapped in. He sat shaking behind a tree as he peered at the rusted gate only mere feet away. The bracelet cuffed around his wrist felt suffocating and he tried scraping it off, no luck. He placed the bracelet in his teeth and pulled hard as he could, his efforts unsuccessful. As he sat there an odd and eerie sensation crept down his spine. He felt millions of eyes staring right into his very soul, piercing his heart. He was being watched. He tried to move around as silently as possible without scraping the tree. He slowly inched upwards as his back was steadily moving up the tree. While he was shuffling, his clothes became caught in the rough bark of the unforgiving tree. His hands tugged at the gown as silently as possible, pulling it free. His mind was in a million places at once as he tried calming his sporadic nerves down. His hands began shaking violently and then his feet, followed by the rest of his body. Move! He had to move soon if he didn’t want to be caught. The bracelet still tugging at his restless arm seemed unbearable, a heavy chain shackling him to reality. Michael sat behind the tree paralyzed with fear simply peering at the ground like a lifeless object. He noticed a small ant slowly moving along the ground going whichever way it liked without a care in the world. The ant was so miniscule that he had to bend down to get a closer view. Oftentimes, Michael wished he too were free and could go wherever he pleased. The ant seemed to mock Michael as it ran round the tree. “Why must you insult me so,” the boy whispered with his mouth almost seeming to touch the cold ground. Michael hated the ant, he hated it. How is it fair that this tiny pointless ant was free and yet he was trapped here in this living nightmare. The boy stared at the ant with merciless eyes and stepped on it, crushing its weight beneath him. Michael eyed the old gate again and began to run. He sprinted as fast as his weak legs could carry him. He ran to the gate and slammed his whole body against the chill metal poles. The gate did not budge. The gate sat stagnant as Michael screamed and fruitlessly pulled on the decayed metal. The footsteps began again and this time they were right behind him. Michael felt something cold wrap around his small helpless arms. His body was dragged violently backwards as he kicked and screamed. His small voice cried aloud and pierced the air like a knife. The sheer terror and horror in his voice sent chills down his spine. He was brought back inside. The bone chilling temperature of the room silenced Michael only momentarily as he recognized a familiar sight. The dirty and grungy walls peeling as if they were crying out for help. The cold floor flooded with tears. The small and cramped beds which smelled of death and pain lined the pale walls. The windows were shut tight and had a film of dirt over them diminishing any hope of sunlight creeping into the dreary rooms. The air was thick and carried a most unpleasant odor. Weeping and screaming could be heard from every corner of every room, and the sound could drive even the sanest of men to the brink of insanity. Michael was placed on a bed and held down in an attempt to keep him quiet. “You’ve been a horrid and nasty little boy,” called a familiar voice. A man walked up to the frame of the bed. He was a tall and lanky man who always had dark circles surrounding his chilling eyes. He smelled of brandy and cheap cologne. He had a most concerning cough, most likely from his horrid habit of smoking. He wore an oversized dingy doctors coat which almost swallowed him whole. He would stalk round the halls with his nightmarish grin and silent footsteps. He held on to Michael’s bed frame so tightly his knuckles began to turn a pale shade of white. His eyes were a piercing blue and would stare sharply at whatever he caught his gaze upon. Michael looked intently into the man eyes as his own welled up with tears. The man leaned into Michael’s ear and whispered softly. “Well Michael, what do you have to say for yourself,” his hot breath traveled down the boy's neck. Michael simply sat there as his body shook the whole bed. The man turned around slowly shaking his head in disappointment. “Tsk Tsk Michael, tis a real shame you know, I was actually starting to like you.” The man's footsteps echoed in the hall as he stepped out of the room. Michael, still laying in the matted and dirty bed surrounded by people, cried out in a last effort. He’s already lost,” the doctor hushed, his voice a mere whisper. “No point in prolonging the inevitable,” a single tear rolled down his cheek. The tear was not one of pure sadness nor of happiness. The tear simply just seemed to roll down his cheek and to the floor to forever be forgotten. Michaels screams could be heard throughout the whole building. “He’s too far gone, too far gone,” the man rapped. “He will be no more by the morning sir,” the guard whispered. “Good,” the man replied as he walked down the dimly lit hall. His footsteps could be heard only for a few moments until they became too distant to make out. “But sir”, the guard retorted “I have but one inquiry of my master”. “What is it you imbecile” the doctor snapped. “I I honestly believed that you loved Michael and I thought you were in a way his “father figure”, the guard whispered, shying away from the doctor who became increasingly more stone faced with every word. “Now you listen to me and listen to me close, Michael was nothing more than mearly an object in need of fixing. You see when Michael came to us no one, and I mean no one was able to make Michael calm down. No one was able to get inside his puny little mind and see the inner workings of his twisted brain. So you see as the generous and kind hearted man I am, I took it upon myself to fix this little problem” he said spitting on the guard. “Michael now became my new challenge, my experiment if you will. You see I had that child eating out of the palm of my hand, he would obey my every orders and he actually believed that I cared about him. My plan went awry when Michael snuck out of his room and heard my conversation about how he was mearly another side project of mine. However, by the time he began to escape, the battle was already won. Michael was too weak and dehumanized to fight back. So you see, scum, Michael was never my “son” and he will never be”. The doctor walked by Michael’s room one last time to hear the boys last cried. “I thought you loved me papa.” The doctor gave a devilish grin and a chuckle underneath his breath.