Flickering Lights

The light turned off and none of us could see in the ashy room. I heard a thump, everyone heard a thump, then the lights turned back on and we all looked for the thump, covering our naked skin.

The nine of us stared at the person who had told us it was a dream laying on the floor with blood oozing from his pores. His left eyelid moved up and down.

Someone screamed. I stood in my corner.

Lord forgive us for our sins.

A girl and boy dropped to their knees together. They held hands and looked up. The ceiling was made of fog and it went on for miles. The two praying to a fake god looked at the noose that stretched from it and the hanging lightbulb.

Spare us, for we have sinned.

The light flickered. Their hands unheld. The girl that still stood stopped praying. She broke into screams at the boy that was praying with her. The light flickered. She dropped.

I kept in my corner. Some boy was below the noose, the only one not covering his body.

Climb on top of each other! Come ON. We have to get the light. HURRY UP.

I kept to my corner and one girl went to the boy with her arms covering herself. They looked up at the light. It flickered and the girl was not able to cover anymore.

I turned in my corner. My corner, my corner, my corner. I watched the corner and put my finger in the dust on the floor. I drew a smiley face in the dust but the light flickered and my finger jumped and made a line through the right eye.

Get away AWAY AWAY GETAWAY.

Was it the right eye?

We’re gonna Die anyway! Just shut up!

Which way is the dust facing? Up? Yeah, up. Left eye.

The light flickered and then the face looked like it might be looking down. Right eye.

Oh my god.

Lord forgive me for I have sinned.

Please… Stop stop STOP.

The light flickered and the face was obviously looking up this time. The line was through the left eye. It winked its right eye at me and I put a mark in that eye.

There was a loud noise then I drew ears on the dust face so I could talk to it.

Which way are you facing?

The light flickered and I think the face looked away. I heard it talk and it said dust dust dust my name was dustin and anna and nita and then the rest was muffled from its mouth on the floor.

YOU!

Some hand grabbed my arm and pulled me up and I tried to cover myself with my hands but they threw me against the concrete wall. I stepped on and killed the face. I hope it was looking up so it was not like a backstab.

HELP. ME. GET. TO. THE. LIGHT.

I looked at the dust. If the face was looking down then it would not have known it was going to die. They grabbed my arm and pulled me somewhere away from my corner.

You

The light flickered and it was just me in the room. I looked around and saw blood coming from seven mouths and a boy and a girl had blood coming from…

Oh my god. Lord forgive me. Please.


The light flickered.



Somewhere in Kansas in a run-down apartment with moldy walls and one piece of scrap furniture, a five-year-old boy was holding a dead cat. Salt and water went down and down from the lines that decided where the whites of the eyeball stopped and the skin started. The tiny hairs held the salt and water. He flicked the kitchen light on and off. On and off.
Go on fire. Go on fire. Go on fire.